On Friday I got the keys to my new place and decided to celebrate by having lunch at my favorite restaurant in town, Eem. I don’t say favorite lightly. I have many faves, but the hands down single favorite is Eem. Everything they do there is so unbelievably delicious and perfect. I have never had a less than stellar experience there, whether talking about the ambience, the food or the drinks. If you are a portlander who still somehow has not experienced the joy of Eem, or if you are visiting town and want to experience the best of Portland cuisine, come here. It is a Thai BBQ restaurant that serves incredible cocktails. It’s the best of 3 worlds: Thai, BBQ and cocktails. Every dish there is incredible, and some are transcendent and life changing, like the white curry with brisket burnt ends. It’s so good, but I made a point of ordering different things off their menu.

Above you see their pork belly krapow. Delicious, sumptuous pork belly served with some greens, an egg, and delicious fish sauce with makrut lime (that sauce has a name but I can’t recall it right now). The fish sauce is funky, acidic, has a bit of a fermented quality to it, and pairs perfectly with the pork belly (and everything else). I poured all of it over that dish. As a side I ordered wok-fried greens, because they are delicious, and, you know, I’m trying to be a tiny bit healthy. My sweetheart server gave me a free order of their sweet and sour fried chicken. I threw down for that lunch! Not going to lie, I finished every last bite. Happy eating!