If Portland was a game of Monopoly, Earl Ninsom clearly has control of the board.
The Bangkok-born Ninsom has a sprawling empire of Thai restaurants across most quadrants, each offering specialities perfected. No one can touch the roti at Hat Yai, nor the brisket curry at Eem, or the sumptuous prix fixe experience at Langbaan.
Earlier this year, Ninsom, along with collaborator Eric Nelson, set up a new game piece on one of the city’s most storied properties: the former Pok Pok on Southeast Division.
It’s a bold move to open a Northern Thai restaurant in the same converted old house where Chef Andy Ricker taught Pacific Northwesterners to not fear the burn of a hot chile-doused wild boar. It’s fucking hilarious to name it OK Chicken and Khao Soi.
The name belies a far more than OK menu of deep cuts out of Chiang Mai.
But let’s start with the marquee dishes, like khao soi. For the uninitiated, this is a coconut-curry broth, complex and velvety, laced with turmeric, lemongrass, and a creeping Thai chile warmth at the end. Traditionally served with chicken, the braised chicken leg on top is so tender that a gentle nudge with a spoon coaxes the meat right off the bone. Throw in the sharp raw red onion slices, lime slice, and mustard kimchi greens for necessary textural and acidic contrast, and munch the crown of crispy noodles on top for texture. If you’re eating with a group, go with the tofu or beef options, which are easier to split than a whole leg.
In the chicken department, OK Chicken and Khao Soi makes use of Pok Pok’s old charcoal grill to great effect. The gai yang, a fish sauce and makwan pepper-marinated half bird, comes out so very juicy and flavorful, with spicy tamarind and sweet chile sauces for dipping gratification. It’s noted as Nelson’s favorite on the menu, and I get why. One dish is a little so-so—OK, one might say. The dry-rubbed turmeric fried wings are a bit scrawny and dry, even with an herbaceous green chile sauce to assist.
Interestingly, some of my favorites were neither chicken nor soup, but pork. We swooned over the moo sam, pork belly that was grilled and slightly sweet from the oyster sauce in the marinade. Dipped in a spicy tamarind sauce, layered with a little basil leaf and cucumber, it hits all the right spots. Similarly, a recent special, hang moo yang, involved a whole pork tail charcoal-grilled and then deep fried then served with a Thai chile dipping sauce. It’s like a bone-in pork nugget of your dreams, and a dish I haven’t personally seen outside of Northern Thailand.
The ghost of Pok Pok, which closed in 2020, is present in two big ways: the space itself, and the unabashed use of mouth-melting spice. The dining room and outdoor patio are still there, and so is the hand-built bar. The drinks menu starts with a non-alcoholic base like a slushy or agua fresca, with options to add infused booze. The herbal tea slushy, with or without chamomile-scented scotch, is the hands down winner, a decidedly not-too-sweet iced bev made of chrysanthemum tea with the soothing snap of pandan in the mix.
A slushy also pairs excellently with the slew of spicy AF plates you will come across. The traditional papaya salad has some kick, but its sister menu item, the som tum lao, ups the ante. It’s far more complex, and burns your taste buds with hot Thai chiles, dried shrimp, eggplant, tomatoes, and fermented shrimp paste. The menu says to “eat with sticky rice.” You learn that’s because you’ll be begging to tamp down the heat, but in a good way.
In taking over the house that Pok Pok built, Ninsom and his team didn’t just land on Park Place—they bought it, renovated it, and served it up with extra chile sauce. Do not pass Go; head straight to Division Street and tell them Damewood sent ya.
OK Chicken and Khao Soi, 3226 SE Division, open Sun-Thur 5-9 pm, Fri and Sat 5-10 pm, okchickenandkhaosoi.com. Reservations available online.
