[Here’s another great article from our 2020 Holiday Food & Drink Guide! Check the rest out here to make your holidays extra festive!—eds.]
I hope that by reading this, you’re already resigned to the fact that Christmas with the extended family is cancelled. And I hope that when you skipped out on Thanksgiving, you realized there were benefits to missing a year of your Great Aunt commenting on your reproductive status and taking all the good leftovers. Think of staying home again as a bonus stocking stuffer.
This year, in the name of public health, I propose all of us gentiles make like a huge swath of Jewish-Americans who already know Christmas is just another day and celebrate the time-honored tradition of Chinese takeout. Here’s eight of my personal time-tested favorites, ranging from Beaverton to the Jade District. Pick up your order personally if you can, and no matter what, tip well.
Chin’s Kitchen
Sisters Wendy and Cindy Li revitalized this Hollywood District staple with its iconic neon sign in 2017, revamping a tired Chinese American menu into the city’s only place to get Dongbei cuisine from Northeastern China. This is cold-weather fare, thanks to Russia and Mongolia sharing substantial parts of the province’s border. Don’t skip the Guy Fieri-approved dumplings: thicker-skinned without being doughy, the pork and sauerkraut are the classic (order a bag of frozen ones to eat later). On a cold Christmas night, round it out with any of the stews—I’m partial to the stewed beef with potatoes.
4116 NE 42nd, 503-281-1203, chinskitchenportland.com
