For the third round of the Thai-o-rama (Round 1, Round 2) collaborative food writing project, we did a group meal at Kon Asian Bistro. As the name implies, Kon is a pan-Asian restaurant; it has a strong emphasis on Chinese and Japanese cuisine with some Thai options and a smattering of items from elsewhere.
Appetite Portland’s summation sets the theme for all four reviews, “Kon really is more Asian Fusion than Thai, and its Thai offerings seem to be its weakest link…For me, the Chinese dishes were stellar – and well worth repeat visits.”
Portland Food Coma is quite succinct in his dislike for the Thai food at Kon, but confirms that “there is great food to be had, you just need to stick to the Chinese offerings”, and specifically recommends the rock shrimp and the Peking duck wrappers which “have both been outstanding on each visit, and I would gladly go back for more.”
The Blueberry Files gives Kon an overall grade of B+. She was a big fan of the rock shrimp that Portland Food Coma recommends, “#$*&! delicious”, but wasn’t especially impressed with the her appetizer of entree.
Where is Jenner’s Mind gushes about the mimi peking duck, “oh mini beijing duck! i dream of you often with your sweet plumy sauce and crispy fatty skin and your fresh cucumbers and scallions and your light fluffy rice flour bun”, but as for her Thai Red Snapper entree writes that it “was good, but not great”.
I’d echo the opinion of the rest of the gang. The items I enjoyed the most weren’t from the Thai section of the menu. The taste of Seth’s Szechuan Crispy Dried Shredded Beef was good enough to bring me back the next day for lunch, but the Thai food, while not bad, wasn’t memorable.
To sum up, here’s a quote from last year’s review from Type A Diversions, “With excellent choices for Japanese and Thai in Portland, I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat at Kon for either. But if I’m in the mood for Chinese this is my new go to spot.”
For more insight on the food at Kon Asian Bistro see earlier reviews by:

• an earlier review by Portland Food Coma
• Erik Desjarlais, chef at Evangeline
• Chris2fer
• Maine Sunday Telegram
• Portland Phoenix

Edible Obsessions has published a review of Evangeline, the last stop in her 5 restaurant eating campaign,

Food: Consistent as always without a single misstep in the courses. Again, I would have liked to have seen more than the RW menu offered but, perhaps it was for the best. The food fog weighed on my head (and, my god, my poor heart) by the time the last forkful was taken.

and Local 188 received a B+ in a review from the USM Free Press.

Prices aside, when the ramen noodles just aren’t cutting it anymore, consider Local 188 for a change of pace. Often they provide live, local, music during their late dinner hours, so if you are looking for a place for a date, or just a place to relax, listen to music, and enjoy a real meal, Local 188 will not disappoint.

Edible Obsessions has published a review of Evangeline, the last stop in her 5 restaurant eating campaign,

Food: Consistent as always without a single misstep in the courses. Again, I would have liked to have seen more than the RW menu offered but, perhaps it was for the best. The food fog weighed on my head (and, my god, my poor heart) by the time the last forkful was taken.

and Local 188 received a B+ in a review from the USM Free Press.

Prices aside, when the ramen noodles just aren’t cutting it anymore, consider Local 188 for a change of pace. Often they provide live, local, music during their late dinner hours, so if you are looking for a place for a date, or just a place to relax, listen to music, and enjoy a real meal, Local 188 will not disappoint.

Portland Eats has published a review of Jewel of India.

Finally, I can say that Portland has crave-able Indian food. I’m talking about food that you are still thinking about the day after you eat it; food that forces you to incorporate Indian cuisine into your regular rotation. Bukhara Indian Bistro was that restaurant for me in Boston. Here in Portland, it’s Jewel of India.