An An — Restaurant in Portland

Falling into this place after a long day, when you’re tired and a little confused, is a little bit like chancing upon a Mad Hatter tea party balanced on the edge of a precipice, not quite sure what it is yet. As if it wants to be serene, but the acoustics are too loud, as if it wants to be highbrow, but everything is too cheerful and bouncy, as if it wants to be street food, but the prices are too high and the portions too low. Well, I ordered the Star Anis beef stew. and although I have eaten beef stew at almost every Vietnamese place imaginable it was like nothing I have had. The taste was great, but the presentation was, interesting. The thin broth and the large chunk of beef was surprising. Having lived in Asia and being fairly skilled with chopsticks it did not present that much of a barrier to me, but I thought a knife and fork would’ve made it so much easier it felt like some kind of gauntlet. Not what I would call an easy, relaxing transition into eating. I am not sure why they do this? Do they feel they have to show off the piece of meat? I think they could chop it up a little and trust their own flavors to show off their skills.

The place has potential, which I think it’s missing and the owners have pride, which although deserved is a little misdirected if the two of those just came together in just the right way, if the place wasn’t a Mad Hatter tea party on the edge of an abyss . If it could just find a calm settled feeling it could be amazing! It has so much potential, so many great flavors, but it’s all kind of banging around in a jumble that makes me not all that eager to go back.

It absolutely goes without saying how important a place like this could be to the village of Kenton. It’s a long and rough history here and this could be a destination, a true foundation. Good food...

Got the chance to visit this new restaurant for brunch on a Sunday and was surprised by how much I enjoyed my experience. When I heard of An An, I saw that it was a Vietnamese fusion place and was really interested but also wary as I've gone to several fusion places that people have raved about in Portland only to be disappointed that the dishes were turned into something unrecognizable. This was fortunately not the case with An An.

We started off by ordering the Vietnamese coffee (5 - strong and sweet), the green Thai milk tea (3 - too watered down/too much milk for my taste), and garlic fries (4 - very crispy, a solid appetizer but I would probably opt for a different appetizer next time)

We ordered the Vietnamese sizzling beef (5 - this dish was definitely star of the show. It had a really nice thick gravy, and the onions were perfectly caramelized. It has a lot of black pepper on this dish which I loved. The only thing was it was not at all sizzling hot, which I expected from the name and previous viet breakfast places I've gone too)

We also got the Turkey meatball and egg (5 - the sauce is sooo tasty and we loved dipping the baguette in there. I think it's a take on viet xiu mai but with Turkey instead, and I loved the flavor combinations)

Our entrees were top notch, although I wish the baguette was served a little warmer as it was lukewarm.

Our several servers were helpful and kind, and the great service really was the cherry on top for us. The decor was really cute. It was not busy at all when I went at 11:15 am on a Sunday, and we were seated right away, but I expect and hope that this will change in the upcoming weeks as more and more people learn about...

--- food --- (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) upgraded in 2025, used to be 3/5 when they first opened

Ube waffles with chicken katsu ⭐⭐⭐⭐ would get with oyster mushrooms next time 2025 update: got the oyster mushrooms and I prefer it waffle was somewhat soggy but still good

Steak and eggs ⭐⭐⭐ didn't love the gravy with it a little too peppery for me the steak wasn't fatty though which I appreciate

❤️Ube waffle with oyster mushrooms ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it was amazing, would reorder wasn't too sweet, was savory though couldn't taste the Ube too much but I still really enjoyed

❤️Vietnamese coleslaw ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ would reorder this the daikon makes it

❤️Caramelized pork and egg ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ the broth underneath was like a bone broth for pho the pork was so soft and flavorful didn't love the egg, but I appreciate how runny it is, but it was such a good meal - I wish maybe the egg was poached instead of fried

--- starters --- (⭐⭐⭐⭐) pretty good Oyster mushrooms ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ adored the texture of this

Pork belly mushrooms ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ crispy and what you'd expect

--- drinks --- (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) would return for this Ube latte ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ a little too sweet not super coffee tasting to me

Pandan coffee ⭐⭐⭐✨ didn't give me too much but not an offensive taste

An an specialty with half and half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ classic not too sweet

Cinnamon cheese foam ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ says cheese foam but would say it tastes more like a creamer lots of...