Hat Yai Belmont — Restaurant in Portland

Sorry in advance for the long review. My best friend was visiting from out of town and we decided to eat here. Nowhere on their website does it mention that proof of vaccination is required for indoor dining, so I left my vaccination card at home. Well it turns out, you can only be seated outside if you don't have proof of vaccination. That was a bummer since it was cold and rainy and the heat lamps didn't radiate that much warmth. We both ordered, however, my friend's meal came out at least 15 min before mine. I eventually got a second text saying my order was being prepared, showing it had double charged me (QR code glitch?). I went to check on it and my order had been placed as a take-out order and had been sitting on the counter for who knows how long. For me, part of paying to eat out is for the experience/outing, not just the food. If eating Thai takeout was what I wanted I would've just ordered from the place down the street and have spent far less. Some of the utensils we were supplied with did not appear to have been cleaned thoroughly and had dried crusted food on them as well.

That being said, we ordered the skewers which were very good and I got the fried chicken with curry which was delicious. My friend however, had the ground pork which was underwhelming. It was pretty much just a bowl of rice with another bowl of ground meat. I've never had anything spicy that lacked flavor before.

All that to say, since my food was good, I'd be willing to give it another try, but only with either proof of vaccination or when the...

I went to the Belmont location after it first opened years ago. The fried chicken was fantastic and still is but the dish I want to talk about is the Phuket Hokkien Noodles. When I tried this dish years ago it was one of the best things I had ever tasted. It was thin egg noodles with a super flavorful sauce that wasn't watery or greasy. The presentation was great, the noodles nicely swirled in a simple yet elegant white bowl, little dried shrimp and a few decoratively sliced shallots on top. After eating this dish I tried to recreate it at home many times and always failed to match the perfect balance of flavors that Hat Yai brilliantly executed. I went back more than a few times just for the noodles. After a hiatus I went back and it was off the menu which sucked but the fried chicken was still great.

I went back yesterday and saw the noodle dish on the menu again! I was very excited but this time it was different. Instead of the thin egg noodles served neatly in a bowl it was thick udon served on a small plate. The presentation was not great but whatever the flavors matter most. The sauce was watery and pooling at the bottom. The flavors were different and very mild. I'm sorry it sucked. The dish is now an afterthought compared to the dark horse it was years ago. While the fried chicken is still very good the menu's a one hit wonder now. I shouldn't say that I haven't...

Food: *South Thailand inspired food, bit spicy and super flavorful (think Indian, Malay and Thai all put together). *Absolutely love their fried chicken, rice, pad thai and roti.

Employees: *Attentive, fun and hospitable staff.

Place: *American New with South Thai flare - dim red lighting (great date spot, family spot and hanging with friends spot). *Small place but not tiny; spacious enough where you are not on top of each other and hearing ver batim people’s conversations. *Outdoor seating is plentiful and great for people watching.

Pet: *No hesitations on letting my dog inside to order (not sure how it would be if I stayed inside to eat). *Outdoor patio very dog friendly! Workers always say hi and offer him water.

Pros: *Staff has cute & approachable personalities. *Unique flavors I have NOT tasted before esp. in Portland. *Cocktails and thai tea & coffee are tasty and yummy.

Cons: *Extremely expensive food and drinks for what you are getting (why I gave 4 stars). *Must bus your own table (lots of places are like this in Portland though). *Water fountain near entrance gets a bit crowded and messy.

Tips: *Walk off the food by walking around the general area, super cute neighborhood as I live around here :P *Get here early since it closes earlier than advertised...