#5 Pok Pok & Whiskey Soda Lounge

My husband and I have been on a search for good Thai food for some time now.  I miss my favorite little restaurant in downtown Vancouver, Tiger's Garden, and have had more misses than hits lately when trying Thai food near where we live now.  Tiger's Garden has some AMAZING curry dishes, my favorite!  Anyway, Pok Pok had been recommended by a handful of friends, mainly raving about their Fish Sauce wings.  An evening opened up and we took along with us four other friends (Note: You cannot make a reservation without six people!).

FYI:  All you Food Network junkies, this is also a 'Triple D' (Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) PDX spot. 

The atmosphere of Pok Pok when looking at it from the street is fairly unusual as it is seemingly a converted home surrounded by tents and absolutely NO waiting area in the restaurant.  This said, they also own the Whiskey Soda Lounge across the street, which has now been designated as the waiting/pre-funk area for those with long waits (which there are.. very long waits).  Our pre-funk cocktails were less than impressive in my opinion.  I had their drink Butterscotch, which was AWFUL.  The other cocktails (Southside and Umeshu Cooler) were a better hit, although again, not blowing my socks off.  

The communication between the Lounge and Pok Pok was just as they said.  They were good on their word and as soon as our table opened up at Pok Pok we moved our party to the private upstairs eating area reserved only for those who make reservations.  You'd think this would be a great choice, but WOW was it loud.  I felt like we were shouting for a good portion of our meal not to mention it is also incredibly tight quarters.  My husband is a very tall man and he looked pretty uncomfortable when trying to find a spot.  In the end, we had to sit across from each other just so that he could sit comfortably.

We ordered several dishes; however. these are the ones that stand out.  The Ike's Fish Sauce Wings (Spicy) were really good!  Great flavor.

 
The other item that the table enjoyed was the Kaeng Hung Leh, a curried pork belly and pork shoulder.  Yumm!  

The overall feeling about the food was that while the food was flavorful and fun to try, the portion sizes were small given the prices.

Cost: Fairly expensive given the portions (more like tapas).  Average cost per plate is $9-$14.
Menu: Nice sized menu with a wide range of options from various Southeast Asian cultures.
Food:  There are some very delicious items on the menu, though some items were either overly seasoned or just unimpressive for all the hype.  I would rate it a 3/5 overall when considering the six dishes we ordered and the various feedback from our friends.
Service: The waiter was very thoughtful when explaining the various entrees and making suggestions for what rice is most appropriate for what dish.  I enjoyed hearing about the culture the food came from and how to properly eat it (whether adding lettuce, coconut rice, etc).  The wait stinks, but the option to hang at the Whiskey Soda Lounge is nice.  Unfortunately, that place is usually busy as well.  Know about it and be prepared.