The Eurasian Diaries: The Actual Chinese Supermarket in Portland!

After what seems like weeks of research I have found a proper Chinese Supermarket!

It requires some patience and driving, but when you get there you are definitely rewarded.

These Dan Tarts were soft and fluffy and just fantastic having been denied good Cantonese treats for so long. I feel like even in NY you could struggle to find a good puff pastry style egg custard tart. There are a lot of imposter short crust cases that just don't seem to be quite right. 

Don't worry about that. Here in Portland, they have a delightful warm and flaky crust.

The Eurasian Diaries: Finding Fresh Tofu

I'm half Chinese. I may not look it, but mother was born and raised in Hong Kong. A lot of what I consider comfort food is Chinese. No not P. F Chang style Chinese, but real ginger, sesame, garlic infused fresh veggies and steaming rice. AHHHH it makes me so happy to think about.

(Side note re PF Chang's - there is one literally right outside our apartment building in the Pearl. I don't trust it).

Coming from NY, we are spoilt with a large Chinatown and many Asian grocery stores to choose from. When TJ came here to interview, I took it upon myself to research to see if there was a Chinatown. I was happy to discover that there was! And it seemed like there were places to have dim sum too. However, when we moved, I started to see if I could find somewhere to get my supplies, and couldn't find any. This started to panic me a little, until by way of Yelp, I came across Anzen Hiroshi.

So I took a little bus ride over the river to the East and found this little Japanese grocery store. It was small but well stocked! I was quite pleased to find everything I needed to make Ma Po tofu - including a little bag of Szechuan peppercorns. You don't get much choice, but I was so happy to see Asian things I left with my Chili Bean Sauce in hand and a smile of my face.