Thursday, March 15, 2012

Taste of Fiji

Taste of Fiji is a food cart near SW 10th and Washington in downtown Portland, Oregon. Renuka Prasad ("Rens") is the cart owner. She also has an espresso machine if you need that quick pick-me-up.


Menu
(March 2012)
Vegetarian options!
I decided to walk around downtown Portland, and stopped when I saw "Fiji" on her signboard. OK, I've seen Filipino, Cambodian, Guamanian, Indonesian...and now Fijian? Seriously, I never thought I'd see any of these cuisines in Oregon.

Upon closer inspection, the food I had was not really Fijian, but Indian. Didn't realize they served Indian food in Fiji.

The first food I sampled from the cart was a chicken sandwich infused with Italian seasonings. Apparently, this was Rens' way of incorporating more of the menu implied from her business card: espresso and sandwiches. The sandwich was quite good; a subtle Italian spice jab to the mouth never hurt anyone.

Now what about these curries? Fish? Lamb? Chicken? Yeah, she's got all of those. Fish is probably among the most popular choices, but since that would take a while to prepare, I opted to sample the lamb curry. Initially, Rens showed slight concern, noting it had some spice. I quickly assured her it wouldn't be a problem, as long as 50 ghost peppers didn't lay inside to dissect my digestive system.

The lamb was tender, juicy, and delicious. The meat cooked in a blend of spices and a comforting sauce for about 45 minutes. I oped for the lamb curry here ($7). More tender lamb and perfectly softened potatoes. An idea blend of curry seasonings blanket the palate.

Lamb curry (right) and Vegetarian Long Bean curry
(Taste of Fiji)
On the side, I got a sampling of the vegetarian long bean curry. The beans were perfectly cooked, again with enough soul-satisfying curry spices.

The yogurt sauce here (combining plain yogurt, chiles, and cucumber) provides that refreshing contrast against the curries.

Yogurt sauce
Oh, I even got a cookie as a parting gift. Yes, pandas love cookies. Pandas love chocolate chips. Pandas will dance when eating chocolate chip cookies.

Still yet to channel my Cookie Monster capabilities
Try out Taste of Fiji and, well, you'll get transported to India as well! 7.5/10

1 comment:

  1. I found out that their drink menu is 100% copied from the next door BeMap food cart which has been there before them.
    When I was waiting to order at BeMap, the lady from Taste of Fiji tried to talk to me and asked me to try her drinks. It was very impolite and irritating.

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