Sunshine Noodles was a

Cambodian American Cambodian Americans,; also Khmer Americans, are Americans of Cambodian or Khmer ancestry. In addition, Cambodian Americans are also Americans with ancestry of other ethnic groups of Cambodia, such as the Chams and Chinese Cambodians. According ...

restaurant in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States, that operated from 2019 to 2022.

Description

Sunshine Noodles was a

restaurant in Slabtown in Portland, Oregon's Northwest District.

Brooke Jackson-Glidden Brooke Jackson-Glidden is a food writer and the editor of ''Eater Portland''. In 2023, she received the Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award from the James Beard Foundation in part for her essay about Either/Or. Career Jackson-Glidden has been the ed ...

of ''Eater Portland'' described the interior, which had neon lights and pink tiles, as "Hello Kitty-meets-''Blade Runner''". The frequently changed menu included Phnom Penh noodles, a beef

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectora ...

noodle stew,

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...

spaghetti and meatballs Spaghetti and meatballs is an Italian-American dish consisting of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs. Originally inspired by similar dishes from southern Italy, the modern version of spaghetti and meatballs was developed by Italian immigran ...

, and catfish

spring rolls Spring rolls are rolled appetizers or dim sum commonly found in Chinese cuisine, Chinese and other Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian cuisines. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably wit ...

. The brunch menu included macaroni soup, steak with eggs and rice, strawberry French toast, and grits with shrimp and bacon jam. Cocktails included the Mekhong Vacation, a

passion fruit ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy ...

margarita.

History

Revelry chef Diane Lam launched Sunshine Noodles in 2019 as a pop-up noodle bar with David Sigal. The menu included '' kuyteav Phnom Penh'' and '' num banhchok''. The pop-up was successful, according to Jackson-Glidden of ''Eater Portland''. Revelry planned to rebrand the outlet as Revelry Noodle Bar but closed in 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Sunshine Noodles operated at

North Portland North Portland is one of the six sextants of Portland, Oregon. North Portland is a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas. It includes the Portland International Raceway, the University of Portland, and massive cargo faci ...

's Psychic Bar from July 2020 to January 2021. The Cambodian menu included spelt noodles with French-style vegan tomato and

maitake ''Grifola frondosa'' (also known as hen-of-the-woods, in Japanese, ram's head or sheep's head) is a polypore mushroom that grows at the base of trees, particularly old growth oaks or maples. It is typically found in late summer to early autumn ...

mushroom

ragout Ragout ( French ''ragoût''; ) is a main dish stew. Etymology The term comes from the French ''ragoûter'', meaning: "to revive the taste". Preparation The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat. The main ingredients ...

with

Maggi Maggi ( or ) is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestlé in 1947. History Early history Julius Maggi (1846–1912) ...

seasoning, as well as '' samlor machu'' and grilled corn with a

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

glaze. Sunshine Noodles also served potato-chip salad with cabbage,

wasabi Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian ...

ranch dressing, candied cashews, and

chile relleno The chile relleno (, literally "stuffed chile") is a dish in Mexican cuisine that originated in the city of Puebla. In 1858, it was described as a "green chile pepper stuffed with minced meat and coated with eggs". The most common pepper used is ...

'' banh chao''. The pop-up was designed for social distancing during the pandemic. Lam began hosting a series of dinner parties called Penh Pals at the restaurant. The pop-up operation was expanded and extended through March 2021. According to Jackson-Glidden, Sunshine Noodle's fried chicken with lime sauce became "a breakout hit". The pop-up was originally scheduled to operate longer but temporarily ended service on December 24, 2020, intending to reopen at a permanent location in March 2021. The pop-up hosted a Valentine's Day dinner. In November 2021, Sunshine Noodles announced plans to re-open as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Slabtown on December 13 the same year. The restaurant launched a brunch menu in 2022. In December 2022, Lam announced plans to permanently close Sunshine Noodles on December 18 and relocate to San Francisco. Stacked Sandwich Shop is scheduled to reopen in the space in 2023 alongside a second location of Feel Good.

Reception

In August 2020, ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Willame ...

'' said of the pop-up at Psychic Bar: "Sunshine Noodles is an avowedly irreverent, none too serious take on contemporary Cambodian food... The corn pudding is a candidate for the city's best new dessert, but the lime pepper wings are the breakout hit—spicy and complex, they want for nothing except a beer, and perhaps a napkin." The newspaper also included Sunshine Noodles in a list of five "great" new restaurants that began operating in 2020. Katherine Chew Hamilton of ''

Portland Monthly ''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...

'' also included Sunshine Noodles in an overview of the best new restaurants of 2020. For the magazine's "2020 Portland Food Highlight Reel", she wrote: "We also loved the patio at contemporary Cambodian spot Sunshine Noodles, one of the first restaurants in Portland that was specifically designed with pandemic safety considerations in mind, with Dance Dance Revolution-themed arrows directing foot traffic and cartoon noodle bowls serving as social distance markers." In 2022, she included the fish sauce spaghetti and meatballs in a list of four noodle dishes "to eat now", and the Le Quick Fix in the magazine's list of the "best local spots to sip espresso martinis like a '90s boss". Michael Russell included Sunshine Noodles in ''The Oregonian'' list of Portland's 25 best new restaurants of 2022.

References

External links

* * {{Northwest District, Portland, Oregon 2019 establishments in Oregon 2022 disestablishments in Oregon Cambodian restaurants Cambodian-American culture Defunct Asian restaurants in Portland, Oregon Defunct restaurants in Northwest District, Portland, Oregon Restaurants disestablished in 2022 Restaurants established in 2019