I really wanted to check out this ramen food cart. Since the boys were getting haircuts and I needed my morning cup of coffee we wandered across the street from the barbershop to a cute cafe called Qui Presse. They didn’t want anything so I ordered a cup of coffee and some toast with butter and jam. The woman who took my order said she would bring it out to my table when it was done. She brought over two large thick pieces of toasted bread with a slab of butter and homemade apricot jam slathered over it. Ramen boy took one look at it and suddenly wanted to share it with me. The bread was super crusty on the outside but the inside was chewy soft goodness. You could see the air pockets in the bread with a slight pungency and just the right amount of salt to it. It was the best bread I’ve had in ages and I am comparing it to the bread I had in Japan and France. The owner of this cafe sources her bread from her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is Ken Forkish a well-known Portland baker with a James Beard pedigree. This simple toast was absolutely sublime.
A bit later we went for a walk around the Southeast Division. Hapa PDX is situated on a corner with some other food carts and had picnic tables with heaters. It was pretty brisk out so we were looking forward to a bowl of steaming noodles to warm us up. We ordered tonkotsu ramen. The broth was nice and creamy and mine was simply adorned with chashu, scallions, bamboo and egg. It was tasty but not noteworthy and only because the bread I had earlier was so good I was still thinking about it.
I love the food truck/cart concept. No doubt this place is a popular noodle establishment since many of its customers were willing to slurp noodles in the cold. Sorry Hapa PDX we promise to come again to enjoy your ramen.
Hapa PDX
TidBit Food, Farm and Garden Center
SE Division St & SE 28th Pl
Portland, OR 97202
