Shandong (restaurant)

Shandong
The restaurant's exterior in 2021
Map
Restaurant information
Food typeChinese
Street address3724 Northeast Broadway Street
CityPortland
CountyMultnomah
StateOregon
Postal/ZIP Code97232
CountryUnited States
Coordinates45°32′06″N 122°37′28″W / 45.5350°N 122.6244°W / 45.5350; -122.6244
Websiteshandongtogo.com

Shandong is a Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Named after China's Shandong province, the restaurant is owned by chef Henry Liu and serves traditional Chinese cuisine in northeast Portland's Hollywood neighborhood. It has garnered a positive reception.

Description

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Shandong is a popular Chinese restaurant in northeast Portland's Hollywood neighborhood,[1] named after China's Shandong province.[2] Portland Monthly says, "Sporting sleek and modern decor, this Chinese spot serves up fresh, house-made eats from the Shandong province and offers a daily 4–6 happy hour."[3] The menu features traditional Chinese cuisine such as beef, dumplings (including a shrimp variety with ginger and scallion), fried rice,[4] Kung Pao chicken, mu shu chicken (chicken with cabbage, egg, and willow tree mushrooms) served with hand-rolled pancakes, noodles, potstickers, and tan tan.[1][5] Judy's Noodles is a noodle dish with spinach, scallions, garlic, and jalapeño.[6]

History

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Shandong is owned by chef Henry Liu.[7] In 2015, Liu and business partner Vo Chien opened Shandong's Sichuan-focused sister restaurant Kung Pow! in northwest Portland, offering a spicier version of Shandong's menu.[1][8]

Shandong operated via takeout and delivery at times in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Reception

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The restaurant's interior, 2021
Pork soup dumplings

In his 2011 review of the restaurant, Portland Mercury's Tony Perez complimented the mu shu chicken, noodles, and shrimp dumplings, but was disappointed by the bean sauce and spicy peanut sauce. He summarized, "Shandong is a step up in some ways—it's not the all-too-familiar gut-bomb experience of some of its greasier MSG-laden brethren, and the high points demonstrate some clear skill in the kitchen—but it's not joining the upper echelon either. If you're craving some Chinese staples, by all means, go... just manage your expectations better than I did."[5] In her 2014 book Food Lovers' Guide to Portland, Oregon, Laurie Wolf wrote:

When we first ate at Shandong, we were so happy to find an excellent example of the cuisine of Northern China, one of my favorite areas for culinary delights. Dumplings and wontons are crisp and perfectly fried, not greasy, and the sweet and sour soup was the best I have had in PDX. The beef and pork dishes were also excellent, and we totally loved the house-made noodles, done just right. The service is attentive and the place is modern, clean, and comfortable.[9]

In 2015, Eater Portland's Danielle Centoni called Shandong "one of Northeast Portland's most popular Chinese restaurants".[7] The website's Nathan Williams included the restaurant in a 2022 list of fourteen "standout" restaurants in the "eclectic" Hollywood District.[10] In 2016, Willamette Week's Matthew Korfhage said Shandong serves a "subdued, better-than-most ode to its titular province".[2] The newspaper included Judy's Noodles in a 2018 list of "our favorite noodle bowls and plates in Portland for less than $15" and said, "Among the many chopstick-thick, fresh-made noodles at Northeast Broadway's Shandong, the best by far are the simplest."[6] The business ranked second in the Best Chinese Restaurant category of the newspaper's annual Best of Portland readers' poll in 2024.[11]

Clarissa Wei included Shandong in CNN's 2017 list of the fifty best Chinese restaurants in the U.S., writing:

Shandong offers 'a new look at classic dishes' in a pleasant though simple dining room. The ginger-infused, hand-rolled pot stickers are large and one of the best-selling items. There are also freshly hand-pulled noodles and a unique deep-fried pork dish cooked in a cherry and ginger sauce. Cheap happy hour appetizers, such as pan-Pacific wontons, Chilean rock crab and shiitake dumplings, are available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Is this the cutting edge of Chinese cuisine? A growing number of devotees think so.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Bakall, Samantha (May 11, 2015). "First look: Kung Pow!, Shandong's Szechuan sister restaurant, in Northwest Portland". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Korfhage, Matthew (March 22, 2016). "Kung Pow and Shandong". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Shandong Restaurant". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Jackson-Glidden, Brooke; Frane, Alex (May 15, 2020). "Where to Find Takeout and Delivery During Portland's COVID-19 Outbreak". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Perez, Tony (January 6, 2011). "Just South of Northern China". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Our Favorite Noodle Bowls and Plates in Portland for Less than $15". Willamette Week. March 20, 2018. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Centoni, Danielle (January 26, 2015). "Northeast's Shandong Spinning Off Chile-focused Kung Pow on NW 21std". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Centoni, Danielle (May 11, 2015). "Kung Pow! Opens on NW 21st Tonight; The Bulgogi Korean Grill Debuts on NE Sandy". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Wolf, Laurie (January 14, 2014). Food Lovers' Guide to Portland, Oregon: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781493006700. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Williams, Nathan (2022-08-22). "14 Standout Spots in Portland's Eclectic Hollywood District". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-08-22. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  11. ^ "2024 Best of Portland Readers' Poll: Food". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  12. ^ Wei, Clarissa (July 12, 2017). "50 best Chinese restaurants in the United States". CNN. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
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