Eastern Cathay, a Chinese restaurant that operated for around 15 years on NE 82nd Avenue across from the MAX station, is no more. This is now the location for Taste of Szechuan (not to be confused with Taste of Sichuan), and offers a new menu with things like pork wontons with chili oil, smacked cucumber salad, Westlake beef soup, cumin lamb, some offal dishes, and more.
First, Eastern Cathay
In late 2008, this location was purchased by Rong Liang Mei, who turned it into Eastern Cathay. Prior to that, it was known as the original Elmer’s Restaurant that opened there in 1961. Most recently, though, Eastern Cathay was known for issues with a homeless encampment on the property, which was resolved in May 2024.
They offered a variety of familiar Chinese and Chinese-American dishes, with a small section of Szechuan dishes. They were known for their fried jumbo shrimp, in particular.
Taste of Szechuan
I first became aware of the impending arrival of Taste of Szechuan last fall through their liquor license application. The people associated with it, as far as their registration with ORSOS, had been involved with Montavilla’s Imperial House, which closed in 2021; that location became Sushi Yummy.
I had called Eastern Cathay in January 2025 to check to see if they had closed, as I had heard rumors to that effect on social media. The woman on the other end of the line assured me they were still open.
From what I can tell, an almost seamless transition from Eastern Cathay to Taste of Szechuan happened mid-February (soft opening), with a grand opening date of March 1.
Sale of the Property
And according to multiple real estate sources online (here’s just one of them), the property was sold by ERA Freeman & Associates on February 1, 2025. The list price was $2.75M, but was sold for $135,000. The sale price is kind of shocking, and makes me wonder if perhaps the property was sold to a family member or close friend.
Montavilla News reported that the property had been put up for sale back in October 2022. In that article Adrian Chu of Specialty Real Estate Group considered the property to be a “developer’s dream.” Obviously this did not come to pass.
Taste of Szechuan’s Menu and Interior
You can find their menu here. Looking at what is popular, it still leans in the direction of more standard dishes like General Tso’s Chicken, hot and sour soup, crab puffs, lo mein, and fried rice. But look further down into the menu and you’ll find things like spicy sliced pig’s ear, chicken claypot, some kidney dishes, the aforementioned cumin lamb (one of my favorites), and spicy squid whiskers. Also, the mapo tofu seems to be a big hit. Really, there’s a lot of variety.
I’ll be doing a review over at Montavilla News, so stay tuned for that.
My understanding from comments online is that they have cleaned up the place, including replacing some of the flooring, Here’s an image from the interior:
This location does have its challenges, but I wish the new owners only the best and great success with Taste of Szechuan.
Taste of Szechuan [opened March 1, 2025]
1411 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland
Taste of Szechuan website | Facebook
Meg Cotner
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The food is wonderful. Owners are really nice. Check it out.
We’re going to give you a try Friday of this week. Hope it’s worth the extra dollars.