Small Bites: Thien Hong, Phin Ca Phe, Coffee, and More

Looks like renovations may come to Thien Hong. Currently under review, the relevant permit with the city includes tenant improvements, “to remodel existing restaurant dining area with new layout, partitions, conveyor belt system, food prep counter, and reception desk; no changes to building envelope or glazing.” 6749 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Top Hat Spice Shop (FKA Savory Spice) grand reopens this weekend. On Saturday, May 30 from 11am to 4pm, head to Top Hat Spice Shop in Sellwood. They went through a kind of rebranding and want you to come by and see them in their “brand new clothes.” There will be samples, free spices with purchase, and community giveaways. 20% of all proceeds—both in-store and online—will benefit the Sellwood Neighborhood House. 7857 SE 13th Avenue, Portland

Honey tasting at Abbey Road Farm. In Carlton on Friday, June 12 from 1pm to 3pm, join the Abbey Road Farm fam for a guided tasting and education in honey. “Just as terroir shapes our wines, the flowers, climate, and geography where bees forage give each honey its own color, aroma, and flavor. We’ll explore honeys ranging from light and floral to dark and robust, discovering how soil, season, and bloom leave their mark in every drop.” There will be cheese parings and Abbey Road Farm wines with the honey.

Tickets are $65 and can be purchased via Eventbrite. 10280 Northeast Oak Springs Farm Road, Carlton

S’mores kits from Ranger for the summer. They are offering both a Classic and Root Beer version of their s’mores kits. It makes four s’mores with their milk chocolate bars and graham crackers. The difference is in the flavor of the marshmallow—the Classic involves a vanilla marshmallow and the Root Beer involves a root beer marshmallow. They are $32 and $34, respectively. Online

This guy likes cinnamon rolls. Over on Reddit I learned about the Portland Cinnamon Rolls website. In his words, “I am always on the hunt for a good cinnamon roll, but I’ve found that it’s hard to know where to get one, and how good it’s going to taste if you can find one! I decided to eat, rate and review every single cinnamon roll in town as a public service to the town I love, Portland, Oregon.” You can recommend ones to him, too. Online

Poké House opens in Lake Oswego tomorrow. On Saturday, May 30, Poké House opens their first location. Starting at 10:30am, there will be free tote bags for the first 100 customers, a flower bar experience, and a free lion dancing show. Plus, 20% off throughout the day. 9 Centerpointe Drive, Lake Oswego

Xin Ding Dumpling House has expanded over the river. They’re now in Vancouver, having soft opened there on May 22. Initial reviews are positive and people are pretty chuffed to have them in the Couve. They’re located in … you guessed it … an old Shari’s. 4720 NE Thurston Way, Vancouver

The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck returns this fall to the Vancouver Mall (and more). Do you like Hello Kitty? Are you free on Saturday, September 26 from 10am to 7pm? Do you like really long lines? I ask because last year I drove up to enjoy some wholesome Sanrio fun, and the length of the line blew me away; it was probably a quarter of a mile long. But there were lots of enthusiastic fans, and they seemed fine with it, so who am I to complain? I decided to “get some steps in” and walk around the mall instead.

Well, I was unprepared to see so many fantastical individuals there! Lots of furries, folks with light sabers, and others. That’s because CouveCon was that same day, and indeed these two events are happening on the same day again this year. I did manage to attend a session last year on Grimm with some of the cast, so that was fun.

Anyway, the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck will have treats and merch, CouveCon will have cool cosplay, live music, “celebrity meet-and-greets, panel discussions, artist showcases, and interactive activities.” I like stopping in at Banderyky, a Ukranian stall at the mall food court, for varenyky (dumplings), pyrizhok (baked meat-filled pastries), and their cabbage side, plus canned kvass. Also, not far from the mall is Old Tblisi, a Georgian restaurant that gets rave reviews, and Sweet Touch Cafe & Svitoch, a Ukranian cafe and bakery. Multiple locations near 8700 NE Vancouver Mall Drive, Vancouver

Burgers at Cat’s Paw Saloon. On Monday, June 1, Ruthie’s will be over there at Cat’s Paw making burgers. Starts at 3pm and will go until sold out. 3565 SE Division Street, Portland

Strawberries. We have more 🍓strawberry🍓 alerts for you.

• Bakeshop. Their classic Parisian features Sweet Sunrise strawberries and Hood strawberries. “Tossed in our homemade strawberry jam for that concentrated flavor and gloss that we’re always chasing! A seared square of croissant dough, a swipe of frangipane and seasonal fruit finished with a light brush of mahogany colored caramel.” 5351 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
• Javelina. Their Mount Hood strawberry shortcake starts with shortcake pastry topped with maple sugar-macerated Hood strawberries, cinnamon whipped cream, and sunflower seed maple crumble. 4636 NE 42nd Avenue, Suite A, Portland
• Parkrose Coffee Shop. A reminder that their Strawberry Festival is today through Sunday. “Join us for strawberry matcha, strawberry lemonade, strawberry sundaes, strawberry tarts.” They will also have pints of strawberries from Spada U-Pick Farms for sale which are grown just a few miles up Sandy Blvd from the coffee shop. And for those who want to give him a piece of your mind, City Council prez Jamie Dunphy will be there on the back patio from 1pm to 3pm today. 4826 NE 105th Avenue, Portland
• Tusk. Starting today they have a dessert made of layers cardamom and orange blossom ice cream with rhubarb granita, crumbled honeycomb, and strawberry syrup. 2448 E Burnside Street, Portland

Photobooth locations, FYI. I came across this post about where the The Photobooth Chick photobooths are. Lots of bars, including My-O-My, Kennedy School, Raven’s Manor, and Sit Tite. there are 38 photobooths in total. Multiple locations

Ōcha Tea is now LatTéa and they’ve soft opened. That was on Wednesday, May 27. “As we fine-tune our operations and recipes, we’ll be offering a limited menu during our soft opening.” 8733 SE Division Street, Suite 110, Portland

And Kung Fu Tea grand reopened. Their opening was Friday, May 22 in Hillsboro. When I lived in Queens, Kung Fu was a pretty popular brand—I’d see their cups of boba all the time. Glad to see they are still going strong. They are under new ownership, hence the re-opening. They have a refreshed menu, including dim sum. 2185 NE Allie Avenue, Hillsboro

Coffee Drinks of note. Here are some to try around town that are a little different.

• Sometimes. They have created The Tropicano: 3 parts coconut water, 1 part coconut milk slightly sweetened, with espressso over ice. 2730 SE Gladstone Street, Portland
• Bella’s Italian Bakery. They have a Mazagran for you, which is “the taste of a hot Mediterranean summer.” It’s half lemonade, half cold brew, and then a splash of bubbles. 9119 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland
• Kaleido Coffee. I was by the other day and had their Orange Drip, which is a mix of coffee and orange juice. Yes, it works! 2112 NW Quimby Street, Portland

Cold Brew at Carina’s. On Saturday, May 30 from 10am–1pm, Carina’s Bakery is kicking off their Cold Brew Summer, with Blind Coffee Roasters. “We’ll be featuring tropical-inspired cold brew pairings alongside some of Carina’s favorite vegan + gluten-free specialty treats and bakery favorites.” You can sample up to three cold brews while you’re there. 4725 SW Lombard Avenue, # 108, Beaverton

Phin Ca Phe will open in Happy Valley. They’re in the old Bobo Bubble Tea and Coffee space in the Ross Center Plaza. This is their third location and they are looking at a June 2026 opening. 11211 SE 82nd Avenue, Suite M2, Happy Valley

Milwaukie Station Food Cart Pod has plans. They wrote, “The reports of the pods death are greatly exaggerated. We plan to evolve and grow.” This is likely a response to the arrival of 1847 Food Park, which seems to be doing well. But this other pod came first. Follow their Instagram to see what they are up to. 11301 SE 21st Avenue, Milwaukie

Also in Milwaukie: Free Italian ice tomorrow. From noon to 6pm on Saturday, May 30 at Great American Video & Espresso you can get a free mini scoop of their housemade Italian ice (limit one per person, must be present to get your scoop). Italian ice is a special treat, and this is a great way to try it if you’ve never had it. BTW, a scoop of lemon ice is great in a glass of unsweetened iced tea. 6130 SE King Road, Milwaukie

And speaking of iced treats. Over at OK Chicken and Khao Soi, they are making their Longan Sticky Rice dessert with Pinolo gelato. The dish is, “salty coconut sticky rice, topped with sweet and perfume Longan fruit, perilla seeds, toasted coconut, and a scoop of Mango Lemongrass Sorbetto.” 3226 SE Division Street, Portland

Also from Pinolo Gelato. I was by last weekend and tried their Cantucci e Vinsanto, which is absolutely delicious. “Inspired by cantuccini, a typical Tuscan cookie. With Vinsanto, a late-harvest wine from the Chianti region, this gelato is a tribute to this classic combination of biscotti and dessert wine with a floral and subtly citrusy flavors.” I had it with their Fioritura sorbetto, also a special, made with Hood strawberries and elderflowers. Both highly recommended. 3707 SE Division Street, Portland

And while I was in the area … I stopped by Coral Story Beauty (their advice as saved my skin) and the old Richmond Bar—and it looks like nothing much is happening. However, their website is still active. As far as I know, it’s still going to be a project from the Double Dragon folks. I’ll continue to keep an eye on it. 3203 SE Division Street, Portland

You can get free coffee on Mondays from CapitalOne. Until Monday, September 7 of this year, you can get free coffee on Mondays from any participating CapitalOne Cafe (there’s only one in all of Oregon). You sign up here. What you give them: your phone number. What they get: your phone number and the ability to send you text messages about the free coffee. What’s good: This exchange “will not opt [you] in to marketing messages from Capital One.” Here’s a video about it. 625 SW Broadway, Portland

The 50 Top Pizza USA 2026 list is out. The Portland area scored four spots: Ken’s Artisan Pizza (10), GRANA (26), Hapa Pizza (46), and Nostrana (48). See the full list here. Multiple locations

The old Nico’s on NE Fremont has a new tenant. It’s still papered over but the words “coffee and books coming soon” was scrawled on the window side. I peeked in last week and saw a good sized counter in there. Exciting to see something moving in there! 5713 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Dream Deli has a veggie meatloaf that looks real good. Vegetarian, that is (so, not vegan). And what’s in it? “… It’s a terrine of local and seasonal root vegetables (current: beet, carrot, turnip) bound with pickle juice and agar agar.” They serve it cold on housemade milk bread with caramelized onions, crispy onions, and citrus aioli. 3542 SE Division Street, Portland

Tope + Sugarpine Drive-in collab. This is part of Tope’s montly taco collab series. They’re going to kick off the month on Tuesday, June 2 there on the rooftop with the taco of the month: smoked chicken thigh, 🍓strawberry pico de gallo, blanco BBQ sauce, pickled onions.

Sugarpine Drive-In will also be joining them on 6/2 from 4pm until late for their Tope Sundae (limited numbers). It’s made with chocolate soft serve, masa custard, hibiscus salsa macha, and masa tuille. It’s available starting Wednesday, June 3 at the Drive-in. 15 NW 4th Avenue, Portland

Rad Magic Subs turns two. On Saturday, May 30 from 9:30am to 6pm they will celebrate with their boss vegan sandwiches that will have prize coupons in them—and cake from 222 Pastry (while supplies last). 2824 SE Gladstone Street, Portland

The Portland Mercury’s Highball Week continues through this Sunday. This is all about “specially crafted, original cocktails mixed by the best bartenders in town for only $10 each.” Looks like there’s 27 participants, including places like Bar Loon, Sticky Wicket, Pizza Thief, and Rhinestone. Read more about it here. Multiple locations

Cool Hunting likes Downtown Portland. I hadn’t thought of Cool Hunting for years, ngl; I remember it was pretty hot during my early years in NYC. So it was nice and nostalgic to see this list cross my desk this week. It’s called, “Word of Mouth: Downtown Portland,” and rounds up what you think it would. It includes the James Beard Public Market; Meadowrue in the Ritz-Carlton, Portland; Coquelico; Behind the Museum Cafe; Bellpine; as well as none-edible superstars like Powell’s, the Portland Art Museum, and the Portland Japanese Garden. Multiple locations

Speaking of Coquelico. Michael Russell at The Oregonian did a review of Coquelico, the cafe at the Portland Art Museum. Perhaps the most useful detail is that they are no longer doing counter service but have upgraded to full service, which is really nice. He especially liked the crêpe with cooked prosciutto and Gruyère. Read on to see more of Michael’s assessment of the place. 1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland 

Dimo’s is doing cakes. Their first one was a classic chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting—three layers. They’ll be rotating the cake flavors. 8 bucks a slice, Thursdays through Sundays from 11am to 4pm. 701 E Burnside, Portland

Pop & Pour Dirty Soda has opened. Their first day open was Friday, May 22. They’ve been at Beaverton and Hillsboro markets and doing pop-ups, and this is their brick & mortar. Dirty sodas leverage your creativity with available additions like fruit purees, syrups, creams, Red Bull, cold foam, and more. 14675 SW Teal Blvd, Beaverton

Baking tool sale. On Tuesday, June 2 from 10am to 1pm at Obon Shokudo, Nikki Arce is selling baking tools, molds, cambros, and other kitchen items from her production space. The was the person behind Camellia Patisserie; she is now moving in a new direction.

She writes, “After four years of baking at Obon Shokudo, for the restaurant desserts and for Camellia Patisserie production, I’ve decided to step away from menu dessert production and move out of the kitchen commissary at the end of the month. As I move away from farmers market-style production and regular wholesale, I’m making more space to develop recipes, teach, collaborate, and take on intentional creative projects and events.” We wish her well in this next phase of life and work. 720 SE Grand Avenue, Portland

Reminder. The Hollywood Q’s grand opening is Saturday, May 30 from 4pm to 8pm. 4035 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Reminder 2. Slow Haste celebrates one year tomorrow! We wrote earlier, “On Saturday, May 30, Joshua Limanjaya will return to perform a DJ set from 9am to 1pm, and MASA will be popping up on both Saturday and Sunday. There will be merch, giveaways, and a new summer menu.”

Welp, here is the new summer menu: Peach and Coconut latte (“fun, vibrant, and tropical”), Black Sesame Date latte (‘sweet and slightly savory”), Plum and Thyme latte (“dynamic and balanced”), and The Pear-suasion espresso cocktail (Pear, yuzu, chilled espresso, simple syrup, fresh mint, lavender bitters). 2341 NE Glisan Street, Portland

The NYT updates its Portland list. They updated their “25 Best Restaurants in Portland, Ore., Right Now,” (gift link) on May 27. The previous edit was back in 2024. The solo update was adding in The Paper Bridge, which they recently reviewed. Multiple locations

Free cookies at Shirtzenpantz. On Fridays and Tuesdays from 2pm to 8pm, you can get a free cookie with any purchase. 7400 N Lombard Street and 6343 SW Capitol Highway, Portland

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Stories this week on Bridgetown Bites that you may have missed:

Second Annual Veganizer Asian Market Returns This Year in Portland
Strawberry Shortcake Week 2026 Is Almost Here in Portland
Tonga Room and The Heights in Portland: Some Background