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Hello people of the internet! Thanks for stopping by. I think San Francisco is one dirty city, but I love it here. I'm a 9-5er with a mission to eat, drink, and travel as often as my resources allow. Documenting it is part of the fun.

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Posts Tagged ‘Oregon’

Sok Sab Bai : Portland’s Cambodian Truck

This is Sok Sab Bai, Portland’s first and only Cambodian food truck. Isn’t it beautiful?

Sok Sab Bai

Even before seeing the menu, I was taken back by how delightful the truck appeared. The window on the left is the pickup window, but since it was raining and there weren’t many people waiting, we chitchatted with Nyno [one of the owners] under the awning at the front of the food truck where we placed our order.

The menu is up on a computer screen and always changing. That’s the beauty of a food truck, isn’t it? I ordered the lemongrass beef skewers rice plate, and Ryan ordered the Cambodian sandwich.

Sok Sab Bai

Lemongrass Beef Skewers Plate – SO so tasty! It comes over a bed of rice and a papaya side salad. I ate every last bite. My only complaint is that the skewer on which the meat was prepared on hadn’t been soaked beforehand, so I ended up eating not only my meal, but also parts of the skewer.

Sok Sab Bai - Lemongrass Beef Skewers

Cambodian Sandwich – pork belly in a roll with pickled veggies, similar to a Vietnamese sandwich with softer bread and better meats. Ryan could not resist ordering the pork belly, and this sandwich did not disappoint. Tender belly with flavorful veggies definitely worked together in this sandwich!

Sok Sab Bai - Cambodian Sandwich

Other items on the lunch menu that day – Ribeye Steak Bites Plate, Chicken Wing Plate, Tofu Skewer Plate.

Sok Sab Bai Sok Sab Bai

Glad we got a chance to check this truck out. From what Nyno [pictured above] has said, the truck is just a few weeks old. He thought that a food truck would be a great way to share Cambodian food with Portland, and I couldn’t agree more! There may be other food trucks coming to this location, and they have a covered seating area planned too! SO exciting.

From what I’ve tasted, Cambodian cuisine is a cross between Thai and Vietnamese flavors, both of which I love! Sok Sab Bai is definitely worth checking out. Go to their Facebook page for updates.

Sok Sab Bai on Urbanspoon

Wordless Wednesday – Elk

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Beginner’s luck with casting, not with catching.

Hello from Oregon!

We’re a few days into our trip with two days of steelhead fishing under our belts. Unfortunately, all I can report back with is that I now know how to cast, and I’m pretty amazed at how well I’ve been able to do it. The guys rowing our little drift boats were amazed too. How could I possibly get it right in between a tree and a rock without so much of a snag?! Beginner’s luck, I think.

So no steelhead in our possession, even though we had a few bites. We did reel up a few other random fish that we didn’t keep.

Fun times.

Jumping at the Sixes

It was FUH-REEEEEZING, and I was bundled up like a giant marshmallow. Even with a heater under our seats on the first day, the north winds really stung! The second day was not as bad, thankfully.

Here are some pretty pictures along the 101 around sunset from our drives between Brookings and the Sixes River.

View from 101

View from 101

Ridiculous at Sunset

Along that stretch of state parks southwest of Coos Bay, the first one you hit is Sunset Bay State Park. With the name in mind, RV and I drove in to catch the sun setting after filling our bellies with delicious crab.

Sunset Bay State Park

The tide was LOW, so we walked out to check out the tide pools. I gave up going all the way out though because the rocks were slippery.

Low tide at Sunset Bay State Park

The water had made interesting patterns in the sand. I’m not sure if you can see them in the picture, but there were a few holes in the sand. Clams! I saw a few families out there with their clam guns and buckets, but I didn’t check to see if they actually got anything.

Sand at Sunset Bay State Park

I’ve subsequently read that there are yurts that one can choose to stay in at this park. If we’re in the area, I want to stay in a yurt the next time!

Anyway, I let the jumping photos get out of hand. Thanks to RV for putting up with me!

For dinner that evening, we stopped by the lounge of The Hilltop House after our first choice, Coach House, turned us down. No reservations. :( We have learned our lesson.

Next time – yurt and Coach House reservations!

Crabbing in Charleston + Fishermen’s Wharf

After our morning at Cape Arago State Park, I got to meet Katherine Hoppe, the woman who made the entire Coos Bay trip possible! She was out catching crabs on the Charleston docks, so we decided to join her.

with Katherine Hoppe, Coos Bay - North Bend VCB

Katherine lent me a crab cage, so that I could get in on the crabbing action, while RV used one of the snares that he brought from home. We used chicken and rockfish carcasses as bait. One of my first catches of the day was this rock crab.

Rock crab - first catch of the day

We let him go near the end of the day.

I also caught this ugly thing. It’s a kelp crab. It’s true when they say “you are what you eat” because this crab only eats kelp, and it certainly looks a lot like kelp, doesn’t it? We threw him back in, so it could be food for the fish, birds, octopi, and sea otters.

Ugly kelp crab

As it turns out, it wasn’t a good day for catching Dungeness crabs. All the ones we brought in were too small to keep. So we headed over to Fishermen’s Wharf at Dock D for some fresh crab. They have a tank full of lively crab for the picking! Water is pumped into the tank from outside to keep ‘em fresh. The Dungie we picked out was still fighting and pinching on its way to the crab cooker. There are clean tables in the back for enjoying the crab.

Fishermen's Wharf

There’s nothing like eating fresh crab right off the dock!

Ready for some crab-eating action

This was definitely the highlight of our trip to Oregon’s Bay Area. Imagine that – leaving one Bay Area for another! Fishermen’s Wharf is located at the D-Dock in Charleston and is a must-visit if you’re in the area.

Their mission statement: Our business depends on fishermen, we will not under pay them or overcharge you for their product.

Matt LaDoux packing up our box

Matt, Mike, and Cathy Jo were extremely personable and full of information re: fishing/crabbing in the area. We couldn’t get enough in one day, so we revisited the next day to use up the rest of our gift certificate and to pick up some fish/scallops for the road!

Goodies from Fishermen's Wharf