H50 Bistro and Bar

Portland $$$ ****
Another fabulous place for a lazy breakfast. This restaurant is located on the first floor of the hotel at which my parents were staying, Hotel Fifty in downtown Portland, overlooking the Willamette River. Breakfast is a nice time to come because it's pretty empty, maybe a few other tables occupied with other hotel guests. We were seated by the window with a perfect view of the waterfront park.
I ordered two over-easy eggs, bisquits with a sausage gravy, and roasted potatoes. I was a little upset that they didn't have any hot chocolate (our waiter said they had run out of their homemade chocolate syrup), but I survived just fine. Their coffee and orange juice were good. The eggs and potatoes were perfect, and my sausage gravy was delicious. My dad ordered some of the best french toasts I've ever tried.
Good service, pretty food, and straightforward delicious food. The perfect way to start a lazy morning.
H50 Bistro and Bar (Downtown)
50 SW Morrison St
Portland, Oregon 97204
Breakfast: Mon-Fri 6:30-11am
Brunch: Sat-Sun 6:30am-2pm
Lunch Mon-Fri 11am-2pm
Dinner: Sun-Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm

Malay Satay Hut

Portland $$ *****
This place is so good we went twice in one day. Yes, we're that crazy. My friend took my family and here for lunch to get some authentic Malaysian food. She ordered dishes that she usually eats in SWe got to try some very interesting dishes, such as Bak Kut Teh (a delicious beef soup), Buddish Yam Pot (a pot made of fried yam holding various goodies like shrimp and vegetables), and Kang Kung Belachan (ong choi cooked in peppers and shrimp sauce). For dessert, we shared two dishes: one consisted of shaved ice, coconut milk, sugar, and jellies; the other one consisted of cooked black rice and coconut milk. Both amazing.
Two hours later we returned with another family. This time, we came for dim sum. That's right - this place specializes in both Malaysian food AND dim sum. How cool is that? More unbelievable is that the dim sum was just as good as their Malaysian food. We got what we usually order when we eat dim sum: (I know I'm going to be spelling a lot of these incorrectly; I apologize in advance) shu mai, ha gau, scallop and beef look fun roll, gin doi, taro, and seaweed roll.
The restaurant is nicely decorated with light wood walls and pictures of Southeast Asia. My only complaint is that it's located in SE 82nd and, since I'm a wuss, I don't particularly like going there. Definitely come when you have a car and/or it's still early. However, once you're here, you can go right next door to Fubonn, a massive Asian marketplace. When my parents come back to visit me next year, I know we'll be back because we instantly fell in love with this place. Both times.
Malay Satay Hut (82nd)
2850 SE 82nd Ave
Portland, OR 97266

Andina

Portland $$$$ *****
Andina is an AMAZING Peruvian restaurant in the Pearl District. Unfortunately, it's another one of those restaurants to which I can only come when my (or someone else's) parents are in town because it's quite pricey. But every penny is worth it.
Colorful, loud (every night there is a band that comes in), and packed throughout, Andina is the place to be on a Friday night. We started off with some drinks. I tried the Inca Kola, which I guess is what the Incas drank before they all died out. It tastes almost like ginger ale, but it's sweeter and a prettier yellow color. The rest of my party enjoyed their drinks, including my friend who ordered an arandano, which is a raspberry drink. The bread was also interesting because it was served with three different sauces: a peanut butter and cheese one; a citrus one; and a jalapeño one. I highly recommend mixing the peanut butter and cheese one with the jalapeño one.
Then we had some appetizers. One of them was called "pulpo a la oliva", which is tender octopus slices cupped in fresh endives with Botija olive sauce. ($8.5) The second one was called "a la chalaca", which is sashimi-style fresh fish in an aji Amarillo vinaigrette, served with corn salsa criolla. ($12)
My main course was called "corderito de los andes", a succulent double rack of grass-fed lamb grilled to order, and served with a Peruvian yellow potato and two cheese timbale with a sublime roasted pepper demi-glace. ($27) Delicious! I don't eat lamb often, so this was definitely a treat. It came with two huge pieces of lamb, nicely arranged in a line with alternating slices of roasted potatoes. The cheese timbale gave the perfect kick to the rich meats. The portion was large so I get to eat my leftovers this week. Everyone else loved their meal as much as I did. Other recommended dishes: dorado al rocoto y kion (roasted mahi mahi over a shiitake mushroom, smoked bacon, and bok choy broth, topped with slivers of ginger, rocoto, and scallion basted with smoking sesame oil, served with asparagus-quinoa fried rice); conchas del senor de sipan (quinoa-crusted diver scallops perched on top of wilted spinach and potato-parsnip purée, with golden beet and crabmeat "cannelloni”, and a duet of red beet and passionfruit reductions); and adobo de cerdo (pork tenderloin quickly braised in the Arequipa style, with butternut squash and gorgonzola ravioli, green apple, and a tamarillo-rocoto “uchucuta”).
For dessert, I had "mousse de valle y selva", a tiered semi-freddo of velvety lucuma and espresso mousses, chocolate ganache, and crushed cocoa nib meringue, served with espresso shortbread. Tasted delicious, almost like a tiramisu dish. Another person in my party ordered the plato de crema quemada, which was three pots of crème brûlée, each different flavors: one rosemary, one orange, and none of us could figure out the last one.

All in all, this place is one my new favorite restaurants. It was my first time trying Peruvian food and, I must say, I am quite impressed. I wish I could back more often, but I'll probably have to wait for my parents to visit again (or someone else's parents to treat me).
Andina (Pearl District)

1314 NW Glisan St
Portland, OR 97209
Lunch: Daily 11:30am-2:30pm
Bar/Tapas: Sun-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-Midnight
Dinner: Sun-Thu 5pm-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm
Happy Hour: Daily 4pm-6pm