Wandering Chopsticks: Vietnamese Food, Recipes, and More: Oriental Food Value Supermarket - Portland

On my last night in town, my mom asked me to pick up some cilantro and bean sprouts because she was making Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Hue-Style Beef Noodle Soup) for dinner.

For quick Asian grocery store trips, I go to Oriental Food Value. It's owned by a Chinese husband and Korean wife, so there are Chinese and Korean groceries, as well as Vietnamese. But located just off SE 82nd Avenue and Foster Road, in a heavily Russian area, there are Russian and Polish groceries as well. Kinda cool, eh?

(I won't even go into how much I hate the word Oriental and how behind the times it seems that it's still used in Portland. See the last few paragraphs of this post for the more detailed explanation about why the word Oriental is offensive.)

Look! There's even an aisle dedicated to Russian food.

We'll get to the roast pork booth at the end of the aisle in a bit.

Beets? I can't read Russian.

And Polish salad from the looks of it?

Pretty sad roast pork area. I think they probably get it from somewhere else because I've never seen a whole roast pig. So they just have a bit on hand for the random customer.

Along with a few random sandwiches and pastries.

The fresh produce area looks small, but is actually pretty well-stocked.

Various herbs.

Galangal and banana blossoms.

Thai eggplants.

Even fresh lotus leaves. I don't even see that in SoCal!

Wandering more aisles just so you can see.

Drinks.

Rice cakes and noodles.

Ramen.

Rice. And a lot of pottery behind it.

Woks. Lots of woks. Even a 28-inch wok!

Lots more dishes, in case you need props.

Thai Kiwi-brand knives. Very sharp. Cheap too!

And joss paper to burn at death anniversaries.

6 comments:

DeeOctober 6, 2010 at 9:09 AM
I'll have to check this place out. I recently stumbled upon a Vietnamese grocery at 99th and Prescott that's become my new favorite. It's not as big as OFV or Fubonn, but it's less hectic and their produce section is also well stocked.

BTW, my mom still uses the word Oriental. I've told her over and over again to use Asian, but it's no use!
Wandering ChopsticksOctober 7, 2010 at 10:56 AM
Darlene,
The older generation doesn't get it. For most groceries, I think Fubonn has a better selection, but I like to support the smaller stores too.
AnonymousJanuary 24, 2011 at 10:47 PM
The Chinese husband actually roasts his own pigs...and it's DELICIOUS!!!

They also do old school "carry outs" to help them older Asian people :]

i like it better than FUBONN!
Wandering ChopsticksMarch 2, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Andrew,
I did not know that. Figured he just got the roast pig from somewhere else. Aww, that's nice that they help carry out stuff for the older folks. I think it's little touches like that that makes me support the little businesses.
BrianOctober 10, 2012 at 1:33 AM
Very nice article. Great pictures and very detailed. I like it :)
Wandering ChopsticksDecember 4, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Brian,
Thanks!

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Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Oriental Food Value Supermarket - Portland - Oregon

6 comments: