Oregon is home to a lot of restaurants, bars, wineries, and breweries, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Portlanders just aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's many food luminaries to share their under-the-radar recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential.
With some 25 years of coast-to-coast culinary experience, Michael Uhnak — known fondly to his staff and regulars as "Cheffy" — serves as the executive chef of Besaw's in NW Portland, where he keeps it simple by creating what he calls "edible art" in the form of classic comfort food with upscale and modern twists. When not cooking, Michael can be found hiking, gardening, traveling or thrift shopping in the 'burbs. That's where he found on of his favorite out-of-the-way dining establishments, Lin's China Jade.
My girlfriend and I stumbled upon this place a few years ago while thrift store shopping in the 'burbs of Beaverton. Lin's China Jade is a very small establishment, family owned, about eight booths. The decor is a bit dated, but the food is good and the cocktails can get pretty stiff. The service is excellent, the food is your standard Chinese but with some twists. It's light and simple.
I pretty much always get the same thing — Kung Pao chicken and a Sapporo. The breading light, the rice fluffy and the beer cold. The girlfriend ventures around the menu and of course, I sample. Standout dishes so far are sesame chicken, potstickers, and Mongolian beef to name a few. Whether it's lunch or dinner, they haven't done us wrong. We have even made this a fun date night place because who can resist a 'nickel arcade' next door! Sometimes it's the simple things in life that make us happy.
· Lin's China Jade Restaurant [Facebook]
· All Previous Dining Confidentials [Eater PDX]
Image of Lin's China Jade courtesy John W. via Yelp
