Carlo Lamagna’s breakout hit, Magna Kusina, is already among Portland culinary royalty; for his next venture, he decided to explore the world of Filipino rotisserie, lechon meats accompanied by atcharra (pickles), white rice, and a house-made dipping sauce. The skin on the pork belly is astoundingly crackly, with just a hint of lemongrass and allium integrated into the meat; lemongrass also appears in the marinade for chicken quarters, brightened with calamansi and balanced by fish sauce. For dessert, halo-halo arrives with house-made leche flan and generous scoops of ube ice cream.

Within this ornate downtown Portland Saudi Arabian restaurant, regulars share pots of cardamom-scented coffee and sip cups of saffron tea, awaiting grape leaves filled with velvety rice and bright baba ghanoush. Each day, the restaurant offers a different special, which is worth an order; on Fridays, smoky, fall-apart lamb shanks arrive with rice cooked in the rendered fat and jus, while on Thursdays, saleeg features a bed of creamy, deeply chicken-y risotto-esque rice, a pillow for rich roasted poultry. A slice of cheesecake is a mandatory punctuation to any meal.

At the latest restaurant from Han Oak duo Peter Cho and Sun Young Park, K-Pop blasts within a warm, sleek space teeming with pale woods and hanging lanterns. True to the restaurateurs’ form, the tasting menu here is a fun, interactive tour through creative Korean fare: A rush of banchan precede beef-and-pork mandu under a toasty, crispy lace, sitting in a pool of bone broth with unending depth. Pieces of dry-aged kanpachi swim in an almost pickle-y broth, dotted with yuja chojang. For the main event, ssam-style meats arrive on a platter alongside piles of greens for wrapping and a buttery, crisp purple rice — bulgogi flank and bavette lounge next to a sleeper hit hot dog speckled with gochugaru. For accompaniments, the bottle list sports a nice selection of wine, soju, and makgeolli.

The Việt Kiều food cart Matta has existed in several forms over its years open, but now that Richard Le has left the cart behind in favor of a residency at Concordia’s Lil’ Dame space, the chef has leveled up without losing sight of its origins. Dishes from the cart’s original menu remain — thit kho falling apart in a caramel-y, soy-salty broth; mom’s shrimp omelet, the sweetness of coconut milk an undercurrent within the sheet of tomato-studded egg. However, other additions showcase Pacific Northwestern produce and seafood with a Vietnamese culinary palette. A highlight: slices of albacore sitting over half-moons of pickled daikon, heat and sesame permeating each bite.

The atmosphere of this restaurant, specializing in what the team calls “first generation American food,” is warm and loud, borderline-cottagecore plates of acorn squash toast and butter-basted chicken hearts passed around boisterous tables throughout the space. The food is similarly colloquial, but executed impeccably: Mini madeleines use both mochiko (glutinous rice flour) and masa, which balance each other out — the mochiko adds a lovely springiness, while the masa gives each madeleine a nice weight. Jolyn’s favorite noodle, a play on the noodles chef Louis Lin would make for partner Jolyn Chen after long restaurant shifts, coat alkaline spaghetti in a remarkably delicious combination of sesame, black vinegar, and Lao Gan Ma. And as a grand finale, it’s best to spring for both large format plates, a pork coppa and short rib ssam and a whole grilled fish; let the table mix and match the components of each, loading buttery tai cheeks into lettuce wraps with curtido and kimchi.

The latest restaurant from the Akkapong Earl Ninsom empire celebrates the food scene of Bangkok’s Chinatown, which means dishes like salted fish fried rice and wonton-esque crispy bean curd dumplings share space with house-made fish balls in a pool of green curry and rad na, a gravy-soaked egg noodle with gailan. Meals at this Montavilla spot should start with “Chinese sashimi,” pickled chile-topped slices of albacore glistening with sesame oil and lime juice, before bowls of tingly and rich mapo tofu and a larb-esque ground pork-and-black olive dish, laden with shallots and chiles. For dessert, dunk sweet buns in luscious pandan and Thai tea custards between sips of tea.

Decades in the making, Mya Sandy Myint’s Southeast 82nd restaurant — well, stall within the CORE food hall — serves perhaps the city’s finest version of lahpet thoke, or tea leaf salad. The blue cheese funk of fermented and marinated tea leaves mingles with dried shrimp, fresh cabbage, and peanuts, adding dimension without distracting from the star of the dish. Other items on the menu are straight comfort food, executed with layers of flavor and nuance. The shop’s ohn no khao swè, Myanmar’s answer to Thai khao soi, is silky on the tongue with coconut milk and schmaltz, sweeter and richer than other versions in town. And Myint’s mohinga — a seafood noodle stew often considered Myanmar’s national dish — balances the brininess of the shellfish in the broth with lemongrass, ginger, and allium.