Nong's Khao Man Gai

Nong's Khao Man Gai
Interior of the restaurant in southwest Portland, 2025
Restaurant information
Established	2009 (2009)
Owner(s)	Nong Poonsukwattana
Food type	Thai
Street address	609 SE Ankeny St C and 417 SW 13th Ave [1]
City	Portland
County	Multnomah
State	Oregon
Country	United States
Coordinates	45°31′21″N122°39′34″W / 45.52238°N 122.65940°W / 45.52238; -122.65940
Website	khaomangai.com

Nong's Khao Man Gai is a Thai restaurant located in Portland, Oregon which primarily serves Khao man gai, a chicken and rice dish originating in Southeast Asia. ^[2]

History

Nong's Khao Man Gai was founded by Nong Poonsukwattana in 2009. Poonsukwattana emigrated to Oregon from Bangkok, Thailand in 2003. She arrived with $70 and a suitcase. ^{[3] [2]} Poonsukwattana began working as a waitress at several restaurants in Beaverton, Oregon before eventually receiving a position at Pok Pok, a Thai restaurant in Portland. At Pok Pok, she was the only Thai cook. ^{[3] [2]} Poonsukwattana was later able to purchase a food cart off Craigslist for $1,300, and, in 2009, opened Nong's Khao Man Gai as a food cart at Southwest 10th Avenue and Alder Street, serving chicken and rice every day until the product ran out. ^{[3] [2]}

The first brick and mortar restaurant is located in southeast Portland's Buckman neighborhood. ^{[4] [5]}

In 2014, the restaurant was featured on Chopped . ^{[6] [2]} American chef Andrew Zimmern visited for an episode of the Travel Channel series The Zimmern List . ^[7] Nong's Khao Man Gai was a vendor at the first Taste of Thailand festival in 2024. ^[8]

Reception

Nong's Khao Man Gai was included in The Infatuation 's 2024 list of Portland's best restaurants. ^[9] Katrina Yentch included the business in Eater Portland 's 2025 overview of the best restaurants in Buckman. ^[10] Michael Russell included the business in The Oregonian 's 2025 list of the 21 best restaurants in southeast Portland. ^[11] He ranked Nong's number 24 in the newspaper's 2025 list of Portland's 40 best restaurants. ^[12]

See also

• Food portal
• Oregon portal

• List of Thai restaurants

References

1. Brooks, Karen; Hamilton, Katherine. "Portland's Top 50 Restaurants". Portland Monthly. SagaCity Media. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
2. Russell, Michael (March 30, 2018). "Nong's Khao Man Gai opens new downtown Portland restaurant". Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
3. Dixler Canavan, Hillary (January 28, 2016). "At Nong's Khao Man Gai, Chicken and Rice Is Actually Life-Changing". Eater. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
4. Russell, Michael (March 30, 2018). "Nong's Khao Man Gai opening new restaurant downtown". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
5. "Explore the 5 most popular spots in Portland's Buckman neighborhood". KGW . September 23, 2019. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
6. "Optimize your online presence to help your brand get media attention". Fast Company. September 28, 2021. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
7. "Portland, Oregon". Travel Channel. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
8. Wong, Janey (July 8, 2024). "After 14 Years on Division Street, the Future of Beer Bar Apex Is Uncertain". Eater Portland. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
9. "The 21 Best Restaurants In Portland, Oregon 2025 - Portland, OR". The Infatuation. January 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
10. Yentch, Katrina (March 31, 2025). "The Best Restaurants to Eat and Drink Around the Buckman Neighborhood". Eater Portland. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
11. Russell, Michael (September 18, 2024). "These are Southeast Portland's 21 best restaurants right now". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
12. Russell, Michael (February 26, 2024). "Portland's 40 best restaurants for 2025". The Oregonian . Retrieved August 2, 2025.

External links

• Official website