Jade District, Portland: dim sum, pho and the night market guide

The Jade District is the center of Portland's Asian American food, a small area in outer southeast Portland around Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street. It packs hundreds of small businesses into well under a square mile, roughly between Division Street and Powell Boulevard to the north and south and between Southeast 75th Avenue and Interstate 205 east and west. Come hungry, order a soup or a plate of dim sum and eat where the neighbors eat.

What is the Jade District?

It is one of several neighborhood prosperity initiatives that the city named to support small businesses in lower-income, diverse areas. The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, usually called APANO, manages the district's community work. Its population includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Cambodian and Latino families, and the shops reflect them: grocers, bakeries, bubble tea counters, noodle houses, herbal shops and restaurants that serve one community and also welcome everyone else.

For a visitor, the Jade District is about eating where residents eat. It is less polished than the Pearl or Division, and that is much of the appeal.

Where do you find dim sum?

Dim sum is served in the district, sometimes from carts. Cart service is a pleasure on a weekend morning: you point, the staff stamp your card and you pay at the end. Weekend dim sum is busy from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., so go early or accept a wait. Cart service has become less common, so confirm whether the restaurant you choose uses carts or a paper order sheet.

If you are new to dim sum, order a mix: something steamed (shrimp dumplings, pork buns), something fried (spring rolls, taro puffs), a rice or noodle dish, and a vegetable. Share everything, and add tea.

Where do you find Vietnamese food?

The district has a deep Vietnamese presence. Cafes serve vegan-friendly food and soups. Pho and bun bo hue are the classic soups, bun is a cold noodle bowl with herbs, and banh mi are baguette sandwiches. Confirm the restaurant's hours: many Vietnamese cafes close mid-afternoon or on one weekday.

What is the Jade International Night Market?

It is a summer street market organized by APANO that came out of workshops with district residents who wanted to bring the community together and support small businesses. It is held in late summer at Portland Community College Southeast, with food booths, performances and vendors.

How do you order if you do not know the dishes?

Do not worry about getting it wrong. Most cafes here have menus with photographs or numbers, and staff are used to visitors pointing. Start with a soup or a noodle dish if you want something simple, and ask what the house specialty is. For dim sum, mark the sheet or choose from the carts with a mix of textures. For Vietnamese cafes, a bowl of pho comes with a plate of herbs, bean sprouts, lime and chili: add them a little at a time, and taste the broth before adding sauces. Ask for chopsticks or a fork, whichever you prefer, and for a to-go box if you cannot finish.

Cash can be useful. Some small cafes and bakeries have card minimums or prefer cash, and a few are cash only. A visit to a grocery on the same block for a snack or fruit is a good way to see what neighbors buy.

How do you eat vegetarian or vegan here?

Better than in most districts. Buddhist-influenced Vietnamese and Chinese cafes cook vegetarian food as a tradition, with mock meats made from soy and wheat. If you need to avoid gluten, soy sauce and many mock meats contain it, so ask. If you have a shellfish or fish allergy, mention it clearly, because fish sauce and shrimp paste are in many sauces and broths.

What does it cost?

Meals here are usually cheaper than in central Portland. Soups, banh mi and bakery items are priced for neighbors, and a dim sum feast for a table is shared and modest. Oregon has no sales tax, so the menu price is the price before a tip. At a small cafe, tipping is up to you, and some places are cash-only or prefer cash, so carry some.

How do you get there?

The Jade District is on bus lines along Division and 82nd, and the MAX Green Line stops at a nearby station on Southeast 82nd. Parking is plentiful in lots, which is one reason many families drive. Check TriMet for current routes. If you are visiting from downtown, allow forty minutes by transit.

How should you visit respectfully?

Support the small businesses by eating and shopping there, ask before you take photographs of people or of kitchens, and learn a few words if you can. Pay attention to community notices at the markets and cafes: they are often the best guide to what is happening this month.

How do you keep track of what you order in the Jade District?

Menus here are long and the dishes are easy to forget by the next visit. In the Mosey app, rate the pho, the banh mi or the dim sum by the dish, add a tag such as Vegan or Cash Only, and keep your favorites in a list so the next table you bring knows what to order. Share the list with the friend who asked what bun bo hue is, and follow friends who eat on 82nd Avenue every week. A rating written the day you ate is the best menu translator you will find.

Rate your first bowl of pho in the Mosey app and build your Jade District list.

More guides to read next:

• Portland food carts and pods: how they work and how to eat at them
• Pearl District and NW 23rd Avenue: where to eat in Portland
• Old Town Chinatown, Portland: Lan Su Garden, markets and where to eat

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