Talat Market

I reached Portland and acquired a 3 day stage from a friend at Le pigeon. While I was working there I heard the Chef De Cusine use to work at Pok Pok, so I politely asked if he could get me in there somehow. He said that he’d try. I got a text from him the next day and found out that it was declined. Another bummer, what was I to do when the main reason I came Portland was to work at Pok Pok.

While I was aimlessly exploring and dining around Portland. I remembered that today was June 26th, the day FARANG was going to premier at the McMenamin Mission Theater at 7pm. Since I didn’t have anything to do, I thought I’d take a bus there and just stand in line and hopefully get into the theater without a ticket. I even wore my lucky Thailand Elephant T-shirt! I got on the bus and it went the wrong way so took I another and did a u-turn and finally arrived 5 minutes before the documentary premiered. I was breathing hard after a sprint and crossed my fingers that I could walk into this event without a ticket. So dumb. The line gradually shortened as the ticket goers got entry , and I was thinking really hard about what I was gonna say when I approached the bouncer. I started sweating and out of no where a lady in front of me told the bouncer that she had an extra ticket cause her friend couldn’t come and wanted to give it to someone. When I heard that, I immediately side stepped out of line and said I’ll take it! I hugged her and felt like I had won the super bowl!
Part 2…

Imagine it was the week of June 26th, 2014 , and I was 24 years old with a massive Thai food obsession. I read about this guy named Andy Ricker who was doing Thai food like no other person in America at that time. It was very inspiring to see a chef, taking chances with the boldness he brought to the food scene. If he can make it, I could too, I’d say to myself.

I had taken a week off from my parent’s restaurant for a quick trip to Portland, Oregon to eat and hopefully shadow at Pok Pok, Andy’s flagship restaurant. I did a little research and by chance he was releasing his Munchie’s documentary FARANG, which I’ve been wanting to see for almost a year, while I was in town. I excitedly clicked on the site for a ticket and It said they were sold out. Shucks!
We’ll at least I could come stage at Pok Pok so I emailed the manager there and he responded with,

“Thank you for your interest in Pok Pok. Seeing as how we are located in an old house, we have an unusually limited kitchen space which we use every nook and cranny of during the busiest times of the year, which this month typically is. As such, we will have to decline the request to stage. If you choose to relocate to Portland at some point and are interested in joining our team, we'd be willing to accommodate an interview and skills test at your request. Again, thanks for your interest in Pok Pok and we do hope you choose to dine with us during your stay in Portland. “
Part 1…