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You should really get to know Jolyn Chen and Louis Lin, the power-couple chefs-in-waiting who opened Xiao Ye restaurant last September. The old brick storefront is on a humble Hollywood District corner along Northeast Sandy Boulevard. Xiao Ye adds to the strong and growing list of new Portland establishments that belie all the local doom-and-gloom reporting about the demise of the sit-down restaurant.
Chen and Lin are hospitality pros, each with a substantial stint in fine Washington, D.C. restaurants, including the oft-honored Rose’s Luxury. They also happen to be first-gen Taiwanese Americans. The two are a solid team—he cooks; she is everywhere but the kitchen. Both radiate warmth and sincerity if you have the good fortune to chat with them. Whether intuitive or practiced, Chen and Lin have a clear grasp of elevated hospitality. Though Xiao Ye is the first restaurant they have owned, their experience in the serious dining world shines through. It is a place where local diners will want to visit to relax amid the comfortable parlor décor—frilly half curtains along the windows and decorative hanging lamps throughout—and sample through the changing menu that weaves together many culinary strands.
Despite its Chinese name, Xiao Ye is not a Chinese restaurant. The food is, in fact, difficult to characterize beyond eclectic. Xiao Ye translates to “night snack,” but the connotation of simple, thrown-together nosh is pretty far off the mark. That is, unless the snack maker happens to be a talented, thoughtful industry professional who understands flavor and textural balance and takes the time to make sure dishes are executed to a consistently high standard.
On my first visit to Xiao Ye, during the waning days of Oregon summer, the topper was tomato toast ($15). Yes, tossing anything on toast is damn near a cliché at this point, but the sweet acidity of the halved cherry tomato pile on two slabs of Little T bread, together with a scattering of fresh herbs, some crunchy bits and a smear of shallot oil mayo was sublime (hopefully the dish reappears next summer).
A starter currently on the menu, the mini madeleines ($9.50), are baked fresh throughout service from a masa and sweet rice flour batter and arrive six to an order embedded in just enough butter. These have become a must-have Xiao Ye staple and won’t give way to seasonal shifts.
One would have hoped the tom yum shrimp ($11) would not go anywhere but down your gullet, though they seem instead to have gone on winter hiatus. Too bad. These are balls of intensely shrimp-y dough fried until golden. The balls arrive greaseless with a nice chew to them on top of the oceanic flavor that can only come from a liberal infusion of shrimp head extraction. Tom yum salt adds yet more flavor and depth.
Chen and Lin are obsessed with pasta. There have been at least two selections on the menu since opening day, both founded on delightfully bouncy al dente noodles. Jolyn’s Favorite Noodle V.1 ($23) is a cross-cultural affair. Spaghetti noodles are enhanced with Taiwanese black vinegar, adding expected acidity and surprising depth, sesame oil and a variety of chile crisp called Lao Gan Ma. Try one, try both or check out whatever is new, recently a truffled macaroni dish ($30).
Emblematic of a recent trend on local menus, Xiao Ye offers only a couple of larger protein-centered plates. Frankly, it would be understandable to skip them in favor of selections from the upper parts of the menu, which are, overall, Xiao Ye’s strength. But the whole tai snapper ($48), which takes a Mexican turn with chipotle and chile negro butter seasoning, and a curry-accented, crispy-skinned half chicken ($54) are fine if not mind-blowing. They each come with substantial side dishes and can serve as a hearty meal for one or the lion’s share of a couple’s repast. Add some of those amazing madeleines or one of the designated sweets—my favorite is the simple fior di latte gelato ($7.50) topped with black sesame and round-flavored Taiwanese brown sugar—for dessert.
Warm, professional service; a cosseting environment in which to converse with friends or a loved one; a chef’s counter perfect for solos and kitchen watchers; and a distinctive array of menu choices together make Xiao Ye an upper-tier addition to Portland’s resurgent, sit-down restaurant milieu. And, if you’re lucky, Jolyn or Louis will stop by your table to say hello.
EAT: Xiao Ye, 3832 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-764-9478, xiaoyepdx.com. 5–9 pm Monday–Thursday, 5–9:30 pm Friday–Saturday.