Yum Zap

This cart was really good, to bad they closed. I can’t even think of another food cart doing Northern Thai food.

The spicy pork, green beans, and basil over rice is delicious. A new favorite.

I ended up ordering the Gaeng Fuktong seasonal special ($ 8): a bone-​in chicken thigh with pumpkin curry. The curry is coconut milk-​based and includes potatoes, basil, and your usual curry spices. Apple asked me how hot I wanted the dish. «How hot have you made it?» was my response. Apple replied that, when she eats this food, she puts in EIGHT red Thai chiles. So heck, eight Thai chiles for me, too!
Beautiful presentation. The red chiles represented an angry-​mob «protecting» the mellow creamy curry. But I’m a warrior, and I dove right in!
Just absolutely delicious. The creaminess of the coconut milk turns this into a richer, more filling meal. The chicken, which stewed in that curry, was juicy and fell off the bone with ease. The cooked potatoes had a slight bite to them, which I’m fine with (no dissolving potatoes on my tongue here). The basil added some wonderful freshness.
The star for me, of course, was the red Thai chiles. My taste buds woke up here, but I honestly didn’t break a sweat. Perhaps I need to just tell Apple to add about 20 more fresh red Thais, plus extract and some dried ghost peppers so I can get my mouth set completely on fire (or get a bad case of heartburn and indigestion a few hours later). Or maybe I should take a trip to Thailand (hey, Apple even suggested it!) and somehow communicate that I want to experience hellish spicy food.
What would make this dish spicier: make the actual broth or sauce very spicy. Here, only the Thai chiles brought any heat. The pumpkin curry was a seasonal item, and one may have to wait until next year to get it. But in the meantime, check out Apple’s other dishes! (Again, don’t get me wrong, this was a delicious curry and I’d definitely order it again… even spicier!)
Yum Zap lives up to its name. It’s yummy, and you can zap your taste buds dead if you wish!

Good stuff.
I ordered the Kau prow dish. Basically ground pork, onions, bell peppers, and basil. With a fried egg on top. There are some other ingredients in the dish.
This is my measuring stick for most Thai places i eat at the first time. And they nailed it on this one. I didnt care for the fried egg but it was easy enough to remove as it was whole. The flavors all came through and you could tell it was all cooked to order. When i asked about spice and how they rate it she showed me the peppers that she uses to spice the dishes, I went with 5 peppers. It brought the heat but was not painful or overwhelming, but i have a penchant for spicy food.
I will return for other dishes and steer other folks there. It appears that menu changes everyday from one board to the other.

This food is fantastic, hands down. The owner is friendly, and she has a very sweet name ^_​^. I have ordered the ground chicken dish (larb) once, but only because she was out of pork ^_​^. The stewed pork over rice is absolutely perfect: seasoning is flavorful and not too strong, the pork is fatty and stewed juicy, and the portion is large. Come and try it for yourself, and this will become a place that you visit regularly, too ^_^.

Cutest lady ever that works here! She is very friendly and super awesome! I don’t exactly remember what I ordered, but it was the second item on the menu. OMG the flavors were amazing! The noodles looked like those maruchan ramen noodles, however, with the curry, tofu and mushrooms thrown in, I didn’t care anymore! Delish!

Finally! For those that want the style/​quality of Gin Northen Thai but don’t/can’t go all the way downtown, there’s a solid Thai cart in SE!
The owner (her name was Apple :-) is awesome: Super friendly and totally willing to explain each menu item and talk about her exp. All of them are basically made from scratch from recipes she learned back in Thailand!
Decent pricing and healthy portions (definitely enough for 1, maybe 2 people) make this one of my new favorites!
Khao Soi (noodles w/​curry) FTW!!! :-D

Ok, I like this place. But since it’s in the Good Food Here pod, that’s pretty much a given.
I’ve tried 3 of the dishes, though I don’t remember all of the specifics. One of them had sweet glazed pork, which I had never had before… but will definitely have again. Yum! For some of the dishes, the items are separated out on the plate, allowing you to add as much jalepeno or specific veggies as you want.
For the meat dishes, I think the price is a bit steep — $ 7.50 for a decent sized plate of food (the other northern Thai carts have bigger portions for this price). But the vegetarian dishes (or at least the pad dish that I had last time) are a dollar cheaper while still being just as tasty and filling. So as far as economical eating goes, the veg dishes are your best bet, but the other dishes are still really, really yummy — don’t cross them off your list completely.

PadThai was a big old disappointment. Our beverage was completely frozen! The sticky rice good, but that’s about it.

hi GUYS great food once again next time i am getting it even hotter

I have been to Yum Zap multiple times and I am constantly surprised by the magic of the amazing chef here. Every item I have tried on the menu is something new to me. I appreciate the chance to be introduced into someone else’s traditions. Especially when they taste sooo good. I would suggest ordering the mango and sticky rice (when its in season) with any entrée on the menu.
The food here speaks for itself and it’s says eat me I’m delicious!

Who would have thought we needed another Thai food option on Portland? Apparently we did. I’ve eaten there only twice, but both times — holey moley good. Both dishes were chosen based on the suggestion of the man who runs the cart. I’m sorry that I didn’t ask his name. Oh well, considering I’ll be back many times I’m sure I’ll get to know it.

Great thai food!!! This place has a non-​traditional menu. I can see that the cook’s goal is to bring Thailand to Portland. The dish, Kao Soy Haeng, was so was very flavorful yet simple. It has fresh ramen noodles with the most amazing curry sauce.

«Yum Zap». It means spicy dish or sicy food in Thai. And yes this food can be prepared in many levels of hotness. They have American spicy and Thai spicy! I thought it was funny.
I showed up at 430 pm and ordered the dish my friend recommended.
Gai Dern Soo-​un: spicy grilled chicken salad with herbs, veggies, ground roasted rice, dried chili sauce and a side of sticky rice. It cost a little over seven bucks. But it was well worth it. That chicken melted in my mouth. I was a sissy and got it as unspicy as I could. I’m a puss when it comes to scorching the earth in my mouth. Rice was amazing too. Sticky rice is one of my favorites. Having lived in Hawaii for a few years I grew to looooove sticky rice. And these guys make it oh so well.
Go here and eat. Eat lots.
I would give this place 5 stars if they had a larger menu. The menu is really small. Then again it does make choosing heat to eat pretty easy.

Yum Zap is among a new «pod» of food carts on Belmont; part of the food cart craze that is consuming Portland. They had several selections – all spicy, as their name implies. Mine was extremely flavorful (#6) and plan on going back when I have a minute.

Yum Zap really is the soul sister of nearby Namu Killer BBQ, meaning with your meat or tofu, you are served several vegetables, along with rice.
The newness and variety of the SE Belmont and 43^rd food pod drew me back for a second weekend in a row. I imagine it will continue to do so, noticing this weekend that there were two new food carts that will be opening in September. I’ll be very interested in seeing (tasting) what the new Eurotrash cart is all about.
So tonight, I introduced myself to Yum Zap by ordering the Kao Khlook Kapi. This was my first experience with sweet pork, and I very much liked. The a-​little-​bit-​reddish rice had a dark earthy flavor that took some getting used to, but in the end was probably OK.
The plate also came with scrambled egg for an extra hit of protein, finely sliced Bermuda onion, cucumber and a tiny cup of soup.
When my order was ready, the gal at the counter gave me fairly elaborate instructions on how to use the diced red and green jalapeño and wedge of lime to obtain the desired level of hotness. And yes, the jalapeño was very hot.
The soup, with sliced scallion, reminded me of miso soup, but was different in that it was sweeter. Very delicious, actually.
The remaining fruit and vegetable items: finely sliced apple, finely sliced shallot and cucumber come as they are, meaning they are the fresh item, not marinated or seasoned with anything. I mostly liked them all, but honestly don’t know about eating raw shallot. Doesn’t work so well for me.
Still, I like that for a cheap price, you can get such an amazing variety on a single plate.

Yum Zap Thai food cart at SE 43^rd & Belmont in Portland, Oregon. Authentic and delectable Thai food created by «Apple» the owner and chef. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

There are more thai options in Portland than almost anything else. It’s amazing to see another place open and try to stake its claim. Yum Zap, which is part of the «Good Food Here» cart cluster on SE 43^rd and SE Belmont takes a very specific approach to the cuisine with a northern Thai flair.
Pros:
— Solid Northern Thai Food. My Kao Soi was extremely tasty and the frozen coconut juice a perfect accompaniment.
— Good veg and non veg options.
Cons:
— Not a cheap eat for carts, ~$ 7.50 per dish is a little more than other thai carst.
— Orders take a bit of time. Without a crowd our order took quite a while.
Yum Zap is solid Northern Thai done right, worth the wait and the additional expense.

I don’t know what I like more, the pickiness of the ingredients or the final product. We spoke with the chef/​owner at length during our most recent visit, and several of the dishes have up to 13 ingredients in them, some requiring a lot of prep time. The final result is subtle, layered flavors, tender meats, and Thai food unlike the typical menus around town. Yesterday I had the special entrée and fabulous mango with sticky rice dessert. The entrée was something I had never had before. It was Hung Ley Moo, stewed pork, ginger, garlic, pickled garlic, chili paste over rice. it was tender and so good. Had very satisfying noodles on a previous visit. The menu is small but has specials, and as another reviewer said, on Wednesdays they do veggie only so they have an expanded veg menu. They also have a sinfully addictive imported coconut juice. The Good Food Here pod is batting a thousand so far, can’t wait to try the other tempting carts! 8 carts so far and it looks like they have room for a bunch more.

A new Northern Thai cart?! Hell yes! And near my house? Even better.
The Good Food Here cart pod is developing quite nicely, and is currently offering up Yum Zap, a stark-​white, brand-​new food cart that serves up a varying (by day) menu of tasty treats. Fruit fried rice, Khao Soi Hairing, Kao Yum, NorMai Pad Woon Sen, and similar type dishes complete the 6 to 8 item menu. Paired with some basic drink offerings, this is pretty much a down-​to-​business operation. Oh, and on Wednesdays, it’s an all-​vegetarian menu.
I sampled the Khao Soi Hairing, which they claim to be a northern style khao soi, but it has coconut milk in it (not the same as the northern style I’ve had elsewhere, but what the hell do I know, I’m not Thai). It’s basically noodles in a thick peanut-​y coconut curry gravy with a smattering of fancy mushrooms, a giant shiitake, and a couple of hunks of fried tofu. At $ 7.50, it was a tad pricey, but the gravy had this nice, dirty goodness to it that exuded a street-​food essence. Between the richness of the gravy and the pile of noodles, it’s quite a filling dish. The assorted button, oyster, king and similar mushrooms were a very nice treat. Overall, a tasty, comforting dish that I could easily eat again, and a nice change of pace from your average Thai menu item.
I’m definitely looking forward to coming back to try some more northern Thai treats, and to suss out what really stands out on the menu. Until then, it’s a solid 4 star effort.