Samurai Bento

Samurai used to be my favourite food cart downtown, but a month or two ago it completely changed. I don’t see the same people working there anymore, so perhaps there’s new ownership?
At any rate, the katsu has completely different breading and is not half as flavourful, and last time I ordered the ginger pork it was almost completely devoid of sauce/​flavour. Not even salt! They also don’t include as many vegetables and don’t garnish the rice with salt and sesame seeds anymore.
Bummer.

Excellent food cart in the downtown Alder pod. Has a interesting menu of various bento options all of which look very appetizing. I got the Yakisoba noodles which was very tasty and a lot of food for 7 bucks! definitely recommended if you’re looking for a nice filling lunch. Go early though, as this is a very popular cart and the lines are very long after 12 – 1230

First time ever at a food cart! Pretty excited. So it was myself and 3 teenage boys… pretty much a food porn group btw. OMG was this not divine!!! We had the Agedashi Tofu and the Ginger Pork… holy yummy goodness in a box! Definitely a go back for more! Smiles and pretty good deal! Those 2 dishes fed the 4 of us. Drooling thinking about it!

While I was waiting in line to order, a man behind me told me that a prominent Japanese filmmaker stops to eat at this truck when he’s in Portland — jury’s still out on whether that’s true, but why wouldn’t it be? It’s not often that you see Japanese street food, much less Japanese street food done well.
Japanese food is expensive in my hometown, but here I paid around $ 6 for the veggie croquette with a generous portion of rice, which was my lunch for two days. Awesome value, very tasty food, polite service. My only complaint is how long it took for my food to come out after ordering.

I stopped by this cart after waiting in line forever at the Hawaiian food cart mid afternoon. Thought good selection and how could I go wrong with yakisoba? The guy working was very nice but I soon regretted ordering as I could not get over watching him handle raw chicken, cash, and then back to putting the foil to line the to go boxes all without once washing his hands. Was tempted to cancelled my order but I was starving and was willing to chance salmonella. I just ate off the top of my dish and will now recook my leftovers.

I have been eating here sense there was this cart, the bratwurst guy and the crêpe lady and that was all. One of the best tofu dishes you will find anywhere

I went there and had the pork katsu don. It was fantastic with the perfect mixture of eggs rice and onion. The pork cutlets were freshly breaded although a bit tough which is the only thing holding this place back from the five stars. I plan on going back next week and trying either the karaage or the adedshi tofu. All I can say is the food is definitely worth every penny and they could easily get away with charging a few bucks more and it still being an amazing value.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: This pod makes me happy to live downtown. If I move to the ‘burbs, this and Luc Lac will be what I miss most. The best time to check this pod out is around lunchtime on weekdays. It’ll be busy and you may have to wait a bit for your food, but at least most of the carts will be open!
I finally made it over here on a weekday just to try Samurai. To me, bento isn’t really street food, but I guess in Portland, bento carts are a thing. I’ll go with it. I got the Agedashi Tofu, $ 6, easily two meals for me. Two delicious, moist, gingery meals. Their tofu is silky, not firm, but has the most delicious deep fried crust. Brown rice is no extra charge and everything is covered in that delicious ginger sauce. Next time I’d ask for it on the side, because by the time I ate the second half for dinner, the tofu got a bit mushy from sitting in a pool of sauce. Still, delicious. I found my garnish of raw baby carrots on the side a bit strange, but it’s whatever. Edamame was a nice touch.
Can’t wait to try more of their entrees!

Oh wow, as someone who frequents the downtown food carts, I wish I discovered this cart sooner! I finally decided to give it a go today and ordered the yakisoba with pork. SO delicious!
The guy who runs the cart is pretty much the sweetest cart owner ever. We had a nice conversation as he cooked, and he was all smiles. In my opinion, interaction with the person cooking your food is a huge part of the cart experience, so it made me happy.
The food was very flavourful, and I scarfed it down so fast that I only wished I would have bought more for leftovers. I just kept mumbling, «so… fucking… good…» to my friend who was driving, as I shoved more noodly porky goodness in my mouth. I’m one to enjoy a bit of spice, so I did add sriracha, which brought it to perfection.
I’ll be hitting Samurai again soon to try some of the other items on the menu… but that’s always so difficult when you find a dish you want more of! I’m drooling just thinking about it.

So. Good.
I ordered the ginger pork and brown rice and it is probably the best Japanese food that isn’t sushi I’ve ever had. The portions were huge (for mine anyway, my husband’s meal was not quite as large as mine) but I wouldn’t have wanted to share it. It’s too good for sharing. The prices are very reasonable. I would have happily paid a little more for what we got.
If you only eat at one food cart in Portland, make it this one.

As a guy who’s had a ton of chicken teriyaki, donkatsu, ramen, udon, sushi, etc, the Japanese food offered here is as good as it gets. The gyudon I had here is the only one that tasted exactly like the one I had in Japan a few years ago, and the donkatsudon is really really good too.
My only gripe is that the meat-​to-​rice ratio is a bit off. I’m not a meat lover don’t get me wrong, I eat accordingly. But I always have a whole bunch of white rice left with some onions after I’m about halfway through it. A bit more sauce or meat to compensate would be nice.
All in all though, this place is a must try for those who haven’t tried Japanese food other than yakisoba and chicken teriyaki.

Friday at food carts,
Curry chicken karaage,
Perfect harmony.

Thank God I came to Portland on a Friday. The original plans called for Saturday arrival but I pushed it forward — if not, I would not have had the opportunity to bask in the glory of the Samurai pork katsu-​don.
It was the lunch special of the day, and even though Japanese food wasn’t at the top of my PDX wishlist [I’m from Seattle, it’s not like we have a short supply of tasty options!] we were wandering this food pod a little later in the afternoon — as in 3pm. Most carts close at 3 on weekdays, I guess… Samurai was open ’til 4 and smelled amazing.
So we went with it.
If they had been open over the weekend, we probably would have ended up with at least three or four meals here. So. Good.
As has been mentioned, Miyazaki Hayao of Studio Ghibli likes this spot. That’s +10 street cred, and +100 nerd cred. I’m a nerd, so as I read the article about Miyazaki’s experiences, my mouth started watering even more in excitement.
I was not disappointed.
The sweet man taking care of everybody was all smiles and obviously is a fantastic cook. I wanted to give him a hug as my boyfriend and I dug into the perfectly breaded pork katsu laid atop its sexy egg, onion and sauce bed. It reminded me of being in high school, with my Japanese teacher [an amazing cook] giving us a tutorial for how to cook donburi. Just thinking about it makes me so happy I could cry.
You’d be hard pressed to find a tastier rendition of katsu-​don, particularly at this price point.

I have been partaking of this carts offerings ever since it opened. The dishes were $ 5 back then, and now are up to 7 $, but still a great price for great food. My favorite is the Yakitori. But, their Yakisoba is wonderful, as is their curry dish (pork or chicken katsu). In the beginning the owner and his wife, and her adult son were running the cart. Now it is the helpful and smiling young Japanese man who is always a pleasure to talk to. Cheerful and efficient. The best food cart in Portland.

I asked the cart operator what the most popular item was. Without hesitation, he mentioned the teriyaki chicken ($ 7). I also noticed I could get it spicy… so one spicy teriyaki chicken for me!
The food was cooked to order, ready in a few minutes. A bed of rice topped with thin strips of chicken, all basically in a small puddle of teriyaki sauce, plus some steamed vegetables on the side. The chef added some dried chili flakes/​powder of some sort on the chicken. And sure, for some presentation (and more flavor), add some chopped green onions!
The sweet-​savory teriyaki sauce really heightened this dish. Without question, one of the better teriyaki sauces I’ve had. The thin chicken pieces were still juicy and cooked with precision. The spice topping the chicken added a tinge of heat, but did not disrupt my food gorging. And hey, you gotta love eating rice laced in teriyaki sauce! Let’s hear it for flavor! *cheers*
People have also raved about the Agedashi Tofu ($ 6), seemingly the ideal dish for vegetarians (and even meat-​eaters like myself). The yakisoba ($ 7) and the oyako donburi ($ 7) also garnered positive feedback. The cart operator also recommends the katsudon ($ 7). Then again, I doubt you could go wrong here, as just about everything on the menu is $ 7 or cheaper.
Samurai wielded its sword and masterfully blew me away! Check them out ASAP!

Awesome. I came to the food stands with a big group and we went our separate ways — and part of the feast I bought for lunch included Samurai’s Akedashi Tofu.
Gooooood.
So, it’s $ 6 and involves fried tofu. I’m in, right? But it also comes with rice — that actually has some flavor — and veggies including tasty edamame. And of course, le tofu. It was as promised — lightly floured and then fried, with a ginger sauce. The texture wasn’t what I imagined, and the pieces a bit larger than I expected, but it was very good. Had I eaten all the rice/​veggies, it’s easily a very filling meal.

I hope the folks that received my chicken ordered enjoyed it. I enjoyed their steak and veggies. No worries on the mix-​up.
The steak was nice and tender and had really terrific smoky, grilled flavour to it. The veggies that came with it were crisp and flavourful as well. The rice though, it was a bit dry as there wasn’t much teriyaki sauce in the box. But that just helped me stick to my diet so everything really all worked out for the best.
I wonder if those people that got my chicken came back looking for their steak? I am not so sure I would give it up. I’ll give the chicken a go next time.

After a long stint out of the country, I came to realize how important good customer service is to me–
At Samurai Bento, I get amazing customer service. I always receive a smile (and a bit of conversation), and there is never any pressure to spend money– and their food– Nomnomnom– so good. I always get the terriyaki chicken (the most generic of all dishes, I know, leave me alone), which I tastes great.
But again, it’s the customer service that pushes this food cart from 4 stars to 5 for me. Oh, and the tip jar: «please feed me. Thank you. I love you.» Haha, gets me every time.

Vegetable Croquettes $ 4
Hamburger Bento $ 7
The veggie croquettes were very soft interior and a light crispy exterior. It was fried just right. There were 3 pieces and it came with edamame and dipping sauce.
The hamburger bento contained 2 hamburger patties, potato salad, and rice. The patties were soft and laden with sauce. The rice was topped by black sesame seeds.
This place definitely has regulars and the guy who works the joint is super nice. We were short 50 cents because we’re not accustomed to carrying cash, but he just fished it out of the tip jar for us.
Much thanks to Samuari Bento.

ICHI-​BAN! BENTO CART NUMBER ONE!
I really, really respect what these guys do in this little cart. I have been going here for years, but went on a long hiatus when I stopped working downtown. Now I am back with a vengeance, and am now eating up Samurai every chance I get. Who could have guessed that 2 of the BEST CARTS IN PORTLAND could sit one right next to the other (see Sawasdee Thai next door)?!?
Yakisoba with a fried egg on top. Oyako Donburi with the delicious suteed chicken and onions with egg on top. Damn good teriyaki (no egg on top). Agedashi tofu!!! All around the $ 5-​$ 7 range. Very authentic. Very Japanese. Very, oh so very, delicious.
The flavors are sublime, the quality is tops, and the service is very friendly.
Have lunch, Samurai-​style. You won’t be disappointed.