when portland's chinatown started coming up, chinatown moved to 82nd. there's still a block of chinese restaurants on sw 4th between davis and everett, but portland's oldest, hung far low, hasn't been open in chinatown since 2005, and the space it used to occupy on 4th and couch now houses a hyperreal disney land of a pan asian place. hung far low reopened as a bar at the northeast corner of 82nd and division, and a few blocks east of there is wong's king seafood restaurant, the place in portland to go for dim sum.
after coming back from a late lunch at wong's king i couldn't look at the hens in the backyard without feeling somewhat guilty -- or without a curious pang of appetite. they don't grant wishes like the one from the monkey in that w. w. jacobs story, and they don't represent such an enduring cultural archetype either, although they do enjoy a special cultural status among certain groups of non-chinese around portland. among the many fantastic meats on offer from the dim sum carts at wong's king, the aspics and the fried things wrapped in rice oblaats or baked into dumplings, the most exotic and challenging is the chicken paw. just try saying the words without wanting to try one. the mantra is a wish granted unto itself. and you get to say it every time you smile and hand over a takeout box. the paws are served in fours.
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