Ooo Nobibi

If your looking for a new Instagramable spot to check out look no further! OOO Nobibi just opened up it’s first Oregon location. Located in Canyon Place Shopping Center out in Beaverton this specialty ice cream and bubble tea shop is truly unique. It was scheduled to open fall 2019 but opened a little sooner than expected! My friends and I had the chance to go visit it on labor day and to my knowledge it had only been open for a few weeks before that. They had soft launched opening in late August. The first week of opening Nobibi was featured on many local Portlander’s Instagram stories. My friends and I had a pretty rough shift on labor day morning so to head out to Nobibi was a great way to decompress.

OOO Nobibi has a really great ambiance there. The pastel pink, gold, and marbled white color scheme really makes there lobby feel very open, inviting, and playful. At the same time they set it up in a way that is also very classy at the same time. I appreciate that they provide different types of seating within their main lobby. From a cushioned benches, cushioned arm chairs, to out door seating Nobibi has options. They have large glass storefront walls providing very good natural lighting inside. One of their most memorable decorative pieces in the cafe is the large pink and white feather accent pieces lining a corner of the cafe.

Dream Cloud is a specialty item served with cotton candy and your choice of soft serve

Like I mentioned before this is an ice cream and bubble tea specialty cafe! They have a pretty diverse selection to choose from. They have a very nice menu that you can look at when you arrive. They have one displayed up on a few monitors as well as tangible ones that you can look at as well. Being my first time there one thing I really liked was that the menu was easy to read even with their cute creative names they had a picture and description of each menu item. I really enjoy specialty cafes such as this because they really do things well! As far as treats served their most things involved soft serve ice cream. They currently only serve four flavors but they rotate them out quite frequently. When I had visited they had chocolate, salted caramel, strawberry, and pineapple soft served available. I saw that later that week the had swapped out pineapple for a matcha soft serve. You can find soft serve treats from mini parfaits, soft serve with boba, soft serve cones with various toppings, and even soft serve with cotton candy! When I had visited I purchased one of their most popular treats the dream cloud. This was their soft serve of your choice, I chose a swirl of strawberry and pineapple. this item comes with a “cloud” of cotton candy wrapped around the cup. It’s lightly dusted with freezer dried strawberry bits (I really loved this touch it was a nice contrast to the soft and sweet cotton candy.) and gold shimmer. They also top of the soft serve with some good traditional Pocky sticks and a toasted marshmallow! Ten out of Ten for sure and highly recommend everyone to try it at least once. Moving on to their drink selection Nobibi offers six styles of tea and have about twenty five different teas to choose from! Sparkling, tea latte, fresh milk ice blend, fresh fruit ice blend, cheese tea, and fruit tea are the six styled tea categories found on the menu. All teas can have honey boba, crystal boba, Oreo crumbs, light cheese cream, or soft serve float added to the drink for an extra charge. I was particularly interested in their sparkling tea the workers described it to me as a nice refreshing drink. I ended up trying their Sakura Blossom drink! This is the first drink listed on their menu its a rose and lychee based drink and I pared it with their crystal boba. I would absolutely get this again!

When you come here you can expect to spend in between five to ten dollars person depending on how much an individual is willing to spend and wanting to get. I intentionally came here to get both a drink and a treat. I spent about five dollars for my drink and I bought their most expensive treat the dream cloud for ten dollars so I spent closer to fifteen dollars. I felt was considerably good pricing since this was a plan I had set to go out with my friends. Overall I would rate this place to have very fair prices for what they’re offering.

Customer service here was great! We were greeted with a friendly hello as we entered. The staff showed a very respectable attitude to help any one with any questions they had. We also never felt rushed while we were taking time to look at the menu. They were all very present and attentive to all the guest who came in even after us.

The audience that Nobibi attracts is very diverse! I can see that this business has an appeal to all! While visiting there I saw couples together on dates, families with younger children, and groups of friends just hanging out. There was a pretty equal gender ratio present in there main part of their cafe as well. To all my foodies out there this is a perfect place for you to snap some aesthetic food pictures.

Nobibi is open seven days a week. Monday through Wednesday they open at noon and close at eight pm. Thursday to Friday noon till nine pm. Saturday and Sunday open for a more extended hours from eleven till nine pm. It seems that they are more busier in the evenings during the week and all day weekends. While I was their it wasn’t too crowded at all. However I had gone in their first few weeks of being open and I can tell they’re only going to get more and more popular!

It’s always great when a restaurant offers rewards. Nobibi has their own rewards set up so when you check out you can input your phone number. For every dollar spent you get one dollar in rewards. Once you hit 60 points they reward you with a free drink or cone. 120 points rewards the guest with a free cone with 24k gold flakes or their dream cloud. Two of their most expensive and most popular items! Super easy rewards program with nothing tied to it other than gaining free treats!

I really enjoyed my visit to Ooo Nobibi. The cafe itself way surpassed my expectations, considering the fact that I had seen it online and was already very hyped up to check out this place. So if you happen to be out in Beaverton definitely stop by to grab one of there drinks or sit down and stay a while and treat yourself to some of their soft serve.

Until Next Thyme,

Tahni Warner

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See you next week

A post shared by Nobibi PDX (@nobibi_pdx) on Aug 8, 2019 at 10:48pm PDT

Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai

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It’s my birthday month so Pip’s Doughnuts was at the top of my list of places to write about! This place has such a special place in my heart. I have had so many fond memories made here. Pip’s is one of the main Portland birthday stops to go to on your birthday! They offer a free dozen of their doughnuts on the day of your birthday! To busy celebrating on the day of your birthday? No worries Pip’s extends the free dozen of birthday doughnuts to be claimed up to seven days after your birthday. I started going here a couple years back when some of my closest friends expressed how much they loved this doughnut shop and they would always go on their birthdays! From there we started a tradition of going all together on each other’s birthdays.

Pip’s hours are eight am to four pm every day of the week. I personally typically go early in the morning. In the past Pip’s has been known to sell out. So the sooner you go the higher chance you have to choose from their whole selection. Over the years they have done a really good job having enough product to consistently stay open for all their hours. Selling out just shows how popular they are among Portlanders as well as tourists. If you try to visit their store front location after four pm unfortunately you’re out of luck. However Pip’s has evolved over time and has become mobile as well! Find Pip’s doughnuts in their mobile food truck. You can spot there mobile truck at various events throughout Portland. Having a late night doughnut craving as well as find a cool Portland night scene. Once every couple months The Portland Night Market occurs and you can find their mobile truck in the heart of the food hub there.

Pip’s Doughnuts Tradition Birthday get Together

Other than their famous doughnuts Pip’s is well known for their chai. The chai and doughnuts go hand in hand together for a very perfect pairing of flavors. There are a lot of places around Portland that are very good at specialty coffees and drinks. There is not many places around Portland that really focus on specialty chai other than Pip’s. Pip’s offers chai mug sizes from small, medium, large, as well as a whole tasting flight of chai one of each of their offered flavors. I highly recommend trying their chai The King and I. This is my favorite chai that I always order. This chai is unique because it is a blend of chai and thai tea. Chai not your thing? No worries Pip’s maybe well known for their chai but the have a selection of other warm beverages such as coffee, green tea, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider.

Pip’s offers a small but diverse selection of their doughnuts. Their doughnuts are made ready by order. All doughnuts have the same base of the doughnut its self and variations of the doughnut are created by the different topping the put on them. You can find flavors, Cinnamon Sugar, Raw Honey, Nutella and Sea Salt, Candied Maple Bacon, and Dirty Wu (cinnamon sugar, nutella, and sea salt) all year around. Pip’s is known to have a seasonal rotating flavor for their doughnuts and a few secret underground flavors as well. You can order them in a set of six, eight, or twelve with whatever flavors you like. Don’t be intimidated to order a whole dozen of doughnuts, these doughnuts are bite sized you can eat them in one to two bites. When ordering a dozen of doughnuts I recommend ordering two of each flavor for there is always six featured flavors. A dozen of doughnuts can easily be consumed by one to two people depending on how hungry you are. Both chai and doughnuts are available for dine in if your planning on hanging out at their location. You can also take them to go if you’re in a hurry but still need to get you doughnut and chai fix.

Pricing for both chai and doughnuts are reasonable. The larger amount of doughnuts you order the cheaper price per doughnut gets. For a batch of four doughnuts you will be paying about one dollar per doughnut compared to ordering a dozen you will be paying closer to fifty cents per doughnut. Chai prices are the price you would pay anywhere else for a specialty drink.

Customer service at Pip’s is very impressive. The whole environment embodies a very welcoming and friendly ambiance that is cultivated from the workers there. They way the workers treat the customers with positive interactions and respect really gives you that feeling of wanting to return back. Service is also very quick so you don’t have to wait long to receive your doughnuts and chai.

Pips has been very vocal on their social media platforms about being #communitynotcompetition. They’re very caring towards their employees making sure to ensure that they have a good work environment. Things that I have heard that they have done for their employees is pay them higher than minimum wage, make a lot of benefits available, as well as putting their employees safety first by being reasonably cautious when it snowed.

The business attracts a very diverse audience. You can find mom’s with their children, families, young adults, people from various ethnic groups and backgrounds. Reason being is because of the vision Pip’s has established as a business.

Pip’s is located in the in North East Portland in the Beaumont District. Found among small business buildings with a nice residential area surrounding it. Street Parking is available up and down Fremont Street for free parking up to one to two hours. Otherwise you can also park on small street sides close by with no parking limits. Either way its pretty easy to find parking. Most people only spend between thirty minutes up to an hour at Pips anyways.

If you really fall in love with this place like I have I encourage you to start up a punch card with them. For every visit you get one punch if you buy either a chai or a dozen of doughnuts. Once you get six punches you will receive a free chai or dozen of doughnuts. If you would like to represent a small business like this two you can find various Pip’s doughnuts merchandise found at their brick and mortar store front.

So stop by Pip’s during your birthday month to receive your free dozen of doughnuts! I know I’ll be back in the next few days. Order their seasonal flavor, try a chai, and take a picture at their famous mural when you stop by.

Until Next Thyme,

Tahni Warner

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La Neta

Today marks the very first day of Chinese Lunar New Year so let me take you to
the grand entrance of a very iconic area in Portland; the gates of Chinatown. Located right next to the gates stands the Hoxton Hotel.

The hotel is a tall building framed with a chic black style with a total of eight floors. The other half of the hotel is a nice matte white building, and this is the part of the hotel in where you can find the la Neta.

The la Neta is one of the three restaurants you can find in the Hoxton Hotel. The hotel has a small coffee shop, Proud Mary Coffee right inside next to the lobby. Also found next to the lobby across from Proud Mary Coffee is the la Neta. Downstairs you’ll find Basement Bar a Chinese-American inspired speakeasy lounge. On the very top of the Hoxton hotel you can find Tope a rooftop taco bar. For now though let’s focus back into the la Neta. Like I mentioned earlier the la Neta is found on the ground floor as you walk though the lobby. This restaurant is open everyday all day from 7 am to 11 pm.

You can find the la Neta right in the heart of Chinatown, but don’t be fooled by it’s location this is not a Chinese restaurant. If you’re looking for an authentic Chinese restaurant I would recommend to you to continue your walk down 4th street to find various Chinese food offerings. Or maybe head downstairs to Basement Bar for their Chinese American snack food choices. The la Neta is actually a crossed cultured cuisine with a bit of Mexican and a bit of Pacific Northwest flare.

Outside at the Front of the Hoxton Hotel

The typical length of stay is anywhere between 30 minutes~ 1.5 hours depending on what your planning on accomplishing during your dining experience. They have a good sense of timing everything just right. They can help you eat and drink in a reasonable time frame if you just need to eat and go. The la Neta also creates an nice and welcoming environment for those who would like to have a longer dining stay.

Honestly this is such an ideal location as far as downtown goes. You multiple options for parking. Right across from the hotel their is street side parking. The street parking is pretty cheap for $2.00 per hour. Street parking is a bit limited, especially if you plan on going during the busier times of the day. For more street parking options you can drive just a few blocks away and park at Portland’s well known North Park Blocks. Located just north west of the hotel about 3-4 blocks down. I highly recommend trying to find a street side parking spot! The prices are lower and the walk is short to get to the hotel. There is also a fairly large parking lot right behind the building that you can park at. This lot is not a bad place to park however, it is a bit more on the expensive side. Depending what time of the week it is prices will only increase but you are likely to come across prices between $5.00 ~ $15.00 dollars depending on how long your parked. It also is pretty tight parking set up and has a weird flow on how to enter and exit the parking lot. If none of those parking options are not your cup of tea there are a few parking structures fairly close but they are definitely on the more expensive side. Either way parking is definitely not an issue when it comes to dining at the la Neta.

While dining at the restaurant I really got a good look at the type of customers the la Neta was attracting. The dining area and lounge are connected to one another. The lounge had a lot of smaller parties between 1 ~ 2 people sitting in their comfortable and stylish seating. Most of the people in this area where lightly eating while working on a laptop or reading. Since it is inside The Hoxton hotel there is access to complimentary wifi which made this space so appealing to people who need to get things done. I personally one of my visits took advantage of their free wifi and can say even though there were multiple people using it, the wifi was easy to connect to and was fast. The lounge also has a very nice bar top with a full bar. The main section of the dining area had a lot of casual business people gathered together eating lunch. The dining area could well accommodate both small or very large groups. This particular restaurant being ground level was very handicapped accessible. Although I noticed a large portion of the customers were business people, the la Neta as a whole was very welcoming to anyone regardless of their social or occupational standing.

Let me go over my impression of their interior very quickly. The inside was honestly so spectacular everything from the flooring, to seating, to tables, to light fixtures, and to art on the walls everything seem to go together. Yet even though it all seemed to go together each and every detail put into planning this full layout had each thing and every thing seen as its own. You’d see a long green couch, and solid wooden chairs with burnt orange cushions, a gold light fixture, tiled flooring, a solid wooden beam, and so much more. The interior cannot be justified really through words, I just encourage you to go in and see it all for yourself.

Overall ambiance was quite delightful. They had very nice music playing that really fit the vibe. It was very nice to listen to while working and it was not too loud to overpower any conversation you were having inside the restaurant. The customer service was a good balance of friendly and professional. Being greeted and sat by a host when you first arrived, conversing with your server, and seeing the manager go around and make sure that customers where enjoying their experience really was really nice to experience as a guest at the la Neta. All the employees were very well knowledgeable when it came to the menu as well as how to interact with each guest. I really enjoyed the fact that each employee’s attire was very clean and it showcased a mix of causal and formal. They all wore very nice aprons and underneath they wore an attire that allowed them to express them selves and their style as an individual.

It is quite common that a guest can very much so enjoy an experience but not receive an enjoyable experience in a future visit. I personally had the chance to go to the la Neta on three occasions. The first time I visited I was apart of a party of two. My sister and I had decided to finally go to Downtown Portland and check it out. This was just a few months after the la Neta had opened. We got sat at a window seat table right where the lounge and the main dining area meet. The second visit I went in a party of ten and they were easily adaptable to our large party. Seating us in their main dining area providing us a table where half of us sat on a long couch and the other half in sturdy stylish wooden chairs. And most recent visit I went alone to dine there where I was sat in their lounge seating area. Each time I went to the la Neta I never found myself disappointed because they kept a consistent quality of service, food, and drink.

The only thing that I realized from reflecting from each dining experience there was that the people you share a meal with really change the situation. I realized I enjoyed eating with my sister the most because we understood each other always providing each other good company. Eating alone is slightly uncomfortable but it healthy to go out and practice. Last but not least eating with a larger group brings upon multiple opinions.

One specific opinion that was vocalized to me from my friend was that for what he was getting the price was too expensive. To me however I felt most items were appropriately priced. Then I had to consider that maybe from the way I saw things was that the service, timing, production, freshness of food were all factors I was accounting for . And being the huge foodie that I am I was more willing to pay a prettier penny than him. From his perspective he was only factoring size and amount of food he saw. His point did have validity however even with his point in consideration I still feel that the prices were fair. I would say an average person can expect to go in and pay $15 ~ $20 dollars accounting for food, drink, and tip. The la Neta is casual but it is a little more upscale as well.

Let me get to the most important part of any restaurant, the food. The la Neta’s menu offers a pretty diverse list of options of food. From Mexican pastries, to Huevos Rancheros, to tacos, and so much more there is bound to be a little of something for all food palette interests in the Mexican cuisine. I ordered their la Mera Mera dish the first time I visited. You will find on this dish in house made corn tortillas, fresh avocado, perfectly cooked bacon, two over easy eggs, and roasted potatoes. May I just say a simple as this dish seems don’t be deceived, this dish is perfect. It fills you up very well to get throughout the day. I can also say that I’ve never had better bacon in my life. Everything offered on plate was prepared to a T making each component not more dominant than any others but perfectly pairing along side the other components. On other visits I tried their fish tacos, chia pudding, and cilantro rice. Each thing that I have tried was as delicious as the next thing.

Huevos Rancheros

In our culture now a days drinks are as or at least equally important than food is. The la Neta has a wide selection of alcoholic beverages which I personally cannot give my thoughts on being under age. But I do have somethings to say about their non alcoholic selection! I did want to mention as you sit down at your table you waiter offers you a choice between distilled or sparkling water which is another nice touch that helps define this restaurant as a more upscale. Okay so nonalcoholic beverages, since the la Neta shares the same roof as the Proud Mary Coffee shop in the Hoxton hotel, coffee beverages are able to be ordered while dining in the la Neta. They have a very nice steamed latte that I have ordered multiple times! You receive your coffee beverage with a very nice coffee artwork on top of your cup. Oh gosh but allow me to indulge myself in telling you about the la Neta’s Rose City Mule. By far one of the top drinks that have surprised me in tasting so good. A few things you should know about me is that I am such a huge ginger beer fan and a personal goal of mine is to try all kinds of brands of ginger beer and to try things I typically wouldn’t choose to order first. These two thing lead me to ordering this drink. What makes a mule a mule is the ginger beer found in the drink. What made this Mule so unique is that it was a ) non alcoholic and b) it was paired with coffee. Now pairing ginger beer with coffee seems pretty strange yet the la Neta definitely mastered this pairing. I will for sure always order this in the future and there are many of days where I want to drink this drink so bad I would think about going to the la Neta just so I can order this drink.

So obviously from the extent I’ve written about the la Neta I kinda really like this place a lot! I would 100% recommend this place to friends and I know for sure that I will be visiting more in the future. The la Neta has truly cultivated something so special within the walls of the Hoxton hotel. The have really set them selves apart in a positive way in the Portland food scene which is a hard thing to do with so many different food places in Portland. The restaurant has been opened for only a handful of months and has been pretty successful. It really shows through out the restaurant that they strive to become better and better each day by adding or changing their items on the menu to become even more appealing to guests. It is truly a one of a kind eating spot and if you’re an Instagram/foodie enthusiast this is a great place to experience. I’m excited to see what things the la Neta will bring to Portland in the future.

So if you happen to be in or exploring Chinatown or visiting the Lan Su Chinese Gardens for this Lunar New Year swing by and check out the la Neta for a drink or a bite to eat. Happy Lunar New Year to you all!

Until Next Thyme,

Tahni Warner

About Me

Welcome to my blog, It’s Eating Thyme.

I am Tahni Warner the creator of this blog. Ever since I was young my parents had risen my siblings and I to know how to cook. It was a very important life skill they had taught us because being apart of a large family we had many mouths to feed. Knowing how to cook from a young age cultivated a unique food culture in my life style. I was exposed to learning about how to cook and eat with fresh and healthier food alternatives whether or not I preferred those options as a child. Multiple allergens where also a thing in my family, so catering to those allergens was another thing we had to learn to do. I spent a lot of my time in the kitchen learning from both my mother and father.

I also remember in my middle school years I would watch a ton of food network as well as a ton of cheesy cooking anime’s. Later I realized how much these actually taught me, they weren’t all just fluff they actually held multiple cooking skills taught in the shows.

I chose to sign up for a professional technical class that I was already very familiar with, Culinary Arts for my main elective as I entered high school. For all four years attending high school while taking culinary arts, cooking and food became a huge part of my life. Each year even more and more so! I began in an introduction to Culinary Arts class and ended my senior year taking an internship class, the most advanced culinary class, and a teacher’s assistant class for Culinary Arts as well. I also competed in both individual and team Culinary Arts competitions through out high school with many medals and scholarships to show for from competing in them. I was also given the opportunity to go to nationals for one of the competitions one year! I honestly wouldn’t have had enjoyed high school at all if it weren’t for the amazing opportunity to be taking culinary arts in an amazing professional technical skills center that was offered in my education. I have many fond memories and friends from high school because of Culinary Arts.

Once I had the freedom of exploring on my own and with my friends beginning in early high school (cars really change your lifestyle a lot) we would always be out in the Portland food scene trying out all of the foods. One of my first places I remember exploring was Alberta street down in Portland. It truly gave me a small taste of what the Portland food scene was all about. From then on during any of my spare time you could find me venturing out in Portland checking out the newest spots and trendiest foods of the current time.

As I graduated from high school attending culinary school for college was a highly consider option for me. However there are a lot of factors that weigh in onto a decision. In the end I decided that staying in my hometown of Portland was what I wanted to do. I pursued college for a year studying business but I soon realized that college was just not for a person like me.

The last couple of years in high school I maintained a part time job in the food industry in a smaller scale food service job. I was an all around person from food prepping, working on the line, dishes, and cashiering. I worked up to a lead position but after working there for three years I moved over to another job in the food industry. I moved into a full service restaurant and began as a host worked up to busser/takeout, server, and now as a community brand ambassador for the restaurant I work for. I have an amazing community of fellow co workers there and I’m growing more in more in my work every day.

So that leads me to now. With all this knowledge and experience in the food culture, what could I do with all of what I have obtained? That’s where my blog, It’s Eating Thyme was inspired from. I can go to many restaurants, cafes, and other food spots and write about my experience and what each place has to offer. I can look at each place with a unique perspective of all the elements that go into a food business. From service, ambiance, taste, aesthetic, attitudes, presentation, timing, and so much more. I can highlight these details for each place I visit. I’m excited to continue to pursue my love in exploring the food culture and bringing you all along to experience it with me.

Until next thyme,

Tahni Warner.