(Source: Eater Portland)

The popular TikTok mother-son duo share their favorite restaurants in Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and more!

AlmostAlmost every video Ed Kim posts on TikTok begins one way: a smiling image of his mother, Jane Kim, sitting across from him at a restaurant, saying, “I’m so hungry!”

The Kims are the people behind The Korean Mama, the Portland-based TikTok account with almost 700,000 followers and more than 24 million likes. Ed takes his mother to various restaurants in Portland, places like Gabbiano’s, Jinju, and Afuri, and films her reactions while they eat. Occasionally, she tries specific cuisines or dishes for the first time, like Filipino food or bubble tea; either way, she speaks candidly in both Korean and English, either giving dishes a “ten out of ten” or critiquing execution with a kindhearted smile. 

The Kims have lived in Portland for more than three decades — since Ed was three — and dining out was a family ritual for the two of them. Before Jane and Ed posted their first video in 2022, they would go out to eat in Portland about once a week. Now, they’re visiting restaurants three or four times each week to record videos, sometimes on the same day. “Before TikTok, he would explore all the restaurants for me,” Jane Kim says of her son. “I had been only to basic, simple restaurants. But he would say, ‘Let’s go here, let’s go there.’ We go to fancy spots, small spots, cafes, and they all have really good food.”

The Kims spoke with Eater to share their favorite restaurants in Portland and the surrounding suburbs, for everything from Korean barbecue to tiramisu. 

Korean food: Umma

When asked for their favorite Korean restaurant, the Kims immediately named Umma in Hillsboro, where they’ll often order things like yukgaejang, a spicy beef soup with glass noodles, and galbitang, a beef short rib soup. “It feels like umma’s cooking, mom’s cooking,” Jane says. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Where’s a good Korean restaurant?’ And I always say, ‘Number one is Umma restaurant in Hillsboro.’” 2020 NE Cornell Road, Suite I, Hillsboro

Korean barbecue: Kkoki

When the Kims go out for Korean barbecue, they almost always head to Kkoki, which Jane likes for the quality of meat. When they sit down, Jane begins her Korean barbecue ritual: She cleans off the grill, dries off the provided ssam greens, and cuts the lettuce into smaller bite-sized pieces. Their order: beef brisket, pork belly, beef belly, and the LA galbi. “We almost always stick to that order, every time,” Ed says. 8001 SE Powell Blvd O

Eastside dining: Fairview Deli and Korean Food

Ed and Jane have a soft spot in their heart for this small Fairview-area deli, which serves a number of sandwiches as well as Korean dishes like bimbap, japchae, and kimbap. While Ed was growing up, his parents ran a Beaverton burger restaurant they have since sold, and Fairview reminds him of that period of his family’s life. “We got their turkey club sandwich, but they do a very Korean thing and add a fried egg to it,” Ed says. 

“I was so surprised by the fried egg,” Jane says. “It was a unique idea, and it’s an upgrade.” 1606 NE 223rd Avenue, Fairview

New restaurant: Warsugai

Jane and Ed recently checked out this new restaurant from former Danwei Canting owner Kyo Koo, and loved the nostalgic nature of the concept. “A lot of their dishes were inspired by the Asian restaurants we used to go to out in Beaverton, for example,” Ed says. “Although it’s not ‘super traditional’ Asian food, that’s common at a lot of these places I’ve been to.” 727 SE Washington Street

Pizza: The Turning Peel

While Ed also likes places like Apizza Scholls and Ken’s Artisan, the mother-son duo adore this relatively new Division pizzeria, which specializes in 11-inch pies. “We really like their sourdough Neapolitan-style pizza,” Ed says. “Their hospitality, their pizza, and their space is really unique.” 4546 SE Division Street

Celebration dinner: Gabbiano’s

Typically, for celebrations, Jane cooks dinner. But upon visiting this Killingsworth Italian restaurant, the Kims fell in love — particularly with the tiramisu, which Jane described as melt-in-your-mouth. “To me, it had this slight citrusy, zesty something in it, maybe some Cointreau, that made it very unique,” Ed says. 5411 NE 30th Avenue

Food cart: Doyaji

The traveling Korean food cart Doyaji is a favorite among the Kims, who usually order the gochujang hot honey Korean fried chicken or the cured pork belly barbecue box. But, when Doyaji sells it, Ed and Jane always order mattang, a Korean candied sweet potato dish. “When I was a girl, they would sell this in the street,” Jane says. “It tastes like childhood.” Rotating locations

Seafood: Bag O’ Crab

Jane loves seafood, and she describes the Northeast 82nd location of this seafood boil chain as her “number one.” Her order: The combination of head-on shrimp and Dungeness crab, Louisiana flavor, medium heat. 3255 NE 82nd Avenue

Pho: Pho Hung or Pho Oregon

Jane and Ed get pho at lease once a week, almost always at either Pho Hung or Pho Oregon. For her: extra tendon and tripe, no meatballs. For him: everything, minus the tripe. Often, that means the two will trade cuts at the table — she’ll throw brisket or meatballs in his bowl for all the tripe she can get. “Other places, they’re still good, they have their own taste,” Jane says. “But Pho Hung and Pho Oregon, those are the places we go.” 4717 SE Powell Blvd, 2518 NE 82nd Avenue

Hot Pot: Happy Lamb

Ed and Jane get hot pot fairly often, but they are very loyal to the Beaverton location of this Inner Mongolian chain. “I just don’t know of another place that lives up to it,” Ed says. “For Portland, Beaverton standards, it’s probably the best you can get.” Ed also reports that his mother always out-eats him in an all-you-can-eat hot pot scenario, and still has room for boba afterward. 3861 SW 117th Avenue A, Beaverton

Honorable mentions from Ed

Bun Bo Hue Restaurant: “We went to Bun Bo Hue Restaurant once, and mom liked it so much she had to go back next week by herself, before work.” 7002 SE 82nd Avenue

The Soop: “We just really love what they’re doing; the owner is so, so nice. We thought the quality of the food there was really good.” 1902 W Burnside Street

Golden Triangle: “They have salt and pepper Dungeness crab and Laotian spaghetti — really unique stuff — and they do a really cool job with it.” 9320 SE Woodstock Blvd