From a press release today –
Restaurant by Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly gives their COVID-19 pivot a brick-and-mortar space
Portland, Ore. (September 2, 2020) — Oma’s Takeaway, a casual Indonesian-Chinese restaurant by Gado Gado Chef Thomas Pisha-Duffly and Mariah Pisha-Duffly, opens its doors in Portland, Oregon. A Gado Gado spinoff that focused on takeout and ran from April through July, Oma’s Takeaway now occupies the former Whiskey Soda Lounge space at 3131 SE Division Street.
Named after Chef Thomas Pisha-Duffly’s tenacious and hard-working grandmother (Oma), and a nod to Mariah Pisha-Duffly‘s first job working at French fry stand called The Takeaway, the couple launched Oma’s Takeaway as a pop-up that embraced the takeout model. First housed in an eccentrically decorated tent in Gado Gado’s front parking lot, Oma’s Takeaway offered hearty entrées at affordable prices, with no-contact ordering and pick-up. When a desirable restaurant space became available this summer, the Pisha-Dufflys, along with business partner Toby Roberts, jumped at the chance to give Oma’s Takeaway its own address.
Like Gado Gado, the menu at Oma’s Takeaway is rooted in Straits-Chinese cuisine, often referred to as Peranakan — a confluence of flavors and techniques from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, its Dutch colonizers, and beyond. The restaurant opens with a menu broken into Snacks & Salads and Meat & Curries, with a central section highlighting Nasi Lemak, the national dish of Malaysia.
Opening dishes include Seleda Nanas, pineapple salad with red grapes, celery, cashews, palm sugar and tamarind dressing, Five-Spice Tater Tots served with curry ketchup, Char Siu Pork Shoulder with pan fried noodles, pickled ginger and scallion, and Ayam Goreng Berempeh, spicy fried chicken marinated in red curry with toasted coconut, shrimp paste, crispy peanut, and candied anchovy.
The dessert menu is equally playful and takeout-friendly, featuring an Ambrosia Salad Cup with rainbow jello, stone fruit and matcha whipped cream, and a Corn Trifle Cup with berries, lemon curd, whipped cream, and pretzel crumb.
Mariah Pisha-Duffly complements Oma Takeaway’s approachable food with tropical-inspired cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. Inheriting two slushie machines and a soda fountain from Whiskey Soda Lounge (Pok Pok’s sister restaurant that occupied the space since 2010), Pisha-Duffly created a trio of house-made sodas: Cucumber & Cilantro Limeade, Tamarind, Pineapple & Chili, and Coconut, Lime, Pandan & Spices. Boozy slushies include Mind Beach with vodka, soursop, guava, jackfruit, Peychaud’s bitters and an Underberg float, and T-Shirt Weather with bourbon, jasmine tea, lemongrass, and lemon. More cocktails, wine, draft CBD soda, and beer on draft and in bottle, are also available.
Click here to see the full Oma’s Takeaway menu.
Central to the opening are the precautions and considerations the Pisha-Dufflys have taken to ensure that staff and guests are safe dining at Oma’s Takeaway. The restaurant has outdoors seating only, with capacity for 40 guests in all across two covered patios. Strategic spacing allows for more than six feet between servers and parties of guests at all times, facilitated by serving stations at each table that provides everything needed for a hospitality minded, socially distant dining experience.
Oma’s Takeaway opens for dinner Thursday through Sunday, from 5 pm to 9:30 pm. Dine-in is available first come first served and the menu is available for takeout by ordering online. Delivery by bike courier will be available soon.
More information:
Address: 3131 SE Division Street, Portland OR 97214
Website: omastakeaway.com
Social: @omastakeaway
Hours of operation: Thursday through Sunday, 5 pm to 9:30 pm
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