Above left:The “Big Mami” burger at Mami restaurant uses squid ink to give the bun its signature color. Above right:Yakisoba has been a favorite dish since Mami’s inception as a food truck. Hungry Eye 52 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine from top right: Meaghan maurice; Benjamin moore - active beer geek; courtesy photo Wen’s menu includes tasty braised chicken, pork dumplings, and plenty of veggie sides. “My family is from the Guang- dong province, where people are referred to as Hakkanese, supposedly descendants of the Han Dynasty. I was born in China, and I came here in 1998. I grew up in Ox- ford, graduated from Oxford High School. My family has a Chinese restaurant there– Ocean Pearl.” H akka Me can be found on the block of Spring Street between Center and Union streets at lunchtime, the Eastern Prom, and at local breweries. “I did the Cape Elizabeth Strawberry Festival, and I’m going to Sugarloaf this weekend for the mountain bike festival,” he says with the wide smile of a free spirit. “I started the truck because I didn’t want to cook Amer- ican-Chinese like my parents. They haven’t changed their menu in decades.” INTO THE OLD PORT Cheevitdee has transformed the glass- storefront corner at Fore and Market streets into a sun-washed palace of deli- cious, healthy Thai food. And we do mean transformed–a Dunkin’ Donuts occupied this spot a few incarnations and light years ago. Spotless planked floors and simple wood-and-wrought-iron furniture, plus salvaged rough-plank wainscoting, set a sophisticated, minimalist tone. Even the la- few gossamer slivers of red pepper and in- finitesimal dots of crispy-fried garlic. It’s one of those simple masterpieces of presen- tation and flavor. “Cheevitdee means ‘good life,’” he says. Out the window, the Old Port marches by as ever, in late-season tank tops, tattoos, and plaid flannel. But you’re in an oasis of wood and bouquets of fresh flowers, tasting the subtleties of lemongrass, lime, and ginger. TRUTH, BEAUTY, FOOD TRUCK “We wanted a casual place where people can come sit and relax and enjoy a bite to eat,” says Austin Miller, who, with wife Hana Tamaki, owns the Japanese restau- rant Mami that opened six months ago in a prime spot at 339 Fore Street. Mami debuted as a food truck a few years ago and quickly became a be- loved member of the mobile food fleet. dies’ room is pretty enough for a selfie. You won’t find crab Rangoon on this menu. Cheevitdee’s menu nicely exploits the trend in small-plate sharing, with ap- petizers such as Pla Goong (shrimp bites with lemongrass) and Gai Ta Khrai (grilled chicken skewer). There’s papaya salad that, like much of the menu, can be served vege- tarian or vegan. Entrees include Ping Ngob (grilled salmon curry wrapped in banana leaves) and Kanom Buang Yourn, a shrimp crêpe with tofu and sprouts. Our waiter recommends Kanom Jeeb. “These are shumai dumplings filled with shrimp and organic tofu, very light and tasty.” He delivers a rectangle of slate up- on which stand four porcelain spoons. Each spoon holds a shumai pouch in a pool of sweet ginger soy sauce, garnished with a “I started the truck because I didn’t want to cook American-Chinese like my parents.They haven’t changed their menu in decades.” –John Wen, Hakka Me TempoDuluattheDanforthInnhasbeenserving sophisticatedSoutheastAsiancuisinesincesummer2015.