Yelpzilla! A Wafu Elite Event

Another fun Elite event! Food kept coming out, which was nice — one vegetarian option (edamame) which was very tasty complete with GARLIC (all caps intentional). Though I wish there was a little more variety (and veg options) for the food, I do realize that this isn’t supposed to be a meal (and I did as told and had a little snacky beforehand so I wasn’t famished). The other dishes were enjoyed by my +1 carnivore so I think that was a score.
THANK YOU for the sake — Momokawa is my favorite, and a really nice touch to be available at this event! Small space, and as usual, we packed it in.
I really appreciate that people loaded their plates and moved away so others could get in to serve themselves as well. Well-​organized for the food; but as usual super long lines for cocktails (which is expected) but I’m not complaining.

I was very happy to hear that I got into this event, not only because I haven’t been able to go to an Elite event at a restaurant yet!
So where to start… hmmmm the ELITES and their plus ones! I was lucky enough to get a seat next to two very nice ladies, that were friends by the end of the event. Looking forward to hanging with them and more events like this. Donzilla was cheery as ever and was working the crowd! All the Unilocal volunteers are always awesome though! The staff was busting out the drinks and food and were doing it with smiles on their face!
The food was amazing too! They kept bringing it too! The spicy edamame, fried rice and eggplant was all full of so much flavor!
OMG the drinks were amazing… I have a new love for Ginger Rum… the drinks kept flowing and so did the conversations!
Thanks for throwing another amazing party!!!

God those posters were awesome.
Praise the rum!
My goodness Don is amazing.
Lord that fried rice was fantastic.
Jesus the edamame with chili’s was brilliant.
Anywho, I’m running out of references. What a killer event! I’ll let Godzilla roll over me anytime if it ends up as nice as this.

Is it possible to make someone’s acquaintance online, then show up and have them be even friendlier & more FAB in person? After meeting Donzilla, my answer is all caps YES!
Unilocalzilla! was my first Elite Event, and Don was a gr8 host. We didn’t get any of the eats, but I know where to get my next edamame fix from.
Also, the drinks were gr8! I had the Deco Daquiri which was fruity & FAB. Right before we left I tasted the Deco Coffee Rum! It was yum, yum & YUM! I’ll be patronizing Deco’s Tasting Room in the near future.
The Unilocalzilla Elite Event at Wafu was a gr8 experience; and this is a gr8 community to be part of.

I was so pleased to be able to attend this event as a +1 even though I am an elite Unilocaler — as I didn’t get in with my RSVP. I have been to a few Elite Unilocal events but not the past 4 as I was out of town. This event was lovely and well attended. I have never been to WAFU and I’d like to go back and try their food. The 3 dishes that were served were yummy but the event was definitely light on food as compared to other events I’ve attended. Plus the space was definitely limited. The sake however, was great, and free flowing. My one regret… I forgot to wear my kimono!
Thanks to Don for yet another fun event. I will look forward to trying WAFU again.

This was my first Unilocal Elite event in Portland and it was lots of fun! It would have been more fun had I known more people — everyone seemed to already know each other. Wafu put out some delicious fried rice and spicy edamame. DIdn’t try the eggplant but it looked good. The ginger rum drink I had was yummmm! Thanks to Deco Distillery for putting on some tasty drinks, including some coffee flavored rum. The space was neat, but a bit narrow and cramped to move around considering the size of the crowd.
Thanks Don, for the party! I’m definitely coming back to Wafu to try the ramen and get a whole bowl of the fried rice just for me.

I was looking forward to ramen so much I didn’t eat anything all day. Sadly no ramen but rather kimchi /​shrimp fried rice, edamame & a fish smelling egg plant. The flavors of the fried rice were delicious, I didn’t try the edamame & surprisingly the fish smelling egg plant didn’t taste fishy at all. It was good.
I was hungry when 5pm rolled around & I think that went for others too. It was unpleasant to watch some people pile food onto their small plates while leaving others to stand there with an empty one. Everything was taken within seconds. It was crazy.
I thought the space Wafu has just wasn’t enough for us all. It was difficult getting from point A to B to C & back to A. This wasn’t because I drank a Deco coffee rum & mexi-​coke & a Deco Daiquiri & some sake but because it was overcrowded. We grabbed a spot & pretty much stayed put. It was easier that way.
Overall the drinks were the highlight of the event. There were several kinds of cocktails & brews to choose but the daiquiri & coffee rum were my favorite. Thanks «Donzilla» & «King K.» for your hard work! I’ll be back for the ramen & fried rice soon.

What an awesome experience for my first Unilocal elite event. I loved the food and drinks (for the most part), and the atmosphere and décor rocked! Oh, and Don was great too!
Food: The spicy garlic edamame was really good! It initially had subtle heat; however, they seemed to get spicier every time another order came out. My only issue was that every once in a while I got this strange citric acid finish… it sort of reminded me of lemon chile salt? My favorite dish, by far, was the shrimp and mushroom fried rice. It was rich in texture and flavor… I seriously could have eaten a whole large bowl full. The shrimp were cooked perfectly! Although I only got one or two pieces as someone (you know who you are) hoarded most of it every time a new plate came out!!! The eggplant in the bonito broth was okay. Definitely not something I would order again.
Drinks: I LOVED the sake shots! They were smooth, a little sweet, and went well with the fried rice. I also liked the beer, specifically the brown ale (I forget the name). It really went well with the spicy edamame as it cut the heat a lot! The ginger rum cocktail was too gingery for me, but it seemed really popular considering that line was long pretty much the entire night.
All in all, I thought this was a great experience and I’d surely go to another one. I’d also like to come back here and order some of the small plates as they sounded really good! Good job Don!!! :)

Made the fatal flaw of not showing up until 3:30. There was a long line for cocktails and no more plates out for the edamame, so my friend and I made our way through the crowd to the self-​serve sake. The sake was pretty good, a light and invigorating start. Not cold enough, but what can you expect from a bottle that’s been sitting on the counter?
After getting the sake we decided to wait in line for a cocktail while drinking the sake. The coffee run with mexican coke was delicious. The coffee rum was very bitter and strong, but packed the perfect punch to counter the overly sugared mexican coke. The lime added a touch of acid to cut through the heavy flavors.
Got my hands on a plate and tried some of the edamame, which was delicious, but a pretty common item you’d see at trendy japanese restaurants. It was funny that Don commented on how Wafu didn’t have sushi, and wasn’t izakaya or just a ramen place, but everything great in between. So basically, Wafu is kind of like the «beyond» at Bed, Bath & Beyond. An unidentified hodgepodge of interesting stuff here and there, but lacking something that ties it all together and makes it make sense.
The eggplant was pretty boring. The fried rice was the best food in my opinion, having that great umami flavor and different subtle surprises with each new bite.
Had one final drink that was a simple cocktail of rum, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup shaken on ice and poured. It was a nice, refreshing end.
I hate to complain about free things, but since I firmly believe that criticism is what makes us evolve… I would have liked to seen more from the food. Edamame and rice is a bit like high-​end snack mix put out on a bar. You could tell there food was good from what they provided, but I don’t think we got a good sense of what dining there is like. It was a bit crowded in there too and hard to move around. Overall though, a good time and some great free cocktails. Cheers!

This was my first Unilocal event in Portland, and I drove all the way down from Olympia to try this place and it was worth the road trip!
First off, the ginger rum cocktail was really delicious! The Ninkasi beer was a great pairing with the spicy food, and is my new favorite beer. I’m not a sake fan, but the organic sake that they had was a hit among the sake fans.
The spicy garlic edamame was the best part of the afternoon. It was simply delicious and went PERFECTLY with the beer. The eggplant was pretty good too, but nothing mind blowing. I can’t speak to the most popular shrimp fried rice since I’m allergic to shrimp =(, but it was a hit!
This event was fun, not super crowded, had good company, and had really strong drinks (bonus!). My only complaint was that I with they had more food to sample. The three dishes they had were good, but I was hoping that there would be more food since the alcohol was free flowing.
Overall this event was fun and I look forward to trying this place in the future! Thanks Donzilla!

It truly speaks to how amazing the Ninkasi Brews and Rum cocktails were that I’m just now waking up and writing this review.
It speaks to how amazing the food was that my first thought upon waking was «I’ve gotta go get my hands on some of that fried rice after I’ve figured out the spice mixture they used on that edamame»
Always a blast seeing old friends and new, thanks Don for another amazing event!

Thank you — this was high on our list of «we must try this fancy fusion Asian ramen house» for weeks now, but we’ve been waiting for the crowds to die down. And this week it got Eater’s restaurant of the year so we were flattered to get this opportunity to scope it out.
First, do not even like rum, but fascinated with the local Decco distillery. The rum/​coffee/​coke mixture was a bonus for my late concert eve. We sampled them all.
Thumbs up to local Momokawa sake too.
Love the back room, we were already thinking private party.
¼ Oriental BF loved food. He’s already plotting and planning when I take him there for ramen and the oriental fried chicken so he can compare latter to his mama’s.
Don — great to finally meet you. We appreciated your insight!

First Unilocal Elite event for me, and it was an amazing experience! Great food (edamame, fried rice, and eggplant dishes), great company, great atmosphere. The coffee rum was off-​the-​charts awesome. Looking forward to the next event!

w00t!
Great locale for an afternoon of rum & sake drinking with some fresh new faces of Unilocal.the food was a nice sampling of some pretty wild combinations. I for one actually liked the fishy eggplant dish, yum.
Thanks Unilocal for another fantastic time spent with good people, food & drink. Unilocal Rocks!
Thanks Deco Distillery for Delicious Rumness!
and Thank You Wafu for feeding us and letting us hang out at your cool joint too! I will definitely be back for some Ramen next time.

More good times!
Unilocalzilla was a fun event to attend… The edamame was insanely good, im talking the best I’ve ever tried. To the extent that no other edamame will ever hold a candle to how they prepaired theirs… With a hint of teriyaki flavor and just enough spice, this was REALLY good. I din’t get to try the shrimp fried rice, it was gone within seconds of it being sat down on the counter, but damn it looked good.
The drinks were great as well, the silver Deco rum drink was refreshing and tasty, the sleigher ale was a decent seasonal, and the Sake was smooth and enjoyed. The Deco coffee rum was surprisingly good, not syrup-​y and thick, 80 proof and went down easy.
It was good times at Wafu, it’s always great to have a new place to try out, this is a for sure place to come back and hit up.
Thank you Don for putting together another great event and providing us with another great time! Looking forward to the next!

My Sobriety was treated like Godzilla and it was under attack!
It was a barrage of delicious drinks!
Recon: Deco Daquiri
Infantry: Ginger rum cocktail
Air Support: Momkawa Sake
Subamarine torpedoes: Shots of Deco Coffee Rum
Central Command: Ninkasi brew
Invasion and Occupation: Deco Coffee Rum and Mexi-​Coke.
That army of drinks took my sobriety hostage!
It was up to Wafu to provide air drops of food relief. The care packages of chili-​garilc sitr-​fried edamame, japanese shrimp fried rice, and miso bonito stewed eggplants tried to fend of the onslaught of the alcohol, but it wasn’t enough. The food was delicious, but I fell to the evil forces of beer, rum, and sake.
My sobriety was released from captivity and We plan to join forces and go back to check out the Japanese inspired faire from Wafu.
Wafu played a great host to this battle. The bartenders were among the fastest at any Unilocal elite event. I appreciated that the beer and sake was self serve, that also moved the lines along quickly.
Deco laid out a varied arsenal to showcase their locally created rums (Silver, ginger, and coffee.)
Big ups to Momokawa for represeting the sticks. Hillsburrito and Beyond
Thanks to Donasauraus Rex and Matt D for organizing an event where we all had a blast. I just don’t know why Matt D was dressed up as Robin Williams.

We got here late about 3:25PM. Not recommended for a Unilocal event of any kind and this place was a bit narrow so really not recommended. In our defense we had just come from Foster Burger (a previous Elite contender from about a year ago).
Because we had just come from a late lunch, we didn’t try the food and I really wanted to but I couldn’t figure out where they were serving it anyway. Trust me if I had been hungry I would have figured it out.
The drinks were tasty, I had the ginger rum drink and that blew me away. So, tasty and I don’t care for rum so they worked their magic with that one. The guy loves sake so he was all set with that.
I struggled with the gorilla theme but ultimately gave up and went sans any particular theme wear. I did love Matt in the gorilla attire (or did he just need a shave?) Just kidding of course.
The back room, which not a lot of people were checking out had Godzilla playing and for a 1950’s movie that held up incredibly well and was a nice atmosphere for the cocktails.
As always Don our master of ceremonies was there leading the pack. I adored the I love Toyko shirt. Very good call.
I plan to go back and try the food at this place next.

Wafu can fry me some rice any day, and the Edamame? Totally delish and perfectly spiced! I love that they took a somewhat boring mainstay and added some zing. I will unfairly compare all future edamame dishes to this one.
The biggest shock of the night was how much my husband enjoyed the eggplant. I mean, I liked it, but he loved it.
Loved the deco rum’s, especially the coffee and mexi-​coke. It reminded me a bit of a dirty coffee pot at first, but after a few sips I was hooked. The husband was way into the ginger drinks and we both enjoyed the Ninkasi.
I also had my first taste of sake here, it tasted a bit like vodka mixed with white wine. I don’t think I liked it. But I appreciated finding thing out when it was on the house.
Finally, major props to Donzilla. This guy Radiates awesomeness.
Oh and the Wafu crew, you guys were chill.
We will be going back, maybe next week even, cause I can’t stop thinking about that rice…

I have to say: the drinks were good but the food was AWESOME! Eggplant with miso and bonito flakes? Fried rice with shiitake mushrooms, nori and shrimp? Spicy edamame? Delicious! Honestly, I only knew Wafu’s ramen, but the rest of the dishes are worth trying too!
The coffee-​infused rum and the locally brewed sake were also very interesting.
Thanks to Don and the Wafu folks for introducing us to their great menu!

Unilocal, I got drunk, but had no food to eat, edamme was good, but not enough… saw a few small plates come out but was not able to pounce fast enough to get a taste. I would have liked to see some ramen and something substantial other than edamme and some fried rice. I’ve been to other Elite events that had far more tastings for food. But hey, the drinks were kick ass, the rum, sake, and beer were great. But I did get blitzed! It was nice to see some friends and meet some new peeps… as always, Merci Don!