Second-generation Chinese chef Jasper Shen opened the original restaurant along Williams Avenue in the north Portland part of the Boise neighborhood in January 2017.

[2][3] The interior features a portrait of Chinese martial arts film actor Gordon Liu painted by artist Michael Palaus.

[3] Willamette Week's Matthew Korfhage said of the restaurant's interior in 2017: "XLB's open-kitchen, fast-casual space is a clean-lined hall of ironized Asiatic kitsch, complete with stylized kung fu paintings, Qing dynasty lights hung at varied heights and a gold-painted wallpaper pattern of Chinese zodiac silhouettes—perfect dog, perfect snake, perfect rooster.

"[4][5] In 2020, Fodor's Inside Portland described the original XLB as a "bright, modern space with comfy booth and counter seating and colorful Chinese zodiac wallpaper".

[9][10] Entrees have included the "light-battered five-spice" popcorn chicken, once described as "sweetly clove and cinnamon heavy with a slight afterglow of numbing Sichuan pepper", and a Shahe fen noodle stir-fry with beef strips.

[11] In April 2019, Shen and new business partner Linh Tran confirmed plans to open a second location in northwest Portland's Slabtown district.

[18] According to Eater Portland's Brooke Jackson-Glidden, the original restaurant "opened with massive crowds, quickly becoming the neighborhood spot for Chinese food.

"[8] Andrea Damewood of the Portland Mercury wrote in late March 2017, "XLB received massive pre-opening press, and the line for counter service has often been out the door since day one in January".

Damewood found the bok choy too salty and the pork and shrimp noodles "thick and gummy", and said the popcorn chicken "had an oddly off-putting flavor and left a dry mouthfeel", ultimately recommending the garlic eggplant with tofu and peas.

"[4] Furthermore, Korfhage said, "eight months in, XLB's soup dumplings are marvels of consistency: lovely, delicate kisses bursting with deep-flavored broth whose aroma blossoms out of the hole made by a curious fork.