Let’s talk about noodles.
Let’s talk about noodles.
No, not your instant Ramen noodles. Hand pulled noodles. Where the chef is pulling the dough, slapping it on the table, pulling and slapping until the noodles are ready to be cooked. Freshly made noodles.
There are Muslim noodle places around my neighborhood with these hand-pulled noodles. This was one of my first dishes from a restaurant near my work. Not sure of the name of the dish since my experience with eating in non-western restaurants involves pictures and pointing.
Pad Thai
One of my favorite noodle dishes. It is a classic dish that I have had in fancy restaurants to the night markets in Thailand. Hands down, nothing beats a freshly made order of pad Thai from a street vendor in Thailand.
These are not those, unfortunately. These are pad thai noodles from a local place called Thai Bistro. I found this restaurant walking to a nearby covid testing center. The joys of daily covid testing do push me to explore more of my neighborhood. Have to find the silver lining in the annoyances of everyday life.
These noodles were in the middle range of pad thai noodles. If you are also a fan of pad thai, you know what I mean.
You have your noodle dishes ranked in quality, flavor, and the ability to take you to a memory with one bite.
The spice level was sub par and the spicy sauce on the side was a nice addition and much needed for my taste. There was only one version, shrimp and egg. On the menu, it was just Pad Thai. No options for a different protein like some bigger chains can do. I like that simplicity. In this dish, the shrimps were headless but full skin and legs on.
Most times, in China, when shrimps are ordered, you get the whole shrimp. It was a nice change to have the head removed for me. However, I have to be full hands on when removing the outside skin and legs. Locals can do this in their mouth which is practice from years of having random cuts of meat with random bones in their dishes.
Most times, with meals, there is a bowl or plate to spit out the inedible bits. As a foreigner, I’m not skilled with my tongue and teeth so i resort to more of a childlike approach and use my hands.
Will i return to Thai Bistro. 100%. The price point was amazing and the ambience was five bar meets street vendor. With the Pad Thai, The flavor was good but still not as good as Timor Thai from Dili.
