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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Asia noodles

Of course, any trip to HaVL Sandwiches will help you along on the Vietnamese noodle front. You've had pho and bun, but also check out banh canh noodles, which are thicker, akin to udon. If you go to other places like Pho Oregon, you'll find a few others, most notably clear hu tieu

My favorite Thai dish is a beef soup referred to as "boat noodles", available at Pok Pok at lunch, taking vermicelli noodles in a beefy broth. The broth has tons of Chinese five spice and is incredibly flavorful.

Pok Pok - Kwaytiao Reua

(This dish is also available at Red Onion Thai, referred to as "Thai beef soup". They've got a noodle-less version, meant for those who prefer rice, but even in Thailand they're beginning to be a bit carb-conscious, and are eating this version without either.)

Pok Pok also serve khanom jiin, which takes the same vermicelli noodles in a curry broth, often served with raw vegetables.

There are a lot of great Korean noodle soups, and I pick one based on the temperature. If it's hot out, I'll go for a bowl of mul naeng myeon, which is served with hunks of ice in it. Soba noodles are a great cold/room-temp noodle, and they're used with great effect here.

Nakwon - Mul Naeng Myun

While BabbleSauce's "secret noodle shop" has hit the mainstream, the best Korean noodles can still be found next door at Nakwon. They've even got my favorite hot noodle dish, jjampong, which is essentially a spicy garlicky beef and seafood noodle soup.

That same dish shows up in Japanese cuisine, too, referring to it as champon. It's available at Hakatamon at Uwajimaya. This is the spot that used to be an udon-ya, and while it became a ramen-ya, they still can rock the udon, in dishes like the nabeyaki special, combining soft-shelled crab, tempura shrimp, salmon and chicken.

Hakatamon - Nabeyaki Special

I've only started really exploring the Chinese options around town, and while the spots on 82nd get a lot of attention, my favorite for noodles is actually in Old Town, Mandarin House. Even before Du Kuh Bee went mainstream, Mandarin House was always my favorite "secret" hand-pulled noodle spot in Portland.

Northern China has a tradition of cooking with more wheat, and so this is the part of the cuisine where you'll find more dumplings, pancakes and noodles. Mandarin House makes an excellent da lu mian, and this thread is reminding me to head back there for another visit.

Oops, forgot to mention a few from Ping. Yes, the Malaysian laksa is there, but truly if you've had the khanom jiin it's going to be largely the same thing. You should definitely try out the bah kuh teh "pork bone tea", which is actually quite similar to a lot of ramen, right down to the noodle, but without the milky broth.

Ping - Bah Kuh Teh

My favorite dish at Ping, though, is the kwaytiao pet pha lo, literally, "Five Spice Duck Noodles".

Ping - Kway Tiao Pet Pha Lo


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