Noodle Salad (freshly made noodles & greens w/ grapefruit dressing)
by Celia Cheng
July 28th, 2008
IPPUDO
65 4th Ave
(9th & 10th St)
212-388-0088
$
The Japanese are good at creating salad noodles for summertime. It makes sense. It’s hot out, you want to have a meal, but pure carbs are too heavy, and a salad might not do it, so the Japanese combine the two as in the noodle salad at Ippudo. A much lighter option than the signature ramen, the slightly thicker egg noodles used for tsukemen are cooked then chilled and dressed in a soy sauce and mustard based mixture. The salad is mesclun with sliced bell pepper, daikon, tomato, grapefruit and grapefruit jelly. The contrast between the pungent mustard and the aromatic grapefruit is a delight. It’s topped with deep-fried thin strips of gobo (burdock root), and comes with a soy, grated radish and ginger sauce on the side. I find this additional sauce unnecessary, adding too many elements to the already vibrant noodle salad. Nevertheless, each time I finish this dish, I feel sated but light and totally refreshed.
Posted in East Village , Japanese , Noodles , Salad
Uni Ikura Soba
by Celia Cheng
November 28th, 2007
SOBAKOH
309 E 5th St
(1st & 2nd Ave)
212-254-2244
$$
Fall (specifically October and November) is prime soba season! This is when “new” soba — fresh soba noodles made from ground buckwheat grain that’s just been harvested — arrives. Given my never-dying fervor for soba and uni, the uni ikura soba combination is a match made in heaven for me! While I still think that Sobakoh’s buckwheat noodles are a bit too soft, this cold soba dish is an elegant composition of ingredients that are both executed and presented with grace. With shreds of shiso and seaweed, plus fresh ground wasabi, the strong and distinctive flavors are perfectly balanced and never overpowering. If you don’t see this on the menu, ask for it!
Posted in East Village , Japanese , Noodles , Seafood
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Menchanko (noodles)
by Celia Cheng
October 26th, 2007
MENCHANKO-TEI
43-45 W 55th St
(5th & 6th Ave)
212-247-1585
131 E 45th St
(Lexington & 3rd Ave)
212-986-6805
$
I had almost forgotten how comforting the food at Menchanko-tei is, particularly the dish for which the restaurant was named, menchanko — their original noodle recipe, individually cooked in a cast iron bowl with thick ramen noodles in a rich soy broth. Chicken, shrimp, salmon ball, tofu, rice cake and vegetables make it a pretty hearty meal. But one of my absolute favorite things about it is adding Menchanko-tei’s homemade citron pepper (yuzu kosho), which looks like a regular red pepper paste, but the yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) flavor is so refreshing, while the paste itself is quite spicy. The menchanko is a great comfort food for the wintertime or for nursing a cold, and the citron pepper is perfect for clearing up that stuffy nose.
Posted in Japanese , Midtown East , Midtown West , Noodles
Pad Kee Mao
by Celia Cheng
December 30th, 2006
CHELSEA THAI
75 9th Ave
(15th & 16th St)
212-924-2999
$
I like the vegetarian pad kee mao at Chelsea Thai because the crispy tofu is the key to goodness! Of course it complements the tomato, wide noodles and the tasty sauce. To think of it, this dish is supremely heavy on carbs, but who cares! It’s downright yummy! Bonus: Chelsea Thai is also a small market for Thai and other Asian groceries, so you can pick up some ingredients and venture to make your own creations after sampling theirs.
Posted in Chelsea , Noodles , Thai , Vegetables
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Pho
by Celia Cheng
April 20th, 2006
BAO NOODLES
391 2nd Ave
(22nd & 23rd St)
212-725-7770
$
The pho at Bao Noodles is slightly more cleaned up than the usual authentic pho that includes everything from beef balls to tripe. Beef tendon is as adventurous as Bao Noodles gets, but the broth is really good and doesn’t have MSG. For soup noodles, this place serves some of the most satisfying in town and, though not as cheap as Chinatown, has very reasonable prices.
Posted in Noodles , Vietnamese
