NYC: Hell's Kitchen's Asian Noodles
Update: I've been back to Pure Thai Shophouse 2 more times in the last week, so I added some new photos of the new things I've tried each time =)
First, I would like to start this post by saying that
I LOVE NOODLES
. I love soup noodles, stir fried noodles, ramen, egg noodles, any kind of pasta (it counts!). I could go on and on about noodles like Bubba does about shrimp, but to get to the point, any kind of noodle you name, I probably LOVE eating it!
Another food love of mine is Asian cuisine, so anything Asian + noodles = BIG WIN in Jessica's book.
Anyway, I live in the Hell's Kitchen / Clinton / Midtown West area of Manhattan and things in the Asian noodle department have taken a turn for the upside recently. We have TWO new delicious restaurants!
Totto Ramen and Pure Thai Shophouse. Here are some notes and photos from the two places.
Totto Ramen
52nd Street and 9th Avenue
I used to always proudly declare that Ippudo was the best ramen in Manhattan (clap--or comment-- if you agree), but at SOME POINT you have to say enough is enough and give up on those 1.5 - 2 hour lines and stop paying $20 for a bowl of soup noodles. So after moving away from the East Village, I only really went to Ippudo when guests were in town.
And then came Totto Ramen.
This tiny little no frills, feel like you're in Japan noodle shop / bar has the most delicious chicken broth based ramen. The noodles are perfectly done almost 100% of the time (I did get soggy noodles once), they have options for Spicy (2 chili peppers) or EXTRA spicy (9 chili peppers) and the pork is SUPER good -- they even use a blow torch to toast the top a little before they serve it. Everything is super flavorful and the servers are always friendly (even if they don't understand what you're saying =).
Everything is around $10-12 depending on how many side things you put in (I get egg and mushroom!)
Spicy ramen with egg and mushroom added -- comes with pork, bean sprouts and seaweed already.
This the veggie ramen that is actually pretty good (or so my veggie friends say). Comes in regular and spicy version and all these things! Mushroom, corn, avocado, etc. And yes there are noodles under there =P
Extra spicy 9 chili pepper ramen.. they give you the spicy sauce on the side you can add as much as you want
Pure Thai Shophouse
Ninth Avenue between 51st and 52n Street
This Thai restaurant just opened recently and I was eager to check it out after this Midtown Lunch writer said this restaurant "makes me not want to eat at any other Ninth Ave Thai restaurant" (BIG statement considering there are 12+ Thai restaurants on this part of Ninth Ave.) and that the chef behind it (David Bank) worked at one of Jean Georges' restaurant!
I went here for dinner to catch up with my college roommate who moved here from LA/Japan. The place is small (about ~15-20 seats maybe) and kind of quaint and almost romantic! The whole place feels very organic and authentic -- lots of wood lining the walls, exposed bulbs, etc. The menu is very simple too and mostly consists of, you guessed it, NOODLES! Handmade too. I will let the photos speak for themselves (with captions) from here on out.
The soup noodles are made in this open kitchen in the front
The entire restaurant has stool seating and they have the awesome fish sauce from Thailand!
Appetizers
We ordered Roasted Ribs and Spicy Beef Salad--these are both great! Would get again
(sorry no photos!)
This Thai Iced Tea was so delicious and cute (look at that cup!)
Crispy shrimp sesame crepe -- this wasn't so great..wouldn't get again.
Entrees
Ratchaburi Crab and Pork Dry Noodles -- my friend ordered this and liked it, but I prefer the "wet" noodles!
These are the same noodles as above (crab and pork), but customized to be wet with ho fun noodles -- very yummy =) I added chili in this afterwards.
I would get this again.
Nakorn Sawan chicken noodle soup -- a five spice spicy broth with chicken. Came with a drum stick and very flavorful I was told! I would try this next time!
Krabi Seafood Noodle Soup -- I think I customized this with ho fun noodles too.. spicy tomato based broth was super good and very spicy! loved the shrimp, calamari and tofu it came with.
Would get this again too =)
Sukhothai Noodle Soup with homemade egg noodles.. has fried pork chip, pork, bean sprouts, etc. A little spicy with a bit of tang in the soup. Awesome =)
Loved this.
Pad See Ew -- We had to order something traditional! Flavors were great, but I wish I knew I could ASK for the thick noodles that I love. After trying all the other noodle soups since I've been back, I don't think I'll be ordering this again anytime soon.
Desserts
Decided to get dessert too. Their desserts change every few days or week. This is Sticky rice with banana. This tasted so fresh and homemade, just like when we made it in my cooking class in Chiang Mai! =)
Coconut / pandan custard with sticky rice. I liked this, but I know some prefer mango + sticky rice (I'm allergic to mango so this will have to do for me! =P)
Even the bill came on this clipboard with the cutest metal clothespin type thing. Was ~$13 a person for entree, tea and shared dessert.
Anyway, hope you guys can visit some of these restaurants soon, whether you live near here or work in Midtown! I know I'll be there lots, so say hi if you see me.
BTW, have you guys noticed my photos are much nicer now?? I got a new camera and LOVE it. Special thanks to Randy for the AWESOME post on best cameras for food blogging =) Now I'm a little less embarrassing to my friends when I take photos in restaurants!
Canon S95