noodles!

it's always an adventure trying out new restaurants. last time when i was at the dumpling house in arcadia, i noticed this other restaurant, noodle island, next door. i picked up a menu so i would remember to come and try it. i got a chance to go this week.

right off i loved the ambiance of the place. it doesn't feel like a hole in the wall restaurant. they have beautiful lights that hang from the ceiling. they had a nice mural painted on the walls. we were seated very quickly, and then the server started speaking to me in chinese. (this does happen to me often. ) in my minimal amount of chinese, i told him i said, "han gwuah ren" (korean). then he went away, and another younger guy came to take our order.

my friend asked if they had other things besides noodle soup. the server seemed a bit confused. so my friend asked if they had noodles without soup. the server replied that they could do that. i think they misunderstood, but my friend basically got the same dish as me, but the noodles came separately (see photo on the left).

the menu itself was very interesting so i had to take a photo. you can choose from being a certified student to champion. for the items you can choose from:

-shrimp
-scallop
-cuttlefish roll
-pork meatball
-fish fillet
-sliced pork
-sliced beef
-shredded chicken
-squid roll
-cuttlefish ball
-fish ball
-shrimp ball
-lobster ball
-fish tofu
-beef ball
-fried fish cake
-meat loaf
-ham
-egg
-quail egg
-abalone
-mushroom
-oyster mushroom
-vegetables
-shrimp
-kimchee

my friend and i both ordered the crossing the bridge rice noodle in soup, certified student (2 items). i chose the sliced pork and shrimp. my friend ordered the sliced pork and shrimp ball.

the broth is a chicken broth, very nice and clean. it wasn't too salty. it was topped with mushrooms, cilantro and sliced green onions. i enjoyed the texture of the rice noodles. it wasn't too soft or chewy. it tasted perfect. it tasted very healthy, and i really enjoyed it. i think it's a nice alternative to pho which tends to have a lot of MSG.

with tax everything was $6.50 per person. not bad for a great bowl of noodle soup.

i would definitely go back to noodle island especially on a rainy day. a nice bowl of crossing the bridge rice noodle soup will hit the spot on a cold and dreary day.