Dish:

In the bowl: Pictured is #20: pho tai, nam, gau, gan, sach with rare beef, well-done flank, fatty flank, tendon and tripe along with banh pho rice noodles, onions, green onions, and beef broth

Supporting cast/What to do: Before your bowl comes out, you’ll get the “accessory” plate with bean sprouts, jalapeno slices, Thai basil, lime wedges. Add these to your heart’s desire, along with Sriracha, hoison sauce, and/or chili oil that’s found on your table.

Noodling around: This is the 38th Mein Man column, and it’s the very first one to feature pho. This Vietnamese noodle soup is one of my favorite quick meals in Seattle, and there are certainly many places to get it.

Part of the appeal is that pho is “fast food.” Order, and it comes quickly, as the broth has been simmering for so long, and the thin-sliced meat in your customized order cooks almost instantaneously.

Another thing I love about pho is the interactivity. You can change the flavor of the bowl along the way by altering the acidity, spice level, etc. with the garnishes and sauces.

Also, there are so variations of pho bowls. Pho So 1 has twenty types of pho. Most are pho bo, the beef variety, with a wide combination of beef cuts. I generally choose the one with the most meats, excluding the meat ball, whose taste and texture I find unappealing. I especially love the tendon for its fattiness and the tripe for its chewiness. (It’s hard to find these two items at pho restaurants in America’s heartland.) And the variety enables each slurp and spoonful to offer something different.

Pho So 1 serves some of the best “low-cost” (cheap Vietnamese joint) pho I’ve had in Seattle. The broth is flavorful and tastes fresh, with a depth of beefiness and spices.

If you want more: You can order your bowl with extra meat, meat balls, or noodles for an extra $1.00 each. But if you’re looking for something different (this is one of the places that doesn’t give you a cream puff), I recommend a couple of rolls–either the fresh spring rolls, or the crispy egg and pork rolls if you want something fried (both are $3.19 for a pair).

Be aware/beware: The bun bo hue here is very good, and there are even kid portions of noodles available. It’s a fun place for the family, with a large fish tank in the entry, and yet another of the good restaurants on the ground level of this Asian shopping plaza. (Recall that Hue Ky Mi Gia is here, and that parking in the garage below the street can be a nightmare.)

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on January 30, 2012.

Dish:

In the bowl: Chashu (braised pork butt), tamago (egg), menma (bamboo shoots), green onion, and a piece of nori (seaweed) in soy seasoned chicken-pork broth

Supporting cast/What to do: You can order fried garlic chips or fried shallots for an extra fifty cents, but I’d recommend this bowl as is. Just dive in. Any knowledgeable Japanese person will tell you that you should eat your ramen as quickly as possible to prevent the noodles from getting soggy and losing their texture. (Some would cite a seven-minute rule.)

Noodling around: Tokyo ramen has been the reimagined name of shoyu ramen on Boom’s menu, reflecting its region of popularity. Boom Noodle sells all of the “big four” varieties of ramen, from shoyu to tonkotsu (pork bone) to shio (salt) to miso, pulling out the fullest of flavors without using MSG. You’ll also find other types of ramen there, including spicy lemon (yuzu) chicken and spicy pork.

As much as I’ve partaken in the tonkotsu craze that seems to be sweeping American cities that are discovering ramen, I ultimately prefer shoyu for its lightness–and as the best way to judge the quality of a restaurant’s ramen. It allows me to focus on the noodles, the chashu, the broth, and the other elements of the soup.

Boom Noodle’s ramen has really evolved over the years. The slightly wavy noodles are better than before, the chashu is a thickness I like and has decent fat content, and the broth is meaty without being heavy. I wish the egg was soft-cooked to the right runniness; then again, I haven’t found such an egg at any of Seattle’s “dedicated” ramen places, though Spring Hill’s saimin and Revel’s ramen get it right.

If you want more: It’s always tempting to get ramen’s satisfying sidekick, gyoza (pork or vegetable, $6.95), but as a healthier option, I recommend edamame puree ($4.95). Sweet potato crisps, baby cucumber, and Japanese eggplant come as vehicles to scoop up the delicious puree, spiced with citrusy yuzu pepper.

Be aware/beware: Happy hour gets you the Tokyo ramen at a discounted price of $6.95, which is quite a deal. The edamame drops to $3.75, and the gyoza to $4.75.

As the name implies, Boom is about noodles in general, going beyond ramen. There’s pho, pad Thai, udon, yakisoba (egg noodles), and soba. In fact, for a vegetarian dish, the shiitake soba packs a lot of punch, pushed by the umami of the mushrooms. And the menu offers non-noodle dishes to explore as well.

Note: Boom Noodle is included in my round-up of Seattle-area Asian noodle restaurants as part of my cover story in the current IBUKI magazine (available at Japan-centric stores and restaurants).

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on January 23, 2012.

Dish:

In the bowl: Your choice of soup base, noodles, and toppings (including vegetables)

Supporting cast/What to do: Your server will give you a form (in Chinese and English) and a pen. If you’re having a noodle bowl, you’ll need to build it yourself from the ingredient list, filling out the form and turning it in to your server. You can also order appetizers and other items on this form.

Noodling around: There’s work to do if you come for a noodle bowl. You can spend an agonizing amount of time deliberating your decision. A friend suggested that they do recommendations, like “house specials.” But remember that at King Noodle, you’re in control, which is part of the fun.

First, there’s an interesting assortment of six soup bases: chicken broth, original fish soup, hot spicy, Szechuan spicy, sour & hot, and Thai tom yum goong. Next six noodle choices: (rice) vermicelli, flat rice noodles, QQ noodles, udon, instant noodles (!), and wonton noodles. Then a choice of two out of four vegetable “garnish” toppings: bean sprouts, cabbage, leeks (Chinese chives), and mushrooms. Finally, there are 16 regular toppings. Most are proteins, from BBQ duck to cuttlefish balls, but there are also vegetarian options like seaweed and pumpkin. “Fungus trip” and “Luncheon” remain mysteries for now.

I wanted something spicy, and knew that Szechuan spicy would mean the ma la numbing effect that I love, so I chose that broth. (The hot spicy was similar, without Szechuan peppercorn; both could have been spicier for my taste, but they’ll certainly be spicy enough for most people.) Curious about QQ noodles, my server said they’re Taiwanese and made with wheat and eggs, but white in color. Bigger than wonton noodles (similar in size to fettucine), I was happy with that choice. My “garnishes” were leek and mushroom (unfortunately, they were button mushrooms instead of shiitake, which would be much better), and as I can’t resist offal, I had numerous choices and went with beef tripe and pork kidney. The tripe portion was skimpy, but the pork kidney was fine.

Overall, it was a satisfying bowl of soup, and staring at the menu, I kept considering what the other combinations would be like.

If you want more: The appetizer list is full of fun options for offal lovers, from Szechuan-style pork stomach to marinated pork intestines. If you get offal in your noodle bowl, I’d recommend the pork and vegetable dumplings, pan-fried instead of steamed ($3.60 for 6, or $7.50 for 12, which will certainly make you wonder why there’s an upcharge for more!). These plump dumplings are house-made, and served with soy sauce. (Note that if you’re especially hungry, you can also add more toppings to your noodle bowl at $1.50 per item.)

Be aware/beware: While I was disappointed with the button mushrooms as one of my garnish toppings, if you choose mushrooms as a regular topping, you’ll get a generous portion of enoki mushrooms. The flat rice noodles are cut shorter than usual, so they “break” easily and were harder to eat with chopsticks than the longer cuts. The chicken broth was pretty good, and seeing free-range chicken as a topping on the menu was refreshing. Lastly, the rice stone pots looked tempting, and also offer item choices.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on January 16, 2012.

Dish:

On the plate: Hand-shaved noodles with your choice of pork, chicken, beef, vegetables, tofu, or prawns. Pictured is pork. It’s just noodles and meat, along with some cabbage and green onions, plus chili pepper to your desired level of spice.

Supporting cast/What to do: This one is pretty straightforward. It’s a WYSIWYG plate. Just dig in. If it’s not spicy enough, you can ask for chili oil to raise the heat level.

Noodling around: There are a lot of variations of chow mein. The main draw of Spicy Talk’s version is that it’s made with hand-shaved noodles. From a big ball of dough (made of wheat flour and water), the chef skillfully flicks a special tool to shave a pile of noodles for stir-frying. The noodles will have similar thickness, but with enough variation and irregularity to know that they are indeed hand-shaven. The joy of these noodles is that their thickness and freshness yield fabulous texture. Stir-fried, they’re almost al dente (atypical for Chinese dishes, as noodles are usually very soft) with a bit of chew to them.

Spicy Talk is a Szechuan restaurant, so spice levels can soar. I asked for these noodles ma la, which means both numbing (from Szechuan peppercorn) and spicy (from chili peppers). Below the spice, I could still taste soy sauce, which is the foundation of the seasoning. This chow mein is a simple dish that’s satisfying.

If you want more: There are many interesting possibilities on the menu, but I recommend chili with beef tripe ($5.25) as a great starter. If you don’t want your noodles spicy, this dish will provide nice contrast in heat. And you’ll have a second plate with plenty of texture to talk about and enjoy.

Be aware/beware: “Spicy Talk” sounds like it would be the subject for Sexy Feast, but it’s just a Chinese restaurant. Unlike Bellevue’s Bamboo Garden (which I believe is slightly better in quality), it’s not next to an adult toy store. Yes, Redmond is far from Seattle, and more costly now that there are tolls on the 520, but Szechuan food in Seattle falls short of Eastside quality. In fact, Spicy Talk’s chef Cheng Biao Yang was formerly at Seven Stars Pepper, but he sold it, and the quality has been in free-fall of late. (Between Seven Stars and Spicy Talk, he was at Szechuan Chef in Bellevue, which remains popular.)

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on January 9, 2012.

Dish:

In the bowl: From the menu: “Udon noodles served hot with our extra thick fried and marinated tofu (Atsu-age), sliced green onions & grated fresh ginger.”

Supporting cast/What to do: Grab a tray and slide along the line, cafeteria-style, which is typical of udon joints in Japan. When you place your order, the bowl-maker will ask if you want tenkasu (tempura flakes, like Rice Krispies) in the bowl, or on the side. After getting your bowl, you’ll slide down to an area where you can pick up pieces of tempura, kakiage (tempura made with vegetable strips, like a fritter), or karaage (fried chicken) before paying. These extras range in cost from 35 cents for tempura broccoli to $1.79 for tempura chikuwa. (You’ll want the chikuwa, which is fishcake in the shape of a tube.) See below for more on what to do to eat this udon.

Noodling around: U:Don, which opened late last month, serves the first house-made udon noodles in Seattle. You can watch the noodle-making process while you wait to order. The udon is ultimately 3mm thick, and it’s boiled briefly to achieve a koshi quality (firm, al dente texture). The cold preparations, such as on-tama udon (in soy sauce-dashi sauce, served with a “hot-spring” egg, sliced green onions, and grated ginger) show off the chewiness of the udon best.

Especially comforting in winter, the warm broths soften the noodles. Kitsune udon features deep-fried tofu pouches (kitsune means fox, and it’s said that foxes like fried tofu) which absorb the broth, making for bites that are slightly sweet. The broth, too, is bit sweet–the one minor complaint I’m consistently hearing from Japanese friends who have visited U:Don since its opening. (I especially noticed this in the niku udon, perhaps due to the meat marinade.) But it’s early in the game for U:Don, and chef Tak Kurachi seems open to feedback from his customers.

Otherwise, everyone’s thrilled to have this low-cost noodle restaurant in town, with special praise for the tempura and kakiage. There’s a nice selection available. Some like to drop these items in the soup to get the breading a bit soggy. I prefer to keep mine crisp, or to just swipe them through the broth as I eat them. This is also why I get my tenkasu on side, as I can add the flakes to the soup as I please, keeping them crisp. You’ll have to sample various types of tempura to see what you like best, but I especially recommend the chikuwa, which is a perfect blend of chewy and crispy.

If you want more: Karaage (49 cents per piece) is an interesting side option for the udon. It’s not traditional, and I wouldn’t put it in the bowl of udon, but it’s fun to have as part of the meal. There’s also onigiri (more typical of what you might find as a side in Japan) if you’re carbo-loading. Personally, I’d just go for a bigger portion of tempura. You can also pay 50 cents more for a larger bowl of noodles (or 50 cents less for a smaller bowl).

Be aware/beware: If you’ve never had fresh-made udon before, it’s a great experience, as the texture of the noodles is quite special. Just as you can appreciate the jump from Top Ramen to real ramen, try U:Don’s noodles and you might not want to go back to dried or frozen udon–except for the convenience.

Like ramen, note that it’s best to eat udon within ten minutes to keep the noodles from getting too soft. That might be tricky for the chopstick-challenged, as these thick noodles are quite slippery, but as I’ve written before, just keep in mind that they are “supremely slurpable,” meaning it’s okay to make noise while sucking them in.

Note: U:Don is included in my round-up of Seattle-area Asian noodle restaurants as part of my cover story in the current IBUKI magazine (available at Japan-centric stores and restaurants).

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on January 2, 2012.

*** Here are two other noodle bowls I’ve tried at U:Don:

On-tama udon with onsen tamago (hot-spring egg), sliced green onions, grated ginger, and dashi-shoyu

Niku udon with sukiyaki braised beef, onions, sliced green onions, and grated ginger

Dish:

On the plate: From the menu: “Seasoned stir-fried wide noodles with chicken, egg & garlic. Served over green lettuce. Garnish with ground peanuts & green onions.” Julienned carrots add color and crunch.

Supporting cast/What to do: Spice up your dish if you like from the ubiquitous condiment tray of pickled jalapenos, chili oil, and chili paste.

Noodling around: Ayutthaya Thai serves up the usual Thai noodle suspects: pud Thai, pud see ewe, and pud khee moa (the restaurant’s spelling of the dishes). Looking for something different, I chose the Ayutthaya noodles. Explaining that Ayutthaya was the former capital city of Siam, the server said these noodles were a house specialty not found at other local Thai restaurants.

I love wide noodles, and these are made from fresh rice noodle sheets that are sliced in-house. The width makes them easier to stir fry, as they hold their shape without twisting or breaking. Great texture, with a little bit of bite to them, and straightforward flavors much as you’d expect from the ingredient list. The noodles absorb a sauce made from soy sauce, sugar, and something called Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, which like Maggi Seasoning Sauce is simply a flavor enhancer.

If you want more: There are eight appetizers on the menu, mostly fried. Kabong ($5.75) caught my eye. Described as “Fresh squash & corn in a spiced battered,” they’re deep fried and served with sweet and sour sauce. I didn’t detect much corn, and felt like I was eating a side order of sweet potato fries.

Be aware/beware: Portions were pretty small for the price. And service was terribly slow; someone from another table came to mine to tell the server that they were in a rush.

If you want your food spicy, you’ll probably have to exaggerate your request. When the server asked for a spice level between 1 and 5, I requested 7 (thinking they’d dumb it down to 5) and said to serve the food like you’d serve it in Thailand. I thought he understood. Unfortunately, my green papaya salad (a third dish I ordered) was a like 1, and the noodles possibly a 2 at best. I’m guessing you should order at 25 if you want a spicy 5.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on December 26, 2011.

Dish:

In the bowl: Free-range chicken broth with a leg-thigh section of braised duck, noodles, shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, green onions, Chinese red dates (hong zao, or jujubes), and “five spice” seasoning.

Supporting cast: The soup comes with a small plate of picked carrots and papaya on the side. Otherwise, nothing, unless you’d like to spice up your soup with Sriracha sauce or chili oil, which you’ll find on the table.

What to do: Pull apart pieces of duck with your chopsticks for bites, alternating with slurps of noodles and spoonfuls of the flavorful broth. The carrots and papaya provide a nice counterpoint to the duck.

Noodling around: You get your choice of noodles, but the recommended and popular type is thin egg noodles (dried). There are also thicker egg noodles, which I generally prefer in other dishes, along with rice noodles and rice vermicelli.

It looks like you’ll need to lift the entire duck piece with your chopsticks, but it’s actually quite tender, falling easily off the bone. It’s also delicious, with notes of ginger and honey. The slightly sweet and certainly savory broth is flavorful and doesn’t really need anything additional, especially if you want to appreciate the five-spice seasoning. The soup is good anytime of the year, but is especially comforting in winter.

The jujubes are used extensively in Chinese medicine, as they’re said to calm the mind, nourish the blood, fight against fatigue and poor appetite, protect against toxins, and boost Vitamin C.

If you want more: Look around and you’ll find everyone eating canh ga chien bo (chicken wings deep fried in butter). You’ll find these much-acclaimed wings ($7.00) in the appetizer part of the menu. The slightly thick breading works well in this dish, resulting in wings encrusted with garlic, green onion, chili, and salt. Eat as is, or swipe in the tangy dipping sauce that comes with them.

Be aware/beware: The “Hue” in the restaurant’s name is grandpa’s name, and not the Vietnamese city. “Mi gia” means “noodle house.” There are two restaurants in this family business. One is inside the Great Wall Mall in Renton. If, like me, you visit the one in the Little Saigon, be forewarned that it’s best to park on the surface if possible. I’ve been trapped in the garage below and once waited twenty minutes to get out due to traffic and challenging parking conditions. Also note that the restaurant is extremely popular, which can mean cramped quarters and occasional waits. Those waits are worthwhile, though, for quality food, reasonable prices, and friendly service.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on December 19, 2011.

When I attended the Culinary Institute of America’s annual Worlds of Flavor conference last year

Seattle has two such shops.

To learn more about my favorite Japanese noodle dish, I visited Ivan Ramen, one of Japan’s many ramen restaurants, to meet Ivan Orkin–a New Yorker who was inspired by the movie Tampopo and moved to Tokyo to fulfill a dream of being a successful ramen shop chef. (You can find Orkin in conversation with David Chang in the inaugural issue of Lucky Peach.) In a country full of “disciplined” cooking, Orkin loves ramen because “it’s the one maverick cuisine with no rules.”

With no rules, there are endless versions of ramen, with each version boasting its own boosters. This probably makes it wrong for me to title this article “What’s Wrong with Ramen in Seattle?” In fact, what’s right is the increasing popularity of ramen and its prevalence on menus around Seattle. I hear that Taichi Kitamura of Sushi Kappo Tamura is developing a recipe, and maybe Seattle will soon land a Japanese chain, following in the footsteps of New York, Los Angeles, and Vancouver.

What’s ready is the chance for someone to open a stellar place that takes ramen to the next level. That’s the case in Vancouver (well, predictably, Richmond), where G-Men Ramen (photo, above) was serving the best bowls I’ve found in the Pacific Northwest–until they suddenly closed a couple of months ago. (I’m told they hope to reopen next month, perhaps with a different name, in the former Nan Chuu space on Alexandra Road in Richmond.) Eating there, and in Tokyo, helped me understand why we’re falling short on ramen quality in Seattle:

1. No housemade noodles. This isn’t a must, but sometimes it’s a distinguishing feature. Local noodle options are weak, and it seems most of the restaurants get their ramen noodles from the same source in California.

2. Broths are off (usually weak). The process takes time and dedication, and can’t just be an afterthought.

3. Inferior meat. Pork and chicken taste better in Asia. Lower quality pork and chicken not only result in lower quality stock for the soup, but the chashu pieces I see here are lacking in fat and flavor.

4. Bad eggs. Those lower quality chickens come from lower quality eggs. Unless a restaurant here uses a farm fresh egg, it will be lacking the bright orange yolk you’d find at a place like G-Men Ramen. (Our ramen shops also tend to overcook the eggs.)

5. A lack of “Japaneseness.” Just as our Hanna Raskin questioned whether the quality of Stopsky’s Deli suffered from a lack of Yiddishkeit (the Yiddish word for “Jewishness”), I wonder whether the best ramen places should be single-focus and Japanese-run. (Some similarly argue that the best sushi joints are run by Japanese sushi chefs.)

Here’s a round-up of ramen shops in the Seattle area, with a few notes offered.

Japanese

• Maekawa Bar (ramen pictured, right) is an izakaya offering serviceable, simple shoyu, plus optional add-ons like a pat of butter. ($7)
• Kushibar offers all the usual suspects (shoyu, tonkotsu, miso, shio), though some complain the broth is too strong. ($11-12)
• Kaname serves a limited number of tonkotsu miso and tonkotsu shio bowls on its izakaya menu, but with weak broths. ($8.95)
• Kiku Sushi is a Bellevue sushi joint serving only champon, with mixed seafood. ($11.50)
• Dozo Bellevue Café (Kirkland’s Dozo Japanese Sushi has a more limited ramen menu) supplements classic Japanese choices with its Chuka (Chinese) ramen offerings like tan tan men and BP (bell pepper) & pork ramen. ($8-11)
• New Zen is a Japanese restaurant whose only ramen features a tonkotsu-shoyu blend; it might do the trick if you’re traveling to Ikea in Renton. ($9.50)
• Ginza gives you overpriced and underwhelming ramen (shoyu, miso, shio, asari with clam, and takana with sour pickles, mushrooms and pork) in Bellevue. ($12.75-13.50)
• Tsukushinbo is the best of the bunch; it’s what my Japanese partner says she’d imagine her or any grandma’s shoyu ramen to be–previously discussed here. ($8.50, includes gyoza and rice, but limited number of bowls for Friday lunch only)

Chinese (Yes, ramen originate there, but the Japanese have really elevated it.)

• Fu Lin (ramen pictured, right) has signs that scream ramen throughout the restaurant, but regardless of the many varieties offered, the broths are weak and the noodles are cooked too soft. ($6-8)
• Yoe’s Noodles, with, yes, more soft noodles and bland broth in bowls that range from basic to those with grilled eel–previously discussed here. ($7.50-9.50)

Other (from chefs and owners who are not specifically Japanese or Chinese)

• Aloha Ramen (ramen pictured, right) is a dedicated ramen shop (with Hawaiian roots), and it’s doing a wide variety of bowls from the usual (all but tonkotsu) to the more exotic (black sesame miso to mabo katsu). Shio is pretty good, but some bowls suffer from bland broths. ($7.50-9.50)
• Revel takes its try at kimchi ramen with housemade noodles–previously discussed here. ($14)
• Spring Hill makes a wonderfully complex bowl of saimin, with the best egg in town–previously discussed here. ($12) Note, saimin’s not ramen, but if you want to try this “Hawaiian ramen,” you can also go to Hawaiian Breeze and Saimin Says.
• Okinawa Teriyaki is an odd place for ramen, as I was told it’s “American” and uses vegetable stock and dry Korean noodles–previously discussed here. ($6.99-8.99)

You’ll notice that Boom Noodle (shoyu, miso, tonkotsu, shio, kimchi, and spicy yuzu for $9.95-$10.95) and Samurai Noodle (tonkotsu, shoyu, shoyu-tonkotsu combination for $7.25, with other varieties on the menu and in-store specials up to $1.00 more) are missing from the lists. These two are consistently the best bets in town for ramen, and I’ll be writing more about them in the future.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on July 26, 2011.

Dish:

In the bowl: From the menu: “Imperial roll, grilled white prawn, grass-fed beef bo mo chai, cucumber, rau thom.” This and more (see below) over cold rice vermicelli noodles.

Supporting cast: A side of nuoc cham (made with nuoc mam, a.k.a. fish sauce).

What to do: Pour the nuoc cham sauce over the top, mix as much as you’d like, and then start pulling items out of the bowl–a little of this and a little of that in each bite.

Noodling around: The cold vermicelli dishes enticed me immediately, as they’re perfect for summer nights. They’re made with rice vermicelli noodles (sometimes called rice sticks, or bun in Vietnamese) which are thin, so they get boiled quickly then cooled. These noodles are a great vehicle for a variety of toppings. As I couldn’t get the complete story from my server about the specials, I decided to simply try the “Combo Vermicelli” for some surf and turf tasting.

The beef sausage (bo mo chai, typically wrapped in lard) was bursting with flavor, and I appreciated the good grillwork on the shrimp–though I wondered if they were from a sustainable source. Departing from what was stated on the menu, there was a nice piece of grilled chicken as well. The imperial rolls added crispy texture to the dish. In addition to the advertised cucumbers, I found carrots, bean sprouts, and peanuts. I would have liked just a little more rau thom (Vietnamese herbs) to add flavoring, and a little more nuoc cham to lubricate the whole affair.

If you want more: With little yet up at Ba Bar’s website, I found a menu online elsewhere and had hopes for a grapefruit salad (with avocado and xi muoi–or Vietnamese preserved plums). But that has fallen off the menu (which understandably is getting tweaked), so I instead chose the Hue dumplings, also known as banh bot loc chay ($6). These mochi-like dumplings with mung beans, caramelized shallot, and spicy soy vinaigrette were appropriately chewy, but a bit wanting for flavor. (I’d prefer banh bot loc, made with shrimp and pork.) The grilled sardine with cucumber salad and dry shrimp ($8) I spotted at the next table looked more promising.

Be aware/beware: This is the fifth of Eric Banh’s restaurants, whose hand already held a pair of Monsoons and a pair of Baguette Boxes. Ba Bar (”Ba” means father in Vietnamese) has a noodle bar and street food feel. The space is compelling, starting with a fun glimpse of the kitchen (and rotisserie chickens) upon entry. I like the concept, which is casual and affordable, with a beautiful bar in the dining room.

The early problem is service. I’d read bad reports, and my experience was no different. I felt like I was part of a comedy troupe skit exaggerating restaurant mistakes–and yet it was all too real. Yes, yes, Ba Bar just opened earlier in the month. But just about every aspect of the dining experience ran afoul, from the server not knowing the dishes on the menu (or the ingredients in the dishes), to the poor timing of orders arriving at the table, to the clearing of items without asking, to a mis-delivery of dumplings after I had paid the bill. Seems the staff needed more training, or the restaurant needed a more prolonged soft opening. Reports are that Banh has his hands full trying to right the ship.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on July 19, 2011.

Dish:

In the bowl: From the menu: “chilled udon, daikon oroshi and tempura crunch in cold dashi broth.” There are also green onions and nori (seaweed strips) on top. I opted to add a raw egg for fifty cents more.

Supporting cast: Just what’s in the bowl.

What to do: Break the egg a bit with your chopsticks, and mix it in if you’d like. Then, slurp up noodles with your chopsticks and drink broth with your spoon.

Noodling around: In the world of Japanese noodles, ramen is my go-to dish. Once in a while, though, I’m in the mood for udon. These wheat noodles are slightly thick and typically have good bite to them. Showa serves them two ways. In niku udon, the noodles are in warm, beefy broth with stewed beef pieces, a hard-boiled egg, and spinach. The inaka udon, in contrast, features a cool broth and noodles that are firmer and more mochi-like in their chewiness.

It’s the cool broth that makes Showa’s inaka udon a refreshing summertime treat. The grated daikon (oroshi) adds coolness as well as sweetness to the dish. (Daikon is also full of vitamins and nutrients.) Tempura crunch refers to tempura batter fallout in the oil, often sold in “Rice Krispies” form as tenkasu, and blends well with the soup while providing soft texture (and perhaps psychological crispiness).

Udon noodles in cool broth are supremely slurpable. But be sure to alternate sips of broth with the noodle slurps. I’m told the dashi is made on-site, and it makes for a delicious broth. And you’ll definitely want the raw egg, because everything’s better with a raw egg, right?

One point of confusion: I’m not sure why this udon dish is called “inaka,” which means countryside. It’s the niku udon which I think of as inaka–as there’s meat, and it’s warm and comforting. Showa’s inaka udon seems more urban and refined to me. I know there’s a brand of noodles called inaka udon, but Showa’s udon seems to be frozen, which is what I eat at home. That said, I’d love to see someone prepare fresh (Sanuki) udon in a Seattle restaurant.

If you want more: Given that the inaka udon is meatless, I’d suggest getting the butabara, which is grilled pork belly on a skewer ($3.50). I like this better than Showa’s yakitori ($3), which is a skewer of grilled chicken basted with soy and sake. (I prefer yakitori with salt instead of “tare” sauce, and when I crave yakitori, I conjure up liver, kidneys, skin, and other offbeat parts of the chicken.) If you’re looking for more vegetables, go gomaae–boiled spinach with a strong and pleasant sesame dressing ($3.50).

Be aware/beware: Showa offers happy hour from 5-7pm and 10pm until closing. Happy hour knocks one dollar off certain menu items, and offers some drink specials. As this is an izakaya, there’s a focus on drinking, with the limited menu of food to go with your wine, beer, or sake. Portions are fairly small (it’s really a small plates place), so you’ll need to order a number of dishes if you’re looking to cobble together a meal.

First published in Seattle Weekly’s Voracious on July 12, 2011.