Gastrolust

Dish: Guay Tiow Tom Yum Place: Pestle Rock, Ballard Price: $12.00 In the bowl: From the specials board: “Thin rice noodles with Carlton Farms ground pork, green bean, bean sprout, onion & cilantro, topped w/ground peanuts and rendered pork belly garlic (sic).” Supporting cast/What to do: This dish is listed as two peppers in spice [...]

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Yesterday, Serious Eats posted my roundup of “10 Terrific Tofu Dishes in Seattle.” An excerpt: I probably wouldn’t have connected the words “tofu” and “terrific” twenty or thirty years ago. Before I’d been exposed to the wide array of Asian cuisine, tofu was merely a meat substitute that I considered bland and boring. Now I [...]

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What happens when a food writer joins friends for dinner with no intention of a write-up or review? Well, apparently, it still turns into a photo shoot and report. How can I resist sharing images from a tantalizing Thai meal at Noodle Boat in Issaquah? I’ve consistently ranked Noodle Boat at the top of its [...]

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Dish: Golden Noodles Place: Thaiger Room, University District Price: $7.28 ($2.00 more for prawns and $3.00 more for mixed seafood) On the plate: Per the menu: “Rice noodles stir-fried with your choice of meat and mixed vegetable. Topped with delicious peanut sauce.” I went with chicken, and the mixed vegetables included broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and [...]

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Dish: Khao Soi Gai Place: Little Uncle, Capitol Hill Price: $8.80 On the plate: Per the menu: “Chiang Mai curry egg noodles, stewed chicken, pickled mustard, fried shallots.” “Mustard” is mustard greens. There’s also red onion, bean sprouts, ginger strips, cilantro, a lime wedge, and fried noodles. Supporting cast/What to do: Buy this to-go, and [...]

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Dish: Drunken Mushrooms Place: Araya’s Vegetarian Place, University District Price: $13.95 On the plate: Per the menu: “Classic Thai spicy wide rice noodles stir-fried in garlic & chili with veggies beef, Portabello and other mushrooms.” The other mushrooms are shiitake and white button mushrooms, and there’s also red and green bell pepper, asparagus, and fried [...]

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Dish: Boat Noodle Soup Place: OK Noodles, University District Price: $6.78 In the bowl: Per the menu: “Small rice noodles, bean sprouts, spinach.” “Small” is written in because “Wide” is crossed out. Beef is the logical choice with boat noodle soup, so I went with that, though chicken, soy chicken, soy beef, and tofu are [...]

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Dish: Pad Thai Place: Thai Palms, Rainier Valley Price: $6.99 On the plate: Per the menu: “Thai noodles mixed with ground peanuts, onion and bean sprouts.” There’s also lots of shredded carrot and purple cabbage, and my meat choice of pork. Supporting cast/What to do: No supporting cast, and some of the main characters are [...]

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Dish: Ayutthaya Noodles Place: Ayutthaya Thai Cuisine, Capitol Hill Price: $8.50 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 [...]

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Dish: Drunken Beef Noodles Place: Indochine Asian Dining Lounge, Tacoma (on Pacific Ave.) Price: $13.95 On the plate: From the menu: “Tender marinated beef, rice noodles, bamboo shoots, onions, and bell peppers are sautéed with Thai basil and dressed in sweet soy sauce and rice wine.” From the photo, you can see that there’s also [...]

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