MSG150: Seattle International District Lunch Food: 2009

Noodle King is no longer in business.

Former Union Gospel Mission space now has a Chinese restaurant! The shelter is now located in South Seattle. The street occupied by Unicorn Crepes (now Unicone), Joe's Bar, Henry's, Piece of Cake, and Fu Lin now has new tenant. We went 5 strong to check it out.

Noodle King, Seattle
Address: 522 S. King St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Noodles
Average rating: 4.2 chopsticks
Lunch date: 12/7/2009 @ 11:40:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 7 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Little Bit
Where is the owner/chef from?: Shandong Province, China
Number of tables: 9
Number of occupied tables: 2 (22%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (50%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (50%)
Healthcode Score: N/A
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Hot Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup with Hand Tossed Noodles - $8.95
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

We spied this place on a regular visit to Pho Bac or something. We saw some nerds inside and some Chinese food on the menu so we figured it was our kind of place. And on this cold blustery December day, hot soup sounds like it fits the bill.

I went with the hot and spicy seafood soup. It was filled with large, fresh mussels, some bright leafy greens. The broth was thick and red. And the spice - they weren't lying when they said it was hot/spicy. There was absolutely no need to reach for the hot sauce on this one. They spiced it well.

The hand tossed noodles - I'll save my money next time. They were good but they didn't seem significantly better than standard store bought.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Beef Noodle Soup - $6.95
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

You may remember the address of this place, it's the old Union Gospel Mission's Women and Children Center. It's been almost 2 years since we were last there, and that was a great experience. Could the soup at Noodle King possibly beat Kathy's stew?

Trying to decide between the weekly special and the kimchi pork soup was difficult. It was made much easier when Geary and Saut decided to steal my order before I had a chance to choose, so I went with the standard Beef Noodle Soup. This was like an unspicy version of Szechuan Noodle Bowl's #13. The chunks of beef were incredibly beefy flavored. I got the normal noodles and thought they were pretty good, but it would definitely be worth the extra $2 to watch the noodles being tossed. Let whomever you're with pay the extra $2, and you can watch and enjoy the still-delicious standard noodles. The broth was pretty well flavored, but not overly beefy. Describing broth is hard. Maybe I'd call it "well balanced."

Tastier than your average Chinese bear. I'll be back. This place might have UGM's stew beat on flavor, it'll never beat UGM's big heart.

Donate to Union Gospel Mission.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Za Jiang Noodle (Noodles in Black Bean Sauce with Pork) with Hand Tossed Noodles - $5.95
Rating: 5 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

The place looked great. They have taken over the dining area of the abandoned mission. It's a beautiful space with dark wood walls and big front windows. Our server was very friendly and and patient as she helped us decipher the menu.

Nobody else stepped up so I ordered the lunch special, Za Jiang Noodle (Noodles in Black Bean Sauce with Pork). Plus for $2 extra I went with the Hand Tossed Noodles. We quickly realized that "Hand Tossed" meant actually, really hand tossed right there while you wait. I jumped up and caught a few shots of the noodle chef and this short video of him finishing up. It was AMAZING. I had heard of this before and had seen it done in the special features section of the Kung Fu Panda DVD (see it here), but I didn't, until today, know of any place in Seattle that was doing this.

Our food came out quickly and I dove in. I had already gotten more than my $2's worth watching the noodle chef so the fact that the noodles were incredibly tender and delicious was just gravy. The black bean sauce had wonderful subtle flavors, but needed some Kimchi (provided as a shared side) and a few squirts of Sriracha to give it a little bit of a tangy kick to push it over the edge. The Noodle King indeed.

Luncher: Dave

Lunch: Meatball Noodle Soup with Hand Tossed Noodles - $8.50
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Dave's Review

this is a 2-for-1 review, because geary and i went to this place two days in a row for lunch. what can i tell you, hot noodle soup on a cold day is one of life's great pleasures. soup #1: meatball soup. rich pork? chicken? broth, toothsome but tender noodles, delicious moist tender meatballs, bok choy. sounds simple, but the depth of flavor in the broth was surprising. i was sort of jealously eyeing the various spicy red bowls around me, but i realized by the end that i was stuffed but could Not. Stop. Drinking. Broth. i put the spoon down, i sat there a few seconds, and i realized i had spoon in hand and broth in mouth. if i had to find something to complain about, i'd say the kimchi (which, dipped in the broth, improved both) was a little salty for my taste. not that that stopped me from...

soup #2: kimchi pork. if you love kimchi as much as i do, you will like this soup. great balance of spice and richness and tanginess. i had the regular (non-hand-tossed) noodles in the name of science, and to be 100% honest, i'm not sure i'd be able to tell the difference blindfolded, but when i go back (and i will) i'll probably pay the $2 for the show. the only drawback for this bowl of soup was that it was so hot temperature-wise that halfway into the bowl it was still steaming my eyeglasses. also, for whatever reason, this time the kimchi wasn't too salty.

the ID was already a great place for noodle soup, and noodle king adds another fantastic option. the fact that they're doing the hand-stretched noodle deal is awesome, both to watch and to see the tradition alive and well.

Luncher: Saut

Lunch: Kimchi Pork Noodle Soup with Hand Tossed Noodles - $8.50
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Saut's Review

Kimchi noodle with pork and homemade noodle was pretty darn tasty and they serve something different than regular china town restaurants.

Noodle King Photos

Noodle King

Menu Side B

Menu Side A

Special

Lunch Nook at the Noodle King

The Noodle Chef at the Noodle King

Beef Noodle Soup

Kimchi

Za Jiang Noodle (Noodles in Black Bean Sauce with Pork) with Hand Tossed Noodles

Meatball Noodle Soup with Hand Tossed Noodles

Hot Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup with Hand Tossed Noodles

Kimchi Pork Noodle Soup with Hand Tossed Noodles

Skillet Walk-up Window is no longer in business. It has been replaced by The Swinery.

We've been big fans of the Skillet Airstream ever since their debut on the Seattle scene in 2007 with their "Bacon Jam," their "trailer," and their inability to follow "basic health codes." And God dammit, as soon as they appear, they leave. For a brief period in the Summer of 2009 the Skillet opened a walk-up window literally across the street from MSG150 HQ.

Gone from our zone (but not forgotten), here is our overdue, still somewhat relevant, review of the Trailer-gone-Walk-Up-gone-back-to-the-streets food place.

Skillet Walk-up Window, Seattle
Address: 220 Fourth Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: American: Burgers
Average rating: 4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 9/1/2009 @ 12:15:00
Time taken to be seated: N/A minutes
Time to take order: 8 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 13 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 23 minutes
Chopstix quality: Plastic Fork
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Josh Henderson
Number of tables: 0
Number of occupied tables: 0
Number of business lunch tables: 0
Number of "local" tables: 0
Healthcode Score: 15
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Pho - $8.00
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

The walk-up window is located on the back side of an abandoned looking building next to the trash cans. Really. There is nowhere nearby to sit, but from what we can see from our office, the back of the building is a popular place to pee in the early evening. So it's got that going for it. We've been a few times since it opened, but never in our official capacity as MSG150 lunchers until today.

Everything on their menu except the burger changes daily. Today I went with one of the specials, Vietnamese Pho. We ate back at the office in a conference room so the time between order and eating was longer that I would have liked. I was ravenous by the time I popped the lid on my soup and dug in. There were fewer fresh veggies that with traditional Pho, but the broth was sweet and delicious with a much richer flavor that most Pho. The beef was tender and tasty as well. We also shared some Poutine, decadent, and Carrot Cake, yum. As usual the food was fantastic, but I can't get over how crappy a location the walk-up window is, other than it being across the street from me.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Tacos - $7.50
Rating: 5 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

Once upon a time there was a Hip Hop Night Club here. Not that I would know anything about such things. It's been derelict for awhile so good god were we excited to hear that Skillet was setting down roots here.

I had the Tacos and we all split some Poutine. Their Tacos - delicious, savory, fresh. Kind of what you wish every Mexican restaurant in town could put on your platos, but consistently fail at it, inexplicably. The French Fries/Gravy/Cheese Curds need no review. On previous visits I've had their breakfast Tacos - yum, their Burger - 5 chopsticks, their Summer Lasagna - probably the best lasagna I've tasted in my entire life, and it was vegetarian to boot.

This window is closed (their replacement ain't bad), but you can find the Skillet round town still. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Dal - $6.00
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

I feel kind of morbid about writing this review, because the Skillet Street Walk-up Window (SSWW) is already dead. We miss you, and your delicious Bacon Jam'ed eats.

On this occasion, I got something new: Dal. I'd never had Dal before. I'd never heard of Dal before. But, the sign made it sound tempting: "Curry Lentil Soup over a bed of garlic ginger rice with cachumba and yogurt." Sounds pretty damned tasty, right? Unfortunately, it was lacking the flavor explosion of awesome that I'd come to expect from SSWW. This was mostly just a bland Indian Soup on a bed of bland rice. Next time we hit up a Skillet Trailer (and there will be another time), I'm definitely going back to the Bacon Jam covered burger. Oh em gee, it's so good.

Long story short: skip the Dal (if it's available) and just get "the burger".

On a side note, if you haven't had the Bacon Jam yet... get it. Great "Authentic Seattle" Christmas/Hanukkah present(s). On second thought, maybe you'd be better with just a coupon for Hanukkah.