Lunch #83: Noodle King

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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


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