Lunch #51: Sandie's Gourmet Restaurant

The MSG150 crew headed out for the nondescript meat in window joint next to the nondescript A & B Cafe but found it closed on Tuesdays. This bounced us on to the next spot, Sandie's Gourmet Restaurant, only twenty feet away.

NOTE: Sandie's is closing its doors sometime this month and the owners are moving to Alaska.

Sandie's Gourmet Restaurant, Seattle
Address: 664 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Taiwanese
Average rating: 4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 5/6/2008 @ 12:20:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 2 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 30 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 55 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smoothed Wood
Do they use MSG?:
Where is the owner/chef from?: Taiwan
Number of tables: 9
Number of occupied tables: 4 (44%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (50%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (50%)
Healthcode Score: 10
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Shredded Pork and Mustard Green Noodle Soup - $7.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

At first glance from the street Sandie's looks like the Chinese version of a Hallmark store with its heart logo, red tinted glass, and flowers in the window. The interior is densely decorated with Chinese art. The tables and place settings are fairly typical for the neighborhood. Nothing other than the sign really says "gourmet." I sensed a winner, however, with my first pass through the menu. They offer a nice selection of Szechuan and Taiwanese dishes and don't hold back on things that tend to frighten whitey like Spicy Simmered Pigs Ear, Pork Bung with Sour Mustard, or Preserved Pickle with Pigs Intestine. No Americanized dishes here (sorry General Tzao). There were already multiple orders for the Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup by the time it was my turn to order, so I went with the Shredded Pork and Mustard Green Noodle Soup. I thew in an order of Green Onion Pancakes for the table as well.

The Pancakes came out quickly and were delicious. They were lighter and flakier than the ones at Szechuan Noodle Bowl and we got twice as much for about the same price. The Beef Noodle Soups came out quickly, but the rest of the food took a while. Fortunately for me Adam was in a sharing mood. While the Beef soup tastes very different than my gold standard at Szechuan Noodle Bowl, it is equally as wonderful. The noodles were thinner, there were more gooey bits like tendon included (I'm a big fan of gooey bits), it included a heap of cilantro and the sauce had a more pungent flavor. I plan on going back and ordering a full order for myself before they shut down.

While we were waiting for the vastly understaffed kitchen to push out our food, the elderly man who was serving us fed us almost too much detail about the finances and impending demise of the restaurant. My Pork Soup finally arrived and had a very distinct smell because of the diced mustard greens. It concerned me at first, but once I dove in all was good. The pork was tender and the mustard greens provided a distinctive, pungent flavor to make a surprisingly tasty combination. I also was able to snag bits of other's dishes as well. Rob's eggplant was exceptional as were the fried pork chops. The kitchen was slow, but if you want great authentic Chinese food you would have trouble finding better.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Oyster Pancake with Egg and Vegetables - $7.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

So we've walked by this place a few times in our post-663 recce and on the way back from A & B. We were going to head somewhere else today, but Wing Wah was closed, so we ended up Sandie's. My first inmpression from our walkbys was 'potpourri'. I don't know why I get that feeling, but it's got red trim on the exterior, some flowers in the window, and you can smell incense. That reaction might perhaps explain why this place doesn't get much business, which is a shame, because the food was delicious.

On examining the menu, I discovered this place was Taiwanese, and they had several Taiwanese specialties, which was great! Years ago my buddies and I were in a night market in Taipei, and I had several fantastic dishes that I've never seen anywhere else. One I particularly remember was the Oyster omelet, which is Taiwan's favorite snack, beating out Geary's beloved milk tea with tapioca pearls. Sandie's had it on their menu! Done and done.

We started with an appetizer of green onion pancakes, which were flaky and delicious. The oyster omelet came and was delicious, a nice blend of green veggies, eggs, sweet oysters, and some gummy substance that I could have probably done without. On top was a sweet hot sauce reminiscent of Bibimbob sauce.

Definitely check this place out, if you can make it before they close.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup - $7.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

After my poor ordering decisions at A & B Cafe. I decided to try a classic stand-by... Szechuan Beef Noodle soup.

The extremely nice (and chatty) server came over and gave a recommendation for the soup. After our food was delivered, he came over again... and let us know that Sandie's was closing. He also disclosed how much money they make in a day and that he was just helping out... not working for money, he was working for friendship.

The food was a little slow, but this one-chef-show was pumping out dishes pretty fast. My soup was the first to come... Did I wait for my friends to get served before I dug in? Eff no -- When food is placed in front of me it's "go time." The soup was delicious, but it wasn't Szechuan Noodle Bowl delicious... it is definitely worth a taste, though. It has a beefy flavor, but this broth was spiked with a healthy helping of delicious cilantro.

Sounds like this place is closing pretty soon, so if you want to try it out... head over soon.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Szechuan Style Eggplant with Tofu - $9.00
Rating:

Rob's Review

We finally found that awesome, secret, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant that none of us had ever been to! Unfortunately, it's closing in a week. Harumph!

At my table (we took over two, a six-top and a four-top) we ordered two scallion pancakes -- I'm used to these having four to six small pieces. The server brought out a plate with two pancakes on it, each about eight inches in diameter -- huge and well-prepared (flaky on the outside, a bit chewy on the inside). Then he brought out a second plate with two pancakes on it, which was a surprise. One scallion pancake order = two scallion pancakes, apparently. My order, Szechuan Style Eggplant with Tofu, eventually came out and looked promising, and, I'm glad to say, tasted even better. The sauce was flavorful and spicy, the tofu was soft and silky, and the eggplant was perfectly cooked. Usually when I have a Chinese or Thai dish featuring eggplant there are a couple pieces that are hard -- you bite into one and your lower teeth stick into the thick, hard, somewhat raw eggplant flesh and your upper teeth squeak across the taut skin. I hate that. Here, however, it was soft but not falling apart and really took on the flavor of the sauce. Yum!

I'll have to go back before they close.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup - $7.00
Rating:

Michael's Review

Big heaping plates of fresh scallion pancakes. Beef noodle soup that is full of spicy and juicy goodness. This place rocks. But you better get over there and try it right now - or you'll never know just how good it was.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup - $7.00
Rating:

Joey's Review

These Szechuan noodles have nothing on the ones at Szechuan Noodle Bowl. I found the soup to be way too salty. It left me feeling like I just had instant noodles with over 10 packs of seasoning. I did appreciate that the owner took the time to tell us about his restaurant mishaps though. I hope they make it out okay.

Luncher: Jason

Lunch: Kung Pao Chicken - $10.00
Rating:

Jason's Review

It's a shame this quaint Chinese restaurant is going out of business, because it is heads and tails above others in the area. My Kung Pao chicken packed both the kung and the POW! It was delicious and the service delightful. If anyone could remember the restaurant's name, maybe they wouldn't disappear.

Luncher: Lydia

Lunch: House Special Fried Rice - $8.95
Rating:

Lydia's Review

The House Special Fried Rice was OK, but I’ve certainly had better. It was lacking a certain amount of flavor. And, while the waiter's tale of the restaurant's impending demise made me feel for the owners, it didn't make my lunch arrive any faster. I wish I could say this little place will be missed, but rather, I can see why it didn't really distinguish itself from the abundance of small Chinese restaurants in the ID.

Luncher: Wayne

Lunch: Pork Chop Rice - $7.00
Rating:

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Shredded Beef with Green Chili - $10.00
Rating:

Sandie's Gourmet Restaurant Photos

Sandie's Gourmet Restaurant


Menu Cover


First Page of Menu


Green Onion Pancake


Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup


Shrine


Shredded Pork and Mustard Green Noodle Soup


Oyster Pancake with Egg and Vegetables


Szechuan Style Eggplant with Tofu


Shredded Beef with Green Chili


Pork Chop Rice


Kung Pao Chicken

Lunch #48: 663 Bistro

The MSG150 crew was seven lunchers strong today as we headed back past the intersection of Weller and Maynard to find our next spot in the Heart of the DLZ. Just next door to Ho Ho is the simply named 663 Bistro (at 663 Weller). Program note: Semi-vegetarian Rob is back with us after an extended battle with the flu. Welcome back Rob!

663 Bistro, Seattle
Address: 663 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Congee, Chinese: Noodles, Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 4.3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/18/2008 @ 12:17:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 8 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 53 minutes
Chopstix quality: Really Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 18
Number of occupied tables: 11 (61%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (18%)
Number of "local" tables: 9 (81%)
Healthcode Score: 20
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wontons - $5.95
Rating:

Emmett's Review

The first time I came here, Geary and I tag-teamed an entire duck. For some reason we thought we could put it away ourselves. But they brought this humongous piece of fowl against which we had no chance. It was delicious, I looked forward to our return.

663 is another bright Cantonese spot with an extensive menu covering soups, noodles, congee, etc. We had a good crew, affording us the opportunity to try a few different things. I wanted to do soup, cause I had such a good experience at Ocean City II with their soup. I ordered the Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wontons.

They offered three different types of noodles - Cantonese noodles, wide rice Noodles, and thin rice noodles. I opted for the Cantonese, which are the standard. Their soup was fantastic, and the pork was as savory as Ocean City II. It held up well to Mike's Noodle House. I also got to sample some of Rob's Curried Fish Fillet, which was fantastic, and the other assorted Beef and Noodle dishes.

Everything was solid. I'll return.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: XO Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles with Sliced Fish + Pea Vine Greens - $7.95 + $9.95
Rating:

Geary's Review

663 Bistro has a medium-sized dining area that is clean with appealing, but muted, decor. Even though it isn't much of a name, it is unusual for a Chinese restaurant to have a name that doesn't immediately identify it as Chinese. And it puts them in the same neighborhood as Travis Shred and his neighbor, The Beast. 663 has a sizable menu and no specific lunch specials (YAY!). The menu selections include noodles, soups, congee, BBQ meats, and various other southern Chinese favorites. I was in the mood for noodles so went with the XO Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles with Sliced Fish. I noticed our waitress delivering a plate of greens to a neighboring table, so threw in an order for some Pea Vine Greens of our own.

Rob's fish arrived first and was a clear winner. He was kind and shared bites. The curry was thick and flavorful. The fish was fresh, moist, and flaky. My XO Noodles were also great. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. It was similar to beef chow fun, except with fish. The fish wasn't deep fried, like Rob's curry. It was just stir-fried in with the noodles, onions, and sprouts. The sprouts and onions gave it a nice crunch and the XO sauce added a tangy flavor. Yum! The Pea Vine Greens were cooked perfectly and were a welcome companion to the heavily noodled main course. The fish balls, however, were a bit too fishy for my taste.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Noodles in Soup with Roast Duck and BBQ Pork - $5.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

The menu for 663 Bistro was pretty damn huge... so I was having a hard time deciding what to get. I thought the 663 was because of their address, but it turns out it's the number of items on their menu... <groan>. I saw some Meat in the Window, so I knew I wanted to get something with that. I opted for the Noodle Soup with Roast Pork and Roast Duck.

I didn't actually get roast pork in my soup, there was a bit of a miscommunication, and I got the Honey BBQ Pork. This little mishap ended up being quite a little pig-tastic blessing. The Honey BBQ Pork is sweet and salty (as opposed to just salty like BBQ pork from some other MIWs), and lent a nice flavor to the soup that it was in. The roast duck was good, but I wish there had been more.

I was going to give this place a solid 4-chopsticks review, until I tasted the Curry Fish Fillet on Rice. The curry sauce was very flavorful and creamy. The bowl that contained the curry was nearly overflowing with fish... they crammed-in at least 2 servings of fish. This is one of the best lunches I've ever tasted, and I'm heading back to this place to specifically get this dish! It was so good, I didn't even mind that the Vegetarian Rob ordered it.

Great prices. Great food. One of the International District Gems.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Curry Fish Fillet on Rice - $6.50
Rating:

Rob's Review

I'd been to 663 Bistro once before well over a year ago (and I sat at the same table in almost the same seat), and the dish I had was fairly unremarkable (what Joey got, but sans beef). This time, however, I went with the curry fish fillet, in no small part to Joey telling me, "The curry is pretty good here," and I must say that I won today's lunch lottery (they even served me first!). The curry is actually pretty great -- creamy, flavorful, with a decent kick (didn't need any extra hot sauce) -- generously poured over an ample amount of breaded, tender, and moist flounder, onions, bell peppers, and potatoes. One of the best curries I've had in quite a while, in fact. The pea vines in garlic sauce was a great side dish to the curry -- the garlic sauce was nice and light (a smidge too salty on first taste, but fine on subsequent ones). So, there are great things here at the 663, but you have to choose wisely. Today was my first msg150 lunch in three weeks (I was out sick with a horrible, horrible flu and what have you), and it felt so good to be back that I didn't even mind Adam's feeble attempts at humor.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Tossed Noodles with BBQ Pork and Roast Duck - $6.25
Rating:

Michael's Review

I had the opportunity to sample most of the dishes on the table and with the exception of Joey's RMV everything was far above average. My noodles with duck and pork, Rob's curry, and Geary's pan fried noodles were all spectacular.

This isn't your usual boring lunch fare with breaded chicken covered in sugar. Fresh noodles, tasty broth, juicy barbeque, and the most awesome pea vines in garlic sauce make this bistro a big improvement over the usual 'lunch special'.

If you consider that this feast cost maybe 10 bucks including tax and tip you will have to agree that this is one of the best lunch spots we've found in the ID.

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wide Rice Noodles - $4.95
Rating:

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Beef and Fresh Vegetables on Rice - $5.75
Rating:

663 Bistro Photos

663 Bistro


Menu


Curry Fish Fillet on Rice


XO Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles with Sliced Fish + Pea Vine Greens


Tossed Noodles with BBQ Pork and Roast Duck


Noodles in Soup with Roast Duck and BBQ Pork


Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wide Rice Noodles


Pea Vine Greens


Beef and Fresh Vegetables on Rice


Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wontons


Curried Fish Balls

Lunch #43: Blue & Pink

Wishes can come true! Back in January when the MSG150 route took us past the Historic Chinatown Gate (HCG) we had to skip the Blue & Pink Korean restaurant since it had apparently closed down. We hoped that it was just temporary and tried fruitlessly (and somewhat ineptly) to solve the mystery, but to no avail. However, last week on our way out to Sea Garden we noticed that our hopes had become reality. Blue & Pink is back! So today we executed the biggest backtrack in MSG150 history and showed up at the base of the HCG for a Bibimbab love-in.

Blue & Pink, Seattle
Address: 502 S. King St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Korean, Teriyaki
Average rating: 4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/4/2008 @ 11:54:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 21 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 50 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Wood
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Seoul, South Korea
Number of tables: 8
Number of occupied tables: 4 (50%)
Number of business lunch tables: 3 (75%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (25%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Pork Bulgoki - $10.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

This is one of our standby restaurants... and we were really disappointed when it was closed. We found that they had closed their doors because of the construction of the historic Chinatown gate, and only just recently reopened. I've had a hankerin' for their "Well-Being Stone Bowl Beebimbob" for 4 months now, and couldn't wait to order it. Unfortunately, the PayScale Sales team beat us there, and there weren't any stone bowls left.

Being forced to try something else, I went with the Pork Bulgoki. This was some swine cooked with a sauce and some veggies. The dish didn't appear to have any kim chi in it... but there was a hint of fermented-flavor in the dish. This was a new dish to me, so it was fun to eat, but I would definitely stick with the Stone Bowl Beebimbob because its a total experience when you're eating out of a bowl that can (and does) fry an egg. The price ($10.95) definitely prices it out of the normal lunch spectrum, but a good solid Korean dish for lunch + snack

This is one of the only Korean restaurants in the International District, and is definitely worth visiting.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Bibimbob - $7.95
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Me and Korean food - we go way back. I think my first experience, like many, was in college. It was a beautiful spring evening in North Carolina. The smell of flowers was in the air. The time was right. My college roommate, who is Korean, set up the encounter. It was Kimchi soup, or something like that. It was... awful. But then again, the first time often is.

Fast forward ten years or so, my coworkers and I discover Blue and Pink. Blue and Pink, or Booo Pooo as I like to call it, replaced Saigon something or another that was famous for their two dollar sandwiches and upset stomaches they caused. I quickly became a big fan of their Bibimbob. On a summer day it's ridikulous. It's kind of cold, with the greens, sprouts, rice, mixing with the hot beef, and tasty red sauce. An egg cooked easy, and layered over the top. I get hungry just thinking about it. Then one day they throw the "Stone pot Bimbibob" on the menu. What is this? The same, only 1000x times better. They put the aforementioned ingredients in a piping hot ceramic bowl, that literally cooks the food at the table while you eat it. The rice gets crunchy, the egg touches the edge of the pot and instantly scrambles. It's fun to watch, more fun to eat. I've also had their kimchi, which is quite good.

This visit, they had run out of stone pots for the bibimbob. No matter, I'm happy with the regular as well. The service here can be on the slow side, but they never rush you. They took about 20 minutes to bring me the Bibimbob, which is very slow. They serve tea in a large cup, not some dinky thimble like many other places. I've had many other dishes. Their mushroom fried rice - delicious. Their gyoza is decent, and the Bulgogi has a nice flavor.

Vegetarians have options as well. Steve - my vegetarian friend, immediately dismissed this place quickly when I invited him out. However I persisted, and made him a convert and evangelizer of their Bibimbob, though he does it without meat.

Easily this is one of my favorite places in the ID.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Beef Bulgoki - $10.95
Rating:

Geary's Review

Blue & Pink took over the the spot that was previously occupied by Saigon Gourmet. You can still see the "ET" poking out from behind the Blue & Pink sign. The space has two entrances, one into the cozy dining area and the other into the kitchen and what used to be Saigon Gourmet's walk-up $2 sandwich (bahn mi) counter. The fried egg & tofu bahn mi was a long time staple of the pre-MSG150 MSG150 crew. Today there is no sandwich counter just a short menu of Korean favorites and teriyaki standards.

I have had a number different dishes at Blue & Pink, but I come back for the "Well-Being Stone Bowl BiBimbob". Bibimbob (or bibimbab, or 비빔밥) consists of hot white rice, namul (marinated vegetables), beef and a lightly fried egg in a super heated stone bowl. It is served with a large spoon so that you can stir it all together. As it is stirred, the molten hot bowl finishes cooking the egg. As you eat from the top, the rice mixture that is still in contact with the bowl is seared into brown crispy goodness. Today, however, we learned that Blue & Pink only has seven stone bowls. We also learned that the only other party in the restaurant, a table of seven of PayScale's finest sales folks, had already been served the seven stone bowls. Once I regained my composure I chose the first item on the Korean section of the menu as a back-up: the Beef Bulgoki.

The bulgoki was a huge portion and a bit spendy for a lunch entree, but it was delicious. It consisted of thinly cut strips of beef cooked in a tangy sauce with bits of cabbage and other veggies. It is fairly meat heavy, but luckily we were served four vegetable sides (or banchan) to share: kimchi and various namul. They were all crispy and tangy and a nice complement to the bulgoki. The pea vines and kimchi were my favorites. Welcome back Blue & Pink. You were missed.

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Chicken Yakisoba - $6.50
Rating:

Blue & Pink Photos

Blue & Pink (aka BOOO POOO)


Blue & Pink under the HCG


Blue & Pink Menu


Specials Menu


Chicken Yakisoba


Beef Bulgoki


Pork Bulgoki


Bibimbob


Bibimbob sauced up


Banchan (Kimchi and various Namul)


Well-Being Stone Bowl BiBimbob remains

Lunch #27: Jade Garden

It was touch and go today getting out of work, but in the end 7 of us headed out for Jade Garden with Erin joining in from her perch on the hill. All of us have been to this spot many times and everyone was looking forward to it today. The last MSG150 non-veggie Dim Sum lunch experience was not good.

Jade Garden, Seattle
Address: 424 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 4.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/11/2008 @ 12:08:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 2 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 20 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smoothed Wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 33
Number of occupied tables: 32 (96%)
Number of business lunch tables: 5 (15%)
Number of "local" tables: 25 (78%)
Healthcode Score: 10
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• Pork Spare Ribs
• 2 x Shu Mai
• 2 x Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf
• Beef with Rice Noodles
• 2 x Pork and Ginger Dumpling
• Shrimp-stuffed Eggplant
• Shrimp and Chive Dumpling
• Pork, Shrimp, and Mushroom ball
• Scallop and Shrimp Dumpling
• Honey Walnut Prawns
• Chinese Broccoli
• Fried Calamari
• Pan Toasted Sesame Shrimp & Scallion Balls

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

Probably the best dim sum in the city. I was split on whether to give this place a 4 or a 5... and I settled on a 5. This place is really good. No matter how busy Jade Garden is, I've never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to get a table... even with groups as big or bigger than 10 people.

All of the food was delicious. The pork spare ribs seemed bigger and tastier than normal. But, the highlight of the meal for me was the Pork and Ginger Dumpling. I'd never had one before, but they were simply awesome. Very tender and well flavored pork along some tasty ginger.

Good price for dim sum. The dim sum restaurant in the ID.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Jade Garden is where I come when I want Dim Sum in Seattle. This place has huge tables, is always crowded, and the selection of food on the carts is terrific. And you never have to wait more than 30 seconds to get your food. They use liberal amounts of Pork and Shrimp in everything, which just plain rocks. Compared to other places, the dim sum here just tastes a little fresher, a little more flavorful.

My favorites are the Sui Mai, the little bits of pork spare ribs, and the rice in lotus leaf. You can also order a plate of fresh fried calamari, which tastes terrific. I also tried the garlic pork buns for the first time, they were also good. And then everything with shrimp in it and sesame seeds on it - good.

As much as I love this place, it's missing something that I can't put my finger on. The service is kind of rude, but that doesn't bother me. I think I'd just like to see more specials - new dim sum every time. In any case, it doesn't matter. The dim sum here is good every time.

By the way, I had dinner here, and it sucks. Stick with the Dim Sum.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

Jade Garden is large, yet it still somehow maintains the feeling of a small restaurant. The 30+ tables are packed into five or so distinct eating areas, some at slightly different elevations and one, at the back of the maze, in what was once a neighboring restaurant. It is exactly how I expect a popular Hong Kong dim sum restaurant would be: always packed, lots of dim sum carts, great food, and lots of locals. It doesn't have the splashy decore or the bright fancy exterior that others use to cover up their sub-par offerings. But what it lacks in style, it more than makes up in taste and attiude. Also unlike its neighbors, Jade Garden is packed for lunch every day and by mostly Chinese speakers. It is not unusual to have to wait a few minutes for a table. However, since hot carts are always passing by, it's easy to get in and out in forty minutes or less.

Today we walked right in and got one of the large tables in the far back room. (Note: If you get stuck back here, make sure you get an early seating when the carts are still moving through. If not, you have to be a bit more assertive to get food flowing past.) We started with dumplings, shu mai, and noodle rolls, then the sticky rice and spare ribs and more dumplings. We topped it off with Chinese broccoli, deep fried calamari, and honey walnut prawns. Everything was great. The standouts today where the Pork and Ginger Dumplings, the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, and the Calamari. The dumplings were hot, with a nice meaty wrapper and tangy, gingery pork filling. Yum! The sticky rice is always great and today was no exception. It has the perfect combination of rice, pork, mushrooms, and tiny shrimp. The calamari was amazing. It is spiced with diced fresh red and green hot peppers that add just the right bite. Every piece I was able to sneak away with was hot, tender, and tasty (just like I like my... er, other types of things). The Pan Toasted Sesame Shrimp & Scallion balls are usually a highlight, but today our order was a bit cold. Still delicous though.

The other great thing about the Jade Garden is the price. We ate more than we should have today and walked away paying $9 each after tax and tip. Usually it's only $8. Again, that's all you can eat of the best Dim Sum in Seattle, for well under $10!

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Jeff's Review

The Jade Garden may be nearly the perfect ID dim sum experience. Before I even get to the food – let me clarify. It’s fair and affordable. There is plenty of seating. During lunch, the service is nearly immediate. The food is hot, fresh, and readily available. The establishment is staffed to support large lunch rushes. The table service for extras like beverages is good. Payment check-out is efficient. The only potential complaint is that it’s busy and somewhat loud. If you're looking for a quaint personal lunch with soft ambiance... this isn’t the right choice.

About the food - this is where I show my naivety. Essentially any time I go to dim sum with Geary, I simply default to whatever he pulls from the cart and I try everything. In this lunch I ended up eating more than I should and didn't have a single bad item. I had seafood, pork, vegetables, rice in varying combinations. Everything was warm, well cooked, and appropriately flavored. Even though I don’t know what everything is called, and I don’t even know what some items were - I feel confident that a dim sum rookies could randomly select just about anything from the carts and end up with a great lunch. The Jade Garden just makes great food - and makes it easy to enjoy your lunch experience.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Al's Review

"Fast food" that tastes great

Luncher: Laurent

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

VIP Luncher: Erin from Harborview Medical Center

Lunch: Family style - $8.00
Rating:

Erin's Review

Jade Garden is yummy. Today we had an excellent selection of dim sum, all of it tasty and fresh. Although the selection is somewhat standard for dim sum, we did have a delicious pork and ginger dumpling, which was my personal favorite today. I also enjoyed the stuffed eggplant. I think this is one of the best places for dim sum in the ID. I burned off all of the calories walking back up the hill to Harborview!

Jade Garden Photos

Jade Garden


Beef in Rice Noodle


Pork Ball


Eggplant with Shrimp


Sui Mai


Spare Ribs (not blurry in real life)


Shrimp & Scallion Dumpling


Pork & Ginger Dumpling


Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf


Deep Fried Calamari


Pan Toasted Sesame Shrimp & Scallion Ball


The HCG in all its post dedication glory

Lunch #26: Vegetarian Bistro

Today was MSG150's third backtrack. The MSG150 route is an integral part of our plan. Without it we would wander the ID aimlessly and eat at the good and known stuff up front and leave the dives to the end. So, to keep us on the rails, we follow the route and only backtrack if necessary. We had to backtrack for Szechuan Noodle Bowl, it's closed on Mondays, Mike's Noodle House, it was too crowded on our first attempt, and now the Vegetarian Bistro since it was closed on Tuesday when it was due up.

Vegetarian Bistro, Seattle
Address: 668 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 4.4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/6/2008 @ 12:20:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 60 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: No, but apparently you can order some.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 11
Number of occupied tables: 1 (9%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• 2 x Steam Sticky Rice with Lotus Leaf - $3.00 ($6.00)
• Sui Mai - $3.00
• Steamed Vegetable Dumpling - $3.00
• 2 x Pan Fried Vegetable Pot Sticker - $3.00 ($6.00)
• 2 x Deep Fried Mashed Potato Stuffing Pear - $3.00 ($6.00)
• Enoki Mushroom with Pea Vine
• Salt and Pepper Tofu
• Spicy Green Bean
• Green Onion Pancake

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You or a close friend will be happily married
Rating:

Geary's Review

The Vegetarian Bistro is a beautifully decorated restaurant. It is clearly targeting the higher end ID market. We arrived a bit after noon and were the only people there. This is now my third visit and it is always empty. I hope they do better business with the dinner crowd. In the past, the owner has served us. She is very friendly and clearly passionate about her food. Our waitress today was also friendly and a bit wacky. We ordered a good selection of Dim Sum offerings and a couple of greens. We stayed away from the meat substitutes, but they have some amazing ones. Lots of "shrimp" and "pork", but the oddest was the abalone steaks. Is there really a large demand for vegan abalone steaks? Our waitress tried to push the General Tsoa's "Chicken" on us, but we were having none of it. She was certain we were not going to get enough to eat. She was wrong.

The food was all delicious and all very carefully presented. For presentation, the Steamed Dumplings (not pictured) and the Mashed Potato Pears get top marks. Each "pear" consists of mashed potatoes with a mushroom based center, a crisp rice flower breading exterior, and a single rice grain as a stem. Not only are they a wonder to look at, but they are delicious to eat as well. For taste, however, the winners were the Salt and Pepper Tofu, the Sui Mai, and the Pea Greens. The tofu was piping hot on the inside and crispy on the outside; the Sui Mai had a deliciously complex makeup of textures and tastes including something with a bit of a spicy kick; and the Enoki Mushroom with Pea Vine was heavenly.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will use your ideas for great benefit.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

I didn't think it possible, but I'm giving out 5 chopsticks twice in two days. Vegetarian Bistro surprised in every way possible. I'm definitely an omnivore and tend to go nuts on meat, but veggies can be pretty good too. Vegetarian Bistro succeeds with inventive takes on chinese dishes that are hearty and flavorful. The restaurant is well decorated. The service is attentive, and the food is outstanding.

I started with the Jasmine Tea, and let the veterans place the order for food. We got an interesting tea made from Chrysanthemum, which also had little prunes and orange raisins floating in it. I tend to dislike teas made out of flowery shit, but this was pretty good. It also came with a little candle below the pot to keep it warm.

The dim sum came out and was fantastic. The Sui Mai were delicious, as were the Steamed Vegetable Dumplings. The Tofu was freshly fried, liberally spiced with salt and pepper, and was probably the best Tofu I've ever tasted. It was actually crispy. The Pot Stickers were the highlight - they had a starchy crunch on the inside that could have been potato or perhaps a baked chestnut. The Deep Fried Mashed Potato Pears actually looked like Pears, and also had a nice crispiness to them. The Pea Vines and the Spicy Green Beans were both perfectly cooked and had great taste. The only thing that was kind of average was the Steamed Sticker Rice in Lotus Leaf. Jade Garden's, which has pork, definitely 1-ups them here.

I sampled a bit of everything and got nicely full. Their deep frying doesn't lend a greasiness to the dishes, and unlike other Dim Sum places, I didn't leave with a knot in my stomach. Everything was vegetarian. I couldn't believe it. I'm definitely coming back.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will inherit money and jewelry.
Rating:

Adam's Review

Oh the irony of veggie Dim Sum. Dim Sum should be all sorts of combinations of pork and shrimp in some sort of dumpling form. Unfortunately, I knew there was no pork+shrimp combos to be had at a place like this. *tear*.

How does Vegetarian Bistro make up for not having meat? Their strategy is three-fold:

• Have fake meat. Not just the standard fake meats of "chick'n" or "beefe." You can order fake ABALONE! I'm no vegetarian, but none of my veggie friends have ever said: "man... I've got a wicked hankerin' for some Abalone."
• Their second prong of attack is "presentation." The food comes out, and it just looks good. The mashed potatoes come out shaped like little pears. PEARS! And they havea a little piece of mushroom inside (yay!) and a little piece of waterchestnut (boo!).
• And the finally tactic is having the pushiest server to date. This lady kept telling us to order more and more and more. And we did and did and did. The server was great though. Super nice and very attentive. Our tea pots (all three of them) were always full.

This place is definitely a great place for lunch. It was kind of sad how few people were in here, but with food this good... they must do a killing at dinner and on the weekends.

Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. Definitely check this place out.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will have good luck in the springtime.
Rating:

Rob's Review

Yay! Finally, the MSG150 reached the one restaurant in the ID where I'll happily eat anything on the menu. And yes, I happily ate everything on the menu that we ordered. The waitress was very helpful with our ordering. Yeah, okay, so the waitress was a little too helpful with our ordering: she happily tried to convince us to order twice the amount of food we did end up ordering, and if we spoke too loudly about other dishes while waiting and then while eating, she tried to take that as a cue that we wanted to order more. She was good-natured, and it was funny, but it made me feel like I was in a Seinfeld episode. Soon, though, the lazy susan in the middle of the table began to turn and turn, and scrumptious veggie dishes kept going by, one after the other. The dim sum choices (favorites: potstickers and potato "pears", and sticky rice, and dumplings, and... okay, you get the idea) were all good -- some were steamed, some were fried, but all were good. The regular dishes we ordered to share also got two thumbs up from me. The salt and pepper tofu was particularly noteworthy, I thought. Breaded and quickly deep-fried nuggets of soft tofu -- crispy on the outside and soft on the inside -- not your usual fried tofu. Overall, it was our most expensive lunch so far, but worth it, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I can hypnotize the other MSG150 folk and make them believe we haven't yet gone to the Vegetarian Bistro so that we can go again soon.

Luncher: Kara

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Fortune: You will be called to fill a position of high honor and responsibility.
Rating:

Kara's Review

First, you can't really beat a vegetarian dim sum place when you are vegetarian..they had my at the Meat-Free Zone sign on the door. Not being the biggest fried food fan...the greens were amazing. I applaud Geary's great push for the pea vines...those were the best. Followed closely by the spicy green beans (though not really spicy but nice and crunchy) and then the 'pear' that was really potatoes. I also loved the green onion pancake...I think I'm listing all the food because it was all quite tasty. I'm still in a bit of a food coma as I write this. The only thing I didn't really love the crysanthimum tea...though I appreciated the orange raisins and plums floating in it that improves one's eyesight and general good health. The presentation alone would make me choke some down.

All that said, our waitress was the best. I would go back just for her..and to try the General Tzao's 'chicken' that she was pushing so hard. Just don't mention a dish that you don't want with her around. She'll hear you from the back kitchen and want to add it to your order.

Vegetarian Bistro Photos

Vegetarian Bistro


Tea


Green Onion Pancake


All Spiced Up


Salt and Pepper Tofu


Sui Mai


Pot Stickers


Mash Potato Stuffing Pear


Steam Sticky Rice with Lotus Leaf


Sticky Rice Disrobed


Enoki Mushroom with Pea Vine


Spicy Green Bean


Meat Free Zone


Our tea. Apparently it's good for the eyes.

Lunch #25: Pho Bac

MSG150 is on a bit of a roll. Except for a single turdlet, since Unicorn Crepes we have had a string of great lunches. And we have three of MSG150 favorites coming up: Vegetarian Bistro, which we had to skip today since it's closed Tuesdays, Pho Bac, and Jade Garden.

Pho Bac, Seattle
Address: 415 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Average rating: 4.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/5/2008 @ 12:25:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 14 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 49 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: No... but the server didn't seem to understand the question very well. So, we really don't know.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Vietnam, somewhere in the south.
Number of tables: 13
Number of occupied tables: 9 (69%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (44%)
Number of "local" tables: 5 (55%)
Healthcode Score: 10
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: #30 - Com Suon - $7.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

This place is LEGENDARY. All Pho places pale in comparison to the greatness that is Pho Bac. I've had the privilege of eating here dozens of times since working in Pioneer Square. The store front is small, opening into a large, quaint place that is nearly always crowded. The servers are always friendly and courteous.

The first 30-45 times I came here, I ordered number 8 small – Pho Tai. It’s Pho with beef broth, rice noodles, some steakums. Add some thai basil, sriracha, hoisin sauce, and a squeeze of lime and you have the best bowl of soup ever. Others swear by the Jalapeños, but I don’t need it.

I gently branched out into the other dishes. The Vermicelli noodles, if it’s at all possible, could potentially be better than the Pho. They give you some cold noodles, your choice of meat, some veggies, and sometimes some salad greens. You then pour the fish sauce over it and it’s ridiculous.

This time I opted for the Cơm (white rice), which like the Vermicelli is served with meat, salad greens, and fish sauce. I got it with grilled pork, which is really good. I could come here and just eat their pork it’s so good.

Go for it.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: #29 - Bun Heo Xao - $7.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

Pho Bac is a very popular lunch spot for the area tech industry and it has been a top tier spot for our group for years. It's quick, cheap, and DELICIOUS. The restaurant is small and usually busy, but there always seems to be at least one free table when we arrive. Luckily today was no different. The friendly woman who usually runs the front of the restaurant was in Vietnam on vacation today but the young woman (clearly related) taking her place was also very friendly and helpful in answering all of our questions.

Today I went with the Bun noodles with BBQ Pork and was not let down. It was fantastic. The portions were generous; the pork was delicous; and the fish broth was perfectly tangy. With the addition of some Sriracha it was the perfect lunch.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: #20 - Pho Bo Xao - $7.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

What is there to say about Pho Bac? This is a place where you can go to lunch 100 times, and still love it. In fact, I would classify most of the people on the MSG150 as Pho Bac Century-ans. I knew what I was going to rate Pho Bac before we even got there. Its a 4. Amazingly consistent. Good food. Great service.

I ordered the fried Pho noodles with beef this time, to try something new. Guess what? They were awesome. The noodles were tasty. They gave me a nice big portion of them. The beef was flavorful and tender.

If you're going here, start off with the standard Pho soup. You may not think you'll be able to know a good Pho broth when you taste one (because you're dumping Sriracha in there), but you can definitely taste the love in this broth. The next time you go, get #29, the Bun noodles with pork. They're excellent... but make sure you're not going going on a cross-country road trip with friends, because they'll hate you and the fish-sauce you ate.

Go here. Go here. Go here. Always good food. Very consistent. Delicious.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: #9 - Pho tai bo vien - $7.00
Rating:

Joey's Review

I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the Pho Bac soup. I’ve had it before (several years ago), but my ability to distinguish the quality of pho soup has improved since then. I guess after having worked in the U-District for a few years and going to all the pho restaurants on the Ave I’ve had a chance to compare.

Than Bros., for example, has the most bland flavored pho soup… they actually used to be my favorite until they started watering down the soup. Pho Bac, on the otherhand flavors the soup properly. My only complaint was that it wasn’t hot enough… hot soup is a must for any noodle soup, which is the only reason I’m not giving a 5.

For a 5 chopstick rating bowl of pho try either Pho My Chau on Rainier or Pho Cyclo on 1st Ave. Pho Cyclo costs more, but the restaurant has a nicer atmosphere and its cleaner inside.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: #12 - Pho tai chin bo vien - $6.00
Rating:

Al's Review

Only wish Pho Bac were closer to the office.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: #37 - Pho chay - $6.00
Rating:

Rob's Review

Mmm, pho. It seems like in the past few years a lot of pho restaurants have opened in Seattlte. Some are good, some not so good. Pho Bac has been around a long time, and they're still one of the best around (at least in this location -- I wasn't so impressed with the one they opened on Broadway). I'd assumed that I'd be giving Pho Bac a five chopstick rating because it's been a favorite of mine, but then I went and had the veggie pho for the first time since I started tagging along on the MSG150, and, well, it just didn't quite taste as special as it usually did. Not sure why. Maybe it's because of all the other noodle soup places I've been to recently, or maybe because the omnipresent pho lady wasn't working that day, or maybe because the broccoli in the pho was just a touch too soft. I don't know. But all these things are adding up to a four. It's a good rating, so I shouldn't feel guilty, but I still do. Forgive me, Pho Bac!

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: #23 - Pho heo xao - $7.00
Rating:

Pho Bac Photos

Pho Bac


Pho Bac Menu


Bun Heo Xao


Pho Heo Xao with hot Sriracha action


Pho chay


Pho tai bo vien


Pho bo xao


Pho tai chin bo vien


Com Suon


Tom Ian Bot - Fried Shrimp


Ca Ian Bot - Fried Tilapia

Lunch #15: Gourmet Noodle Bowl

Torrey and the core team got the MSG150 rolling again today with a long wet walk to the far corner of the DLZ. Last month during a scouting mission we walked past the H.K. Cafe on 8th between Lane and Dearborn, so we were a bit surprised when we arrived and it was now the Gourmet Noodle Bowl. As we soon learned, it is the same owner, just a new name.

Gourmet Noodle Bowl, Seattle
Address: 707 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: Taiwanese
Average rating: 4.3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 1/4/2008 @ 12:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 4 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 15 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smooth Wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes, some dishes have it excluded though.
Where is the owner/chef from?: The wife is from Indonesia, but her husband is from Taiwan. The husband is also the owner of Shanghai Garden.
Number of tables: 14
Number of occupied tables: 4 (28%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (25%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (25%)
Healthcode Score: n/a
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: House Special Noodle Soup - $6.95
Rating:

Emmett's Review

This place had great service and great food! The restaurant was mostly empty when we arrived, the hostess greeted us warmly, and immediately served us hot tea. She patiently spent time with us, explaining the menu items, her favorite dishes, and telling us a bit about the ownership. She was particularly proud of her homemade noodles!

I ordered the House Special Noodle Soup with the home made noodles. It came in a large triangular dish, nicely spiced, with noodles, some green onion, sprouts, fish balls, sliced pork, and a couple of shrimp with the heads on! I wanted to play with the shrimp but realized I am actually 28 years old and that us 28 year olds shouldn't play 'shrimp war.' The soup was delicious, nicely seasoned. The noodles were chewy but good. The pork on top was fatty like bacon and very savory. I had a bite of Adam's duck and Geary's hot pot, both were quite good.

I liked this place a lot, and will definitely be back.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Spicy Beef in Hot Pot - $7.95
Rating:

Geary's Review

The Gourmet Noodle Bowl is in the base of a new building with upscale condos above and Made in Kitchen next door. Unlike many of the other noodle cafes in the ID, the GNB is going for a more upscale feel. That must be the "Gourmet" part. It has nice dark wood furniture and other fancy touches. There was only one other table eating when we arrived, a couple sharing a full hot pot lunch. The owner sat us and answered our questions about the name change.

The menu is just a simple paper jobbie but has lots to offer. This is not a place that has toned down it's offerings for American pallets (no Kung Pau or Genaral Tso to be seen). With help from the owner, we ordered one of the many interesting veggie starters and a soup for each of us. Having just gone back to Szechuan Noodle Bowl for the second time, I ordered the Spicy Beef in Hot Pot, thinking it might be a good comparison.

First, the veggie, Taiwanese Style Ung Choy, arrived. It was steamed and splashed with a light sauce of some kind. I'm not sure it was a vegetable I had ever eaten before. It was not unlike spinach stems and was delicious. The greens were crisp and the sauce tasted like an oyster sauce but was not overpowering. Yum!

My personal hot pot arrived and was indeed hot. It consisted of a large bowl of soup (or I thought it was large until I saw Emmett and Torrey's) suspended on a small stand over a Sterno flame, a bowl of rice, a puffed tofu ball with sauce, and a cookie. I'm not sure I understand the point of the flame in this dish. Our neighbors had all sorts of meats and veggies to cook in their large hot pot, but mine was a thick soup that appeared to have already been well cooked. All the fire did was keep the soup too hot to eat without a lot of blowing. That said, it was worth risking the third degree burns to get every bite of that amazing soup. Like the Szechuan Noodle Bowl, it had tender chunks of beef, but the broth and the whole soup experience was better. I didn't think it was possible. It was thick, like Hot and Sour soup, but had much more character with bits of cabbage and other unidentifiable vegetable matter. The soup was also chocked full of blood cubes (I assume of swine origin). Luckily, the blood cubes stay pretty much intact and can be eaten around as necessary. I was less affected by this delicacy than the first time I encountered it but I'm still not a big fan. I ate a few, but ended up leaving most behind. However, even with the blood, this is one of the best soups I have ever eaten. I'm a huge fan of the Gourmet Noodle Bowl.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Duck Noodle Soup - $7.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

The places on the north side of our DLZ keep suprising me. I thought Made in Kitchen was going to be fantastic, it wasn't. Szechuan Noodle Bowl garnered a 5-chopstick rating. S&FB was also a sleeper with excellent hoagies. With a name like Gourmet Noodle Bowl, I was expecting to get a small-to-medium bowl of soup (SMBS) but was surprised at the amount of food I was served.

I ordered the Duck Noodle Soup, and expected to get a bowl of soup with duck in it. What the server brought out was a bowl of Noodle Soup, and a big plate of chopped-up roast duck in a light and sweet sauce. The duck was done perfectly, and the Gourmet Noodle Bowl's homemade noodles were delicious. When given the choice between rice noodles, and homemade noodles... the choice was easy.

The service at Gourmet Noodle Bowl was impeccable. Our server was one of the owners and was very helpful in our selection of food... because we really had no idea what to order.

Good food. Good service. Nice atmosphere. Definitely coming back here.

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Braised Beef Noodle Soup - $7.50
Rating:

Torrey's Review

I am a sucker for good service, and the service at this place was almost too good. I had the feeling the waitress (part owner) knew she was going to be rated and was on her best behavior. The waitress was plugging her homemade noodles, and they did not disappoint. The helping size of my beef noodles was much larger than I am used to for lunch and there wasn't anything on the menu that I could see to make it smaller. The beef was really tender and had a flavorful seasoning. I would definitely come back for lunch or dinner and try one of their hot pots.

Gourmet Noodle Bowl Photos

Gourmet Noodle Bowl


Furniture


Menu


Taiwanese Style Ung Choy


Torrey's soup is bigger than his head


Spicy Beef in (very) Hot Pot


House Special Noodle Soup and friends


Puffed Tofu


Duck for the soup


Duck Noodle Soup (pre duck)

Lunch #8: Szechuan Noodle Bowl

We headed out, again, for the Szechuan Noodle Bowl and this time it was open. The window lures were faded, but were enough to build a some excitement in the MSG150 group as we entered. We were a large group for such a small place, but got there early enough that they were able to seat us all at one table without a wait.

Szechuan Noodle Bowl, Seattle
Address: 420 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Szechuan
Average rating: 4.1 chopsticks
Lunch date: 11/28/2007 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 12 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 60 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smooth Wood
Do they use MSG?: No
Where is the owner/chef from?: Husband is from Chongqing and wife is from Shanghai.
Number of tables: 9
Number of occupied tables: 7 (77%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (57%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Original Beef Noodle with Soup - $5.75
Rating:

Adam's Review

I finally found one: I'm going to rate this place a 5.

The atmosphere here is stunning. I grew up in rural eastern Washington, so I'm no newbie to plastic horsies (90% of the girls in Deer Park are "the crazy horse girl" from your high school). Apparently the owners of Szechuan Noodle Bowl aren't newbs either. The pictures on the wall of plastic horsies really class the joint up.

The starters: Green Onion Pancakes. There were eight of us, and the pancakes were cut into six slices... therefore we had to order two of them. This was a $3 treasure. I sacrificed myself, and decided that I wouldn't eat a piece of the first pancake. When the second pancake came out, I ate my piece like an addict eats crack. I'm recalling all of the flavors right now. Flaky and savory dough. Fresh from the pan warmness. Mild but "present" onion flavor. I'm pretty sure that the next time I go to Szechuan Noodle Bowl, I'm just going to order a short-stack of these.

After devouring through our first appetizer, we were all thanking our respective gods that we had also ordered the Dumplings with Hot and Spicy Sauce. The filling in these dumplings was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Firm enough maintain its shape, but soft enough that you don't feel like you're eating Pb (Thats lead). On the second bite of my dumpling, I scooped some of the Hot and Spicy sauce into my dumpling. Jackpot. The sauce is tangy, spicy, and all sorts of awesome.

Because almost everyone else was ordering the Szechuan Beef Noodle, I decided to get something different: Original Beef Noodle with Soup. Basically, a less spiced version of the Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup. The most obvious difference between the two is the color of the broth. Mine is mostly clear with a yellowy-brown tint. The Szechuan version was so dark that you couldn't see the bottom of the bowl. The bowl the soup comes in is kind of small, but amazingly filling. What I found most amazing about this soup was the tenderness of the meat. The meat was soft and completely not stringy!

.

Awesome atmosphere. Amazing food. Low Prices. Nice Service.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Szechua