Southeast Asian food fits the way we eat today: more vegetables, less meat, interesting spices. Instead of a sandwich or a salad, noodle soups and rice dishes combine strong flavors with meat, tofu or seafood and vegetables. In Northampton, NOODLES (257 Main St., 587-4070) opened in May in the location most recently vacated by Andiamo. This summer, I found myself eating lunch there again and again. Even in the summer, a bowl of the Beef Stew Noodle Soup or Roasted Pork and Wonton Noodle Soup or the Tom Yum Shrimp Noodle Soup combined comforting broth, good flavors and enough vegetables to make me feel virtuous.
In restaurants in Thailand and Vietnam, noodle soups are common. In Thailand, they often come with small dishes of hot sauce, raw peppers, onions, fish sauce and the like, so the soup can be customized according to the diner’s preferences. No place in the area offers that yet, but there are a number of noodle soup outposts: Pho Saigon in Springfield is wildly popular, although a Pho in Amherst struggled for a year before succumbing to a bad location and the unfamiliarity of the dish. Crazy Noodles and FreshSide, both in Amherst, also offer noodles and soups.
Pho (pronounced “fuh” as in the French pot-au-feu, from which it derives) is a Vietnamese dish. Noodles is Thai, a distinction that may be lost to us in the States but is very real. Started by Nudchanard Kittitrakul and Navaporn Zivasatianrach, both Thai expatriates, Noodles in Northampton offers reasonably authentic noodle and rice dishes which Zivasatianrach has adapted to American ingredients and tastes. “Watercress is different in the States; it’s crunchier,” she offers, “and we use small red onions which are much hotter than American white onions.” The dishes also tend to include spinach, bean sprouts and Chinese broccoli.
Zivasatianrach, who also owns Siam Square restaurants in Northampton and Great Barrington, was not a cook in Thailand, but became one when she came to the States 20 years ago. She opened Thai restaurants in New Haven and Providence, then sold them when she moved to this area to open Siam Square in Northampton in 1997, hiring Kittitrakul to work there. The Great Barrington outpost followed in 2002. Kittitrakul now handles the day-to-day management of Noodles and fills in as waitress, cook and cashier as necessary.
The two women came up with their new venture after noticing the open storefront on Main Street last winter. Their lease prevents them from frying or using gas ranges, so the simmering of pots of broth is a perfect marriage of location to concept. Noodles is the kind of low-key place that you want to duck into for lunch, or a quick dinner before moving on to something else.
So what should you order? The first dish I tried was the Beef Stew Noodle Soup, which combines tender beef chunks and small rice noodles in a dark broth. It was tasty and oddly filling. I say oddly because you tend to think of a bowl of clear soup as a first course or light snack. But the noodles provide enough bulk for a satisfying lunch.
I’ve had a number of noodle soups here, from the Pink Lady Noodle Soup (fish balls, fish cakes, shrimp, squid and spinach) to the Roasted Duck Noodle Soup (flat noodles with chunks of flavorful roast duck and spinach) to the Roasted Pork and Wonton Noodle Soup (roast pork, Chinese broccoli, wontons and noodles). Each combines some form of noodles in a broth (there are four) with the advertised protein and some greens or bean sprouts. I’m not as fond of the fish balls and fish cakes, which are similar to the artificial crab surimi that is ubiquitous these days in seafood salads.
Like every Asian restaurateur I have spoken with, Zivasatianrach notes that Americans do not like hot foods, so she has toned down the hot pepper in these dishes. Sriracha hot sauce is available for those who want it and the restaurant can always increase the heat of a particular dish on request.
I’ve also had the summer rolls, which are shredded vegetables and shrimp wrapped in rice paper with a traditional dipping sauce. The Larb of Chiang Mai is minced chicken, cooked but served at room temperature on a salad. I plan to move on to the rice dishes, especially Karees (Thai-style curries).
Noodles has no liquor license – another term of its lease – but soft drinks include a coconut soda with tiny chunks of coconut floating in the bottle. I recommend drinking the soda directly from the bottle to get at the chunks more easily. The restaurant also has Thai iced tea, a floral-flavored brew drizzled with sweetened condensed milk to provide a swirling cloud of white as it mixes with the tea.
Noodles is open seven days a week, from 11:30 a.m. to closing, generally around 9 p.m. Prices range from $4.95 to $5.25 for appetizers and $7.50 to $9 for entrees.
If you are in Amherst and hungry for noodles, stop by CRAZY NOODLES (36 Main St., 253-3287), which aims to cover the range of noodle dishes from Italy to Thailand. I am partial to its Asian noodle dishes – Pad Thai, Sunshine noodles, Red Devil (red curry/coconut sauce) and Vietnamese noodles. The prices hover between $10.95 and $14.95, depending on the dish and whether you choose shrimp, beef or tofu.
Also in Amherst, FRESHSIDE (39 South Pleasant St., http://freshsideamherst.com) offers noodle soups, noodles and rice dishes. I particularly like the tea rolls, especially the Vietnamese and Thai, which combine shredded vegetables in a thin wheat flour wrap. Outstanding.
Originally published in Daily Hampshire Gazette, Sept 19, 2008.
