The Observer, September 7, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 2
Teahouse Noodles offers healthier alternative to Chinese takeout
No college experience is truly complete without the perfect Chinese takeout place programmed into your phone. Of course, Chinese food is best enjoyed on a latenight, with entirely too much homework and is usually delivered by that one restaurant that leaves menus in all the freshman dorms – after being a loyal patron for a year now, I still do not know what that place is called. However, a new Asian restaurant recently opened on Murray Hill Road and proves to provide stiff competition to my favorite box of vegetable lo mein. Teahouse Noodles, conveniently located near the intersection of Cornell Road and Murray Hill Road, may not be specifically Chinese cuisine, per se, but instead offers a variety of noodle options that invoke flavors from a plethora of Asian cultures.
The basis of Teahouse Noodles is much like the acclaimed stir-fry at Fribley Marche: starting with a choice of either a noodle bowl or a rice bowl, one can choose from a variety of sauces and broths, followed by the option of a protein item, such as chicken, tofu, or a four-bean medley. The noodle bowl includes a variety of vegetables, including green onions, sugar snaps, with either brown rice or Thai noodles, but the protein items add an additional dollar to the cost of the noodle bowl. The variety of available sauces is a little overwhelming, especially since any sauce can be combined with any other sauce or broth; however, for the indecisive, Teahouse will allow you to taste all of their flavor options before order. Each sauce conjures essences of various Asian countries. In fact, the menu even lists the country from which each sauce originates. For example, miso broth has a distinctly Japanese flair, but the coco-ginger broth is undeniably reminiscent of Thai and Indian cuisine. Some sauces are a little more unusual ,with an interesting sweetness amidst the spiciness. Teahouse's signature Rica Rica sauce from Bali is a perfect example of the strange blend of flavors. Somewhere amid the tart ginger and the spicy peppers arrives a curious sweetness that certainly adds another dimension of flavor, but does not quite fit in. The hawaiian teriyaki sauce, similarly, was so strangely saccharine that the actual teriyaki flavor was not immediately apparent.
After agonizing over the best combinations of sauces and finally ordering, it took a surprisingly short period of time for the noodles to arrive. Quick and exceptionally friendly service added to the fun atmosphere of the place and certainly made my noodles seem more delicious. The actual restaurant does not have a lot of room for seating, but based on the pace of in-store service, ordering out should be equally timely. Equipped with noodles and fortune cookie, I sat down to enjoy my curry and coco-ginger noodles, only to find that, while my noodles were delicious, they were not quite saucy enough. Sure, they retained the scrumptious essence of curry I craved, but somehow the overall dish did not end up as spectacular as I expected. The Rica Rica sauce, similarly, was appetizing, but the sauce itself was much better than the entire noodle bowl.
Still, in spite of the minor disappointment, I left Teahouse Noodles with a full stomach and a satisfied palate. Of course, Tea House was not quite enough to make me abandon my regular, unnamed Chinese joint, but still remains a delicious alternative to the menus pasted on the wall of the freshman dorms.
