Who doesn’t like noodles?
I love noodle (pasta); my family knows it and my staff does too. I like all kinds of noodles, from ramen noodles, Shanghai noodles, soba noodles, udon noodles and pho noodles to rice noodles. One of my all time favorites is a bowl of rice noodles with beef brisket. It is my comfort food and it reminds me of my childhood in Hong Kong and the street food there. Where would we be without noodles, this simple food has been a staple in almost every major cuisine for millennia. In fact, we know that pasta existed in Italy before Marco Polo made his famous journey to China. And there’s even archeological evidence that noodles existed in China about 4,000 years ago. In China, they eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Noodles everyday for lunch, are fine with me. Noodles are so soft, so easy to chew and they are fun to eat.
Last week, when our guest chef Chai Siriyarn of the famed Marnee Thai Restaurant San Francisco was here to prepare some of his signature dishes, he asked me to sample his Pad Thai. I always love Pad Thai, especially one done well. I said “yes”; the Pad Thai arrived in a colorful orange-red sauce with crushed peanuts on top, and it was simply delicious. It was so fresh that you can almost smell the wok. The sweet and sour sauce had seeped into the noodles that were cooked al dente. The fish sauce and tamarind juice balanced out the dish well. It was not too spicy but had a bold flavor. No wonder, Chef Chai has won numerous awards for this popular rice noodle dish. Maybe the texture of their noodles is also something that separates the Marnee Thai Restaurant from other Thai restaurants.
Even though Chef Chai has been in business over 30 years and has worked 16 hour days in the past, he still makes his own sauces, after the restaurant closes at 10:00 pm, with his son Kas. Everything is made from scratch and he always taste tests each creation. When I walked into his restaurant, last January in San Francisco, one can sense the authenticity; amber-colored walls emit calmness, all staff are dressed in dark Thai silk shirts, and I was greeted with a smile. I was surprised to see how many people were inside the restaurant and people were lined up outside waiting to get in. I managed to sit at a counter and was able to watch the cooks prepare the food and to see Chef Chai in action, taking care of his food and customers. Every plate was garnished with a pansy and checked twice for quality. Chef Chai has great passion for what he does and it shows.
For me every day is a great day, whenever you can have some noodles!
This is Ken Toong and thank you for keeping UMass Dining at the top.
Ken Toong
Director
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu
You can follow Ken Toong on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/KenToong