Pa-Ord Noodle

*Post by Angela.

We'd been in L.A. for about two and half weeks already, and had yet to experience any Asian food that really wowed us, despite the fact that I work in Koreatown. On a mission now, we sought out Pa-Ord Noodle, located in a strip mall on the corner of Sunset and Hobart Boulevards, which we'd heard raves about. 

While the dated and budget interior might put off some, I was excited - it's places like this that offer the best food. We arrived about 30 minutes before closing time (at 9 pm? Seriously?), so we quickly put in our orders.

The one thing we knew we had to order was the boat noodles, swimming in a dark, fragrant broth with slices of chicken, beef, beef liver, tripe, and a couple of fish balls thrown in for good measure (below). Ever since we ate the Satan's Ashes curry, nothing we order has been spicy enough for our liking, so I make it a point to always emphasize that we want things "extra" or "very" spicy. For the first time maybe ever, the kitchen rose to the challenge. The soup had a ridiculous amount of heat, enough so that both of us were sweating bullets after 3 or 4 spoonfuls. But this is not just heat. The hearty broth burst with flavor and had us upending the bowl to get every last droplet.  

The beef with Chinese broccoli and rice (below) may have looked like something you could get at any Asian eatery, but again, every bite burst with spicy heat and deliciousity, and both the greens and the meat were wonderfully tender. 

 For our last dish, we ordered the sole non-spicy item of our meal, a deceptively simple-looking chicken noodle soup (below). Its appearance belied the complex flavors in the thick, gravy-like broth, and every single element in the soup, from the chicken to the fat rice noodles, was infused with that complexity. At this point in the meal, the staff was scurrying around with closing time activities, so we asked them to box up the last of this to take home. And once we arrived back at the apartment, we tore back into it and finished it off. For the degree of stuffed that we were, and the satisfied grins on our faces, you'd think the price tag would be pretty hefty. Nope. At Pa-Ord Noodle, happiness comes cheap - our dinner tab weighed in at under $30.

This may be the spice-heads in us talking, but I think it's safe to say that we agreed - Pa-Ord beats the pants of any of the Thai food offerings in D.C. In fact, even though I've had some pretty satisfying Asian cuisine since then, it's those boat noodles that have haunted my dreams ever since, and I've been eagerly anticipating a return trip to Pa-Ord Noodle in the very near future...

Comments

[Evan]

wow, that looks souptastic

[Angela]

REALLY fantastic, and so very, very spicy. Maybe my favorite soup EVER. But you should try Ippudo, I really loved that, too.