Noodles Asian Bistro

Noodles Asian Bistro
7850 Poplar Avenue, Suite 12
755-1117




After an afternoon of bowling in Cordova, we decided to eat dinner at a little Asian bistro by my mom's house in Germantown called Noodles. My mom had been a couple of times and reported that it was good. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to try a new Asian place!

It's in a strip mall, and fairly generic on the inside. It's basically a Pei-Wei type place. However, at dinner they have servers rather than letting you order at the counter. The service was nice, but a little slow. My mom thinks it goes quicker when you can order at the counter.

Before eating we made a bathroom run to wash the bowling alley off of our hands, and I noted that there was a changing table in the handicapped stall. I like this arrangement much better than having it near the communal sink. (My diaper changing days are over, but I remember what a nightmare it could be when dining out, so I look out for my readers with babies and toddlers!)

Back at the table, things were off to a bit of a rough start. The monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) were freezing because Noodles was blasting their air conditioning. (It was one of the first cool days we had outside which made it worse.) My mom offered Satchel her jacket, but it was just a rain slicker and offered little warmth.



Jiro had to go sit outside with his arms inside of his shirt.



The worst part about the plunging temperature was the fact that we ordered the monkeys each a bubble tea! If you've never had bubble tea, it isn't really tea at all. It's basically somewhere between a smoothie and a milkshake with large tapioca pearls, aka bubbles, inside.

Satchel basically said he was too cold to drink his, but Jiro soldiered on. My mom had never seen bubble tea before, so the boys tried explaining the tapioca bubbles to her. "They feel like a snail turd or an eyeball," Satchel explained. Surprisingly she still tried it. Then Jiro commented, "Next time get my tea without the gum."




We ordered Satchel some emergency egg drop soup once we determined that he could get it without the unusual add ons of scallions and chicken. It's hotness finally calmed him down and he told us, "The soup tastes like hot and sour soup but egg droppy," which I thought was hilarious.



Noodles did have a kids' menu which was pretty decent. For $4.95 you had a choice of brown or white rice, a drink, and an entree (Sweet & Sour Chicken, Chicken Lo Mein, Chicken Nuggets & Fries, Honey Seared Chicken, Broccoli Chicken, and Chicken Fried Rice). I hate to see the chicken nugget option, but I'm sure there are just as many parents who need it in order to survive the meal. Satchel wanted Sweet & Sour Chicken and Jiro opted for Lo Mein.

My mom, Warren, and I decided to split three entrees and ordered three appetizers. We were all way hungrier than we thought. We pounced on the appetizers as soon as they arrived.

The edamame was standard issue. Jiro ate almost all of it.



The fried tofu was a little more breaded that what you find in midtown, but we ate it up. The sauce and the sweet pepper and onion mixture on the side made it extra yummy.



The fried calamari was also more battered that I would have expected and had the same pepper and onion relish on the side. Despite the presence of jalapenos, it wasn't too spicy.



There was a bit of a wait between the appetizers and the entrees, but our waitress appeared every so often to let us know that she hadn't forgotten about us. Eventually everything came out together and we dug in.

Satchel's Sweet & Sour Chicken came out with lots and lots of onions. Thankfully, he didn't complain since they were easy to eat around. (Do any kids actually like onions?)



Jiro's Lo Mein was also a little sophisticated. It had mushrooms, carrots, onion, and a teeny tiny bit of chicken. He basically ate a few mouthful of noodles then picked out the chicken.



The dishes the adults chose to split weren't the best ever, but good enough. I think we all liked the Thai Mango Chicken the best. (You could get it with beef, shrimp, or tofu too. Had I known the chicken would be fried, I probably would have chosen a different option.)



The Wok-Charred Beef was pretty good, but would have been better with a little more kick. (We ordered everything mild since my mom has delicate taste buds.)



My second favorite was the Szechuan Street Noodles with fried tofu. We ordered it mild too, but they made it pretty fiery. My mom couldn't eat it, but Warren and I had no problem polishing it off.



We all ended the meal full and fairly happy with a good amount of leftovers. It took a good long while for us to get the check and then pay and get our card back. So long that my mom, who had her own car, decided to go ahead and leave! Our total came to $65 plus tip, which is definitely a bit high for dinner, but considering we had an extra adult, three appetizers, two bubble teas, and enough leftovers for another meal or two, I couldn't moan too much.

If we go back, and I'm not sure we will, I'd probably have the monkeys split a dish and go easy on the appetizers. Also going at lunch and ordering at the counter would reduce the tip from 20% to 10%. Since it is close to my mom's house, I might give it another try. The menu is pretty extensive and I feel sure I missed something fabulous.