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.

Doc Chey's Noodle House (Atlanta)

Doc Chey's Noodle House
1556 N Decatur Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 378-8188

Last week we went to Atlanta to watch Warren compete in a Kendo tournament. It was held at Emory University, which is massive and beautiful. After Warren's pre-tournament meeting on Thursday night we went to the nearby Doc Chey's Noodle House. There are three of them in Georgia and one in Asheville, so it's chain-ish, I suppose. It kind of reminded me of Pei Wei but less corporate. As you can see it is pretty casual and has a nice patio.



It was fairly crowded when we arrived, and although it looked like one of those places where you order at the counter, a hostess sat us at the far end of a large family-style table. The kids (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) were given coloring sheets, but they ignored them in favor of trading pokemon.



Warren was busy coordinating the next day's practice and competition with his teammates on the phone. I decided to tackle the ordering. First up, a most impressive kids menu.



Satchel opted for the fried rice with chicken and Jiro chose lo mein with no carrots, double broccoli, and chicken. I was thrilled neither went with the chicken nuggets. They both also wanted miso soup. I didn't notice that they got a free drink until later--when I ordered them milks--so I started them off with water. Warren in an all time speed record, decided on udon plus a side salad. I went with a szechuan stir fry, and then immediately was sad that I didn't notice the bi bim bop special on the board.

The soup and salad came out right away. The kids did not like the addition of sesame seeds to their miso soup. I made an attempt to fish them out, but it was futile.



Jiro also discovered that they added soba noodles. He ate a few bites, but didn't seem to like the change from what he usually thinks of as miso soup. (Sekisui is his reference point.)



Warren's side salad was nothing fancy, but he liked it.



Once our salad was done, the rest of our food quickly arrived. Doc definitely does not skimp on portions. Behold the udon.



My beautiful Szechuan stir fry with tofu and brown rice. (Which was not at all spicy--must be what the Sriracha was for. They also had furikake on the table.)



The kids' meals came in the same size bowl as Warren's udon, but was a slightly smaller serving.



Satchel was not very happy with his fried rice, not because it tasted bad, but because he really wanted Jiro's noodles. Jiro shared with him a bit, but he was actually interested in eating it himself, which is unusual. He held out a piece of broccoli and said, "Here Mommy, try the broccoli. It's juicy and delicious."

Yes, Jiro.

While we ate, we enjoyed looking at the various animals painted on the walls. We soon realized that they represented the Chinese zodiac. We then wracked our brains trying to remember who was what.

Eventually Warren took pity on Satchel and switched bowls with him for awhile. Despite all of our sharing and eating, we still had a ton of food left over. I was super happy to see that instead o styrofoam they used old school paper cartons.



Even though Jiro is a monkey (according to the Chinese zodiac too) I had him pose with a rooster. He's got a rooster in his name--Jiro Oster, get it?)



Our total bill was $39.58 plus tip. Not bad considering we had sake, salad, and two soups.

Now for the funny part--the next day I took the monkeys back for lunch. (Warren ate at the competition with his teammates.) We NEVER go to the same restaurant two days in a row, especially on vacation, but Satchel would not shut up about the "delicious broccoli. He actually gave me his best puppy dog eyes and asked, "Don't you want us to eat healthy?"

Then the clencher--he made the "slurpy noise." The slurpy noise indicates that he thinks something is delicious and he is craving it and won't stop with the sluroy noise until he eats it. I caved.

We soon discovered that at lunch time, you order at the counter. It was no problem since the kids knew what they wanted and we beat the lunch rush. I planned to get the bi bim bop special I overlooked the night before, but it had been replaced with another one of my favorite dishes--Thai beef salad--so I ordered that. Our lunch total came to $24.08, plus a few bucks thrown in the tip jar.

We filled up our drinks at the soda fountain and had a seat. We were given a card to hang on our table and were told they would bring our food out when it was ready. In the two seconds we had to wait, I snapped a picture of the monkeys with the awesome condiments, sriracha and furikake.



A nice waitress brought our food over and as you can see, Satchel was very happy.



Soon his bowl was too.



Jiro only picked at his, so Satchel ended up having lots of leftovers to get him through our next two days in Atlanta. Thankfully we had a fridge and a microwave in our hotel room!



Oh, my Thai beef salad? YUM. It was actually spicy without me adding anything, and the noodles, peppers and cabbage were a nice touch. I ate every bite.



Before we left, I made a quick trip to the restroom. It was a one top. Clean and replete with a changing table.

Despite it's semi-chainyness, I think overall Doc Chey's is very kid and budget friendly. The food is good and the service is great.

Thai Bistro

Another beautiful installment from our super talented guest blogger, Sophorn....

Thai Bistro
1250 N Germantown Pkwy #105
(901) 755-6955


Thai Bistro was recommended to me by a loyal customer who happened to know that the owners are Cambodian. I had been on an unproductive search for a local Khmer cuisine restaurant to do a special celebration of my home country, so visiting Thai Bistro with our dinner group was the next best thing (without me cooking for 20 people). I mentioned then that Thai cuisine was actually rooted from Khmer cuisine, a type of cuisine my four-year-old, Atticus, craves quite often. See below to see what we tasted on our recent visit.


Tasted
~ Fried Wonton Appetizer served with sweet and sour sauce
~ Chicken Pad Thai
~ Pla- Dook with fried catfish, mixed vegetables, and homemade chili sauce.
~ Fried Ice Cream


Anytime I want to persuade Atticus to eat anything, I use the words “crispy, sweet, or sour,” so the fried wontons with the sweet and sour sauce were a great choice of appetizers as it hit every single key word.


We then ordered a spicy fish dish, Pla-Dook, to fulfill my cravings and Pad Thai, one of my husband’s favorite dishes, that he could share with Atticus. As you can tell from the photos below, limes are a very important finishing ingredient to the way we enjoy Asian food. Atticus almost had to squeeze drops for every bite.




Sometimes I ponder whether Atticus’ taste for Asian food is just in his genes. He even loves the fish sauce we make for dipping that disgust some adults. As for the Pad Thai and most of the dishes at Thai Bistro, the flavors seem irresistible even to new palettes. Pad Thai is on the kid’s menu as the one noodle dish among the other popular options of fried rice and chicken fingers. What kid can resist noodles? I can attest to the fact noodles are fun for Atticus to slurp. You can see in the photo he’s going cross-eyed watching it go in his mouth.

Finally, the moment we’d all been waiting for, was the fried ice cream dessert that was so superb the first time we ate there. We enjoyed it just as much the second time.


///

Hours
Mon - Thur: 11-2:30, 5-9PM
Fri: 11-2:30, 5-10PM
Sat: 12-10PM
Sun: 12-9PM

Menu

Tycoon

Tycoon Asian Noodle Shop
3309 Kirby Parkway
362-8788

After a special Saturday morning screening of Percy Jackson and the Olympians a few weeks ago, we found ourselves hungry and in East Memphis. I suggested to Warren that we try Tycoon, since he always says, "We should eat there sometime" when we drive past it. (It's en route to the Winchester Farmer's Market.) However, as we tried to navigate there, I got confused about where we were, and then Warren said, "Hey let's go to that place I always talk about instead."

"You mean Tycoon?"

"Yeah."

"That's the restaurant I'm talking about," I said. (Ok, I might have called it Typhoon on accident, but that alone shouldn't have confused him so.)

Then Warren accused me of lying and trying to take credit for his awesome idea to eat at Tycoon. God help us in our golden years!

As we tried to locate the restaurant, I went ahead and read some of the reviews that I found online, so Warren couldn't yell at me about that. I read a few that said the food was good, the servings were large, and that the lunch menu was affordable. That was all I needed to know.

We arrived at the restaurant, located in a non-descript strip mall, and filed inside. I was pleased to see that the inside was not decorated in that basic Chinese restaurant style. Rather it had a pink and green palette and lots of (fake) greenery and flowers to give it a tropical feel. (See, Typhoon, wasn't too far off!)

A man greeted us at the door and gestured for us to sit anywhere we liked. There was another table or two in the restaurant, but it was far from crowded. We headed towards the back and settled in a booth not too far from the booth where (presumably) the owners' four children were sitting and watching a movie on a laptop. This got Satchel (7) thinking about what life would be like if his parents owned a restaurant. "Could I eat anything I wanted?" he asked excitedly.

Jiro (5) who had been allowed to bring in his DS could care less about the kids in the other booth, the menu, eating, or anything else going on. (Hence my objection to the DSes at the table.)

We were presented with menus and started the business of deciding what to eat. There were lots of Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese options. I was downright torn. One of the reviews I read said that there were Polaroid pictures of every dish on the menu up by the cash register. I saw them as I came in, but I didn't examine them. For whatever reason, I chose not to look at them before ordering. (Don't do what I did. Look at the pictures before you order!) I eventually decided on a coconut curry with chicken, hot and sour soup, and an eggroll. (I'm an athlete!) Warren decided on pho. Satchel, who read the menu himself and tried to order about 50 things, settled on the butterfly shrimp lunch special and hot and sour soup. (He's graduated from egg drop soup.) Because Jiro was totally checked out, I let him order the chicken nuggets on the kids' menu, only because it was cheap and there was the option of getting them with fried rice.

Warren joined Jiro in electronic wonderland (via his iPhone) while Satchel and I enjoyed our appetizers. The eggroll was really good and the hot and sour soup was really, really good. (For me, the eggroll and soup are always a good indicator of whether I'm going to like the rest of the food.) Satchel noted that the soup should actually be called sweet and hot, because it's very spicy to him. He basically used it as a vehicle for his wontons, much like the salsa at Mexican restaurants is a vehicle for his chips. I picked the long tofu cubes (parallelograms?) out of mine and fed them to Jiro. "Hey, I only got one piece of tofu!" Satchel complained when he saw the bounty I was giving Jiro. I slid a few extras his way to keep the peace.

We were still debating whether something in his soup was a bamboo shoot or a noodle, when the rest of the food arrived. (I was arguing for noodle, since I thought he was more likely to eat that.) Warren immediately started making noises of approval and excitement when presented with his giant bowl of soup. Slurping was all we heard from him for the next fifteen minutes. Satchel was similarly smitten with his fried shrimp. There were 6 large, crispy ones served with a hearty serving of fried rice. Jiro's kids' meal was kind of crazy. He had TEN chicken nuggets. Satchel really wanted one, but couldn't stand the thought of trading away one of his prized shrimp. I assured him that Jiro would not eat all ten and he could have one if he was patient.

My coconut curry with chicken actually had shredded coconut on top, which I loved. The other ingredients included potatoes, green peppers, carrots, onions, and cashews. It was good, but not great. Maybe just a little bland. This didn't stop me from eating most of it though! Satchel also supplied me with his shrimp tails to eat. (It's my party trick.)

While I waited for everyone to finish, I moseyed up to the register to peruse the Polaroids. Immediately I was mad. There were several items that looked a lot better than they sounded on the menu! I went back to the table and sulked until the check arrived. Our total was $27.40, which is less than $7 each. Not bad at all.

On the way out I forced everyone to look at the Polaroids, but instead of sulking, they suggested we try new dishes on our next visit!

Shang Hai

Shang Hai
1400 Poplar
722-8692

After a long day of volunteering at the Big Scoop Festival and then hoofing it over to the Shell for the children’s show, Team Oster was starving. We loaded up the car and started heading towards Saigon Le, our new favorite restaurant (and one reason that my entries here have dwindled).

Warren seemed like he wanted to try some place new, and as we drove down Poplar I remembered that my friend Colleen had mentioned a yummy shrimp dish at Shang Hai. We hadn’t been to Shang Hai in years, so when I suggested it (along with dropping Colleen’s name), Warren made a sharp right turn into their parking lot.

As we were walking in, I started racking my brain to remember the actual name of the dish. Turns out that was unnecessary since Colleen’s husband, Ben, was sitting near the counter reading a book and waiting for his take-out. “What are you doing here?” I asked knowing that he’s usually in the kitchen at Tsunami on Saturday night.

“I decided to take the night off,” he said.

Had we known this, we could have maybe planned to eat dinner together. The monkeys (Satchel, 6, and Jiro, 4) immediately started scanning the restaurant. “Where’s Ian?” they asked hopefully.

“He’s at home,” Ben explained.

Their faces dropped and they pouted for a good, long moment before turning their attention to the wall of candy machines. Between fielding requests for quarters I was able to determine that the shrimp dish was on the Vietnamese menu and was called “Special, crispy, hot, spicy, shrimp.” Ben also recommended the Chicken with sesame seeds for the kids. One look at the Thai menu and I knew I would need to try the Chicken Larb.

“How are the egg rolls?” I asked.

“Kind of greasy,” he said apologetically.

“Perfect!” I said.

Next to Ben were about 5-10 people watching TV and noisily talking. Some of them obviously worked there, others just seemed to be hanging out. There were quite a few kids there too (who helped out). Other than that, the restaurant was mostly empty save for one couple at a table in the back. (Of course one half of the couple happened to be the last guy I dated before marrying Warren, but that’s Memphis!)

We invited Ben to sit with us while he waited for his food. In addition to the items listed above, we ordered Pork Fried Rice, Egg Drop Soup, hot tea, and iced coffee. (I actually ordered Hot & Sour soup too, but it never came, which was fine since we had lots of other things to eat.)

Having Ben with us made the monkeys extra excited and they had to show off for him by refusing to sit still, playing with their silverware, etc. Finally the threat of not getting a quarter at the end of the meal and the arrival of the Egg Drop Soup calmed them down. Usually Satchel eats the soup and Jiro eats the wontons, but suddenly Jiro wanted soup too. It took major negotiations to get Satchel to relinquish some of his and then serious finagling was needed in order to convince Jiro that he had indeed gotten his share. (He is at the stage where an almost full small bowl seems like it contains less than large bowl that is nearly empty.)

Soon our egg rolls, tea and coffee arrived, along with Ben’s take-out, so we said our good-byes. The egg rolls were greasy as promised, and delicious. The monkeys, despite still appearing to be ravenous, did not want to try them. Warren and I were happy to gobble them up ourselves. It was a good thing we did because once the appetizers were gone, we had a long wait before we got anymore food.

“Well, at least this means it will be fresh,” I said optimistically.

Satchel was going into a major slump. (He went from merely flumpy to gasplunkelflunkel in a matter of minutes.) He tried to lie down in Warren’s lap, but Warren was not having that. I offered to let him lay on mine, but Jiro refused to switch places with him.

Forced sit upright in front of an empty plate, Satchel started to lament the fact that he had not been to Target in a really long time. He seemed sad to report that there weren’t even any toys that he wanted at the moment, but it made me quite happy. “I don’t even know what they have anymore,” he sulked, further proving my point that the evil of Target is not just in the buying/inability to say no, but the wanting.

As we were waiting for our food, several people came in to pick up take out, and several others began filling up tables near the crowd in front. It was as if there was a Vietnamese community association meeting going on, which was quite nice. Everyone was very animated and the whole restaurant seemed very homey and welcoming. (Which I would say is the one thing lacking at Saigon Le.)

Our waitress, who checked on us often, was extremely friendly and did her best to engage Satchel and Jiro in conversation. When they wouldn’t respond—they get very shy if spoken to directly—she turned her attention toward me and told me how adorable and well behaved they were!

Once our food arrived, there was very little talking. The Chicken with sesame seeds was just that. The sweet sauce was served on the side and it was the Vietnamese answer to chicken nuggets. The special, crispy, hot, spicy, shrimp was all of those things and more. The larb—ground chicken with garlic, onion, lime juice, and Thai chiles—did not disappoint. The fried rice was a crowd pleaser. We completely stuffed ourselves and still had a mountain of food leftover.

Replenished, the monkeys were back to their old selves. When my ex walked by us on his way out, Warren made sure to let them know that “Mommy used to kiss him” and that “He was one step away from being their daddy.” Both of these news items cracked them up.

When I went to pay the bill, I was a little surprised by the $50.30 grand total. Later Warren pointed out that we ordered way more food than normal, which was true. The fact that I had 2-3 meals worth of leftovers made me feel a little better too. We’ll definitely be back, but we’ll try and control ourselves when ordering!

Believe it or not, in the two hours that we were there, not a single member of Team Oster had to use the facilities. I regret that I am unable to report on their condition.

The Emerald

The Emerald
5699 Mount Moriah Rd
(901) 367-2827

Warren and I took the monkeys (Satchel, 6, and Jiro, 4) to see Kung Fu Panda on Saturday afternoon. It takes place in China and the main character works at a noodle shop. By the end of the movie I was totally craving Asian food. Since we were out east I suggested we go to The Emerald. It's one of my favorite Thai restaurants, but I hardly ever get to eat there. (I usually skate at East End across the street on Sundays when The Emerald is closed.)

As we pulled into the parking lot, I said, "I think the last time we ate here was when we bought my car." The Emerald isn't far from the strip of car dealerships along Mt. Moriah and Mendenhall.

"Really?" asked Warren.

"Really."

I was pregnant with Satchel when we bought my car. So over six years! How did that happen?

We arrived around 7:30pm and there were six other tables of people. We were seated at a booth. Satchel and Jiro wanted to sit next to each other, and I let them. For about two seconds. They immediately started wrestling and acting crazy.

I was able to get Satchel to calm down, but Jiro refused. He had eaten the majority of his "goodie bag" full of candy (from Connor's birthday party earlier that day) during the movie and was clearly over-sugared. Eventually threats of no Wii got him to agree to atleast stay in the booth.

The waitress brought us menus and took our drink orders. We looked at our menus for what seemed like a very long time.

"Where is my water?" Satchel asked.

I looked around and saw that the waitress was busy ringing two people up. "Just a minute," I said calmly.

A few minutes later, he asked again.

I looked around and saw our waitress sitting at a table...eating?

"Uh, just a minute," I said feeling a little thirsty myself.

Warren and I continued to try and figure out what to order. I wanted about ten things! Satchel requested soup. "I want soup too," said Jiro. The Emerald only serves Thai food, no Chinese food like Jasmine, my other favorite Thai restaurant. With no egg drop soup on the menu, I wasn't sure what to get him. I didn't know if Tum Ka would be too spicy...or too coconutty for him.

Our waitress finally came over with our water and I asked for her advice on what to get the kids. She recommended Tofu Soup and Chicken Satay. We ordered the Tofu Soup, but passed on the Chicken Satay since we planned to get the Grilled Chicken with Papaya Pog Pog. We also ordered shrimp and pork dumplings, Pad Rah Nah, and an extra order of sticky rice. (The Grilled Chicken and Papaya Pog Pog comes with sticky rice.)

As soon as the waitress walked off, Satchel started asking, "Where is my soup?"

I looked over at Jiro. He was picking tiny pieces of fallen candy bits off of his shirt and eating them.

"Are you guys hungry or what?" I said.

In an effort to keep them calm, I tried to think of a game we could play. "Okay, I'm thinking of a number, what is it?"

"Fifty!" Satchel guessed.

I shook my head.

"Ten!" said Jiro.

Nope.

"One hundred and one!" said Satchel.

"No, but it has a one in it," I said.

"I know what it is," said Warren. He whispered in Satchel's ear.

"Eleven!"

"That's it."

"My turn," said Jiro.

"One hundred and one!" said Satchel.

"Yes," said Jiro. "My turn again!"

"No, it's my turn!" said Satchel.

"Let him go again," I said. "Ten!" I guessed.

"No."

"Fifty!" said Warren.

"No."

"One hundred and one!" said Satchel.

Jiro smiled. "Yes."

Our pork and shrimp dumplings arrived and we attacked them. Very very yummy. I was able to get Satchel to eat one by describing it as a meatball wrapped in a noodle. He liked it, but said it was a little spicy. This, however, did not stop him from eating it. Jiro agreed to the world's tiniest bite and then said he didn't like it. Fine, more for me!

There were little crunchy things on top of the dumplings that Warren and I couldn't identify. "I think it's fried bits of red pepper," he said.

"But it isn't spicy," I said.

I stopped a passing waitress and inquired. "Fried bits of fresh garlic," she said.

Garlic! How could we not know the taste of garlic?

It was now a little after 8pm and the place was getting packed. There were three large groups, two of which had kids. Babies, really. Babies that made LOTS of noise. I actually liked having the screeching and crying--it drowned out the monkeys' loud talking.

The Tofu Soup arrived next. It was plenty big enough for the boys to split and it had lots of cubed tofu and clear noodles. It also had (frozen) peas and carrots in it. Satchel was fascinated by the almost invisible noodles and dug right in. Jiro requested that I remove all of his peas.



By time I was done de-peaing Jiro's soup, our other food had arrived. I was very happy with the Grilled Chicken and Papaya Pog Pog dish. The grilled chicken was basically Satay Chicken minus the skewers and was served with a dish of my favorite sweet and spicy sauce. The Papaya Pog Pog, which is a spicy salad made from shredded unripened papaya and served cold, was separate and came with half a head of iceberg lettuce. Additionally there was a small container of sticky rice. I love sticky rice! As far as I know The Emerald is the only Thai restaurant in town that serves it. (Jasmine makes a dessert dish with sticky rice, but doesn't serve it with the meal.)

Warren and I wrapped the chicken and papaya in the lettuce and dipped it in the sauce. Then we dipped multiple other variations. I could easily eat a whole container of sticky rice dipped in the sweet & spicy sauce by myself, but since the waitress didn't bring the extra order of sticky rice that I asked for, I tried to control myself and shared with Satchel. Jiro, who is usually a big rice eater, wasn't interested in the sticky rice.

"I'm full from the candy I ate at the movie," he said. "Can I have a quarter now?"

"You're full from the candy you ate at the movie so you can't eat your dinner but now you want a quarter to buy candy out of the machine up front? I don't think so. Eat!"

I went back to my dinner. The Pad Rah Nah, which is flat noodles in a light gravy with kale on top, was okay. Warren liked it, but he had never had it before. The flavor of the gravy was not like I remembered. Satchel had a few bites and liked it too.



I had to take Satchel to the restroom and when we returned Warren had eaten all of the papaya and drank all of my water! Jiro had eaten most of his soup and was ready for a quarter. I sent him and Satchel off to the machines while I finished off the last piece of chicken and paid the tab. When I looked up, I saw the monkeys running laps around the restaurant. Warren was quickly deployed to get them under control and we left without incident.

I totally can't wait to go back.

Lemongrass Sushi and Thai--Nashville

Thanks to Steph for keeping DWM cosmopolitan!

Lemongrass Sushi and Thai
7108 Hwy 70 South
Nashville, TN

During a recent trip to Nashville, we were trying to figure out an interesting place to go for Saturday lunch that would satisfy the palates of both my vegetarian in-laws and my chicken-nuggetarian son. (Our other restriction was that we didn’t want Mexican, since we already had sweet potato burritos planned for the next day.) My mother-in-law came up with the perfect solution: Lemongrass, a Thai and Sushi restaurant that was located directly behind a McDonald’s!

Chip and I hit the drive-thru and then joined the rest of the family at the restaurant. It was clear from the minute we walked in that this place was a little too sterile for our children. Their simple greeting of “Mom! Dad! McDonald’s!” reverberated through the nearly empty dining room. “Inside voices!” I stage-whispered, for the first of about a thousand times. But even my stage whisper seemed loud in this place, so I tried not to worry too much about it.

The kids went about the task of clogging their arteries while the rest of us looked over the menu. One side was all Thai food, and the other all Japanese. It was hard to decide! My in-laws both picked something Thai featuring tofu, but I didn’t catch exactly what. Roy liked his better than Sherri liked hers, that’s all I can really tell you. They also got an order of spicy tuna rolls, which were delicious. Chip ordered a sushi sampler platter, which featured simple rolls made with very fresh ingredients. I got a crabstick and an avocado nigiri from the a la carte sushi menu, and Pad Thai noodles with chicken from the other side of the menu. All of it was great. Chloe tried the tofu, ate all the avocado nigiri, and had a significant helping of the pad thai noodles. For the Thai dishes we ordered, they brought us a selection of spices, peppers and oils so that we could tailor the heat in each dish to our individual tastes. This also provided the afternoon’s entertainment, since Chip ate some sort of pepper that almost caused his head to explode. Hee!

But aside from the food, how was the experience? Well, our waiter was definitely new and more than a little on the slow side. Since it was kind of a quiet restaurant, my kids’ normal voices really stood out. By the end of the meal, made a bit too long by our slow server, my kids really seemed disruptive. If we had been in a noisy chain restaurant they would have blended in fine, but in this environment their restlessness was really conspicuous. However, since it was a Saturday afternoon and the service was iffy, I didn’t feel guilty about it. The kids did the best they could.

I’d speak to the prices, but my generous father-in-law picked up the tab so I don’t really know if it was reasonable or not. (From what I remember of the menu, nothing seemed too expensive.) Lemongrass is definitely a place we will visit again. There is something for everyone to enjoy, even if some of it came from the drive-thru next door.

Jasmine

Jasmine Thai & Vegetarian Restaurant
916 S Cooper Street
(901) 725-0223

When Satchel was first born and Jasmine was way out on Covington Pike, we drove out there at least once a month to eat dinner. Ms. Fong, the owner, and her three grown children, the waitrons, LOVE kids. One of them would literally hold Satchel the entire time we ate THE BEST THAI FOOD EVER. It was a new mother’s dream come true.

On every visit I would say, “When are you moving to Midtown?” I imagined that if they were closer, I would eat there once a week, if not more.

Amazingly enough, Jasmine did eventually close up shop in Bartlett and move to Midtown, less than a mile away from my house, when Satchel was about two…and Jiro was a newborn. However, when Satchel was two and Jiro was a newborn, I didn’t go to too many restaurants. Also, Jasmine’s new location was a lot fancier than the previous one, and I worried that the monkeys might not be on their best behavior and if so, that the Fongs might think less of me. (I really wanted the Fongs to like me as much as I liked them.)

Once Jiro got a little older, I once again became a regular at Jasmine, but on my monkey-free workday lunch breaks and occasional monkey-free “dates” with Warren. On each and every visit, Ms. Fong would ask about the kids and encourage me to bring them in. I always said I would, but never did until a few weeks ago.

It was a rainy Wednesday evening and Warren spent his usual “dinner prep time” laboriously sanding the boards for the monkeys’ new bunk bed. I couldn’t come up with anything to cook on my own, so taking advantage of Warren’s weakened state once he was finished, I suggested we go to Jasmine.

“Do you really think that is a good idea?” he protested. “What if the kids go crazy in there?”

“It’s a rainy Wednesday night at 8:00pm, surely they won’t be too crowded,” I tried.

He grunted.

I turned to the monkeys. “Can you guys be on your very best behavior?”

They nodded.

“Come on,” I said to Warren. “They’re really hungry, so it should be okay.”

Finally, he gave in and soon we were walking through the doors of my all-time favorite restaurant. There were only a couple of tables that were full and the monkeys seemed pretty subdued. An unfamiliar waitress seated us and I asked her to let Ms. Fong know we were there.

Once seated, Ms. Fong came out and enthusiastically greeted us. Both monkeys did their “shy” act, but she didn’t care. She was thrilled to finally have us all in attendance.

I quickly ordered some egg drop soup for Satchel (his favorite), some hot & sour soup for myself, and a couple of egg rolls for us all to share. Warren ordered his standard hot tea. Then we perused the menu and debated what we should order. Most of the dishes we like are too spicy for the kids and since there’s no kids menu, we tried to find something that they would like that wouldn’t be too expensive. Warren was pushing for fried rice; I suggested chicken and broccoli stir fry. Or something with tofu. Finally we agreed on Chicken Satay, an appetizer. Then Warren decided on a yellow chicken curry dish and I ordered one of my stand-bys: Laap Neu a spicy beef dish with tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and lime. They both come with white rice, which the monkeys love, so we knew we would at least have that for them to eat if all else failed.

The soups and eggrolls came right out. Satchel was thrilled with his soup, but I couldn’t convince Jiro to eat an egg roll after his first bite was “too hot.” More for me! He showed a little interest in Satchel’s soup, but soon decided he’d rather draw Ben 10 figures on a piece of paper than eat anything.

Ms. Fong came over and chatted with us at length and was obviously gaga over the monkeys—especially Jiro. “He’s so cute,” she cooed. They eventually warmed up to her and let the charming side of their personalities show as they answered her questions and showed off their drawings. I was thrilled.

Our entrees were delicious as always—Warren even commented on how much he liked the Laap Neu, which he usually isn’t too thrilled about. (It reminds him of my early attempts to recreate this dish when we first married—waaay back when I was still allowed in the kitchen.) The Chicken Satay, despite being an appetizer, was very hearty and Satchel had way more than he could eat. (Chicken Satay is marinated chicken on a stick and comes with a spicy peanut dipping sauce.) Jiro had a few bites of chicken and a bowl of rice with soy sauce before returning to his drawing.

Warren and I took our time and devoured every bit of food on the table. Satchel got a bit antsy while this was going on and joined Jiro on my side of the booth to draw. (Luckily I had a copy of the latest wftda rules in my purse, which allowed them to each have several sheets of paper.)

Ms. Fong knew I wouldn’t leave without dessert and asked if I wanted an order of Mango Sticky Rice.

“Yes!” I enthusiastically answered. I turned to the monkeys and said, “Now you are in for a real treat.”

Mango sticky rice is a simple dish—fresh sliced mango served with warm sticky rice that has been sweetened with coconut milk. Ms. Fong gets the absolute best mangos from Houston, I think. When it came out, the monkeys each took a small bite. Then another. And another. And so on until it was gone. I was really happy to discover that they liked it as much as I did.

As we were paying up Satchel started raving about how much he liked the restaurant. “This restaurant has really yummy food,” he said.

“This is my favorite restaurant,” I said.

“Mine too!” he agreed.

Then just to be obnoxious, I said, “Whenever we ask you where you want to go to dinner, say ‘Jasmine.’”

“Okay!” he exclaimed.

Warren rolled his eyes at me.

Of course, if we did this, I'd be in big trouble. The meal cost about twice, maybe three times, as much as a fast food or Mexican restaurant, but I think it was worth every penny.

Sidenote: The next day at home Satchel and I got into a discussion about giving Jiro away. “Let’s give Jiro away,” Satchel said. “Why would we do that?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Who would we give him to?” I asked out of curiosity. “That lady at the restaurant sure seemed to like him,” he replied.