Hungrygrrl

I finally made it to Szechuan Noodle Bowl. I’ve been hearing about it for years. It’s tucked in on 8th street just below Jackson. Next to green leaf. Across the street from House of Hong.

But first a warning: they don’t take credit cards. I checked my wallet as I walked in. I had $8.

There were no tables but the waitress offered me a seat with another single diner, and I happily took it. The place smelled like noodles.

It’s very simply “decorated” (if you could call it decorated). Fluorscent lighting, drab pink tables, these odd framed photos of plastic ponies. It looks like every other drab chinse restaurant I’ve seen.

But every table was taken and the mood was high. You could tell many of these people were regulars, barely glancing at the menu before ordering. The table next to me had two moms with their young kids and the waitress obviously knew them, bringing them treats and commenting on how much they’d grown. It seemed to be a regular outing for them.

The menu is simple and very kid friendly. Dumplings and noodle soups and all less than 6$. I ordered the spicy pork and napa dumplings and left it at that. No green onion pancake. No braised greens. I was trying to stay under the 8$ I’d found in my wallet.

As I sipped my tea I watched the people around me slurp their noodles and listened to the cacophony of cantonese from the kitchen.

In a few minutes there was a steaming bowl in front of me– dumplings and pork and chili oil. They were fat and wonderful and tasted homemade. A far cry from the ones I buy in the grocery store.

I went back yesterday, this time with a bit more cash. It wasn’t so crowded, maybe because the sun was shining. But it was the same waitress, and she graciously pointed to a table by the door and brought me tea before I could even ask. I debated between the wonton soup and the beef tendon, and eventually settled on the szechuan beef noodle soup. And of course, the green onion pancake.

The pancake came first, steaming hot and pleasantly crisp with a chewy center. It didn’t have a lot of flavor on its own, but was set off well by the soy sauce and red chili paste. Then came the soup, beefy and redolent of star anise with thick homemade noodles and braised baby bok choy floating on top. It was wonderful.

I didn’t even come close to finishing my meal, and asked for a doggie bag on my way out. The waitress looked sadly at my nearly full bowl, “You like?” she asked, worried that my full bowl reflected my distaste.

“It was wonderful,” I responded “just too much!”

This is definitely no fine dining– it’s comfort food. For Seattle with it’s dearth of Chinese food, it’s a nice change. Simple and pure, good noodles, good broth, solid dumplings.

I’ll definitely be back. I still have to try that wonton soup.

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Szechuan Noodle Bowl
420 8th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104