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Review content:
The Noodle Wrap strikes me as a cross between an old style deli-sandwich shop (if set in an Asian theater) and a modern take-out Chinese restaurant. It appears to be a new idea in Asian Cuisine, from the order then sit and eat style, to the combination of the best of Thai, Chinese and Hmong foods. They have created a menu of relatively few items (15-20 entrées) but the items they have, it seems to have perfected each of them.
I had never had Hmong food, and had little experience with GOOD Thai food. This place blends the best of both worlds. It is very centered around vegetables - all fresh cut, long cut, and cooked perfectly. There seems to be only a few key elements (peppers, onions, and carrots), but they don't grow tiresome. The Noodle Wrap brings a very fresh and interesting twist to a classic such as Sweet and Sour Chicken. The chicken is not breaded, and the sauce is served directly on the chicken with tons of fresh vegetables. It is very reminiscent of Moo Goo Gai Pan, with a slightly smoky sweet and sour sauce, complete with fresh pineapple chunks. It was spectacular.
I spiced it up with the Pad Hmong Veggies with Beef - an excellent spicy brown sauce over perfectly cooked beef strips, tons of veggies, and mounds of nice flat Rice Noodles. It was spicy enough that after about the tenth bite, I was feeling a rise in temperature, yet each bite was mild enough to make you wish you had taken just a slightly bigger bite.
My wife ordered the Vegetable Broccoli platter. An enormous pile of vegetables and broccoli, with a mild brown sauce - packed with tons of flavor. We both agreed it would have been better with chicken or shrimp - but still excellent served as it was.
The highlight of the night was surprisingly the appetizers. We ordered a few Crab Rangoon's - they seemed to be stuffed with real crab, but still had the familiar taste of imitation crab meat - just more flavorful then most Rangoons. Also, it was amazing that so much cream cheese could be crammed into a small package. The surprise for me were the Noodle Wraps - chicken and Shrimp. Both excellent - crammed full of meat. Very much reminiscent of a Thai Spring roll that had been deep fried like an egg roll. My favorite turned out to be the Hmong Stuffed Chicken Wing. This was basically a de-boned chicken wing that was filleted, then over-stuffed with cabbage and other egg roll type filling and apparently deep fried. This changed the texture of the chicken into a crispy outer shell, with a moist middle. All of these were served with a very nice honey-sesame sauce. Very light, mildly sweet, and slightly nutty. It complimented each of the appetizers perfectly.
One other enjoyable aspect, both the owners (slightly older Asian couple) speak very good English, and are quite happy to answer any and all questions about the food. They seem to know they have a slightly different take on Asian food, and seem to enjoy sharing their creations with the uninitiated. A very pleasant couple, the type you seem like you could make friends with very easily.
The portions are enormous - made lunch for all 4 of us the next day, and we left stuffed. On the way out the door, I spied someone enjoying an ENORMOUS bowl of some sort of soup - I will have to definitely explore that option next time. Also, I could very easily make a meal of the appetizers - especially those stuffed wings - and a noodle wrap or two.
If you enjoy Asian cuisine - you owe it to yourself to stop in and check them out (right behind Target and Menards, next to Nextel). The prices are good, although slightly high if comparing to traditional "Chinese Takeout" - between $7 - $9 per entrée - but the portions and excellence of the entrées more then make up for the slightly higher prices.
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