Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai, the wildly popular Thai place in Yeonnam-dong, had opened a second branch, and a noodle specialist at that, so I rushed over. I had high hopes before the opening, but the vibe turned out a little different from what I expected.

Condiments

Maybe because it had just opened, the place was packed. But for a noodle joint, the ratio of women was oddly high. Lots of couples on dates too. Apart from our table, about 90% of the room was that crowd. In my mind a noodle specialist is where booze-loving middle-aged guys turn up, but that was not the case at all. The mood might change late at night, though. (According to recent info, they no longer do late-night hours..)

Thai-style iced tea

Two guys walk in and get two straws in one glass.. we are just friends, you know..

Singha beer

It was a hot day so I ordered a bottle, and it comes out this cute. Tuk Tuk had Max on draft too, so it was a bit of a shame this place does not.

The long-awaited beef noodles

When I had it at Tuk Tuk before, the broth tasted like herbal medicine, which was so distinctive it really stuck with me, but the new noodles are much cleaner and easier for the average person to eat. The meat on top was cooked really well, good with the noodles and good as a beer snack on its own. Thinking back, you have to order a large portion of noodles or add the boiled beef to say you properly enjoyed this place.

Pork skewers

The sauce was a bit sweet, but the meat quality was good. I found out later that you can also order sausages that are not on the menu. Would have tried them if I had known, a bit of a shame..

Som tam

Think of it as a salad with a slightly spicy dressing. I read somewhere that it works wonders with sticky rice so I ordered them as a set, but it is not really that. The internet is full of people who oversell things, which is a problem. Even in my posts about places I know well, I try to put it euphemistically when something is not good, but I never flat-out say it is amazing. When my blog says a flavor is like nothing I have had before, or that care went into the cooking, it means you are free to imagine how it actually tasted.. could be good, could be not..

Sticky rice

Not long ago I had a fantastic meal at a Thai restaurant in Ebisu, so honestly I had some expectations..

The contents

The rice came out completely set and hard. If they tell me that is how it is in Thailand, I have never been so I have no comeback..

What I liked most at this place was the topping on the beef noodles. If I go back, I would like to order a large beef noodle to fill up and then head somewhere else for round two, but the vibe is so much of a date course that going alone feels like a stretch. Well, whatever my opinion, it seems to be settling in as a date spot, so business should do great. If the owner makes a lot of money, I hope the third branch is a place for lonely drunk middle-aged guys like me.

Bread Lab is on the second floor of Soi Yeonnam, so I stopped in, but did not take any photos. The bread looked good and the cafe space was nicely done up. Yeonnam-dong seems to be on the rise, and I am looking forward to what comes next.

Moving on, gelato at Gelati Gelati

Some bloggers call this place the ultimate, and it is not quite that, but the value for money is really good. Baskin-Robbins and Haagen-Dazs cost this much these days, so being able to get proper gelato at a similar price is something to be grateful for. It was a hot day, but I wrapped things up nicely and headed home.

Lately, for various reasons, I have barely been able to do any restaurant hopping. But your humble servant still has twelve posts in reserve, so I plan to keep posting every day without a break for the next two or three weeks. If things go well at this pace, real-time posting should be possible from October. Then I will have to pay a bit more attention to the blog.

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む