Frugal Fridays: Noodle King

Awhile back, I unofficially threw in the towel with Frugal Fridays - as I was having more and more trouble finding satisfying lunch options for under $5 (after tax). Some of the options I found had raised their prices, and it seemed inflation was eliminating any new options. I would walk around for an hour and not find anything, then settle on something disappointing. Then today, quite by luck, I stumbled upon a lunch for just $4.35 after tax.



A lunch date had to be postponed, so I found myself without a lunch or a plan. I just finished reading Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China, so was eager to explore Chinese food beyond the familiar Kung Pao & General Tso's. I had read about the recently opened Noodle King over on MSG150.com, and thought it sounded perfect.



The restaurant is clean, spacious and well lit, thanks to the high ceilings, mirrors and windows - and the staff were friendly and efficient. I was seated quickly and given water and a bowl of kimchee-esque pickled & spicy veggies to snack on. The menu includes a wide variety of dishes, though nearly all feature the hand-tossed noodles you can watch being made in the kitchen. In the interest of eating outside my comfort zone, I went with the Soy Sauce Pig's Feet Noodle Soup (small) - a Pho-like broth with thick, round noodles, baby bok choy, cilantro, and delicious pig's feet chunks that seem to have been braised, as the meat literally fell off the bones.



The soup was perfect for a cold, rainy Seattle spring day - and I was happy to have tried something new. And then the bill came, and I was even more happy - $4.35. Hard to beat that!



(Frugal Fridays is a series dedicated to finding Seattle lunch spots where you can walk in with a $5 bill and walk out with a fulfilling, preferably healthy, lunch. If you have suggestions of places in the Seattle area with a great lunch for under $5 after tax, post a comment - I'd love the help.)