This ain't your father's Main Garden

By Robby O'Connor

A summer spent in Taiwan left me with a newfound appreciation for three things: drinkable tap water, people who speak English, and a nice big bowl of noodle soup.

I would be lying if I said I didn't miss American food while I was away. Often in my dreams I would sail across the ocean to New Haven and feast on the many late-night delicacies that have typified my Yale career: Mamoun's falafel, the Naples slice, and, of course, a Krauser's sub. Yet, at the same time, noodle soup never wore thin on me. Amazing—especially considering it was my lunch every day for nine weeks. Simple, light, and cheap, nothing compares to it.

And now it seems almost too happy a coincidence that my return to this country and to Yale coincides with the grand opening of Ivy Noodle, a self-proclaimed "authentic noodle house." There alone I could satisfy the strange cravings I cultivated over the summer for dishes I can't describe, much less pronounce. Nevertheless, knowing that I would be preoccupied gauging the authenticity of Ivy Noodle, I brought along three friends to judge the palatability of the dishes more objectively.

DAVID GEST/YH Okay, call the waiter; there's a noodle in your soup.

Something everyone should try once in their life is the "Tea with Tapioca Pearls" ($2.50). The tea itself is milky and sweet, not unlike the Thai iced tea served at Thai Taste, but at the bottom of the glass is a collection of marble-sized tapioca "pearls" which shoot up the extra wide straw along with the beverage as you sip. Everyone thought the drink was tasty as well as just plain cool. The first dish to arrive was the "Combination on Rice (3 Kinds of Meat)" ($5.25), essentially a dish of sticky rice with roast pork, chicken, and duck piled on top with some brown sauce. My cohorts were disappointed and called the dish "uninteresting," as they were expecting some kind of fried rice dish with the meats mixed in. They also disliked the fact that the chicken and duck still had the skin and bones intact and complained that half the pieces of meat were too bony or fatty to be eaten.

Our next dish, the "Singapore Mai Fun" ($4.75), was thin noodles stir-fried with shrimp, chicken, and either beef or pork or both and had been recommended to us by one of the women working the register. This boneless and chicken fat-free dish met much greater approval from us all.

Strangely, only after these two main dishes did our appetizer finally arrive. No one commented on this so I let it slide and we all dug in to the "Steamed Vegetable with Oyster Sauce" ($3.75). Don't let the name "Oyster Sauce" mislead you, it's the same brown sauce used in dishes like Beef and Broccoli. The vegetable here is a sort of a Chinese spinach and though everyone agreed that it was very tasty, I couldn't help but notice that I ate most of it.

Finally our soup arrived. Of the twenty-nine options, we had randomly picked the "Soy Sauce Chicken & Wonton Noodle" ($4.75) with Japanese Udon noodles. For me, the soup was everything I had hoped it would be; a generous serving of noodles, fresh wontons, and several thick pieces of white meat chicken. My friends also enjoyed it immensely but again were displeased to find bones and fat still attached to the chicken. At my urging (and I do urge this), we added a small dollop of the red sauce sitting at the end of our table to the broth, which gave it a bit of kick.

Despite some complaints, everyone enjoyed the meal and polished off every morsel. The Mai Fun was the most popular dish, but all agreed that the soup was the best value (prices range from $2.95 to $4.75). Everyone also agreed that the restaurant itself was attractive and comfortable, with a tile and industrial metal decor. The restaurant's sanitary ambiance creates a point of striking contrast with its neighboring competitor Main Garden. There's a large counter seating area where you can watch your food being prepared and tables for groups of two or six.

The staff is friendly and the service decent. Though our food arrived quickly, I got the feeling we were being rushed out (they tried to clear a plate before we were done) and our waiter was neglectful with water refills. Despite these minor qualms, Ivy Noodle is a good value, a tasty meal, and open until two in the morning most nights, a boon to the late night dining scene.

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