Noodle World

I have recently been receiving an education on Vietnamese cuisine. It all started when I moved to Calgary, and it has been getting more and more fierce. My buddy Tan seems to have applied for the position of mentor/educator and has been introducing me to a world made of more than pho broth and vermicelli noodles.

You have to understand, to my knowledge there are no Vietnamese people in Halifax. It's possible - but Halifax doesn't retain many of its immigrants, due to its economy. I'm not saying there are no Asians, but if you base your demographic research on the restaurants in Halifax you will find mainly Chinese, Japanese and Thai. There is one Korean restaurant, to my knowledge, in the Scotia Square food court which is well known for its Seoul Chicken (known affectionately as "Crack Chicken"). There is also a Thai/Vietnamese Restaurant on Barrington St. called Gingergrass, but I haven't heard much about it, and the fact that it is a blend of cuisines only goes to show the lack of supply and/or demand for Vietnamese food in Halifax. Oh yes, and I remember when  a restaurant sprung up offering "Vietnamese noodle soup". At the time all I could think was: "Who would want to go to a restaurant and eat soup with noodles in it???"

Then I arrived in Calgary. Then I escaped the suburbs. Then I arrived in CALGARY, and I was quickly introduced to pho = OMG a party in a bowl! Who knew broth could taste so good and noodles could be so perfect? And the process of adding your own basil, bean sprouts, lime, hot peppers, hot sauce and hoisin sauce... and the pleasure of using BOTH chopsticks AND a spoon! Not to mention the optional presence of tripe, tendon, meatballs, flank, brisket, and rare beef, or switching over to chicken, seafood, or satay style.

Unfortunately I have fallen in love with pho, and pho alone. But a monogamous commitment to a bowl of soup just isn't enough to to maintain a lifelong relationship with a cuisine. So my buddy Tan takes me out to lunch at Noodle World. I know, sounds like more noodles, right? Noodle World is, in fact, his go to place for pho, and I am sorta surprized I hadn't yet been there until this day. But he didn't bring me out for pho. Instead, he brought me out for an affair with Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup. Noodle World has a lunch special for 2, 4, or 6 people, all of which feature the Hot and Sour Soup. To my understanding, "Canh Chua" actually translates to mean "Sour Soup", but they probably call it "Hot and Sour Soup" in English because it sounds more familiar to westerners already acquainted with Chinese or Thai styles of Hot and Sour Soup. The word "Canh", I think refers to soup in terms of the, I think, uniquely Vietnamese practice of putting soup on rice to make it ... well, not plain old boring rice. Kind of in the same way  white people put butter or soy sauce on their rice to make it more palatable (although I have also been told that rice is fine just the way it is and doesn't need any help, thank you very much).

This soup gets its slight sourness from pineapple, and there are chunks of pineapple involved, as well as thinly sliced leeks, celery, bean sprouts, tomato and okra. You get a choice of fish or shrimp, and we went with the fish.We forgot to ask, but the combined powers of our tastebuds compel us to think it was basa. It was perfectly tender and very delicious when dipped in the accompanying fish sauce. There was a generous amount of fish, and also plenty of rice which we combined with the soup in small bowls in whatever soup to rice ratio we preferred.

But that's not all! Our meal also came with a choice of fish or pork served in a clay pot. While eating our soup, we were greeted by a large helping of caramelized fish. It was so delicious, but quite rich. I found it exciting to have a mouthful of the rich caramelized fish, and then alternate with a mouthful of the fish from the soup dipped in the salty fish sauce.

Our meal was also supposed to come with a jellyfish sour salad and a Kim Chi salad (or maybe a jellyfish kim chi salad - I'm not sure), but without any explanation or forewarning, we were presented with a platter of sauteed beansprouts with scallion, deep fried tofu, and minced pork. Being a fan of deep fried tofu, and not so much a fan of jellyfish (all you haters know you agree with me on this one!), we had no complaints. The dish was actually flavoured very nicely and made a fine accompaniment to our meal.

This meal deal for two is priced at $29.95 and I think that's a pretty good deal considering this could feed 3 people! When you get the meals for 4 or 6 people there are additional components like pan fried fish or shrimp with salt and pepper. I would say this meal revived my interest in Vietnamese food, and I can't wait to go back to Noodle World to try the pho ; )

Noodle World
#114, 4909 17 Ave SE
Calgary, Alberta
403-248-5778