Try the Thai
Fried and a Thai Iced Tea.
Strips of roasted sweet potato
dipped and fried in a funnel cake-style coconut batter and served with a
refreshing cucumber and rice vinegar dipping sauce, and the iced tea flavored
with tamarind, sugar and honey and topped with heavy cream, are two terrific
ways to start your meal at the newly opened Joy Noodles and Rice in West Palm
Beach.
Owners Joy and Jeff Sumonthee
may be related to the owners of the popular Wattana Thai Restaurant located
farther south on Dixie Highway, but Joy Noodles is not strictly Thai. Its menu,
Joy says, is inspired by Asian street vendor food.
“Every country has its own
signature noodle dish sold by street vendors,†she said. “We have many of these
from all over Asia on the menu.â€
In addition to the Thai Fried,
other starters include Vietnamese Fresh Rolls (two for $4.95) and steamed or
fried dumplings (four for $3.95).
The bulk of Joy’s menu is
divided — as the name of the restaurant suggests — into noodle dishes and rice
dishes served in a variety of styles (chicken or beef, $7.95; shrimp $9.95).
Our waiter recommended a rice
and vegetable dish served with a coconut lemongrass sauce. We took the
suggestion and ordered it with chicken. The cream sauce was flavorful with
delicate hints of both coconut and lemongrass.
The basic rice noodles with
peanut sauce sauteed with egg, carrots and green beans were a little dry and
could benefit from more peanut flavor. The Harusame-style potato noodles with
vegetables and a secret spicy sauce pack more punch.
Our favorite noodle dish — and
one to pick up the next time you’re feeling under the weather — is Joy’s
flavorful Hong Kong-style take on chicken noodle soup. The clear garlicky broth
supports large dumplings, thin wonton noodles and spinach, bok choy, mushrooms,
carrots and bean sprouts. We slurped it up!
The same noodle dishes served at
lunchtime round out the dinner menu for a few dollars more.
The rice dishes, including wok-roasted Chilean Sea Bass with ginger Hunan sauce
(the most expensive item on the menu at $16.95), are a little more substantial
at dinner. The grilled salmon served over rice with a sweet mango basil
Thai-style sauce was enjoyable for $13.95.
Vegetarians will find a
selection of noodle, tofu and curry dishes ($7.95 for lunch; $10.95 for dinner).
A wide selection of cold sake and Chinese and Thai beers are available.
Next time on our tour of Asian
street vendor food we want to try Joy’s take on the Indonesian egg noodle dish
Mee Goreng, and the Burmese-influenced northern Thai Chiangmai Noodles Soup.
Joy’s location, formerly the
home of Great Wraps, has been redecorated with casual Asian-style lanterns. Soft
music described by Joy as “meditation relaxation Thai-style music†and soft
lighting create such a relaxing vibe that Joy says it lulled one takeout
customer to sleep during his short wait.
Overall, this casual,
inexpensive Asian restaurant is a real Joy. |
