Pho 75 - Herndon, Va

Since I've been eating so much noodle soup lately, I wanted to come back here for a comparison. I decided to get a small pho dac biet. Which is the special and includes all of meats. This is actually the first time I've ordered the dac biet. I've always ordered the pho tai, sach or chicken pho. Lately I've only been ordering chicken pho, and the broth there was pretty good, but the pieces of chicken weren't very good. Small odd pieces of chicken. The pho dac biet was quite different by comparison. The broth was very flavorful. It had a lot of brisket, some tendon, a little cook beef (tai) and a little tripe. I didn't like the tendon at all, just tasted like fat. Everything else was fine. It was actually a pretty good bowl of soup.

Busara - Reston, Va

I had to work yesterday on Memorial Day. I decided to pick up something quick at Busara, since it was close by. I decided to get the drunken noodles. I don't think it was on the menu before and now I know why. It was one of the worst drunken noodles I've ever had. The noodles were undercooked and it was way too watery.

11964 Market St
Reston, VA 20190-5663
(703) 435-4188

Nava Thai - Wheaton, Md

On Saturday, we tried Nava Thai, since we were passing through the neighborhood. I have also read many reviews about the restaurant. The outside of the restaurant looks like a house. But once you step inside, you would never guess how elaborate the inside was. I was nicely decorated with lots of wood built in. We were lucky to get a table immediately without reservations around 6pm. Soon after we sat down, the restaurant was packed.

Today I decided to try their signature dish, the Floating Market Noodle soup. This soup had three chilies beside it. I ordered it with just two chilies and I was barely able to eat it. I ordered beef with meatballs and no bean sprouts. I came with pho like noodles, watercress, and pork pork chitterlings. This soup was great, despite the spiciness.

My husband got whole fried flounder with chili sauce. The fish was pretty pricey, but it was well worth it. The fish was nice and crispy with the chili sauce poured on top. Once again quite spicy but not as spicy as the Floating Market Noodle soup.

Overall, this has been one of the best Thai restaurants I've been to. The service was good and the food was great.


11301 Fern Street
Wheaton, MD 20902
240-430-0495

Yil Mi - Chantilly, Va

This is an all you can eat korean restaurant with barbeque. They also have all you can eat sushi. The sushi is decent for a buffet. Even better than some sushi buffet places. The Korean barbeque is very good. The waitresses will cook the food for you. There is a section of prepared korean food, which is ok. I actually like the spicy beef soup. There is some kimchi and other panchan. Then they have fresh fruit and ice cream for dessert. I like the food here. It is a little pricey for lunch, but the food is good and you will be full when you leave.

14015 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy
Chantilly, VA

Three Thai Sushi - Herndon, Va

I think I found my favorite Thai noodle soup. It is the Thai noodle soup with beef and meatballs at Three Thai Sushi. Granted this is only the second Thai noodle soup I have ever had, but it was simply delicious. The soup description is very similiar to Vietnamese pho. But it tastes completely different. The broth was dark brown, very rich and flavorful. The beef and meatballs were good. It also had some chinese broccoli on the bottom and no rotten bean sprouts, even though the description had it listed.. The noodles were very similiar to one used in pho. The soup came with extra condiments of different types of peppers. They added spiciness to the soup, but I think I put in a little too much. Overall, this soup was excellent. I'll add this to my list of favorite Thai restaurants.


Three Thai Sushi Restaurant
410 Elden Street, Herndon, VA 20170
Tel : (703) 471-2000

Shanghai - Lotte Plaza - Chantilly, Va

I decided to have some Korean noodles today for lunch. I got the ja ja myun - jam pong combo. The noodles used for both dishes were the same. They were pretty good, nice and chewy. The broth for the jam pong was a little strong. It had a little too strong seafood flavor. The soup had a lot of squid, a little shrimp and mussels. The ja ja myun, was mostly noodles with sauce and a little pork and potatoes. Overall this dish was pretty good. I'll probably try to find a different place which is a little better.

13955 Metrotech Dr.
Chantilly, VA 20151

Mezza Grills - Ashburn, Va

We decided to try this restaurant because they had a kebab platter family feast. This included kofte, chicken, filet mignon kebab, and gyro served with skewered vegetables, rice, torshi pickles, fettoush salad, hummus and bread. It was a lot of food our family. The chicken kebab was very good, even the kids liked it. The filet mignon was our favorite. Cooked perfectly and very good flavor. The gyro was very good also. It was soft and tasted very good. It was too salty either. The kofte was our least favorite, although it wasn't bad, we just we're into the ground beef. The skewered vegetables included onions, tomatoes and green peppers. The fettoush salad and hummus were very good. The torshi pickles were a little tart, but they grow on you. The restaurant had a few families, it was not very crowded for a Saturday lunch. Overall, this was a great restaurant with excellent food. We will definitely be back.

43150 Broadland Center
Ashburn, Va 20148
Tel: 703-723-7447

Busara Thai - Reston, Va

I had to get a quick lunch on Wednesday, so I decided to get take out from Busara. I ordered the seafood fried rice. This dish was pretty good. It had large chunks of squid and shrimp. It was pretty spicy too. The only negative was, I would have like more rice, since rice is pretty cheap. But it was a tasty lunch.

11964 Market St.
Reston, Va 20190

Hwang's Restaurant - Centreville, Va

I took a chance trying this restaurant, as all the signs in the window were in Korean. But as soon as I got the menu I noticed they had a bunch of lunch specials for $5.99. I was the only person in the restaurant the whole time I was there. I got the Soondubu. I came out pretty quickly with panchan. The first thing I noticed was the rice was purple. I'm not sure exactly what that was, but didn't taste much different from white rice. The soondubu bowl looked a little small, but after eating it turned out to be the perfect size. The broth was very good, the tofu was good, but the amount of seafood was a little skimpy. One large shrimp and a few small pieces of squid. Overall the meal was very good, especially for $5.99. I would probably come back if I could handle the waiter not saying a word to me.

Four Sisters - Fairfax, Va

We decided to go here for Mother's Day. The restaurant was packed and we did not have reservations. We were seated about 20 minutes later. I've been to this restaurant several times when it was located at Eden Center. It was good, but nothing special. I decided to try it again at the new location because I've read so many reviews about it. The new location is nicely located outside of Eden. It is much more upscale than before. We ordered the dinner for four. Of the options we chose crispy pork spring rolls, papaya salad with shrimp and pork, Vietnamese sweet and sour tamarind soup with shrimp, caramelized fish in clay pot, Chinese broccoli sauteed with shrimp, grilled lemongrass chicken and seasonal fruits. The springs rolls your typical Vietnamese fried spring rolls, nothing special. The papaya salad, was mediocre. The papaya barely had any taste and the sauce was pretty mild. The sweet and sour soup was actually very good. There are many times I've had this soup and it would be too sour, but this was perfect in sweetness and sourness. The caramelized fish in clay pot, was red instead of the normal brown color. The fish was pretty good, but the caramel sauce was pretty mild. The Chinese broccoli sauteed with shrimp was actually very good. The broccoli was cooked perfectly with a bit of crunchiness left. There was only 3 shrimp, but they were quite big. The sauce was very good also, it tasted like a mild garlic sauce. The grilled lemongrass chicken wasn't anything special. Although the grilled chicken tasted pretty good, I could barely taste the lemongrass. The season fruits included some bland oranges. Overall the restaurant was above average. It seems as though they have toned down the flavors to cater to the Americans. Which is probably why they have received such great reviews from the Americans. It is an good restaurant for a Vietnamese meal, however definitely not the best Vietnamese restaurant around. For excellent Vietnamese, I would stick to inside the beltway.

8190 Strawberry Lane
Fairfax, Va 22042

Uncle Julio's Rio Grande - Reston, Va

Today I went to Uncle Julio's Rio Grande. It's a decent mexican restaurant at the Reston Town Center. Today I had the Plato Deluxe. This included a chicken fajita and I got the shrimp and lobster soup. The shrimp and lobster soup was very good. There was a lot of chunks of lobster and shrimp and rice. The fajita was pretty good. Basically, chicken inside a tortilla, with avacado and pico de gallo. It was a simple, satisfying lunch.

1827 Library St.
Reston, VA 20190

Thai Luang - Herndon, Va

I've been to this restaurant a couple of times. I was not very impressed before. It was merely an average Thai restaurant. I decided to try it again because they have a Crispy Duck Noodle Soup. This is the first time I have ever had this dish or just a Thai noodle soup, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The restaurant was packed for lunch. The soup came out quickly. The soup had wide rice noodles, bean sprouts, lettuce and was topped with crispy fried duck. The duck very crispy and tasty but quite fatty. There was quite a bit of bean sprouts, which is a major distraction for me. I do not eat bean sprouts. I usually order my food without bean sprouts, but I didn't know it was in the soup. So I tend to eat around the bean sprouts. The wide noodles do not hold enough soup flavor, unless you eat it with a little broth. The broth had a mild flavor to it. I felt it could have been stronger. Overall this dish was better than the others I have had at Thai Luang. It was a pretty good noodle soup, but there are many others I like much better. I still classify this restaurant as average. I might come back to try a couple of other noodle soups since many of the Thai restaurants in the area don't have noodle soup. But for the typical Thai food, there are plenty of other Thai restaurants in Herndon, which I like better.

171 Elden St # 171
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 478-2233

Taste of Vietnam - Sterling, Va

I need to bring my camera. I stopped here to grab a quick meal before a meeting last night. This is a nice authentic Vietnamese restaurant. I used to eat here quite often when I worked in Sterling. It looks like it may be under be under new management since the last time I was here about a year ago.

I had the Bun Ga Nuong, Grilled Chicken with Vermicelli. The traditional Vietnamese dish would be served with pork, however since I am watching my cholesterol, I tend to substitute pork and beef products with chicken. This dish came out very quick and was quite good. The chicken had a very nice grilled flavor. It could have included a little more vegetables, including fresher lettuce and cucumbers. There were a few bean sprouts even though I ordered it without bean sprouts. Otherwise still a good meal.

46005 Regal Plz Ste 110
Sterling, VA
Phone: 703-433-9543

First Post

Hello World!!

This is the first post from All Noodles. This blog will contain reviews of the restaurants I have eaten at and will be eating at.

Since this is my first post, I will start by listing my favorite restaurants in the Washington DC (mostly suburban) area. I will add pictures and reviews soon.

Indian
Angeethi (Leesburg, Va) - good lunch buffet
Mayuri (Reston, Va) - good lunch buffet
Minerva (Herndon, Va) - very good lunch buffet

Mexican
Guapo's (Herndon, Va) - one of my favorites for Peruvian Chicken
Uncle Julio's Rio Grande (Reston, Va) - Chain restaurant

Japanese
Tachibana Restaurant (McLean, Va) - excellent authentic Japanese
Hama Sushi (Herndon, Va) - good Japanese

Kabob
Reston Kabob - Very good kabobs

Korean
Lighthouse Tofu (Annandale, Va) - excellent soon dubu

Thai
Sakoontra (Fairfax, Va) - Good Thai food, big servings
Anothai (Ashburn, Va) - Good Thai food
Bangrak (Ashburn, Va) - Good Thai food

Vietnamese
Minh's Restaurant (Arlington, Va) - Nice Vietnamese restaurant, stick to the house specialties.
Nha Trang (Eden Center) - The best Nem Nuong
Song Que (Eden Center) - Great Vietnamese sandwiches and snacks
Thanh Long (Eden Center) - Best Bun oc
Thanh Tong (Eden Center) - Great Vietnamese soups, Bun Rieu, Bun Bo Hue and Bun Thit Nuong
Thanh Son Tofu (Eden Center) - Good banh cuon, great tofu
Huong Viet (Eden Center) - Good food, I like the bun mang vit
Pho Bistro (Ashburn, Va) - Americanized, but good pho