RETURNING TO CITI FIELD
THIS WINTER
theworldsfare.nyc
Nood Dishes Up Secret Super Premium Thai Beef Noodles
BY JOE DISTEFANO
As the Culinary King of Queens, I’m so
very fortunate to live in the most diverse
and delicious destination in all of New York
City. Really I’m not royalty though, I’m
an ambassador, and a hungry one at that.
Today, we visit Thailand via Elmhurst at
Nood in the neighborhood’s newest culinary
wonderland HK Food Court. A casual appraisal of the more than two
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 1 BTR 3-19, 2019 25
dozen offerings at Elmhurst’s HK
Food Court, which opened earlier
this spring in a former supermarket,
reveals there are four Thai stands, offering everything
from pork over rice to dessert. And then
there’s Nood with its happy cow logo munching
on a bowl of noodles. The first thing you might
notice is the prices, $11.99 seems to be a bit steep
for a bowl of noodles in a food court. The next
thing you might take note of is that the photo of
that $11.99 bowl of noodle soup contains a gigantic
slice of premium Black Angus brisket.
The very last thing, you might notice about
Nood, whose sign bears the legend “Asian
Noodle Bar by Mama Dee,” is that it is in fact,
Thai. If you’ve been around Thai restaurants long
enough the quartet of fish sauce, sugar, chilies in
vinegar, and red chili powder should tip you off.
The specialty at this family run operation—
named for the matriarch Bungon “Wondee”Sudchit—
is Thai style beef noodle soup. Elmhurst has
long been home to places to get pho, the Vietnamese
style beef noodle soup, as well as Taiwanese beef
noodle soup, but Nood is the hood’s first spot for
kuay teow neua, or Thai style beef noodle soup.
And what soup it is! Whole Black Angus brisket is
boiled for 10 hours along with a pantry’s worth of
aromatics and spices, including galangal,star anise,
five spice powder, white pepper, and lemongrass,
resulting in a super beefy broth.
Nood offers six varieties of meaty toppings for
its soups, including the aforementioned gigantic
slab of brisket and a mixed meat bowl, which features
cubed brisket, thinly sliced beef, chewy tendon,
tripe, and creamy liver. The brisket version is
literally over the top, the gigantic slab of meat—
comprising both the flat and point cuts as well as
a generous bit of wobbly fat— overlaps the edges
of the bowl. Offal lovers and the hungry alike will
delight in the mixed meat bowl. Whichever one
you order, be sure to take some fish sauce, sugar,
chili powder, and chilies in vinegar to adjust the
flavor of your bowl. The eminently slurpable
noodles are of the springy fresh Japanese variety.
There’s also a bit of greenery, shredded lettuce of
all things, almost an afterthought, because let’s
face it the focus here is the beef.
Despite the matriarchal reference in the
name, Nood is actually the brainchild of Wondee’s
son, Gai, who spent six months in Thailand
eating his through some of his home country’s
best spots for kuay teow neua, or Thai beef noodle
soup, including Bangkok’s Wattana Panich.
Gai grew up eating noodle soup at home—typically
pork or chicken—and his recipe is also
partly inspired by his Mom’s broth. “To be honest
my family doesn’t really eat beef, but I wanted
to sell beef,” he said, adding that he is partial to
Korean BBQ at Flushing’s Picnic Garden.
The young chef ’s personal favorite is the brisket,
but he’s quick to point that the No. 5, mixed
meat in broth with rice on the side is a very Thai
way to eat. Should you choose to exercise this
option, make a dipping sauce.
Only in Queens, in a neighborhood like
Elmhurst, can one find a super premium secret
Thai beef noodle stand.
Nood,
Asian Noodle Bar by Mamadee,
No. 21, HK Food Court,
HK Food Court,
82-02 45th Ave.,
Elmhurst