A different kind of Thai: Paddler Thai Boat Noodles

 

Paddler Thai Boat Noodles

I have fond memories of getting Pad Thai from street carts in Bangkok. It is still my favourite noodles of all time. In Bangkok, I also had the hottest curry in some hole in the wall joint, where every bite required a sip of Pepsi. And while I have visited the floating market, I have not tried boat noodles before. In fact, I have not heard of boat noodles until I was looking for a place to eat in the Parkdale area where we were going to find ourselves during dinner time on a weekday. While I wanted to try some Tibetan cuisine in Little Tibet, I couldn’t resist not trying the boat noodles at Paddler. Kuaytiaw – Rua or boat noodles are  sold by vendors in the floating markets. Vendors would cook noodles on board small boats and sell them to people on shore or on other boats.  How could I not try that?

Hubby started with Crisp Fried Quail Egg Wonton. Nicely deep fried and served with house plum sauce. It was a nice appetizer and tastes exactly as the name of the dish—it was quail egg wrapped in wonton wrapper and crisp fried. There was simply no other way to describe it.

Of course, we got their Signature Boat Noodles. We first chose the type of noodles (small rice, medium rice, flat rice or egg noodles). Then, we chose our protein (beef or pork). I got medium rice noodles with beef (braised, sliced, and beef balls) which arrived in this beautiful broth (made by using pig or cow blood and dark soy sauce, well balanced with some coconut milk and chili oil). Thai herbs, sprouts, cilantro, fried garlic and dried chili peppers bring it all together. It was served with pork rind which provided a nice crunch. The broth was just absolutely delicious. It was tangy, spicy and full of flavour. It definitely hits the spot. DD#1, a soup lover, has declared it to now be her favourite soup. Ramen and Pho have now been dethroned.

Boat Noodles at Paddler

Grandma, who was not in the mood for soup, got the dry boat noodles, which is also very traditional. The noodles also come with protein and is brought together by chili oil and dried chilies, cilantro and also some dried coconut.

Dry Boat noodles at Paddler

Service was good, though there was a bit of a wait (20-30 min). Overall, super worth it. And while we talked of coming back to the area to have a Tibetan meal, I wager we will end up here in Paddler again.