Noodle Pudding, New York City

I know taking the subway is “part of the whole New York experience” but I was resistant. It was taxi from JFK to Manhattan and back and during my entire stay, I celebrated the arrival of Spring by walking just about everywhere, my longest journey being from Soho all the way to FAO Schwartz on 58th Street.

Only 2 places called for the subway, one being Port Authority Terminal and the other all the way to Brooklyn, to a charming neighborhood restaurant called Noodle Pudding.

On a Saturday evening, the restaurant teemed with chatter and bustle. Unlike The EU, which seemed like a watering hole for yuppies and gatherings, Noodle Pudding’s more mature and less neurotic crowd came in groups of twos and fours. Thank goodness we had a reservation as the restaurant had to combine 2 tables for our group of 9.

As usual, some of us couldn’t make up our minds and adopted the common strategy of ordering different dishes so that we could pick on second and third choice.



We had the by-default fried calamari. I’ve never met a person who didn’t like calamari… Wouldn’t that be interesting? It would be like, “what planet are you from?”

The excellent fried squid had a crumbed batter and was served as soon as it was lifted off the deep fryer i.e. hot, crisp and positively irresistible.



We had a really charming waiter who warned us about having too much bread. Oh dear, could it be that even in semi-darkness, he could tell I had the words “bread nut” written all over my face and was just split seconds away from tearing apart the crusty ciabatta?

In any case, his advice fell on deaf ears. We were holding up quite well until the mussels in spicy tomato sauce arrived. The mussels had a knockout broth that begged to be soaked through the fluffy innards of the ciabatta; thereafter it became a ‘we will not rest till we’ve drained the sauce’ escapade.



If the starters were great, the entrees were outstanding. To my left, Han had the osso buco con cremolata that was osso yummy. It had achieved remarkable tenderness induced from hours of braising, thereby allowing the rich flavours to infiltrate the meaty fibres of the bone marrow.

Osso Buco

To my right, Ed ordered the tagliata sliced prime rib, which would have been any guy’s way of saying “Man will hunt. Man will protect territory. Man will eat meat”. In a place where this dish was created, the words “portion” and “diet” ceased to exist (wait, isn’t that heaven?). You know how sometimes you get a fantastic main that is accompanied by limp sides, almost as if the rest of the crew let down the one shining star? Well, not this time round for the spicy herb-riddled fried potatoes posed a worthy sidekick.


Tagliata sliced prime rib

I absolutely loved my grilled quail on a bed of pumpkin and quinoa. For 3 seconds, I just sat there in mute adoration. The ciabatta was beginning to settle in my stomach but the little birds were waiting to be consumed in unadulterated enjoyment. And I compiled.


Grilled quail

“Oh gaw-, I’m so full… maybe I’ll just finish the quail and leave the pumpkin quinoa…just one more bite… ooo dang, I actually finished the entire plate!”

Which by the way was quite embarrassing because Han barely made it through half her dish and there I was with an empty plate, save for some stray quinoa grains. It was a dimly lit restaurant so I don’t think anyone noticed my empty plate. I hope.

At that point in time, it was wise to wave the white flag and call for ‘time out’, but faced with the dessert menu, none of us could say “enough, no thanks”, and so we shared a few Italian favourites.



Out of all the desserts we order (panna cotta, mandarin orange sherbet, tiramisu, flourless chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato and lemon goat cheese cake), the chocolate cake and cheesecake stood out for different reasons.

The decadent flourless chocolate cake and rich hazelnut gelato, for obvious reasons, met with unrestrained popularity; the lemon goat cheese cake, that’s another story all together. Goat cheese is my fear factor food but I threw caution to the wind, hoping that the lemon and cream cheese would reduce the pung. The first bite was “ok”… second bite “who left the gym sock…” and I realized I shouldn’t risk the third bite lest I throw up.


Flourless chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato



After dinner, the rest started making plans for Sunday morning. Save for a handful who planned to sleep in, a few had plans for soccer and run. Me, I wondered how I was going to tackle brunch with Paulina the next day.

Noodle Pudding
38 Henry Street, Brooklyn
Phone 718-625-3737