House of Noodle

House of Noodle is a Thai restaurant in Albany, Oregon.

I'm a bit on the fence in regards to decor. Not a fan of the orange color, but otherwise, a clean homey place.

I came for something spicy, so I ordered their Prik King lunch special with level 5 spice. House of Noodle's Prik King is basically chili paste and green beans with my choice of meat (I got chicken), accompanied by two scoops of rice. For an extra 50 cents, I could have gotten brown rice, but decided not to get that today.

I also got a complementary salad with warm peanut sauce dressing on top.

Salad with peanut dressing

The salad was pedestrian, almost like they opened a package of salad mix (there is head lettuce in there instead of some nutrient-rich Romaine or baby greens). The salad was also overdressed. I will say that the peanut dressing was delicious. I liked that it was warm and on the sweet side (honey or sugar probably was added to the dressing). Good peanut flavor here. I also think a drizzle of sriracha (for a little spice and color) and a few crushed peanuts sprinkled over the top of the salad (for nuttiness and texture) would have further enhanced the dish.

I then received my main course.

Prik King at House of Noodle

Closeup shot of the chili pepper flakes on the green beans and chicken

The Prik King was delicious. The green beans and carrots in this dish were stir-fried perfectly. The chicken was moist, and I savored every moment I could get more of the chili sauce in my mouth. However, the level 5 spice to me was probably a three on a 1-10 scale, so a bit disappointing in that regard. Also, perhaps just a bit too much oil/chili sauce collected at the bottom of the dish, but I used that to eat a bit of the white rice. The rice (cooked quite nicely here) had a floral, nutty aftertaste, which makes me think it was Jasmine rice.

There were only a couple of other patrons in House of Noodle when I arrived, so I wanted the service to be a bit speedier. There were a few times where I was just tempted to walk to the counter and have my order to-go instead of dine-in.

Overall, a very good, tasty meal that was well worth the $6.95 because it also temporarily satisfied my appetite. However, the salad and entree were not unforgettable dishes. I wanted a lot more heat and didn't get it. My server was friendly, yes, but the overall experience (which included slightly slow service for the amount of people in the restaurant) did leave something to be desired. 6.75/10