As Told Over My Noodle & Bar Brunch
When people ask me what’s my favorite food, one of my top five dishes are Thai drunken noodles. I always joked that if a Thai restaurant did brunch, I’d be in heaven. Lo and behold, that’s not a joke or pipe dream anymore: My Noodle and Bar launched their new brunch menu during none other than our flagship event, Richmond Brunch Weekend.
My mom had picked out our family brunch at a spot I was also excited to go try (Havana 59, brunch review coming soon), and we needed a bigger venue for our Saturday friend brunch during Richmond Brunch Weekend, but I sent my volleyball friends to try out My Noodle's new brunch for the weekend.
They sent me RAVE reviews, with all recommendations pointing toward getting the currito (the curry burrito). Like the brunch enthusiast I am, I pestered our teams group chat until they agreed to take me there last weekend.
We set to arrive at 11:45am. Because of who I am as a person, I was several minutes early and settled on the giant swing table for us right by the front. It wasn’t busy, which was promising for us since I had very little idea of how many of us to expect. Not wanting to be the girl drinking alone, I ordered just water and coffee to begin.
I loved my surroundings. From the table swing that I claimed as our own, there were a few box seats, separating the back from the front of the restaurant, making every seat seem like they’re tucked in a nook or cranny. It was heavily wooded and brightly decorated to liven up the fact were sitting in a basement. It’s a really good vibe.
The water came fast while the coffee got brewed especially for me. Soon some friends showed up, and the waitress quickly took their drink orders before I decided what I wanted. This played into my favor, as both mimosas and bloody Mary’s were ordered. The mimosa was a passion fruit mimosa, while the bloody was a Thai basil bloody. The feedback at the table was there was a TON of basil in the bloody. I’m not sure if they meant that as a pro or a con, but I could probably eat basil as a snack (I haven’t done that but I think I could do that).
I ordered the bloody and then we decided on some brunch apps to hold us over until the full party arrived. Brunch apps aren’t really a thing at most places, so we basically we just ordered some potatoes to get us started.
They came out in a little tin, served with ketchup and salted with coarse salt. They were good, but nothing to write home about.
Soon our full party arrived and we ordered basically a table full of curry burritos. There was a lot of discussion about which type of curry could come on the burrito. Today was Massaman, which conveniently is my favorite.
I dappled with the idea of getting another Bloody Mary or coffee, but decided to take a breather on the beverages because the trio always over hydrates me. Soon the food came out. Most of us got the currito with either bacon, pork belly or plain. I opted for the pork belly.
I was surprised by the presentation. The burrito came in a little trough, with the meat, veggies and sauces laid on top of the burrito, which was just fried rice in a burrito. It was a deconstructed burrito. From a easy-of-building sense, it makes total sense. From an eating perspective, I struggled with cutting the burrito while it was in the trough, and then felt like I couldn’t build a well balanced bite.
The flavor was really good, the pork belly was delicious and OMG the veggies! I would have loved like double the amount of veggies. I don’t know how, but those carrots were amazing. I also wish there was more sauce. Once I ran out of sauce and veggies, I lost interest in finishing the rice burrito.
Overall, I really love Thai brunch. The basil in the Bloody was really good, and the Massaman curry burrito was definitely more interesting than the normal breakfast burrito. I’m excited to see what else My Noodle adds to their menu, as the noted on the menu that they’d be adding more options soon. I’m not sure how they can make drunken noodles into a brunch dish, but if they did I’m confident that will be the most me-thing in the city of Richmond.