Doodles
Hyde Park spot serves Chinese noodles and rice without the traditional trappings
GINA DAUGHERTY | CIN WEEKLY
I've window-shopped Doodles just off Hyde Park Square for years, never knowing what type of cuisine is served just beyond the large street-front windows facing Edwards Road.
For some reason I thought it served upscale/casual American cuisine, like the other nearby restaurants along the square. Certainly there is no indication from the outside that the restaurant specializes in noodles of the Chinese variety.
I guess it's the missing red and gold decor and dragons that misled me.
CHINESE CASUAL
Doodles is minus all the trappings of traditional Chinese restaurants, from the decor to the food.
The interior is simple, with white linen tablecloths under white sheets of paper spread out over wood tables. The space is small, so almost every table gets a view of the floor-to-ceiling windows, where you can watch the bustle of people on Edwards Road as they make their way to and from Hyde Park Square, which is just a block away.
Though you will find traditional Chinese rice dishes such as Kung Pao chicken and beef in Szechuan sauce, the specialty is "oodles of noodles," as the menu says, from rice and Szechuan to sesame and Shanghai.
DOODLES NOODLES
My friend and I started with the crispy chicken spring rolls ($3.95 for two), served with three sauces: spicy mustard, sweet and sour and soy-garlic. The spicy mustard was my least favorite, but the soy and sweet and sour sauces were delicious.
I decided to try the thick and wide fresh rice noodles with chicken ($10.95), which were served with spicy black bean sauce and vegetables. Our server, who was very sweet and cordial, gave me a "good choice" in approval.
The menu didn't lie: The noodles were probably a half-inch thick, rolled together in big spools. And I loved them. The spice effect was cumulative, and the spicier they got, the faster I ate. My only complaint was the lack of red peppers. The dish came with a few, but I would have liked more.
My friend, on the other hand, wished that his beef Szechuan ($10.95) had more beef and less vegetables, even though he didn't really get any more vegetables than I did.
GET A TABLE
The next time you're in Hyde Park Square and all the restaurants have a seemingly endless wait, try Doodles.
My friend and I both really enjoyed the food, and the Friday evening we went it was busy, but it wasn't packed. We were able to get a seat and have dinner without the usual Friday night hassle. And Graeter's is just a short walk away for dessert.
