Noodles & Company

I've seen quite a few of these little noodle shops around town and have been quite curious about the quality of food. Finally I gave it a shot! With a group of friends who had been there before, I went in for my first visit. Amazingly enough, I didn't hesitate making a choice Pad Thai was it! I only ordered a small since I don't eat much and was given a free drink after presenting my student i.d.

We went and sat, waiting for our food to come out and admired the young customers that surrounded us. This is a very hip place apparently as it was filled with college aged kids. After a few short minutes our food came and I was excited! The Pad Thai looked great! The chicken was flavorful; the noodles had a great texture! I'm not sure how authentic the Pad Thai was but I loved it! It was lacking the peanuts but the tangy lime made up for it.

My friends plates all looked appetizing! Two of them ordered the Pasta Fresca and both enjoyed it. They ordered the normal size plates which had a lot more food! I will say, even for a person who doesn’t eat much, the small was really small. If it weren’t for the chicken I would have still been hungry. If you are hungry, order the full size plate! If you don't finish, which you probably won’t, you can just grab one of their cute take-out boxes that they provide on the drink counter.

Overall, I was happy with my Noodles & Company experience. The service was very quick yet tasted as if I were at a fancier restaurant. Their prices are not a steal of a deal but fair and the food is great!

Thai Chili

Thai Chili is a cute little restaurant found just outside of downtown of Arvada. It's inside of what looks like an old house. The decor is very cute!

My husband and I ordered Sesame Chicken and Pad Thai. We almost always order Pad Thai since it gives us one thing to compare Thai restaurants to other Thai restaurants. We also usually get orange chicken but Thai Chili doesn't offer orange chicken. Can you believe that?!  Another of our guests ordered a Vietnamese rice noodle plate with beef and chili lime sauce. Our vegetarian friend ordered Pad Se Lew with Tofu.

My husband and I both agreed that the Pad Thai was great if you add the lime juice to the top! It made a world of difference in the flavor! We tried the Vietnamese plate which inspired me to, in the future, not stick with just Pad Thai. I was thrilled at the sweet, sour and salty flavors! The beef was high quality, juicy and flavorful. Our sesame chicken was tasty but the chicken was a little dry. I enjoyed the sweet sauce it was cooked in! I didn't try the Pad Se Lew with Tofu but Derick filled me in. He said it was decent but the sauce is supposed to be a sweet soy sauce. The sauce was ok but not what Pad Se Lew generally tastes like.

Overall I think we all thought the restaurant was decent but nothing to rave about. I love Asian food so I enjoyed my experience but I think I'll stick with Taste of Asia for my Asian cuisine.

Taste of Asia

Friday night we stopped in at Taste of Asia at the Stapleton shopping center. We were impressed with the nice decor. It was modern and clean with a small hint of the Asian feel. The owner gave us a warm welcome and even let us take a picture with her.

We ordered Orange Chicken and Beef Pad Thai. The plates came with more food than we could eat so the $20 was well worth it. I dug into the orange chicken, since that's my favorite Asian food. I was more than thrilled at the amazingly great taste. The chicken was moist and full of great flavor. Truly my favorite plate of Asian food EVER! I then tried the Pad Thai, my favorite Thai dish. I was also thrilled at the greatness of this dish!!! They were both very delicious.

The flavors and textures were both perfect. The amount of food was good for the price and the service was the best yet. If I were to rate Taste of Asia on a scale of 1-10 I would give it at 10 hands down! With no hesitation I can honestly say, this is the best Chinese food I've ever had.