(Moved to new location at 1718 Walnut Street, review will be updated soon) When it comes to Asian food, the Triangle can be a bit tough in terms of finding authentic eats. But over the years, Cary has been a bit of a mecca if you’re up for down-home Chinese or Indian food in the area. And now you can add ramen to the list! While more and more restaurants have been adding it to their menus, ramen shops are a bit tougher to find outside of Dashi in Durham. So I was excited to see all the great reviews roll in for Noodle Blvd in Cary! Especially with the cold weather coming soon, ramen can be a really heart-warming comfort food for me so off I go…
Located in a quiet strip plaza off of N. Harrison, you’ll have to keep an eye out for the discrete store front driving by. And while Noodle Blvd looks like it’s quite big from the outside, you find out differently once you step inside. With an open kitchen on one side and a thin, L-shaped dining room, seating is quite limited for tables (2-tops) with a smattering of bar stool type seating at the window and kitchen bar which feels sort of ramen house traditional.
And while the space is pretty basic, Noodle Blvd sports some interesting touches. Industrial piping is used for the stools and foot rests along the bar. There are some bright splashes of colors in the green and pink chairs and you can watch all the action in the kitchen as they prepare your noodle soups! And thankfully it’s a very short menu here at Noodle Blvd, spanning one laminated sheet. Some traditional ramens (shoyu, tonkatsu), non-traditional options along with some Japanese appetizers. I order up some gyoza as a starter and an interesting sounding Bangkok ramen for my main.
The gyoza come out pretty quickly and it’s a good looking plate of 5 pan-fried beauties. They’ve got a thin skin and are served up with a slightly sweet soy-based sauce which is pretty good. A delicious start although I’m not sure if these dumplings are made in-house.
My bowl of Bangkok ramen falls into the non-traditional ramen category and is served in a clear broth spiked with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, jalapenos and topped with crunchy wonton noodles. There’s just enough heat in the broth to catch your attention and the ramen noodles are cooked perfectly. Digging around, you can go for seafood or go for pork. There’s a lot of eating options in the bowl and it’s a very enjoyable meal! Overall I was pretty pleased with Noodle Blvd but just be aware that it’s a bit casual with limited space inside. And while I’m not sure when I’ll be back next given its location, if you do live in the hood, Noodle Blvd is totally worth a slurpy visit…
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