NOPGOW THAI RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: 39522 10th Street W, Suite F, Palmdale, CA 93551
WEBSITE: http://nopgow.cafes-usa.com/
Nopgow Thai was a recommendation from my manager Abron from back when he was still working out in the Palmdale area. On my last night staying in Palmdale, I decided to switch it up and visit a new spot. My friends Kevin and Shehzad were also game to give the place a try, so we all headed over there after work.
I entered into the shopping plaza on the Rancho Vista Boulevard side, so I had to do some driving around before I discovered the restaurant storefront tucked away next to the jewelers. Once inside, I found that the dining area was actually larger than what it had seemed from out front. We had gotten there a bit early in their dinner service, so the crowd was relatively light. One of the staff members motioned us over to one of the tables before she came over to gives us menus.
I’ve normally used pad thai as my general benchmark when trying out different Thai restaurants, but on this particular night, I was feeling like taking a step away from the ordinary. Drunken Noodles was something that I’d eaten at other places before, and that mix of spicy and Thai basil flavors were really seeming like it’d hit the spot. Another quick scan over the other fried rice, noodle, and curry entrées that populated the menu helped me to confirm that I was making the right choice. We also decided to pick up some appetizers of the Egg Rolls as well as the Chicken Satay to split amongst the table as well.
Like I mentioned before, once you step inside the place, it does seem a bit larger than what the windows from the outside make it out to be. There are a number of ornaments and pictures hanging up both in the back of the restaurant as well as along the walls. Couple those items with some of the wood and bamboo elements in the place and it felt like a bit more of a homey atmosphere, a contrast from the austere strip mall exterior.
Both the egg rolls and the chicken satay arrived out to the table, and one dish definitely looked a bit better than the other. The egg rolls were crispy and loaded with shredded vegetables and glass noodles. I found them flavorful enough on their own that I didn’t need to dip it into the sweet & sour sauce that was served on the side. The chicken satay, on the other hand, didn’t have that characteristic yellow curry color that I’m normally accustomed to seeing, and didn’t have any grill marks on the outside for being charcoal grilled. In place of being served with peanut sauce, the chicken had one slice of white bread, cut in half, off to the side. I thought it was a slightly strange side item, and I’m honestly not sure if I’d order the satay again.
Next up came the drunken noodles, served on the plate with some shredded cabbage on the side. Maybe it was just some space filler for the plate, as that was something I hadn’t seen before. But the aroma of the Thai basil was very evident, and that’s a flavor that I find hard to resist. I had ordered mine with chicken, which was then sautéed with the flat rice noodles, Thai chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and Thai basil. Combine that with some soy sauce and fish sauce, and there’s definitely a nice mixture of flavors going on. Sweet, savory, spicy, you’ll get some of that with every bite. My only comment would be that the dish seemed a bit on the dry side, and could have used some more sauce.
It marked another opportunity for me to further explore the food scene around the Palmdale area, this time seeing how the local Thai cuisine was. The food ended up being a tale of two spectrums, with the drunken noodles and egg rolls on one end and the chicken satay on the other. While I’d be open to returning to try some of the other items on the menu, I’m also curious to see what some of the other Thai places in the area have to offer.
Let’s now take a look at the Nopgow Thai Restaurant Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Egg Rolls **
Shredded vegetables and glass noodles filled in egg wrappers and deep-fried to a golden brown.
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Chicken Satay
Chicken strips seasoned and charcoal grilled. Pictured with a slice of white bread.
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** Drunken Noodles w/ Chicken **
Flat rice noodles sautéed with chicken, Thai chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and Thai basil.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Nopgow Thai:
Food: 4 / 5
Of the three items I tried, the drunken noodles and egg rolls were solid, but the chicken satay fell short. I enjoyed the levels of flavor that got built into the noodle dish, but the dryness of the noodles detracted a bit from the experience. Outside of the noodles, the fried rice and curry options also sounded intriguing as well.
Atmosphere: 4.25 / 5
The décor helps to differentiate the atmosphere when you step inside the place. It certainly had a welcoming feel as you sat down at your table.
Service: 4 / 5
Our waiter came by a few times to the table, until after we got our food delivered. After that, we didn’t see him until it was time to get the check. From a speed standpoint, I did think our food was coming out at a pretty average pace.
Price: 4 / 5
For the portion size of the drunken noodles, it only came out to right under $10, which I thought was pretty good value. On the other end of the spectrum, however, the chicken satay appetizer was priced the exact same, and didn’t represent nearly the same value for what you got.
Overall:
16.25 / 20
(81%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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