Noodle King offers journey through Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese fare in Copley | Local Flavor

Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
·4 min read
Appetizers at Noodle King include moo shu pork belly buns, at left, and pan-fried gyoza dumplings.
Appetizers at Noodle King include moo shu pork belly buns, at left, and pan-fried gyoza dumplings.

Noodle King in Copley hits the spot for a quick, fresh and savory lunch or dinner.

My husband Steve and I went there Sunday to check out the new restaurant's ramen and pho after learning that the eatery had opened in late August next to Sakura Sushi. The restaurants are actually adjoining, since they're both owned by Eddy Wang, who has run his sushi joint there for 22 years.

Noodle King's the new kid on the block, and we were happy to satisfy our curiosity about the place. So happy, in fact, that we couldn't help but splatter some of our broth on the table as we ate our noodles.

This casual eatery features a number of tables and booths as well as a long row of counter seating, plus more at the front window. The wall decor features whimsical, line drawing-style graphics of the restaurant's star menu items: ramen and pho.

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Noodle King in Copley has tables, booths and a dining counter.
Noodle King in Copley has tables, booths and a dining counter.
Wall art at Noodle King captures the fun of eating ramen and pho.
Wall art at Noodle King captures the fun of eating ramen and pho.

We started out with some interesting drinks: tangerine-flavored soda from China for Steve ($3.50) and a lychee-flavored Japanese soda for me ($3.75). My drink came in a fun bottle that looked like it had been pinched, with a marble sealing the drink.

Our friendly waiter, Loung, used the cap to push the marble into the bottle, unsealing the drink. And voila, I had a marble to roll around inside the bottle as I drank the sweet, tropical fruit soda.

Drinks at Noodle King in Copley include Arctic Ocean tangerine-flavored soda.
Drinks at Noodle King in Copley include Arctic Ocean tangerine-flavored soda.
Lychee-flavored Japanese soda has a fun marble in the bottle at Noodle King in Copley.
Lychee-flavored Japanese soda has a fun marble in the bottle at Noodle King in Copley.

We started out with a couple appetizers to share: moo shu pork belly bun and pan-fried gyoza dumplings.

The pork belly buns ($7.50) included two soft bao buns stuffed with delicious pork belly topped with a slightly spicy mayo. They were very tasty and gone all too quickly.

Moo shu pork belly buns are two soft bao buns with pork belly, spring mix greens and spicy mayo.
Moo shu pork belly buns are two soft bao buns with pork belly, spring mix greens and spicy mayo.

The Japanese gyoza dumplings are made with a thin dough stuffed with pork, which is the most popular gyoza dumpling version for this Japanese street food. They're pan-seared at Noodle King, which makes for a tender dumpling that's juicy inside. The dumplings are served on a black plate with a little indentation for a slightly salty dipping sauce.

Other appetizers at the full-service restaurant are edamame, spicy wonton, bang bang shrimp, vegetarian spring rolls, Chinese shumai shrimp dumplings and Japanese karaage crispy fried chicken.

Gyoza dumplings are pan-seared and served with dipping sauce at Noodle King.
Gyoza dumplings are pan-seared and served with dipping sauce at Noodle King.

Ramen and pho specialties at Noodle King

Noodle King specializes in ramen and pho, with ramen noodle choices including wavy or straight noodles.

Julie Lin, manager of both Noodle King and Sakura, said Noodle King boils the special soup bases for the pork-based ramen and the beef-based pho for eight to 10 hours.

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Ramen dishes with pork range in cost from $13.50 to $16.99. A vegetarian ramen option is also offered for $12.50.

The pho dishes include five beef-based options and one vegetarian. Prices range from $12.50 to $15.99.

For my entree, I ordered Tokyo ramen ($13.50), which features ramen noodles and chasu pork, which is slow-braised pork belly. The ramen dish, which included a lovely marinated egg, bamboo shoots, seaweed and corn, comes in a pork broth with shoyu, or soy sauce seasoning.

Tokyo ramen is made with ramen noodles, shoyu soup, chasu pork, marinated egg, bamboo shoots, corn, wakama and nori seawood and scallions in pork broth.
Tokyo ramen is made with ramen noodles, shoyu soup, chasu pork, marinated egg, bamboo shoots, corn, wakama and nori seawood and scallions in pork broth.

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This delightful, filling dinner featured pork sliced in very thin, large medallions. After Steve got a taste, he was coveting my delicious broth, which had a heavier flavor than his entree.

Steve ordered Pho Tai Chin ($13.95) made with rice noodles, rare beef, well-cooked brisket and cute little meatballs. It featured a lighter beef soup with green onion and cilantro on top. His pho came with a bowl of fresh bamboo shoots, basil and a lime wedge, all of which he added to his soup.

Pho Tai Chin is a beef noodle soup with rare beef, brisket and meatballs, topped with green onion, cilantro, bamboo shoots, basil and a squeeze of lime.
Pho Tai Chin is a beef noodle soup with rare beef, brisket and meatballs, topped with green onion, cilantro, bamboo shoots, basil and a squeeze of lime.

Steve enjoyed his dish with gusto and even finished off a little of mine.

Part of the fun Steve had while eating the pho was learning about the custom of dipping meat from the pho into a sauce that Loung made for him on a little plate, mixing hoisin and sriracha with a fork. The result was a thick, dark sauce that was salty, tangy and spicy on the three pho meats.

Meat from a pho dish is dipped in a mixture of tangy hoisin sauce and sriracha hot sauce.
Meat from a pho dish is dipped in a mixture of tangy hoisin sauce and sriracha hot sauce.

Among the other five pho choices at Noodle King are entrees that include tendon and/or tripe, in this case the edible lining of a cow's stomach. Steve wasn't keen on trying tripe but he said he might try tendon next time.

We had quite the fun-filled experience in our 40-minute visit to Noodle King, which included quick, efficient, friendly service from our servers, Loung and Tessa. Loung, from Vietnam, took particularly good care of us walking us through opening the Japanese soda and whipping up the flavorful dip for Steve's pho meat.

Folks can easily get a great, reasonably priced meal and be in and out of Noodle King within 30 minutes. We'll be back for more.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Noodle King opened in late August in Copley.
Noodle King opened in late August in Copley.

Details

Restaurant: Noodle King

Where: 3900 Medina Road Suite W, Copley

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday

Carryout: Online orders available

Information: noodlekingakron.com or 330-576-3166

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ramen, pho dinners special experience at Noodle King in Copley