Restaurant Review: Noodle and Rice

Noodle and Rice seems like a random little hole-in-the-wall strip mall Chinese crapfest, but it's actually pretty awesome and has a loyal customer base. It's a quick right turn on Cactus - formerly known as Thunderbird - right past where it intersects with Cave Creek, next to a QuikTrip.

How an individual 99 cent egg roll comes. Aww.

The first thing you'll probably notice is the random collection of stuffed animals and collectibles that greets you at the door. The staff is very friendly and the younger Thai woman who's usually working is always wearing something kitschy and cute with an Asian housewifey vibe. The restaurant is quaint, clean and has a flat screen TV. They also have a great combination of Chinese, Japanese and Thai food the likes of which cannot be found elsewhere in Phoenix, so you can start with pot stickers before moving on to your California rolls and pad Thai. 

As you can see on their site, everything is very cheap, and the weekday lunch special can't be beaten with a stick. They have plenty of wheat-free and vegetarian options as well. My personal favourites are the pad se-ew, inari and tamagozushi, which are only $1 and $1.50 apiece, though I managed to try several things before moving away. The curries and drunken noodles are also pretty tasty. The only thing I wouldn't recommend, sadly, is sweet-and-sour, because it tastes quite cheap. Namely like the sauce is comprised largely of ketchup. Other than that, though, this place is like finding a little gem in a Chinese takeout box.

Pad se-ew with tofu.

Avocado, tamago, nigiri, shrimp tempura and California rolls.