Noodles revisited

Chef Tomáš Kalina, of Noodles restaurant at Hotel Yasmin, has published a new Czech- and English-language cookbook titled Nudle (Grada Publishing House, 199 Kč), which, unsurprisingly, features some of his favorite noodle recipes. Tempted by the beautiful glossy photos and delicious descriptions in his book, we decided to revisit Noodles restaurant (last reviewed by The Prague Post in 2006) to sample some of his creations.

During two recent visits, however, the food at Noodles was simply run-of-the-mill. My dining companions and I left sated, but, with the exception of a beautiful tomato soup, none of the dishes that we tried left us craving for more.

The restaurant, whose shiny chrome and chartreuse dining room extends behind the hotel lobby, offers a variety of exotic noodle dishes - from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico and beyond, to Japan, Mongolia and Malaysia. The wait staff is very hospitable, and the lounge-like atmosphere is comfortable, even though the impression of trendiness seems a tad forced.

Unfortunately, on one recent evening, a rather unremarkable amuse bouche, consisting of an elegantly presented but bland spoonful of creamy cheese, set the tone for a mediocre dinner.

An order of Mexican tagliatelle was desperately lacking in flavor. The noodles were tossed with a healthy heaping of very tender beef strips, plump kidney beans and bits of sweet corn, yet, surprisingly, these elements made for an utterly boring dish. The "spicy tomato salsa" that coated the noodles was not at all spicy, nor did it taste like tomato (or like anything, for that matter).

There's nothing wrong with simplicity when it comes to cooking, and in fact, the simplest dishes are often the best. But blandness is hard to forgive. With this tagliatelle, the bright, bold flavors associated with Mexican cooking - cilantro, lime and chile - were all missing.

The Malaysian rice noodles were a huge improvement, but this dish was also only slightly above-average. Perhaps it was because the rice noodles lacked a certain silkiness, or because someone had unceremoniously plunked an overcooked, bluntly halved hard-boiled egg on top. Either way, this dish seemed rather crudely prepared. Still, the sweet, garlicky noodles were tasty enough, and the handful of prawns scattered throughout the dish were nice and firm.

By contrast, a creamy, delicate tomato soup, served with a generous dollop of mascarpone cheese, was fantastic. The taste of tomato was bright and sweet, and each spoonful contained luxuriously smooth grains of risoni.

A separate lunch visit yielded better results. Like the Malaysian rice noodles, a plate of German spaetzle with mushroom sauce was also tasty, if unrefined. The spaetzle, made by forcing soft dough through a sieve, were larger than any I had ever tried, and less tender. Still, pan-fried with ham and onions, the combination was quite delicious.

An order of vegetarian buckwheat noodles was also very good. These noodles were sufficiently silky and richly flavored with sesame oil and soy sauce. They came topped with almonds, chunks of broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

For dessert, a sour cherry strudel was served nice and warm, with a sizeable mound of whipped cream. The pastry could have been flakier, but the cherry filling, set atop a layer of what appeared to be crushed dates, was lovely.

On the whole, Noodles isn't half bad. It's just a shame that during recent visits, it was only half-good.

Now that Kalina's cookbook is out, though, diners can try perfecting some of these dishes at home.

Wency Leung can be reached at
wleung@praguepost.com