Rodded’s Thai Food is Positively Quacktastic

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If you’re looking for a one page eating guide to Thai Town, this post Josh Lurie did for DineLA is a pretty great resource.  He heaps praise on a bunch of great Midtown Lunch’ing spots, and most importantly tells you the best thing to order at each.  Anybody who reads this site on a regular basis will recognize Pa Ord, Sapp Coffee Shop, Ruen Pair, Spicy BBQ, Krua Siri, and Siam Sunset.   But the part of the post that really caught my eye was Rodded, a “40-year-old corner spot with pastel green walls and a cartoon-covered blackboard” that specializes in roast duck noodle soup.

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But the noodle soup is not the only duck dish worth ordering at Rodded, and there are even a few ways to get your Donald on that aren’t on the menu.

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The duck soup is as close as you’re going to get to an automatic order at Rodded ($6.25). As advertised, the broth is sweet and fragrant, complete with scallions, cilantro, bean sprouts and (of course) slices of their stewed duck. You get your choice of noodles, and they’ll likely recommend the pad see ew style flat noodles- but I actually prefer the al dente bite of the wiry egg noodles.

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Like dumplings more than noodles? They’ll do the same dish, but with a nice helping of tasty boiled wontons ($6.75). Order it dry, and they’ll leave the broth on the side- making it a perfect summertime dish.

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Speaking of summer, if you want your duck totally cold they make a pretty delicious duck salad as well (although I think it’s only on the blackboard menu.)  Sweet, sour, and spicy, think papaya salad with duck instead of papaya.

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Or maybe you just want the pure un-adultured taste of duck? They serve up slices of tender, juicy duck in 1/4 ($6.25), 1/2 ($9) and full servings ($18). This is the 1/4. It’s stewed instead of roasted, so if you’re hoping for that crispy skin you’ll be disappointed. But the trade off is the meat is perfectly moist and tender, and not tough or at all rubbery.

Of course duck isn’t the only thing they have on the menu. They also serve up typical Thai noodle dishes, like pad thai, pad see ew, and drunken noodles, with chicken, beef, pork, tofu or seafood. And even though it doesn’t list it as an option on the menu, they’ll make any of the dishes with duck as well!

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Duck pad thai? Why not! A little on the sweet side, but solid nonetheless. And their pad see ew and pad kee maow (drunken noodles) are both totally recommendable.

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If you want to stray from the flock, go straight for the stewed meats over rice. Their stewed spicy ham hock with mint leaves is one of the best in the city… just make sure you take Josh’s advice and get it topped with a fried egg.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • If you want a noodle soup with stewed duck in Thai Town, this is your place
  • I’ve always wanted to try duck pad thai.  These guys will put duck in anything!
  • They’ll put a fried egg on top of anything!
  • I don’t care much for crispy skin, I just want my duck to be moist and tender.
  • Duck for under $8!?!  Really?  Really?!
  • The duck is fine, but that stewed ham hock with mint leaves is the bomb…

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place will say)

  • I guess the duck is tasty for the price, but the flavor isn’t going to blow you away.
  • If the duck ain’t roasted I’m out.  It’s crispy skin or nothing for me.
  • There are other noodle soups in Thai Town that are far better.  Same goes for the noodle dishes.
  • I’m not into duck… do they have chicken?

Rodded, 5623 Hollywood Blvd. 323-962-8382

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