Midtown Lunch

What is the deal with the Bellevue Food Court? Is it worth checking out? Is it overpriced garbage or might there be some hidden gems? I had to find out. I bravely entered the Bellevue and made my way down the escalator having no idea where I would end up.  Then I saw Yunique Noodle House and I was back in my comfort zone. They have a mostly Korean menu, but they serve both Pho (Vietnamese soup) and Ramen (Japanese soup)…  this could be a bad sign or something great.

Since pho is more readily available in these parts than ramen, I ordered the beef ramen. The big bowl smelled good, there was a ton of veggies, and the beef strips had a nice flavor – I thought I tasted star anise in the beef, which is more of a pho thing. Of course the ramen noodles were not fresh. I left some of the soup over for later which was a mistake. The soup had absorbed into the noodles, the egg was hard,  and the meat dried out. It was $6 for the bowl, not the worst option but not your best. Not your bibim-best…

I also ordered the tofu bibimbap. The best bibimbap comes in stone bowls to allow the rice to crisp up. Clearly this was not going to happen in a food court. Instead, I got a huge bowl of well prepared vegetables over perfectly cooked brown rice. There were shreds of carrot, slices of fluffy egg, lettuce, bok choi, bean sprouts, cucumbers, delicate pieces of tofu, and exceptionally tasty pieces of mushroom. You get a lot of healthy fresh vegetables in this and its over brown rice- this is probably one of the healthier lunches I have had and enjoyed. Traditionally bibimbap can be served hot or cold, here it was cold and it worked for me. A spicy red pepper paste came on the side, half was enough for me to spice up the whole bowl as I wanted. The bowl cost me $7.

Also on the menu: pad thai, rice vermicelli, soba noodles, and bulgogi.  Unless anyone can report back otherwise, I would say stay away from the soups and stick to the bibimbop here. I also have a feeling the vermicelli is a good bet. Decent stuff in the Bellevue Food Court, now I know!

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

• Big portions of bibimbap with lots of healthy veggies
• Super, fast service
• Vegetarian and meat eaters will be able to get something they like

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

• The ramen was not even close to authentic

Yunique Noodle House, Bellevue Food Court 200 S. Broad St (@ Walnut St), 215 893 1411