Noodle Soups at Pestle Rock (Seattle, WA)

I’ve eaten at Pestle Rock twice before, having come away impressed both times. The occasion of having lunch with my daughter marked my third visit.

What caught my eye was a noodle soup dish called Guay Tiow Lao, which I presumed from its name was Laotian in style. How it’s Laotian in influence I have no idea, let alone if my assumption was correct in the first place. Regardless, the broth was extremely briny from shrimp paste, a stinky seasoning whose ammoniated odor can overpower a kitchen. The shrimpy flavor got tamer as I ate more. The soup contained thin rice noodles that were silky and had good texture, small slices of pork spareribs with tender meat that you have to free up between pieces of bone, tomatoes, and garnished with sliced mustard greens and fried shallots. Overall a good enough soup but one that I wasn’t overly fond of because of the shrimp paste’s strong flavor.

My daughter ordered the khao soi noodle soup that was as good as I remembered from a previous visit.