Lunch, Anyone? Noodle St

They say variety is the spice of life. The BU community needn’t travel far to find it. Noodle St, one of Boston’s crown jewels of Asian fusion cuisine, is right in Kenmore Square.

Noodle St has earned lots of accolades since opening on Comm Ave 10 years ago, such as being named a Grub Street 2014 “Golden Grub” and strong reviews from Zagat.

Its unique menu showcases Thai cuisine (the owners are Thai), and also incorporates a smattering of influences from Cambodia, Japan, and Korea.

Among the array of dishes are Thai staples like drunken noodle stir fry ($9.50), pad thai ($8.50), and tom yum soup, a popular Thai hot-and-sour soup seasoned with lemongrass, chili, and mushrooms ($8.95), as well as less traditional selections such as “seafood madness,” a tantalizing combination of shrimp, scallops, calamari, and salmon stir fried in a hot chili sauce ($14.95).

During a lunchtime visit to Noodle St on a recent weekday, the restaurant was buzzing with college students devouring their favorite dishes or sampling something new.

Newcomers may well find themselves a bit overwhelmed as they peruse the menu. As well as numerous starters and entrées, there are options allowing you to build your own noodle, rice, or soup dish. More obscure items like boba-laden smoothies are also available. You may feel slightly bombarded, but luckily, no matter what you order, you won’t be disappointed.

We started with the jumbo crab rangoon ($6.95), served on a rectangular plate with shredded cabbage and carrot and a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce. The thick wonton wrapper was fried to a golden hue, the initial crunch giving way to a warm filling of crab, cream cheese, and fragrant spices.

For entrées, we ordered an assortment of dishes to share: beef pad see you ($8.50), Korean sauce entrée ($9.50), and yellow curry ($12). The pad see you came with traditional thick noodles and beef, stir-fried Chinese broccoli, crinkle-cut carrots, and egg in a special house sauce. The fresh, crisp vegetables and thin, expertly cut beef lent themselves well to the pan-fried noodles and the delectable sauce. The Korean dish was ordered with chicken and a tidy dome of white rice. Tender chicken pieces and a flavorful and slightly spicy Korean chili sauce were served with chopped broccoli, onion, carrot, and snow peas. The yellow curry rounded out the meal with a punch. We spooned the mild curry with assorted vegetables and potatoes over a bed of white rice.

In a last-minute table consensus, we opted to conclude our lunch with fried ice cream. No slouch in the taste department, the dessert lived up to its reputation. A sizzling fried exterior with the consistency of a doughnut encased a frozen, sweet center of vanilla ice cream. The confection was topped with whipped cream and a chocolate and raspberry drizzle. A maraschino cherry crowned the delightful treat.

In addition to the fresh ingredients and flavors of each dish, an efficient staff made our lunch a memorable dining experience.

Noodle St is at 627 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Hours: Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.; phone: 617-536-3100. The restaurant will deliver orders of at least $15 (delivery fees are $2.50 to $4.99, depending on location). By public transportation take an MBTA Green Line B trolley to BU East.

This is part of a weekly series featuring Boston lunch spots of interest to the BU community. If you have any suggestions for places we should feature, leave them in the Comment section below. Check out our list of lunchtime tips on Foursquare.

Michelle Marino can be reached at mgmarino@bu.edu.