Finding A Home Away From Home: A bowl of noodles

[JenneferB]

I love eating and I love traveling. If you see me, I'll probably have a story or two for you about something I've eaten or a place I've recently visited. 

I just came back from a short trip to San Francisco and I need to share with you a nostalgic moment I had eating a bowl of noodles at a Thai restaurant in the Tenderloin area. It all started with an Instagram post I saw on @iyudhi's account. It was a photo of boat noodles and he said it was authentic. 

Boat noodles!

I'm actually from Chiang Rai, Thailand, and let me tell you - boat noodles are the bees knees. If you haven't tried it I'm sure you've at least heard of it. They are often sold at the floating markets but you can get them at most noodle stands throughout the country. I have a strong connection to my culture through the food and it's so difficult to find authentic Thai cuisine if it isn't my mom's home cooking - I needed to give this a try and see how true it was to the real deal.

After Local Guides Summit 2017 adjourned, I took a trip to this restaurant and order the boat noodles. I was pleasantly surprised.... the flavors took me back "home" to Thailand and this was instantly a highlight of the trip. I returned to San Francisco again this past week and had to return again to eat a bowl (or 2) of these noodles. There isn't a place in Vancouver that serves this, or one that makes it taste remotely the same as back in my mother's country so it was a MUST visit. 

Yen Ta Fo = $4

I'm drooling just thinking about these. When you go to this place, you'll order in true noodle stand fashion. There is a choice of meat usually. The Kway Teow has the option for beef or pork, and the Yen Ta Fo comes with seafood. Then you select from a variety of noodles and thickness. I went for vermicelli in the Yen Ta Fo, and really wide rice noodles for the Kway Teow.

Kway Teow - $3.50

Food is comforting and I think many of you can agree that when you're away from home too long you start to miss the food. I know that whenever I return back to Vancouver I have to have my mom's home cooking and go to my favorite restaurants to restore balance in my life (haha). At this place though, I felt right at home and was comforted. See you again soon, San Francisco ❤️ 

Thanks for reading! 

Let me know your thoughts! I'd like to know what you think about finding dishes abroad that give you nostalgia 🙂 

[iyudhi]

Ohhh you made it @JenneferB!!! Yea the boat noodle here is delicious and quite authentic, but I feel the portion is a bit too big. I remember when I had it in Bangkok I was able to eat likr 5-6 bowls, but here I was already full after 3 bowls. I need to go back again one of these days 😄

But yeah I know exactly how you feel about comfort food. I get the same feeling when I visit an Indonesian restaurant (which sadly there aren't many here in SF).

[kasiyanta]

Hallo @JenneferB

Ini mie? tidak kelihatan mie nya seperti di Indonesia.

Ini makanan khas daerah mana?

Kesempatan saya memperkenalkan makanan khas daerah di Indonesia, silahkan mengunjungi Masakan khas daerah. Apa masakan khas daerahmu?

Kalau bisa datang di Indonesia silahkan kuliner masakan khas daerah yang rasanya sangat lezat.

[iyudhi]

@kasiyanta Iyaini mie. Makanan khas dari Thailand.

Saya baru lihat pos makanan daerah nya. Wah jadi kangen rumah (saya dari Jakarta) 🙂

[Rezgar]

Great post and so amazing photos @JenneferB
Keep up to share the beautiful photos and informative posts.
Thank you for sharing


Best Regards
Rezgar

[Shirley]

ohhh @JenneferB!! This is what you're talking about. They look really good. Looks like I have something to try out when I'm in SF Bay area next time! I love that they are smaller portioned so that you can try a few different ones! And the price looks really reasonable, it can even be like a snack and then keep food crawling around the city! Sounds like my kind of thing =D 

Thanks for sharing!! 🙂

[kasiyanta]

Hallo Mas @iyudhi

Mie Thailand tapi tidak terlihat ada mienya.

Iya mas ada pos yang membahas makanan, silahkan dikunjungi.

Kalau sempat mas @iyudhi bisa juga kirim pos makanan di situ.

Salam dari Surakarta

[Itsalan]

I have to find more restaurants that sell boat noodles in SF!! So gooood

[JenneferB]

@Itsalan If you find any that are good, please take me next time 🙂

[JenneferB]

@iyudhi Yeah, I've been twice now and it won't be the last! Hopefully I find more place. I really noticed A LOT of Thai joints while driving around. I wish there was a bigger Thai community here in Vancouver.

Thanks for stopping by 🙂