It’s the unique creations and options that stand out at a restaurant. Sometimes we want the comfort of the familiar, and other times—OK, oftentimes—we want something unique. In other words, the “wow” factor.

One of the “wows” at Siam Orchid, among many, is the $7.95 build-your-own noodle menu at lunch. Most Thai restaurants have many different noodle options—and being a lover of Thai food, I have a hard time not trying them all. If you have difficulty making decisions, this may cause you anxiety.

Start with your noodle options: flat rice noodles, egg noodles or rice noodles. Then choose the broth: naam, tom yum or naam moo dang. If you’d rather forgo broth, choose hang or hang moo dang. Then pick your protein: chicken, beef, pork, tofu or prawns (a $2 surcharge). And finally, choose your spiciness level.

Being addicted to tom yum soup, I wondered how noodles would complement that delicious broth. I chose the flat rice noodles with pork at a medium spicy level. When the bowl is placed in front of you, there are no noodles in sight. What you do see are carrots, green onions, bean sprouts, meat and cilantro. And, oh, what a beautiful sight it is.

But there are noodles underneath all that goodness, and plenty of them—along with the veggies, dry Thai chili and ground peanuts. You will think that the previous mouthwatering spoonful cannot be topped, until you take the next and find even more flavors in an explosion of culinary delight.

Whatever troubles you were facing up to this point, they now seem minor. You have a new goal in life: to see how long it will take to try all the possible combinations on the noodle menu. I was never a scholar at math, but for me, the answer is found here: It doesn’t matter how long it takes, because the journey itself will be priceless.

SIAM ORCHID
4410 S. 900 East, Murray
801-266-7899