Lunch at Sha-Lin Noodle House

I changed jobs not too long ago and that has greatly affected my lunchtime choices. I'm not really that far away, but it's enough that lunch is a bit more boring now. There is one really awesome veg*n place just a couple of blocks from work, but I'm trying not to go there too often so that I don't get sick of it. Also, lunch in this area is about twice the price. Yikes. If I have errands to run at lunch, I'll usually try to fit in the time to at least pick up some food from some of my old favorites. Yesterday when I found myself at City Hall getting a parking permit for my neighborhood, I was quite excited to find myself in and out quickly. That meant I could actually sit and enjoy lunch. Yay!

The Sha-Lin Noodle House has quickly become one of my favorite places to have lunch, especially on a cold and/or grey day. Not only can I get a full meal for less than $7 including tax, but it's absolutely delicious and so fresh. I pretty much have the same thing every single time I go there. Dragging noodles in soup with vegetables (and sometimes with tofu, too) in vegetable broth.  I especially love the little pot of hot chiles in oil on the table.  I always use at least two spoonfuls, which, really, I should have done after I took these photos, but oh well. 

One note - you do have to specify that you want the vegetable broth or else you'll end up with something else you probably don't want. The menu has a little picture of a bok choy next to everything that can be made vegetarian to help you. :) Actually, the menu is quite extensive. I should almost be ashamed of myself for not ordering anything different. Next time, I'll have to try to branch out a bit.

Here's what's especially special about this place: They make the noodles right there. There's actually a glass wall separating one part of the kitchen from the dining room so that you can watch them do it. The vegetables that are in the food are very, very fresh. They usually still have a bit of crunch to them. The bok choy is always that gorgeous bright green color it gets from a fresh steam. It's so appetizing even to look at. The bowl is huge. Whenever I eat here, I'm always full until dinner time with none of the 4:00 hunger that I can be prone to.

Fast, delicious, fresh and cheap. What more could you want in a lunch?