By Chantal Harris
Whether it’s a quick bite in your lunch hour or a meal with the kids, Yummy Noodle Bar is a fresh and tasty option for diners on the go.
Tucked away in the Enterprise Centre close to Eastbourne’s Railway station, this little gem is a must to those in the know and hugely popular in the town.
The lively venue is bright and stylish, modelled on the ramen bars of Japan and noodle kitchens of China. Punters can sit a table or at the bar overlooking the open kitchen watching the wizardry of chef Chuenchom Thongngoen together with her sous chef, who turn out plate after plate of great Thai and Chinese food with incredible speed.
The place is a teeming with life virtually every lunchtime and I can’t imagine there are too many office workers in Eastbourne who don’t make the odd visit. But where many of the larger noodle chains fall down on their lack of atmosphere, the personality in Yummy is as big as the flavours. The staff can’t do enough for you and the service is exceptional.
Managed by the thoroughly adorable Racher Noppa Mas, known as ‘Rainbow’ by her customers, the family-friendly eatery has built a reputation on its rapport with customers, the majority of whom she is on first name terms with. Rainbow is a proverbial ray of sunshine and has been a familiar sight at the noodle bar since it opened 12 years ago . And as soon as I walked in she recognised me as semi-regular daytime customer. She also remembered my favourite dish - which for the record is their utterly superb Pad Thai, different from many others because it has an amazing tomato sauce rather than the traditional tamarind sauce.
On the evening I visited I was joined by a colleague who was new to the Yummy experience, and although I tried to show off my rudimentary chopstick skills and knowledge of the menu, we wisely let Rainbow do most of the ordering. At around the £6 mark, the main courses at Yummy are fantastic value for money and all of the food at the Yummy Noodle Bar is MSG-free and instead loaded with natural flavours and fresh herbs and spices.
We began with a mixed starter for two, which included crispy duck spring rolls, chicken satay, breaded butterfly prawns and some particularly good minced pork meat balls, accompanied sensibly enough with a sweet chilli dipping sauce. The beautifully presented dish was soon demolished as we battled our chopsticks over the last spring roll.
After tucking into our starters, for our next course, Rainbow recommended the fragrant Tom Kha chicken and king prawn soup from the specials board. Thai food is known for balancing contrasting flavours of sweet and spicy in each dish. A mixture of galangal, which comes from the same family as ginger, lemongrass, and coriander root was perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the coconut milk, making this dish burst with flavour and one of our favourites of the night. “A lot of people only use coriander leaves but we use the root and the stem of coriander because it has a stronger scent and we use the leaves for garnish,” explained Rainbow.
For the main course we were spoilt for choice. Having heard rave reviews about the Singapore Fried Noodles from a co-worker, we were keen to try the dish and we were not disappointed. The small rice vermicelli noodles are fried in egg and cooked in curry paste together with marinated chicken breast, roast pork and tiger prawns, making this one of the most moreish dishes on the menu. But be warned - the portions are big! This was washed down by a warm flask of Sake before we went onto the next course.
I opted for the tasty and succulent Cha Shao Pork, a traditional Chinese sliced roast pork fillet, while my colleague decided to broaden her horizons by trying a spicy red Duck Curry. The curry was a real treat, brimming with crunchy green peppers and cherry tomatoes, with fresh grapes and pineapple to complement the robust flavour of the duck and the sweet, but fiery red curry sauce.
We finished with a surprisingly good dessert in the shape of a lush coconut ice cream, with a rich creamy taste and real coconut pieces, a final recommendation from our host.
Yummy Noodle Bar is utterly fantastic at what it does and it's impossible to find fault in this hugely likeable little restaurant. The owner of Yummy is considering some improvements to the building and Rainbow said a "funky" makeover is in the pipeline. But my dining chum and I agreed the place is pretty marvellous the way it is.
To book a table call 01323 639800. Or if you're visiting Willingdon or East Dean, try Yummy's sister Thai restaurants Thai Village in Willingdon and Thai Terre in East Dean which are managed to the same high standards.