Noodle Bowl

Cheap, cheerful and bustling Thai food joint in Satwa 12 Reviews

© ITP Images

Dubai doesn’t suffer from a shortage of restaurants, and it’s rare to find one even half full let alone packed with people, but the unassuming South East Asian eatery in Satwa that is Noodle Bowl isn’t short of customers. The small, glass-fronted restaurant buzzes with families and friends catching up over steamed baskets of dim sum, huge noodle dishes or crispy duck pancakes. With a healthy smattering of all your favourite Thai dishes, plus some yummy Asian salads and steamed fish mains, you’ll find something to suit all palates, whether you’re familiar with Thai food or not. Refreshingly the place is about as authentic as you’re going to get in Dubai, with friendly waiting staff and a clutch of obvious regulars. The only slight issue: the staff insisting on serving main courses when you’re halfway through your starter. If they got over this, Noodle Bowl would be even more popular than it is.

By Time Out Dubai staff
Time Out Dubai, 12 September 2011

• Previous reviews
  • 28 March,2011- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 28 March,2011- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 05 April,2010- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 17 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 19 April,2006- reviewed by Matthew Lee

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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.

User reviews:

Posted by: Khalil Eisa on 13 Jun ' 12 at 13:56

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Fabulous food at a friendly price ! Tried the Seafood Veg soup, some dumplings, Hainanese chicken rice, bbq duck with pancakes, nasi lemak - and couldnt find fault with any of them! Well the hainanese chx might be a bit bland, but perhaps thats to be expected with steamed meat!
This is my newest fave resto, and I'll surely make an appearance every month. Well done Noodle Bowl!!

Posted by: Abhinav Garg on 29 Apr ' 11 at 09:47

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

This is one the best places I visited in Dubai.....in one line.." Best value for Buck".....please read the above reviews for in details...as i have exactly the same opnion.....good qty, affordable, and delicious food...thanks to arab news for covering this restaurant....i went there and was not at all disappointed...Will i go again ? YES YES YES....with lots of my other friends...i had chicken satay, chi. fried nice, roti canai, and some malaysion rice..( dont remember the name )....bill was slightly abve 100 Drhams...yes...go there to beleive it.....

Posted by: Lim on 29 Mar ' 11 at 18:03

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Noodle Bowl was recommended by fellow Singaporeans - young and not so young. So far the best item is the char kway teow.

Posted by: ID on 22 Dec ' 10 at 11:51

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I had lunch at Noodle Bowl today, a choice based on the raving reviews from TimeOut Dubai.

Appearance-wise, it looks like a quirky, hole in the wall restaurant, where the garish neon green and orange walls clashed with the hodge podge of Asian trinkets and souvenirs on the walls. But then, most of the good eats I've had around Asia were inside quirky places like this.

The lady servers were efficient and friendly enough, despite the stretch of serving areas they had to attend to.

Okay, down to the food. The dimsum was good to average (The steam buns were light as a feather). But the laksa I ordered came at a slight disappointment. The broth was a bit bland and needed a little bit more kick of coconut milk. I like my laksa brimming with energy and spice. This one tasted like it just woke up. Be forwarned... the servings could feed 2-3 people! :)

One thing that disappointed me was the attitude of the owner/manager, who argued with a customer and virtually told them to leave in front of other customers. Albeit it was in tempered tones, still, I don't think clashes like these are appropriate if done in front of others.

Posted by: Marx on 31 Oct ' 10 at 11:27

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The interior od the restaurant looked out of place. At first, I thought they served fried chicken, burger and fries. It had that sort of fast food ambience to it, probably because of the bright color scheme featured. When the menu was handed to me, I raised an eye brow that all of the bright ambience didn't extend to the menu brochure.

(It made me think if this was just a clever coverup for some top secret operation)

I was overwhelmed when I recieved my order. the bowl was huge, it span the length of a ruler/scale. I ordered seafood noodle soup. The soup was flavorful and the meat tasty.It left a good enough impression for me to comeback and once again immerse myself in their good food.

Posted by: Renel on 17 Oct ' 10 at 17:48

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Love the Laksa Noodle! Authentic!

Posted by: Bob on 28 May ' 10 at 14:47

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Tried the Yunan soup, the one with lemon grass. That was awesome as was the shrimp+chicken dim sum.
A word of advice do not underestimate the portion size, that bowl is huge!

Posted by: Rasha on 24 Mar ' 10 at 07:36

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

best chinese food and the most affordable quality food

Posted by: syamsulfaiz on 31 May ' 09 at 14:03

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I can confirm that the Malaysian Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice on banana leaf) here is the best you can get in town. The Chicken Rendang accompanying the Nasi Lemak is just fantastic.

Posted by: dess uranza on 06 May ' 09 at 17:36

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

delicious food great

Posted by: Juliette on 17 Mar ' 09 at 11:13

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Most authentic chinese/ south east asian staples. Great value.

Posted by: dess uranza on 31 Jan ' 09 at 11:47

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

good food