Twisted Noodles
I’m a huge fan of Thai food, yet it’s taken me forever to try Twisted Noodles because I’ve been pretty happy with Thai Cafe in Rockwood and Thai Palace on Highway 54 in Chapel Hill. I finally made a point of it, and armed with a coupon for free spring rolls from Durham’s annual calendar, we went! The interior is a few large steps up from your average Asian strip mall restaurant with rich brown walls, cream-toned booths, and dark tables. I especially liked the bamboo screens on the way in, and the lighting was moderately dim and inviting. It was two-thirds full on a Friday night with plenty of take-out business coming in and out as well. Service was fast, and the food was definitely speedy. Options include noodle dishes, noodle soups, fried rice dishes, classic Thai stir fries and curries, and some house specialties that lean toward duck and seafood options. All dishes but noodles and soups come with a hearty portion of white rice.
My Thai iced coffee—a favorite, creamy splurge of mine when at a Thai restaurant—was plenty tasty.
My husband happily drained a few glasses of plum wine. We started with that free order of Twisted Thai rolls, which are vegetarian, fried spring rolls.
They were fried perfectly. The filling was mostly cabbage, so some other veggies mixed in would have been nice. For a quick bite before the main entrees, it was good.
As for those entrees, my husband had the Roast Duck Red Curry from the house specialties menu. Along with the duck came pineapple, basil, bell peppers, green beans, and carrots.
It was pretty good, but I’ve had much better duck at other places. The green beans and carrots were undercooked, in my opinion, but the flavors of the curry were great.
I had the sautéed cashew dish off the classic Thai menu, made with onions, red and green bell peppers, cashews, scallions, and carrots in a chili oil sauce with your choice of protein—I went with chicken and medium spice.
I thought this a much better dish than the duck curry. The chicken was sliced thin and tasted delicious, and the chili oil sauce was very tasty with a heat level I enjoy and a dried chili flavor that made me happy. The bell peppers gave a nice crunch, and cashews make nearly any dish more exciting.
I think Twisted Noodles is a good option for Thai food, if not quite as adventurous as other local spots in their offerings. Has any tried their rotee dessert? That’s my next coupon to use!
Twisted Noodles
4201-112 University Drive
South Square
$8.95–$15.95
Website
Reviewed 5.20.11.
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I generally agree.I generally disagree.
The rotee is fabulous! My husband lived in Thailand for 15 years growing up, and this is by far his fav in the Triangle. The basic Thai stuff is the best–Pad Thai, Pad See Ewe, Larb, Green Papaya Salad.
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I like Twisted Noodle much better then Thai Cafe. Their Drunken Noodles w tofu are addictive! Pad Thai is also quite tasty. I like that they do lunch specials now as well.
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Thanks for the review! I’ve been meaning to try this place for a while…
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I had heard that to judge a restaurant, especially an ethnic one, One should judge it by its’ interpretation of the national dish. So I decided to try any Thai restaurants if I travelled within the country and only order the Pad Thai. While there are great Pad Thai’s in DC, 2 restaurants stood out in the Triangle. One was the Thai Villa Pad Thai(in Cary, where by the way, Pad Thai is 2nd to the Thai Villa Noodles) and the other was at Twisted Noodles. I think it’s orders of magnitude better than the Thai Cafe PT. Additionally, the service at Twisted Noodles is fantastic especially is Super courteous and funny guy who waits the tables. The Roti is great bang for the money Dessert! Great Great Place
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I like there spot in Chapel Hill. Yumyum Thai in Cary use to be good too.
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I realized afterward that I didn’t try a noodle dish at a place called Twisted Noodles–blogger fail! Guess I have even more reason than the free rotee to go back.
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You got to try the Sauteed Glass Noodles at Twisted Noodles. I’ve tried almost their entire menu and this is my favorite dish. You can thank me later.
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On a cold day when you’re trying to fight a cold try the spicy chili oil noodles. I’ve only tried Thai Café once or twice, but my test is the Tom Yam soup and Thai Café failed that miserably. Thai Café is my local go-to place for Thai.
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On a cold day when you’re trying to fight a cold try the spicy chili oil noodles. I’ve only tried Thai Café once or twice, but my test is the Tom Yam soup and Thai Café failed that miserably. Twisted Noodles is my local go-to place for Thai.
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Would you please delete my first comment. There is a major typo. Of course, I meant to say that Twisted Noodles is my go-to place for Thai.
Thanks.
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I’ve been to twisted noodles once and it was a journey filled with optimism and finally resigned disappointment. I come from a large city with around 60 places to get thai food so I’m pretty familiar with it and was super excited when I walked in and could hear the woks sizzling. The food was exceptionally well cooked but not as good as it looked or smelled and was even worse as leftovers. Sort of a weird oily aftertaste. Neither my husband or I could bear to eat it the next day. We haven’t been back and aren’t planning on it.
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That may not be the dumbest comment I have ever read on a blog, but it’s up there in the top ten.
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You wouldn’t understand. That comment reflects the kind of unique insight that can only be gained by being from a city that has AROUND 60 PLACES TO GET THAI FOOD. Just let that sink in for a moment. You could eat at a different Thai place every day for two months. I don’t even think people in Bangkok get that kind of action.
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