Pala expands Noodles Asian Restaurant

PALA – Continuing its renovation, Pala Casino Spa & Resort recently announced it has expanded its popular Noodles Asian Restaurant and named Chef Tzin "Ken" Kao the new room chef.

In the expansion, Pala has doubled the size of the kitchen and the number of cooking woks, more than doubled the number of seats in its dedicated dining room from 45 to 105 and installed a larger take-out counter for to-go orders.

Chef Ken becomes the new Noodles room chef after serving for the past eight years as the Asian chef at Pala's Choices the Buffet. A native of Taiwan, he began his culinary career under the tutelage of Master Chef Chen and came to the United States in 1982. Prior to joining the Pala culinary team in 2010, he served as a chef for leading Asian restaurants in Orange County and Salt Lake City.

"For a number of reasons – culinary creativity, excellent food quality, economic pricing and fast, efficient service – Noodles has grown to become one of our most popular restaurants," said Bill Bembenek, Pala's chief executive officer. "Expanding its size and menu under the leadership of Chef Ken Kao extends Pala's reputation for impeccable guest service,"

A visit to Noodles becomes an Asian smorgasbord experience. Noodles provides Asian specialties from five cultures, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai, and menus are printed in four languages, English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

A sampling of Chef Ken's popular entrees include Teriyaki Beef featuring stir-fried marinated beef in teriyaki sauce and onions; the Seafood Delight, a combination of shrimp, scallops, squid, fish cake and seasonal mixed vegetables flavored with a light garlic sauce; and Salted Shrimp, wok-fried whole shrimp with scallions and spicy garlic salt.

A popular soup is a Thai entrée, Spicy Chicken Tom Kah. It offers vermicelli noodles served with marinated chicken breast and fresh mushrooms in coconut broth. Two Vietnamese favorites are Beef Pho, rice stick noodles served with a slice of flank steak in traditional beef broth, and Banh Canh, shrimp, scallops, squid and fish cake served in an egg Lobster broth.

Noodles offers the following appetizers: shrimp and vegetable egg rolls that are deep-fried and served with sweet and sour sauce; stuffed crab claws, stuffed with shrimp and served with plum sauce; Chinese barbecued spare ribs; shrimp wontons, either deep-fried or steamed; fried tofu, and a Vietnamese hand roll made with shrimp, vermicelli and fresh vegetables wrapped in rice paper.

Noodles serves a variety of hot and cold non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages including soft drinks, soy milk, hot tea, Thai iced tea, fresh juice, Vietnamese iced coffee, sake and a selection of imported and domestic beers.

"Our menu is diverse and continues to evolve," said chef Ken. "Our staff represents many backgrounds but we work together to create the best of each culture."

Noodles is open from 11 to 2 a.m. Sunday through Friday, and 11 to 4 a.m. Saturday.