Noodle Lover
“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘cooking’ but I can make noodles.”
I love myself some comfort food. Ramen usually fits that definition, but generally Asian food in many shapes and forms with it’s rich umami gives me quite the comfort. Also, it brings me back to my time living in Singapore. Noodle Lover calls themselves Asian fusion with a clear focus on Southeast Asia and a focus on home-made noodles. Looks good, doesn’t it?
Located in the very south of Gothenburg, across Ica Maxi, in the newly developed buildings. The restaurant looks very fresh, hipster and is well decorated. Many wooden accents, plants and just a high quality feel. It helps that the branding of Noodle Lover is really well done.
The menu is found on QR codes on the table. Some vegan options available, and the menu shows allergens and gives the option to remove ingredients straight in the system (look at that, Yammy Kitchen). Great!
We went for the “Better than meat” Ramen, some sides of wakame, cucumber salad and edamame, as well as a bao bun with tofu.
After a short waiting time (the place was super empty), the bao bun arrived and shortly thereafter the ramen. The bao bun was super fluffy and well steamed, but the filling a bit off. It’s basically scrambled tofu with some mushrooms, but mainly it feels like uncooked tofu. A little bit like a bao bun version of a sloppy joe. It didn’t help that all sauces blended into just tasting like a bunch of sriracha mayo. It’s alright, but lacking a crunch to distinguish itself from the fluffy bun.
The ramen came served with tofu skin, sweet potato, bamboo, mushrooms and spinach. The toppings were ice cold, so they are clearly prepped and stored somewhere for quite a while. The broth and noodles were super hot though (but very tasteless) and the heat went into the toppings over time. But, well, everything just tastes cheap, low-quality. The tofu skin is that miserable over-sweetened one you get in bad sushi places, the bamboo is just soy bamboo, the spinach already dry from staying in the fridge too long.
On top of that, the sides are very average as well, such as the edamame being ice cold. The cucumber salad was quite nice though, but they might have lucked out with the quality of the cucumber. On top of that, it didn’t help that they didn’t specify the allergens in the broth, and it turned out to probably have had mushrooms in them, which one of us is intolerant too. Not a great finish.
Price:
Vegan Ramen: 135 SEK
Sides: 19 SEK
Bao Bun: 65 SEK
The Verdict
Noodle Lover looks good, but the execution is below average. The food ends up tasting like nothing, with low quality toppings and just lacking the comfort the Asian cuisine can deliver when done properly. It might be that the result is better when adding juicy meat and eggs, but as a vegan, this is a let-down. No, thank you.
2/5 Leaves
Pro
Vegan options
Good ordering system to adapt allergens
Mostly clear allergen information
Con
Tasteless food
Low quality ingredients
Unclear allergens in some food
Location
Mölndalsvägen 87G
Opening Hours
Mo-Fr: 12:30 - 21:00
Sa-Su: closed
