Poll any weekender turned local about what they miss from the big city and the answers will be pretty similar.
Walking instead of driving.
Easy access to cultural events.
Ethnic food.
When I heard there was a new noodle place—Yum Yum Noodle Bar in Red Hook, I jumped at the chance to check it out. It’s the latest in a mini-chain that started in 2010 in Woodstock, added a Kingston location and jumped across the river to land on the corner of Routes 9 and 199 in Red Hook.
The menus are pretty much the same, but you’ll find a few different dishes and weekly specials at every location. And while the menus may look a little limited, each dish has multiple options which gives you almost unlimited options.
The Red Hook location is a big open room with lots of light wood. There’s a long bar in the corner and a high communal table next to it, where we sat. Bench seats and simple picnic tables line the other side of the space.
We started our lunch with a plate of the steamed dumplings with a vegetable filling. There were six in the order, stuffed with a blend of mushrooms, scallions and other veggies. With a sweet/hot chili dipping sauce it was a great beginning.
After a lot of thought (because almost everything on the menu was tempting), I took the easy way out and went for the Pork Tan Tan (top photo). It was the easy way out because it was one of the few dishes where you don’t have choices to make. I got a big plate of ramen noodles topped with ground pork in a spicy sesame-miso sauce, garnished with scallions. It was delicious, with just enough heat to make it interesting, but not so much that you couldn’t taste all the other ingredients.
My friend made up a “bowl” with tonkotsu (thin Japanese noodles) and shrimp in a coconut/curry broth. All the bowls come with veggies, mushrooms, scallions, nori, and egg. It tasted as good as it looked!
Not to worry if you’ve got fussy friends, there’s a burger and other non-noodle options. There are also vegan and gluten-free options and a kids menu for those noodle lovers under 8.
And here’s a great idea that more restaurants should adopt. There’s a 10% charge on all take-out orders. Our server explained that 5% of it goes to the staff as a tip and the other 5% pays for the packaging, all of which is earth friendly/recyclable including what looks like a typical plastic bag, but is made out of organic material.
Yum Yum Noodle is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. The menu is the same for both, with most main courses around $13. Check their website for specials.
Yum Yum Red Hook
7496 S Broadway
Red Hook, NY 12571
845.835.6383
Yum Yum Woodstock
4 Rock City Road
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.7992
Yum Yum Kingston
275 Fair Street
Kingston, NY 12401
845.338.1400
