More accurately I’m full of them –  noodles… and BBQ pork and ground pork and shrimp and roasted duck and bean sprouts and various other vegetables and something else a little crunchy on top.  Good hot broth (not a spicy one until doctored with rooster sauce) with lovely dots of fat on the surface.

I was in town for a meeting and decided to take a not altogether direct route home to go through Thai Town for a stop at Samanluang. I lived in this neighborhood for a couple of years and I’m forever spoiled when it comes to Thai food.  Within walking distance of my house I would go to Grand Kitchen for Tom Yum, Torung for duck salad and Samanluang for any number of things. I was such a regular that I would walk through the door and the first waitress who saw me would shout out “Naked Shrimp?!” I always wanted to reply “I’m not that short!” but wasn’t sure the joke would work. Naked Shrimp is 8-10 RAW lime drenched shrimp laid out on a bed of cabbage and covered with so much chopped garlic and Thai chilies that you can’t see them and so hot that you actually get high from eating it even if you pick it up and shake off every speck.

Lunch’s lovely bowl of yummy is called General’s Noodles. You can get it ‘soup’ or ‘dry’. My suggestion is to be sure to ask for it without sugar. Otherwise they will add a tablespoon of white sugar at the side of the bowl; don’t ask me why.

FYI – if you come here be sure to bring cash; no plastic allowed other than the tacky decor.