Noodle Factory first rolled up its shutters back in 2007 just as The Avenues was opening its doors to the shoppers of Kuwait. People have flocked to the mall ever since and Noodle Factory has been a mainstay of the many, many, restaurants on offer at The Avenues. Serving a mixture of Pan Asian food with influences from China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malay, they have been pulling in customers from the beginning against stiff competition by using fresh, high quality ingredients to create flavour packed dishes in a mixture of traditional, modern and fusion styles.

The food is backed up by a great corner location on the first floor in Phase 1. They offer a contemporary, lively space which hints at, rather than relies on, its eastern influences, where you can watch the food being prepared in an open kitchen. Then they have that unique ordering system; customers fill out their order on the menu and hand it to the staff, who are on hand to explain the ingredients or cooking methods used if you have any queries.

You may have noticed though that they haven’t rested on the laurels of their success. Each year they shake things up and overhaul their menu. They retire some items, replace or update others, and add completely new dishes. A lot of this is based on customer feedback, what they see as popular and where they think they can improve. This can be seen in them recognising the popularity of their sole broth, Chicken and Prawn Wonton Noodle Soup, and then adding three new broth noodles to the menu to offer more diversity under this part of the menu.

Noodle Factory recently added many new items to their menu from appetizers, soups and salads, to dim sum, noodle alternatives and desserts. They added a couple of new drinks in the form of the Green Dragon, a mixture of passion fruit, lemon, blue curacao and topped with 7 Up and the aptly named Avenues, which is similar but replaces the blue curacao with ginger ale, making it a little less sweet. As for the new food additions, the Red Curried Seafood Wonton was not only extremely tasty, but also had a good amount of filling (something lacking in most wontons) and the Five Spice Salt and Pepper Squid was light, airy and crisp with the five spice delivering a pleasant flavour kick. Other new appetizers are Edamame served with either sea salt or chili bean sauce and Wasabi Prawn or Wasabi Tofu and Mushroom. A couple of new dim sum dishes have also been added, Seafood Sui Mai with Fried Scallops is a soft filling paired with the crunch of fried scallop. The Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumpling is both a pleasure for the taste buds, and the eyes due to the translucent skin. On the salad front, they’ve added Crispy Duck, Pomegranate and Watermelon Salad with Roasted Cashew Nuts. The varying textures and tastes make this salad complex yet subtle, and light enough to be eaten for lunch too.

Then there are the aforementioned broth noodles. If you’re not familiar with broth noodles, they are like meals disguised as soups. Korean Kimchee with Grilled Beef and Fresh Lime is pungent and flavourful while the Thai Hot & Sour Noodle Soup with Prawns is light and spicy. The Singaporean Seafood Laksa with Mussels, Prawns and Red Mullet, served in a Coconut Broth is a mind-boggling medley of ingredients and flavours that will leave you more than satisfied. They’ve added Yaki Soba with Peking Duck and Curry Oil to the wok fried noodles selection and a delicious Sweet Chili Eggplant joins the vegetable/side dishes line up. For those looking for noodle alternatives, Red Curry with prawns or chicken is tasty served with steamed rice, as are the Wok Fried Prawns in XO sauce. Saving the best for last, the Stir-Fried Beef Short Ribs in Chili, Garlic and Ginger Sauce is outstanding. The beef falls off the bones and subsequently melts in your mouth.

Topping it all off were a couple of new desserts, a Passion Fruit Brulee with Mango Sorbet that gave that deep, satisfying crack as you break through the caramelised sugar. The Chilled Coconut Delight was equally as indulgent but both were light and fresh tasting. It features a coconut cornucopia of coconut strips, coconut jelly, coconut cream, and is topped with a panand leaf ice cream, that even though you may never have heard of before you visit Noodle Factory, you won’t be forgetting in a hurry after you leave.

All the new dishes are welcome additions to an already great menu at Noodle Factory. They are open for lunch and dinner and also take reservations and cater for birthday celebrations.

Noodle Factory is located on the first floor in Phase 1 of The Avenues. For reservations or more information call 2495 4751 or email: nfavenues.kwt@alshaya.com.