This past weekend, my family and I were getting ready to head to Pearlridge Center for a little outing. We enjoy walking around the indoor mall for its safety from the elements, as well as the variety of storefronts and kiosks, and I was looking forward to dining at one of Pearlridge’s newest tenants: Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle. Turns out, it was the perfect day to do so. On our way to the car, it absolutely poured, and a piping bowl of noodles sounded like a dream. My brother-inlaw and niece met us there for an early dinner, and there’s something about being in good company while enjoying a hot bowl of noodle soup that warms my heart.
First off were appetizers, and we got Chinese miaostyle beef ($8.99) and popcorn garlic chicken ($8.99). The chicken was my favorite, with perfectly crisp exteriors and good portions of white meat inside. I could honestly eat that over a bed of rice and be happy. The miao-style beef was too sweet for my liking, but everyone else enjoyed it. Other pupu options that were on my short list included salt and pepper chicken wings ($9.99 for four), salt and pepper calamari ($8.99), and fried golden buns ($6.99 for four).
For our main meals, my husband and brother-in-law both got the No. 1 pork bone soup with beef brisket rice noodles ($18.99), while I opted for the No. 2 golden hot and sour soup with fatty beef rice noodles ($17.99). (There are also tomato and Szechuan mala spicy broth varieties, as well as house special soups with chicken or fish.)
The pork bone broth was clean and light but still had a depth of flavor that pleasantly surprised me. My golden hot and sour soup was delicious, but there’s a bit of a kick (warned both the menu and waiter) that prevented me from fully enjoying it. Not gonna lie, my pride was a little hurt that evening, as I thought I could handle spice. Next time, I’m going to order the No. 1 pork bone soup with fatty beef noodles ($17.99), as I preferred the fatty beef over the beef brisket in the soup. But, I will say that the beef brisket has the advantage of being delicious by itself; placing it in the soup diminished its already-tasty flavor.
The noodle soups come with accompaniments like chives, a quail egg, goji berries, wood ear fungus, meat paste, ham, corn, lettuce and more, and you can add in whatever you like to bolster your meal. Once everything is in front of you (tray of accompaniments, bowl of soup, noodles and meat), it can feel a bit daunting. Thankfully, Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle has easy step-by-step instructions on the menu on how to best eat each bowl: add meat and lettuce; add all other ingredients and stir well; add noodles and wait for 10 seconds; enjoy. (I’m one of those people who doesn’t finish the broth after I’ve consumed the heartier foods within, but not so with Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle. It was so good that I took home the leftover broth and heated it up with rice for a late-night snack.)
What sealed the deal on this dining experience was the chocolate chip with Oreo soufflé pancake ($13.99) from sister restaurant Cloud Nine Café Hawaii. It’s light and airy, without being overly sweet; right up my alley. But it still got an A-plus rating from my dessert connoisseur niece, who devoured it — which is for the best because the adults at the table just don’t have the metabolisms to indulge like that anymore.
In hindsight, dining in at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle is not really baby friendly, especially if your infant likes to touch and grab everything in sight. There are numerous trays, plates and bowls of food at any given moment; plus, the soups come in large, hot ceramic bowls. Add the fact that I slurp my noodles and had difficulty delicately dumping the ingredients into my soup, and our little one was in the splash zone most of the time. But that won’t deter us from coming back. We’ll just have to do so sans baby for a mom-and-dad date night.
Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle
at Pearlridge Center Mauka (across Satellite City Hall)
Address 98-1005 Moanalua Road, Space 801A, Aiea
Phone 808-892-6888 (call for hours)
Website tensecondshi.com
Food: 4/5
Drinks n/a
Price: $$
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Parking: free at Pearlridge Center
Nicole Monton is the managing editor of Crave and contributing editor for Kakaako VERT magazine. Follow her on social media (@nicmonton).
