This is Spicy Me’s second branch and for some reason, it’s also in Satwa. Hidden behind the bus stop beside Al Fai and Wild Rooster on Al Hudaiba Road, Spicy Me is a true hidden gem. Best described as an authentic Asian slurp kitchen, this tiny Chinese-owned eatery serves an assortment of affordable Chinese and Filipino soup, noodle and rice-based meals and snacks. It’s authentic Asian fast food. Which also means that it’s super affordable — a bowl of noodle soup is AED10!
I ordered the big bowl of seafood noodle soup with fish balls (yeah, I didn’t know they had balls either). You’re offered three types of noodles: rice, seafood and sotanghon (bean thread noodles). I stuck to the one I know, rice. Chinese noodle soup is a close cousin to both ramen and pho, and it’s no less delicious. Some will argue it’s actually where the Japanese and Vietnamese soups originated from. I asked for mine spicy and got it with a spoon full of Lao Gan Ma chilli bean sauce stirred in – Yum! I also had a couple of freshly made Takoyaki, a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special moulded pan. In Japan, it’s sometimes stuffed with minced octopus and is the way I prefer it.
In the middle of this Asian setting, I found their Sri Lankan all-rounder, Mohammed. This little guy was amazing; he explained the somewhat confusing menu, took my order and then rushed off to prepare my food, only to return a couple of minutes later with a piping hot bowl of soup, fish balls and all.
Let me sum up this review by saying that this was one of the best meals I have had this year, and I appreciate that its only end-Feb but for me, that means over fifty restaurants! I loved the authenticity of this little eatery. This could a slurp kitchen in Hong Kong, Manila, Hanoi, Shanghai, etc. If you have travelled the streets of Asia it will be immediately recognisable. I loved the food. The ramen at Daikan, the pho at Vietnamese Foodies and the laksa at Noodle Bowl are ten times better but none are as humble and true to the streets are this was. Bravo Spicy Me. I can’t wait to come back.
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