Flavour Report with Derek Goforth: Geraldton’s Noodle King a tasty, but different, experience

You can’t help but notice the Noodle King Roast Duck House in Sanford Plaza; the very large, bright sign makes it difficult to miss. Despite the loud sign, it has taken us a fair while to go and visit. However, on this occasion, we are very glad we did. Stuck for something to cook and with a driving test pass to celebrate, we thought we would treat ourselves to a nice takeaway. Noodle King has decent parking outside, with plenty of nearby options if the plaza car park is full. It also has a few tables inside if you fancy eating your food there and then. The service was friendly, and the takeaway offers plenty of options, including a large selection of rice and noodle dishes. I was also curious about their BBQ duck and pork by the kilo, but will save that for another time. We opted for special fried rice, veggie noodles, satay chicken and salt and pepper squid. At over $80 for the order, it was on the expensive side, but the portion sizes were generous. First off, the fried rice was delicious and packed with veggies and meat, including lots of char siu pork and bits of chicken. The rice was cooked perfectly, it added something special to all the dishes it went with. The satay chicken, to be honest, just didn’t taste like satay chicken; it was more of a traditional curry dish, which, to be fair, tasted good, but just not what we wanted or expected. Plenty of meat and veg — packed with it to be honest — but the sauce just wasn’t “satay”. Again, the salt and pepper squid was “different”, not bad, just not what we were expecting. Both dishes were tasty, but we felt like they just didn’t fit the description. However, good food is good food, and don’t get me wrong, both dishes were more than good. The noodles, just like the rice, were cooked to perfection, with plenty of crisp and fresh veggies. Would we recommend Noodle King Roast Duck House? Yes, I believe we would. Perhaps ask a few questions and be prepared for the dishes to be different from what you are used to — not bad, just different.