Among the new things appearing on campus, Tangled is what’s next for Asian cuisine. This new restaurant opened shop three weeks before the fall semester. The owner of the restaurant, Charlie Luo, said he was eager to get his business open to the public. Charlie wants his customers to have a unique experience each time they walk though the doors.
“We are trying to do something new,” Luo said.
The style of the place is unique indeed. With neon green chairs and a funky carpet, I entered fully prepared to do the usual rounds — walk up to the cashier and choose an item from a large hanging menu that dictated what my taste buds were about to enjoy — but instead, I was handed a checklist with ingredients.
I was surprised at the novelty of it. The checklist had options like beef bone broth and toasted rye noodle, wheat noodle and rye noodle. I admit to being a ramen noodle fanatic, but in reality, I didn’t know the differences between them. Noodles are noodles, right?
About his decision to utilize this order experience, Luo said, “We set up the menu this way so that customers can actually experience, combine and make something new instead of coming every week and getting the same thing. We would like actually to give them choices and possibilities so they can try something new every time.”
What do these customizable dishes mean for students? Tangled decided do a checklist ordering system because in Luo’s words, he wanted students to “surprise themselves” every time they have a hankering for noodles. With a wide variety of options such as four types of broths, three types of noodles and a large list of extra goodness, the combinations are endless.
I found a combination that tasted great. I ordered a regular-sized bowl with wheat noodles, beef bone broth, hometown sweet and spicy sauce, super greens and pure red chili, topped off with cooked miso egg. First of all, the presentation was great. The green lettuce wasn’t wilted and the noodles were well cooked. The miso egg was cradled on top of the greens, an option that I definitely recommend since it rounds out the dish in its taste and texture. The beef bone broth was packed with a thick meaty flavor. On top of that was the hometown sauce, which was delightfully spicy. It ended with the wheat noodles, the most prominent aspect that created the base for the entire creation. They were firm and juicy, absorbing all the liquid in the bowl. The meal left me feeling satisfied and ready to come back to try my hand at combining another dish. Best of all, the meal only cost about $5.80, drinks excluded.
Each dish at Tangled is prepared in the traditional way that results in a bowl with clear broth and little fat. The inspiration for Luo’s food is his gastronomical experience growing up in China, so what Tangled customers eat is very close to authentic Chinese cuisine. The hometown sweet and spicy sauce is directly influenced by his upbringing in China. Tangled offers students an escape from the overflow of sandwich shops and gives them a chance to try something new every time they visit.
Tangled is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
