Noodlebox

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE
The service was professional, but the food was slow to be made and disappointing to eat.

=== 2. FOOD
Note: for the value-oriented, all takeout containers are small considering the price (see pics with a regular table fork placed alongside to show scale).

Spicy Peanut Noodle Box ($11.99)
Recommended by the server as one of their specialities, the peanuts, sliced carrots, and purple cabbage were nice and crunchy but the sauce is, well, different and perhaps an acquired taste. It seems not to be Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, or Indonesian in origin, but I hope other diners will like it.

Ginger Beef Box ($14.99)
Ginger beef is a Canadian invention and something I would gladly skip if it's like this always - hard, sometimes chewy, and while the bok choy bits were alright, they were without taste the rice was so undercooked it was inedible. Granted, we were there at 3:30 pm, so perhaps they tried to rush it out to fulfill the order before it was actually cooked?

Kid's Chow Mein Box ($6.95)
It's a small amount of chow mein noodles with some chopped vegetables inside; you can ask for the teriyaki sauce on the side. Perhaps there are some kids who like it - for my little guy who is typically a noodle monster, even he didn't like this one. It's simply boiled, no sesame oil or other flavourings used - same with the small amount go vegetables inside, where it all relies on the teriyaki sauce for flavour.

As a parent, the $6.95 will go much farther for little ones with any of the other eateries in the shopping complex or across the street, or down the road...

=== 3. SERVICE
The server at the counter was great, patient, provided recommendations and professional. The food service however, was quoted to take 15 mins which was surprising considering there was only us and one other customer (with a small order) there. It took nearly all of the 15 minutes which was surprising given how much quicker many other similar food vendors (e.g. in Hillside and Mayfair malls) can prepare similar dishes in half the time or less.

=== 4. ENVIRONMENT
It is nice and modern, with plenty of tables and seating for groups large and small. The windows all along the front let in a lot of natural light. Wheelchairs and baby strollers would have not difficulty here. Parking can be plentiful in the shopping complex parking lot out front - if you time it right :) - as it doesn't get busy around lunch time!

I have going to NB since the original downtown location and subsequent Uptown and Shelbourne openings. I went there today and tried the Cambodian Jungle Curry. The vegetables were definitely second, maybe third rate with bitter and possibly past due edibility. The chicken was not good- large chunks over cooked. The entire impression was bad vegetables and pre bought cooked chicken drowned in a sauce to cover up the substandard ingredients. We all know a once good brand has gone downhill over the years, but this was a new low.

Ginger Beef was a waste of money. It must have been an old cow as it was as tough as good leather. The vegetables were under cooked and almost as tough, taking crunchy to a new level. The young lady taking my order was polite and efficient in the front end, but I fear they need someone who knows more about product quality and cooking. I ate a quarter of it and threw it out. I would certainly not recommend this new location (West Saanich Road).

Plenty of parking in plaza the restaurant is located in. We came in for takeout. The menu is displayed on a big wall in front of the counter. We placed our order and sat down to wait. There were several other people sitting waiting for their food too. It's an open kitchen and you can watch what's being cooked as you wait.
After a very very long wait our finally order came out. It was piping hot. Steam was coming out of the boxes. When we got home the food was still hot. We asked for medium spice and it was spiced perfectly. The noodles in my pad Thai were cooked nicely. The chicken was tough and chewy. I didn't enjoy the chicken at all. The fried rice was pretty good. Both dishes were a bit too greasy. They had good flavor though. Might try something different next time to give them another chance. The flavors were spot on.

It's "fine". I never go here on my own, only if a friend takes me. For the price it's just not worth it.

I've had a noodle meal here a few times in the past, I didn't even realize they did some bowls with rice by default? So imagine my displeasure when on my last takeout order, I get it home and open it up and it's rice. Why wasn't I asked what I wanted my carb to be?

Used to enjoy the food from the original downtown location many years ago and did have a good experience with the black bean noodles at Uptown when that location first opened. Recently ordered takeout from Shelbourne location. Ordered the prawn and beef pad Thai. Imagine my displeasure when I got home, opened the box and discovered that I was given a serving of chicken pad Thai in a box marked prawn and beef pad Thai. To add insult to injury, the chicken was mercilessly overcooked so that it was extremely tough and dry and the other ingredients including noodles and vegetables were second rate. Thai Express, a chain in food courts in various shopping centres on the lower mainland put this stuff to shame! And at a cheaper price point.

Will never eat at Noodle Box ever again.

So ya...went back after many takeout tries were sliding down on quality. Interesting was the lack of giv-an-eff from staff. I asked about new zucchini noodles. Excited staff member said yes they're new. We have a new menu. Great may I have one? She turned to the menu holder which was empty. Oh, I guess we don't have any more. Huh?

The Sweet and Sour pork box had zip for sauce. Basicslly a box of white rice and cup of pork in half a cup of sauce. Mrs said we are done giving them another chance. I agreed. Sorry guys it was great when you came to the hood years ago.

Rude staff, bad management. Lots of mistakes with food. Don't order from this location.

I really like this location. The staff are very friendly and happily accommodated my fish/fish sauce allergy. We noticed two 'new to us' dishes on the menu and ordered those. I got the ginger beef dish - I was stoked to see this option available. My hubby got the butter chicken. We got take out and went home and happily stuffed our faces. The butter chicken and naan bread were good but our fave was definitely the ginger beef. Loved the sprouts and crispy coating on the beef. My only complaint is I wish it had been a bit saucier, enough to cover the rice in at least. The butter chicken, on the other hand was sufficiently saucy!
Anyway, new fave menu item and I hope it's here to stay!

Pretty good in a pinch but the highest spicy level doesnt have much flavor but the spice. The pad thai is also not very much like pad thai.