Sometimes nothing hits that hungry spot in your tummy like a warming bowl of pasta. Whether it’s in soup form or a plate heaped full of noodles and your favorite sauce, few kinds of food have a soothing, healing effect like pasta. And, if you’re in the Oro Valley neighborhood, you have one new option to satisfy those pasta cravings.
Noodleholics recently turned the lights on and switched its front door sign to “Open” for customers and patrons hungry for noodles. The restaurant, which has been growing strong in its Grant Road location, opened the brand new, second location at 7850 N. Oracle Road (just turn into the Plaza Escondida shopping center and you’ll find it).
With restaurants moving into Oro Valley quickly and taking up the available spots, Noodleholics didn’t want to be left behind, so it jumped on the opportunity to launch its satellite location. The interior itself isn’t 100% complete, as there will be some additions, tweaks, and updates made during closed hours, but owner Claire Wang, who hails from Guangzhou, China wanted to open her restaurant to the public as quickly as possible. A public that has been craving for in-person dining for the better part of a year.
All of the pasta is made on-site, which is one of the reasons the noodles stand out from just about everywhere else in town. There’s a texture and taste to homemade noodles no box brand can replicate. Similar to house-made pizza crust or tortillas, once you’ve had in-house starches, there’s just no going back.
Of course, Noodleholics is more than simply homemade noodles (for which there are 10 different kinds of noodle soups to choose from currently, although that number may always grow). The seasoning and spices of the restaurant are different from the other Chinese and Southeast Asian restaurants found in greater Tucson.
Most Chinese restaurants in the area use a New York meets Sichuan style of seasoning. Because Claire Wang is from Guangzhou and grew up on the regional cuisine, it is what she knows and loves, and as such, it is the style she offers within the restaurant (although there are some variations and hybrid offerings as well).
There are a number of nuanced differences between the cooking styles (similar in the differences between, say, food prepared in Atlanta versus food cooked in Chicago or Los Angeles). While there are spice and seasoning variations, one of the biggest differences is you won’t find as many fried foods with the Guangzhou style of Chinese. Additionally, there are fresh ingredients, such as fresh veggies, more commonly used. Of course, the best way to experience these differences is to grab yourself a bowl of Noodleholics food and experience this difference for yourself (either at the new location or the current location).
This will likely not be the last restaurant opening up in this section of Oro Valley. Thanks to the sudden and continued population explosion in the northern Tucson suburb, you will more than likely see additional restaurants begin to open secondary locations here.
If you’re hungry and want to satisfy those cravings with some noodles, the new location will be open 11 AM until 8 PM Wednesday through Monday (the restaurant is closed on Tuesday). If you are interested in learning more about the restaurant, want to stay up to date on any new or changing restaurant hours, make sure to follow Noodleholic’s Facebook page. And, if you are interested in work and would like to apply for a job at either of the locations, simply stop by and ask for an application. They will gladly take your information.