Seasoned noodle pro

John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 23, 2007 at midnight

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AURORA - Billy Lam knows noodles.

He's a virtuoso with the soft egg noodles used in lo mein, the thin rice noodles used in Thai and Vietnamese dishes and the plump, thick, chewy udon he whips up in his high-temperature wok for Japanese preparations.

Then there are the light, delicate wontons he serves in his famous Shanghai soup. Every morning, six days a week, his cooks hand-stuff more than 200 wontons with lightly seasoned ground chicken breast.

The dishes he creates are like his offspring, and he doesn't want customers messing with them.

"They start putting all the hot sauces and soy on their noodles without tasting them," said Lam, 51, standing in his eatery, Chef's Noodle House.

"I say, 'No! No! No! Taste it the way I cook it.' I'm not your personal cook. You come here and I do it my way. I know sometimes I am annoying the customers."

Lam has been doing it his way since he was a kid growing up in Can Tho, a city in the Mekong Delta of the then-South Vietnam.

"My dad had a restaurant in Can Tho called Hoi Ky. We served dim sum, coffee, and rice-and-noodle dishes. That's where I learn," Lam said.

The aftermath of the Vietnam War abruptly ended his apprenticeship in 1978.

"First, I took a boat to Malaysia and stayed in a refugee camp for four months," he said. "That was one of the most difficult times in my life."

Through a friend, he made his way to Pittsburgh where he cooked for two years and learned English before moving on to Boston and New York. The American West called his name in 1981.

"I knew one friend here. We lived in the refugee camp together. He said, 'Come to Denver.' "

Lam cooked at the now-closed Bamboo Gardens, then opened one of the first Panda Express locations in Denver. He started gaining foodie notoriety with the then-unusual Asian fusion fare he dished at China Cowboy on East Colfax and Yankee Noodle on West Alameda.

"I wanted to make fast food but also gourmet food: simple but high-quality and very fresh," the Aurora resident said.

After trying to mold an eatery empire, he decided to focus on one restaurant, Chef's Noodle House.

The recently renovated space is small. There's limited parking and seating - you order at the counter and the fare is delivered to your table - but the eatery pumps out food for takeout and delivery.

"I want it to taste familiar to Americans but still Asian," he said, adding that the best-selling items are Vietnamese noodle "bun," Thai combo rice and teriyaki chicken.

"I learned the business the hard way. One place is enough for me now, but I do dream about opening more shops," he said. He wonders, too, about moving. "This location is not a good location. It's not busy enough," said Lam.

After 30 years in the kitchen, Lam's enthusiasm for noodles and sauce is unabated. Like many of Denver's immigrant restaurateurs, though, he doesn't expect his children, ages 15 and 13, to take over the family business.

"I love to cook," he said. "It's my passion but it's hard work - all-day and all-night work.

THE LAST WORD: kew (pronounced kyoo) - sauteed Asian steak dish with a dark sauce, sometimes flavored with black pepper.

Chef's Noodle House

• What: Small, fast-casual restaurant specializing in Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian dishes

• Where: 10400 E. Sixth Ave., Aurora

• Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday

• Price range: $3-$4.25 appetizers; $7-$11 entrees; $6-$7 lunch

• Information: 303-363-6888

• John's favorite items: Asian wonton soup with chicken wontons, combination (shrimp, chicken and egg roll) Vietnamese noodle bun, thick Japanese udon noodles with chicken

• Also available: cream cheese wontons, sesame chicken, spicy Mongolian tofu, Thai rice noodles with shrimp, beef fried rice, panang beef with Thai noodles, tempura pork loin chop on rice, teriyaki chicken bowl.

To nominate an ethnic restaurant, bakery or market for World Plate, e-mail: lehndorffj@RockyMountainNews.com

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