The prawn fried noodle dish is at the front and, at the back, the roast duck with green sauce

Noodle Doodle serves sublime Asian fusion food, writes Ingrid Shevlin

Noodle Doodle
Also known as St Clement’s
191 Musgrave Road, Durban
Call 031 202 2511
Open daily from 8am but closed Sundays. Now open evenings from Tuesday to Saturday.

Last week my Shrewd Food partner Meleny Cunniff, and I took advantage of St Clements’s new opening hours. For years it had been a day time cafe only. Now it’s opening for dinner.
Chatting about this over our meal, Meleney said, “You know I can’t ever remember having a bad meal at St Clement’s.
And I couldn’t either.
This is one of those places those goes quietly about doing what it does best, making good food, without much fanfare. But in the process it has acquired a devoted fanbase who petitioned for it to open for dinner as well – and succeeded.
Hence Noodle Doodle was born.
Owner Steven Clements (who has elevated himself to a well-deserved sainthood it seems) has had a long affair with Asian cuisines and it is this passion that he brings to his Asian fusion food.
The night time menu differs from the dinner menu in that it focuses more on stir-fried options with specials as an extra.
Starters include grilled calamari with nam jim sauce, R45 and spicy fish cakes, R38. Salads range from spicy minced chicken/beef salad for R68/R72,  a calamari salad, a roast duck salad, R85, to a grilled sirloin and mushroom salad for R79.
Then comes a crying tiger sliced sirloin for R79 which, I’m assuming is very hot. So be warned.
Stir-fried options include lemon and ginger chicken for R69, pineapple and ginger chicken, R69, and cashew nut chicken with mangetout and chilli. There’s also a choice of beef, pork, prawn or calamari as a main item in a stir-fry of your choice.
There’s two soups – Tom Yam is one – and a fried noodle dish. Curries include green, duck and a Vietnamese crab curry for R130.
We opted to share prawn rolls with plum sauce, R39, which was sublime. We had no idea what the prawns were wrapped in, but it really worked.
For her main Meleney opted for roast duck, R85, which was served with rice and a delicious coriander and chilli green sauce. Although very unassuming in appearance, the dish packed a powerful flavour punch.
I opted for prawn fried noodles, R80, which was filled with a variety of crispy veggies including cabbage and sprouts. Peanuts added a delightful crunchy texture. Again the flavours were amazing, and the prawns perfect.
The only disappointment was the desert, sticky rice pudding topped with mango which was far too sweet, R35. So sweet that Meleney’s mouth puckered at the first mouthful in shock.
Prices are very reasonable and our bill came to a modest R287. Wine and beer are served.
St Clement’s is a very pretty venue – even prettier at night – with tables in the back garden which has a fountain, tables inside and on the front verandah.
Noodle Doodle is busy at night so remember to book. Service is good and super friendly.