EAT: Asian noodles -- bundled in a cool salad or heaped in a steaming bowl -- are ideal for a cheap family dinner. And I'm not talking Ramen instant soup. Head to Palmetto Bay-Perrine for the thin rice and egg noodles in the delicate soups and tasty vermicelli dishes at the Vietnamese restaurant Pho-Thang.

The no-frills, strip mall eatery offers dishes like Special Beef or Chicken soup, which can each feed two to three people, depending on appetites. For take-out, the broth is packaged in one plastic container, while the meat, vegetables and fragrant herbs like cilantro are tucked into a second. The restaurant recommends boiling the broth on your stove once home, then tossing in other ingredients so flavors are sharp. In the Rare Beef Soup, the meat is partially done and finishes cooking in the reheated broth.

All pho (soups) come with fresh lime, basil, bean sprouts and peppers so each person can flavor his own.

Some seafood soups aren't kid-friendly (my girls freaked out over the quail eggs in one.) The biggest hit was the lemongrass chicken with rice vermicelli, bun noodles and deliciously seasoned chicken atop fresh lettuce with peanuts and strips of cucumber, bean sprouts and mint. Spring rolls stuffed with shrimp and pork came with several sauces, including a thick peanut sauce my 9-year-old proceeded to pour over everything.

The vast menu includes eight vegetarian rice and noodle dishes with tofu and six fried rice options. Desserts are only offered on occasion, but we ducked into the Asia Market next door and bought a box of lychee Popsicles to try. Total bill for dinner for four (with leftovers): $35.69.

* DRINK: "33, " a Vietnamese beer on the menu; or try nonalcoholic Bubble Tea milkshakes in mango, coconut, papaya and other flavors.

* WATCH: Put the kiddies to bed early and watch Robin Williams find humor and romance in Saigon in R-rated Good Morning, Vietnam.