Noodlee in Nottingham opened recently in Trinity Square just across from the Cornerhouse.
On first inspection I thought that it was just another fast noodle joint like Wok & Go or a Chinese carton takeout like Chopstix.
I was wrong they are offering dishes made with freshly made noodles.
The tagline in the window I read was ‘Fresh made by order noodle’ – “When you place an order your noodles will start from its original appearance – Flour”
Yes they do offer combo boxes such as ‘Fried Rice, Chips, Chicken and sweet and sour sauce‘ but look a little further and you will find some hidden treasure with bowls of freshly made ramen to delight you
RAMEN NOODLE MENU
In the window at Noodlee they have a poster advertising the specials which are four bowls of Ramen Noodles.
Two soup types featuring Pulled Beef and Braised Beef, a Dry Ramen with Braised beef, and the Beijing signature noodle dish Zha Jiang Ramen (fried sauce noodles).
It was this poster that caught my eye as I was passing by, drawing me in through the door in search of some ramen noodle action. Game on!
BRAISED BEEF RAMEN
I ordered a bowl of the Braised Beef Ramen, you may have noticed a fair number of previous blog posts about similar bowls of noodles around the city and guessed that it is a dish that I particularly favour indeed cherish 🙂
I was very happy to see my meal come out to the table in a proper noodle soup bowl. Other’s around were eating from paper containers, I guess that they didn’t choose as well with their Fried Rice and Chicken balls maybe? unlucky 🙂
First sight was of a thin broth, half a duck egg floating by, chunks of braised beef, a pile of broccoli florets and noodles lurking just beneath the surface. All topped with a scattering of chopped coriander leaf and a few scallions.
The braised beef chunks were soft and tender, sure there were a few fatty bits, but I like those bits just as much as the meaty ones.
The portion of meat was not that generous but it was plenty enough and did the job in flavouring the stock and adding some heartiness to the dish.
The broth itself was light and clear with just a background hint of chilli heat. It was quite refreshing and very easy to slurp up with the strands of noodles.
I appreciated the half a duck egg, I find that to be a treat when I get a bowl of ramen and although it is just a simple addition it always feels slightly decadent.
The broccoli was as expected cooked very lightly so that it was a bit on the hard side at first, it does continue to slowly cook in the broth so by the time I got to the bottom of the bowl it was a bit softer.
This was a rather decent bowl of ramen! The star is really the freshly made noodles, they had a lovely little bit of chew as you took a bite and they slowly took on the flavour of the soup as they steeped in the broth.
I am looking forward to returning to try some of the other ramen dishes! 🙂
Noodlee is located at 3-5 Forman Street in Nottingham just across Trinity Square from the Corner House.
I could not find much on Social Media although they do have a Facebook Page and an Instagram profile and a website that seems to be a bit of a work in progress
You can also find the menu online through the usual delivery sites such as Deliveroo (that was how I first noticed that they were in town) Uber Eats and Just Eats