Noodlee fast emerging on the food scene in Cork.

Noodlee fast emerging 

on the food scene in Cork.

Beef Noodle

Great to get the opportunity to check out the food at rapidly expanding Noodlee the other evening. 

Noodlee is fast becoming known in the city and county. We dined at Noodlee UCC and they have another branch in Mahon. This month, restaurants are opening or have opened in Mallow, Carrigaline and Fermoy. Douglas, Ballincollig and Midleton will shortly see their newest stores open.  

An additional three stores are slated for Blackpool, Mayfield and Cobh, with discussions continuing for other locations. Oh, and it is not just in Ireland. They have also opened one in the UK, in Nottingham.

When I heard the name first, I thought it was an amalgam of noodles and Lee. But no.  Noodlee in Chinese culture means Chinese street food. Sunny Islam (left) is the company's Operations Manager and we met him the other night. He was keen to stress that Noodlee is more than a noodle bar – they offer an extensive array of Chinese dishes with vegan and vegetarian options available. 

And if you are in, do keep an eye out for the specials. They had three running last week and they included Chicken Zha Jiang for just a fiver!

Sunny was also very keen to let us know that their noodles are fresh and that that marks them out from other restaurants. The noodles are produced in a premises on Center Park Road. They are proud of their fresh noodles and that “you will always get the freshest tastiest meal” and that you’ll get it in double quick time, no contradiction here between fast food and good quality.

Besides, they support local. All their beef is 100% per cent Irish and their experienced Chinese chefs are helping train young Irish chefs.  

You often hear people talking about ethnic food saying that it is “dumbed down” for the Irish or European palate. Noodlee is of course conscious of this and their goal is to create Chinese food that is “as close as it gets” to the real thing. They are encouraged by feedback from their Asian customers “that it is 95% there”. 

So how does all this work out in practice? On an Irish palate? We would soon find out. The menu is extensive and comes under a number of headings. Under starters, you’ll find Chicken Yakitori and Steamed Edamame, a selection of Spring Rolls, and more. 

Singapore Noodle

Mains include Satay dishes, curries, stir-fries, Noodlee Specials and Set Meals. There are sides also of course, Vegan choices, and a few kids' meals, and drinks (all non-alcoholic).

We started with a Spring Roll, three pieces of crispy thin pastry rolled with chicken, carrots, green bean sprouts, green pepper and onions and served with a little tub of sweet chilli sauce.  A big thumbs up for that one, everything, the pastry and the filling and sauce just perfect,  the best Spring Rolls I’ve had in a long while.

Some of the mains allow choices of boiled rice or chips (fried rice for 60 cent extra) but we were keen to try the noddles and one of our picks was the Singapore Noodle with chicken and which consisted of the chicken, the stir-fried fresh noodles with eggs, onions, carrots, bean sprouts and scallions. This had a mild curry flavour, and the noodles certainly impressed as did the dish as a whole.

I hit the jackpot with my special, the Beef Pull Noodles with the in-house broth. Here the fresh white noodles stood out, especially as they absorbed the amazing broth. I was a little worried that the Pak Choi would be tough to eat but Asians seem to have a way with these and the Noodlee version was perfectly cooked and perfectly edible, both the green and white parts nicely crunchy and adding to the tender flavoursome meat. All in all, another winner on this wide-ranging menu.

So wide-ranging, one will have to return, maybe not to the Western Road venue (not that it would be a hardship) but to a Noodlee nearer home in Mayfield or Blackpool! Roll on Noodlee and roll out!

Spic and span Fudi serving up enticing Asian food in Blackpool

Spic and span Fudi serving up 

enticing Asian food in Blackpool

Satay

As a first time visitor walks, carefully, across the busy Old Mallow Road, towards the Fudi premises, you’ll have little idea, from the initial look at the exterior, of how large and how bright this neat and tidy dining room is. But once inside, the bright well decorated place will impress, as will the warm welcome, and that is all before you start to enjoy the Asian style food that is served here.

While I was in the Douglas Fudi on the night it opened, this was my first call to Blackpool. I was on the lookout for their Massaman curry but that wasn’t available on the lunch menu (which is a bit shorter than the evening and delivery menu).

Crispy Chilli Chicken

Still, there was plenty to choose from. They had a couple of soups, Buffalo wings,  Japanese Gyoza, King Prawn Tempura, Four in One, Chicken Burger, Douglas Beef Burger, and a curry Dish.

My pick was the Satay Stir Fry with onions, mixed peppers, carrots broccoli, and mushroom in satay sauce. You have a choice of chicken, beef, tofu, vegetable, or prawn. I opted for the House Special (a bit of everything!) and that cost an extra euro bringing the price to €10.90). Also I had a choice of either chips or rice and went for the latter (sharing with CL who had the fries). The stir fry was more or less perfect, just love the way the vegetables are so well cooked in Asian cuisine; indeed everything was spot on.

CL's dish was the €9.90 Crispy Chilli Chicken (with onions, mixed peppers, carrots, pineapple in their homemade sweet chilli sauce). Another excellent plateful though some people may find the sauce a little on the sweet side.

They offer plenty of drinks here including Smoothies, Teas, coffees and chocolate. No shortage of soft drinks either but surprisingly enough they don’t serve tap water. A 50ml bottle of Acqua Panna (which seems to have travelled the world to get to Cork) will cost you €3.00. 

Blackpool interior

They also sell wines (white, red and sparkling), a couple of Asian beers, the local Stag Ban Gluten Free Ale along with Stonewell ciders (including the excellent alcohol free version). Cocktails available also along with spirits, including Beara Gin.

Aside from Blackpool, Fudi has three other outlets in Cork: in Edenhall (Model Farm Road) in Douglas (in the Woollen Mills) and in Mahon (Avenue de Rennes).  If you like Asian or would like to try it, then Fudi is a great place to visit.

* We did follow-up the Massaman and got it a week or so later via their online delivery service. Ordered for 5.00pm, arrived with a smile at 5.00pm! Neatly packed too by the way.

Their Thai Red Massaman Curry (I choose the chicken option) is described as a rich creamy mild coconut milk curry with onions, carrots, mixed peppers and pineapple. Accurate enough and, as I'd hoped, I enjoyed the Massaman, even getting a spoon to get it all where I wanted it!

The other dish that evening was their Yaki Soba, the Japanese noodles coming complete with chicken, eggs, onions, carrots, bean sprouts and scallions. No real heat in this one but an excellent dish all the same.

We had ordered one side of chips and they sent two but there was no charge for the extra one. Thanks guys!