There’s no such thing as too many noodle joints, and so I have been eagerly eyeing the Three Thousand since it opened on St Michael’s Street last summer. The only hurdle has been the long lunchtime queues outside, but a post-Christmas lull gave me the opportunity I needed.
Located on the site of the old Nosebag, the Three Thousand is actually a restaurant of two parts.
You can head upstairs for Chongqing hotpot or go through the ground-floor door for Lanzhou noodles. I was there for one thing only – bowls of big-flavoured glossy noodles – so we stayed at street level for this first visit. Inside, the narrow space has a pleasant canteen vibe, with unfussy décor, plastic menus, and a counter at the back where you order and pre-pay for your food. Most dishes (all noodles) are about £11 or £12, which is pretty reasonable for our city. You can also select from a few salads on display (including the all-popular smashed cucumber) or get a tea egg. Armed with a pager, you then wait for the buzz announcing you can pick up from the kitchen hatch. Simple!
While you are waiting, they’ve helpfully provided a large screen displaying a video with some context about the food from Lanzhou, a city in northwest China.
All I knew before going was from the latest book by Chinese cuisine expert Fuchsia Dunlop, who mentions the fame of their hand-pulled noodles with beef. But even better than the video is peering through the hatch to see the chefs stretching dough into the long strands right in front of you. It’s a magical process and will help build your appetite. Even though service was fast, I was more than ready by the time our three dishes came out.
Our first was described as a cold diced beef noodle salad. The noodles were firm and slightly chewy, just the way I like them. With the addition of carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, and coriander, they were deliciously refreshing and satisfying at the same time. As recommended, I spooned on some homemade chilli oil, which was addictively fearsome. It’s worth some exploratory quantity control as you add the oil, in order to dip below mind-blowing into the sweet spot where heat meets flavour. I think I finally managed it about a third of the way through.
We also ordered two big bowls of soup. The Chongqing thin noodles featuring Sichuan pepper and minced pork were buried in an aromatic broth that managed to be fiery and flavoursome at the same time. And finally, we ordered the ramen with pickled cabbage and beef, which was my absolute favourite.
The tender chunks of meat and chewy noodles swam in a rich soup that demanded slurping.
It was the kind of dish best eaten head-down near the bowl while armed with a pile of napkins. Forget conversation, you can chat after you’ve eaten every wheaten strand and gulped down every tasty drop.
As you can probably tell, I enjoyed my lunch at the Three Thousand very much.
They are all about the noodles – thin, thick, biang-biang, ramen – everything we tasted had a texture that impressed. It’s not so great for vegetarians: I only saw one veggie option on the menu. But otherwise, I recommend it for when you want, or need, a super-casual and satisfying meal in the middle of town.
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