Everyone is talking about Three Thousand, the newest restaurant in Oxford serving Lanzhou style ramen and hotpot. Across from the Union on St. Michael’s Street, Three Thousand sits on the site of the old Nosebag restaurant and is always incredibly busy. It sells different forms of ramen and noodles, with hot pot customers relegated to the upstairs seating. I decided to stop by with Grace, my editor from last term, to see what the hype was about.
We came into a packed house but got a table after just two minutes, the waitress frantically wiping down the table and handing us menus. We went up to the counter to order, right next to a display with the various ingredients that could be added straight into our ramen bowls. Beef was a common theme – I got the Lanzhou beef slice ramen, but other options included beef brisket, beef short ribs, Chongqing thin pork noodles, and the vegetarian chickpea noodles; Grace grabbed the beef brisket. I also ordered an additional tea egg for my ramen. After the cashier unceremoniously handed me the egg with my change, we went to grab water and wait for our dinner. Interestingly enough, we had a beeper to announce when our food was ready, which went off in a cacophony (less than a minute after we ordered!) alongside the table next to us.
The marvellously quick service and loud beepers behind us meant we had to quickly carry our ramens and seasonings to our table and eat. I began with the tea egg, which was fully hard-boiled and almost grey in the middle. The soy seasoning penetrated the outside, which added a slightly salty flavour, but I hated the texture of the yolk and ended up eating only the white. The ramen was delicious: a bit spicy on the toppings, but if mixed properly, a perfect blend of salty and spice combined with umami from the broth. My beef ramen had sliced beef, which wasn’t the most seasoned but shone with chilli oil. Grace loved the tender beef brisket, and we both could barely finish our bowls, which were bigger than our heads and filled to the brim with noodles, meat, and spring onion. For only £11.50, it’s a great deal and incredibly filling!
We sat and chatted for a while as the tables turned over around us: people kept coming in, the beepers kept beeping, and they left, full, after about half an hour. I thought the place was great, especially as a very quick sit down option, but am still unsure about the hotpot – most people ordered ramen, not even the dry noodles. We shall wait to see if the hotpot is just as worth it as the ramen.
