Nooshi

I’ve walked right past this place almost everyday and never noticed it. I picked up the eel and rice bowl for under 6 pounds. Given the low price and location in the shopping mall, I wasn’t expecting great eel. But I was really pleased! The rice bowls also come with a whole assortment of delicious Japanese pickles.

I think I must have walked past this place hundreds of times before I even realised it was there. You know what it’s like, arms full of shopping, head down whilst texting. Well next time your walking between the Bullring and New Street train Station, stop and take a look… your tastebuds will thank you.
I’d say that I’m fairly new to eating sushi and noodles. Although I’ve eaten them both at various times throughout the years, I don’t buy them as often as your more standard take away or lunch options.
However, this is fast becoming a weekly lunch time treat for me. Not only is sushi a healthier food option, it’s delicious too.
The staff here are always smiling and will sometimes have tasters available if you’re not sure what to go for so definitely worth asking if your walking by.

I have returned to Birmingham New Street from playing a gig in London. It is 1pm and the last thing that I ate was a… err… double and sausage egg muffin earlier that day at around 9am. The last thing that I ate before that was a sandwich at 3pm the previous day. The rigours of touring. Strangely, I’m not that hungry. As I take a short cut through The Bull Ring, (I refuse to fall in line and call it the daftly named all-​one-​word-​21^st-​Century-​Babylon title of ‘bullring’ like they have decided), I am arrested by the smell and sight of a new food outlet. A girl catches my eye and beckons me over for a closer look…
Run by the instantly likeable Tony De Gracia, (the most unlikely name for a man of East Asian origin), Nooshi sell, as the name might suggest, noodles, and sushi. They also have a nice line in snacks. £3.20 gets you 4 pieces of chicken and seafood dim sum, or 2 pork buns, or one of another 7 options. Prawn toast is always the litmus test for me to gauge an Oriental eatery, so that’s what I order. Oh yes, my appetite is back. The toast has a generous layer of prawns and yes, the toast is juicy and crisp.
Nooshi is great. It lacks the Selfridges pomp and Nathan Barley like pretentious of Yo Sushi! and the just over the road-​from-​the-​strip-​club diveyness of Chop & Wok. Funnily enough Nooshi is equidistant from both so you should definitely give it a try.