There’s nothing casual about Tse Noodle's excellent food - Review - Oxford - The Infatuation
"When Tse Noodle opens for lunch at 12pm, there’s already a crowd congregating outside, cash in their pockets, ready to settle into the casual little Chinese spot for bowls of steaming noodle soup. Everything at the City Centre restaurant is around a tenner, which is probably why you’ll mostly see students slurping and scrolling, sharing tiny tables with complete strangers, and returning at least once a week for more. Tse veterans order in record time without so much as scanning the tick-box menu, and the friendly servers dodge prams to rush after turned-away diners after rearranging tables and pulling chairs out of thin air to make space for them.
It’s not just the value for money that keeps this spot constantly rammed though, it’s the fact that there is no wrong order. Every section of the menu is excellent. From spicy salt and pepper tofu—fiery, crisp cubes that are nice and airy inside—to their classic prawn wonton dumpling soup that’s as restorative as a week in the Maldives. This is one of the best meals you can have in Oxford, so come hungry.
Food Rundown
Spicy Salt & Pepper Tofu
The crisp on this tofu is incredible: spicy and airy. This will convert any tofu-hater.
Sweet & Sour King Prawn Rice
Sweet and tangy from the chunks of pineapple, this is our least favourite dish. It could use more spice and the ratio of prawn to rice leaves you with too much rice leftover.
photo credit: Rianne Shlebak
Sichuan Red Peppercorn Deep Fried Spicy King Prawns
Listed under ‘chef’s specials’, these spicy fried prawns are excellent. Sharp and peppery, this dish should absolutely be on your tiny little table.
photo credit: Rianne Shlebak
Prawn Wonton Dumpling Soup
On a par with sipping a hot chocolate in bed while watching another questionable Netflix reality dating show, this dumpling soup is satisfying. The kind that you wish your mum would make you when your nose is runny, it’s the ultimate noodle soup and a big part of why you should come here.
photo credit: Rianne Shlebak" - Rianne Shlebak