The saying goes that ’whilst the cat’s away, the mice will play’, so, with the proverbial cats being Fledge and The Beau (galivanting au Paris), His Nibs and I decided to go out for dinner. Now, I’m just going to come straight out and admit to yet again wearing blinkers, ok? I have been in Heanor many times, but never have I ever noticed a Chinese restaurant; what makes this admission worse is that said restaurant is smack-dab next door to Mustard (one of our fave places!!). You can all come at me, I thoroughly deserve it this time – doh!
We parked up in the market place, waving hello to Burger Wurger as we did so – if you haven’t been here before, you deffo need to go. Anyhow, it was only a 5-minute stroll back to Ray Street where Noble House patiently awaited our entrance. The lady that greeted us was so incredibly friendly and polite, I could’ve brought her home with us – honestly, what a total sweetheart! After seeing us seated, she swiftly sorted drinks our for us: large glass of Merlot for me (£6.10) and a pint of Draught Tiger Beer (£5) for The Man. Returning with our drinks, she then brought out a large bowl of Prawn Crackers for us to nibble on whilst we planned our strategy for the all-you-can-eat-buffet: £22.50 per adult, £11.50 per child under 9 years of age.
A helpful suggestion was to have the Mixed Starter Platter first (containing meat), as that gives you a taster of everything and then you can always order more of items that particularly tickle your taste buds. I do like it when servers give you a ‘heads up’. Whilst we waited for the platter to arrive, I had a good look around at the ‘distinctive’ décor. Don’t ask me what it is, but don’t you think that Chinese folks have a knack of pulling off clashing décor styles in a way that no-one else can? Up-turned parasols and lanterns were suspended from the ceiling, amongst the recessed spotlights, and 3D stars/icicles were hanging beneath fairy-light strewn garlands of faux foliage. The most bonkers wall paper you could imagine adorned one wall: it was red-brick wall punctuated with trailing Ivy, and was strangely at home in this fabulous space. Random it most certainly was, and yet it worked in a weird sort of way; as I said, don’t ask me how, but this Oriental team pulled it off.
It wasn’t long before said platter was being placed in the centre of the table, and it looked really appetising. I made a bee-line for the Crispy Seaweed – I love fried Cabbage, but when I try to do it, it never ends well, what a shock, eh?! His Nibs started in on the cubes of Salt and Pepper Ribs, which were nicely seasoned and beautifully umami. The Chicken Wings had a fabulously crunchy, bubble batter on them that contrasted with the tender, soft flesh underneath. Skewers of Satay Chicken were pleasantly sizeable and the sauce was delicious.
When I’d clapped eyes on the pair of Prawn Toasts, I thought my luck was in and that they’d both be eaten by me, but no; The Man decided that this was the night he was going to try one and discover that, actually, they’re blooming tasty. Nothing is sacred now, I tell ya. A piquant Peking Dipping Sauce was in a separate little bowl on the platter, and the crunchy, vegetable-filled Spring Rolls were soon getting dunked in it – yummy. Pieces of Smoked Chicken were lovely and creamy with a distinct smoky hint to them, which we thought was an unusual, but very nice, addition to the Mixed Platter. His Nibs had also ordered a portion of the Curry Samosas (these are on the Vegetable Starter Platter) which turned out to be absolutely cracking.
Clearing away our platter, we were asked if we’d like to order more starters, and chose to have a soup course: classic Chicken and Sweetcorn for me, Hot Sour Soup for The Man. The pretty soup bowls were full to the brim and we used those wonderful, flat spoons to scoop up the tasty liquid – be warned, the soups are piping hot, so don’t scald your tongues like I did. Yes, I know there’s always one…and it’s usually me! My soup was lovely and silky in texture with plenty of Sweetcorn and Chicken Breast pieces in it, and I savoured every mouthful. The Man Birds’ Hot Sour Soup was fabulously sharp and tangy, with ribbons of egg white adding ‘body’ to the thin broth; lots of vegetables were within the soup, too, making this very satisfying.
Before we got stuck in to the huge variety of main dishes, we also chomped our way through Crispy Shredded Duck with Pancakes that is served with Hoi Sin Sauce, sliced Spring Onions and Cucumber strips. Noble House states that the amount of Crispy Duck is proportionate to the number of diners and can only be ordered once per sitting, which I think is fair enough. Both of us thought that you still got enough of the Duck to make good rolls with the wafer-thin pancakes that come in a lidded metal dish; if you make the rolls too fat, they just split open and then it creates a right old mess.
Our first batch of main course dishes were Crispy Shredded Chilli Beef (The Man Birds’ favourite), Chicken in Hoi Sin Yellow Bean Sauce for me, and a portion of Steamed Rice. Keen to avoid unnecessary food waste, Chef has got the portion sizes down to a fine art: you have enough to serve two and get a good feel for the dish, but not so much that any gets left. The Crispy Chilli Beef was exactly as stated: crispy and with a definite Chilli heat to it; His Nibs was very happy with this dish, saying it was as nice as any he’d had elsewhere.
Personally, I thought the Chicken with Hoi Sin and Yellow Bean Sauce was superb; the chicken was lovely and juicy, with a softness that contrasted with the crunchy Green Peppers and Cashew Nuts that were also in the dish. Milder and sweeter than its Black Bean cousin, the Yellow Beans are still sweet-yet-umami and tastily rounded on the palate. The sauce was irresistibly unctuous and not ‘tingle’ spicy, but with lots of flavour. I really rate this dish. The fluffy Rice was the perfect base for all the rich sauces in our choices; the grains’ ‘plainness’ allowed the complex sauce flavours to really pop and shine in our mouths. Sometimes, going for the ‘boring’ choice has distinct advantages, y’know?
For our second round of mains we opted for Beef in Black Pepper Sauce, Szechuan Duck, and King Prawns with Ginger and Spring onion…and some more steamed rice. If we’d thought the Chicken in Yellow Bean was delicious, the Szechuan Duck blew it out of the water! This was an utterly amazing dish. The Duck Breast had a superb crispness to its skin and the meat was gamey and rich, partnering the punchy Szechuan Peppers fantastically well. Honestly, this was one of those dishes that you don’t forget easily. The flavoursome meat and sauce had been accompanied by Bamboo Shoots, White Onion and Green Peppers, all of which were fresh and crunchy against the smooth sauce and tender Duck. This was the star of the show for us, hands-down.
Whilst I busied myself with the King Prawn dish, His Nibs tucked in to the Beef in Black Pepper Sauce. I did steal a piece of the sliced Beef to try, and it was lovely and tender to the bite. Sliced Onion and Peppers added a great pop of colour against the dramatically dark meat and sauce combo. The Man said that this was nice enough but could’ve been even better with more heat from extra Black Pepper in the mix. Across the table, heat was not a problem for me; the plump, juicy King Prawns had been accompanied by slices of fresh Ginger that let my palate know their presence, in no uncertain terms! Warming heat flooded my mouth, zesty and pungent, and the balance of the Ginger and Prawns was totally spot-on. Crunchy ‘tails’ of the Spring Onion added bright verdancy to the otherwise quite pale dish, as well as a grassy/herby taste.
Between us, we polished off the whole meal, feeling quietly pleased with ourselves, if truth be told! This may have been our first time at Noble House in Heanor, but it won’t be our last – Hot Wings happily given here. To book a table (which I would definitely do at weekends) call 01773 761888 or visit www.noblehouseheanor.com to place an online order. Noble House is closed on Monday, open Tues-Thurs 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm, and Sunday 5pm-10pm.
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