When I have gone back to the UK in recent years I’ve been quite surprised by the number of Japanese restaurants and bento (lunchbox) shops that have popped up all over London as well as a few in Leicester too. During the time I’ve been living in Japan, sushi has grown and grown in popularity but I never really expected to see it on sale in my hometown of Market Harborough!
Located in a corner of the market hall, Oori Sushi is owned by a very nice Korean lady called Won Hee who is originally from Seoul. She is helped out from time to time by her son so its very much a family-run stall.
Up until last August I had never eaten Japanese food outside of Japan and unperturbed by those experiences I was keen to sample what Oori Sushi had to offer so one lunchtime I met up with my friend Ben who has been something of a regular at this place since it opened in July 2014.
It felt only right to start with a cafetiere mug of green tea (£2.25) whilst we perused the menu. As you can see below there were only two things on the menu so that didn’t take too long! The menu may be fairly sparse but its important to remember that this is a market stall and not a restaurant!
What there is on offer is freshly cooked and prepared and I guess after previous experiences I was quite surprised how good it tasted. Ben and I both had the karaage-don (£4.50) which is basically Japanese fried chicken on a bed of shredded cabbage and rice with Japanese-style Worcester sauce. Of course it’s a little different in style to what is usually on offer in Japan but I’m not one to turn my nose up at such British-Japanese fusion.
For the record, there is often a third ‘special’ dish on the menu and a quick scan of the stalls twitter page (@OoriSushi) reveals that these have included such delicacies as pork cutlet on rice, miso ramen, Korean style meatballs on rice and teriyaki chicken.
As for the sushi, there are five sets on offer; smoked salmon (£4.50), teriyaki chicken, marinated tofu, tuna rolls and crabstick rolls (all £4 each). I splashed out on the salmon one which was made up of nine pieces and certainly didn’t disappoint. Really good stuff and as good as anything I’ve had in Japan!
There are a couple of tables in Oori Sushi or you can order it all as a takeaway. The final cluster of photos below show some of the oriental snacks available for purchase though it seems like they change all the time.
Personally, I’m not sure when I’ll next be back in town but when I am I will do my best to visit this place which I sincerely hope prospers.
Oori sushi can be found at Market Hall, Northampton Road, Market Harborough, LE16 9HB. It is open from Tuesday till Sunday (0900 – 1630) and is closed on Mondays.
