New Asian street food kitchen opens in city centre

A new Asian street food-style kitchen has opened in the city centre selling everything from katsu chicken burgers to vegan Japanese fries.

Oishii, which has opened within the Chambers Cocktail Company site in Wensum Street is the amalgamation of two well-known independent brands already on the Norwich food scene.

The first is Moco Kitchen, run by a group of four foodie-loving friends who have been joined by Sam Bianco, the founder of fried-chicken company the Hen House Kitchen.

Lucy and Tom Hurrell have been running Moco Kitchen alongside fellow husband and wife team Nina Gooda and Ed Stenner for the past few years.

The group were approached by bosses at the Chambers Cocktail Company to take over the on-site restaurant, but wanted to bring some fresh blood to their ideas.

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Mrs Hurrell said: “When we were approached about taking on the kitchen we were so excited but also worried about whether we had the capacity to launch this alongside other projects we’re working on.

“We’ve got two kids, our business partners have a child, and lockdown had us all in a bit of a panic. But the opportunity was just too good to miss and we sat down and talked about how we could make it work.

“The great thing about the street food scene in Norfolk is that it’s so welcoming – we’d known Sam for a couple of years and thought he would be a great fit so we asked him if he wanted to get involved too.”

The result has been an Asian-inspired menu, currently for takeaway only, which features fried and popcorn chicken as well as rice boxes and speciality fries.

The kitchen opened for customers between the two lockdowns and has since been forced to go to takeaway only.

“We were open for about three days before the second lockdown and it was going really well. We’re now doing takeaway and the demand there is also great, we’re looking at getting on Deliveroo as well to give us a wider scope,” Ms Hurrell said.

“The first lockdown everyone seemed to panic a bit but this time it seems to have taken people a couple of days and they’ve pivoted their entire business. What’s great about doing something like this is that it means there’s more competition but no animosity – everyone wants everyone else to do well.”