Add: 15-21 Ganton Street, London W1F 9BN
Tel: 020 7297 9800
New creation by Alan Yau, the famous Hong Kong-born restaurateur (not restauranteur, a common spelling error!) in London. He's the man behind the two excellent Chinese restaurants, Hakkasan and Yauatcha, both of which have been awarded with a Michelin Star. (I like the dim sum at both places! But they are pricey indeed.)
Cha Cha Moon would be classified under the same category as Wagamama (which he had started successfully and sold off since), but it is a Chinese noodle bar instead of Japanese. Quick and efficient service (almost to the point of being rude in the British definition of proper mannerisms), affordable pricing and pretty good food in general (a mix of hits and misses)... it's what I would refer to as Asian-style Fast Food.
There is a constant long queue due to its prime location and amazingly cheap prices (£3.50 for a plate/bowl of noodles). This is supposedly the opening promotional price... but the price has been unchanged since its opening a few mths back. The queue moves pretty fast as the restaurant seems to be able to seat close to 200 people at full capacity?! Row after row of long sharing tables (aka canteen style albeit more upclass)... noisy and casual ambience. It helps that the servers would clear your plate immediately after you've finished eating (and you'll get the bill without asking for it once your table is cleared, big hint eh?). Efficiency is the key to a higher table turnover rate! This is a "low profit margin but high sales volume" model... definitely works well in view of the current economic climate.
There is a good selection of noodles on the menu, broadly divided into 3 different styles: soup-based noodles, lao mian (dry noodles tossed in sauce/gravy) and stir-fried noodles (which includes singapore fried noodles of course!). ST had the taiwan beef noodles (牛腩面) which I was quite impressed with. Generous portion of soft braised beef in a light clear broth with thin, flat rice noodles. I ordered spicy prawns lao mian (辣酱鲜虾捞面) which was disappointing the moment I saw it (and was proven to be so after I tasted it). The prawns were big and fresh, but the spicy sauce was such a let-down (awful, artificial-looking colour and consistency). It had totally spoilt the taste of the wonton noodle, which is actually quite authentic and well cooked).
The sides dishes were quite good (at least for those that I had tried). I like Cha Cha Mooli (香煎萝卜糕) which is essentially fried carrot cake and kinda resembles what you would get in Singapore but slightly different style. Their drink list is interesting too. I had a Cha Cha Tei which is a freshly-pressed juice with beet, spinach and a couple of other fruits (thus the deep red colour). (The naming of the items on the menu is overly cutesy if you ask me.)
Will definitely be back again if I'm in the area and in the mood for a quick (and cheap) meal. The Crispy duck noodles and Jasmine tea smoked chicken noodles are next on my list to try.
Tel: 020 7297 9800
New creation by Alan Yau, the famous Hong Kong-born restaurateur (not restauranteur, a common spelling error!) in London. He's the man behind the two excellent Chinese restaurants, Hakkasan and Yauatcha, both of which have been awarded with a Michelin Star. (I like the dim sum at both places! But they are pricey indeed.)
Cha Cha Moon would be classified under the same category as Wagamama (which he had started successfully and sold off since), but it is a Chinese noodle bar instead of Japanese. Quick and efficient service (almost to the point of being rude in the British definition of proper mannerisms), affordable pricing and pretty good food in general (a mix of hits and misses)... it's what I would refer to as Asian-style Fast Food.
There is a constant long queue due to its prime location and amazingly cheap prices (£3.50 for a plate/bowl of noodles). This is supposedly the opening promotional price... but the price has been unchanged since its opening a few mths back. The queue moves pretty fast as the restaurant seems to be able to seat close to 200 people at full capacity?! Row after row of long sharing tables (aka canteen style albeit more upclass)... noisy and casual ambience. It helps that the servers would clear your plate immediately after you've finished eating (and you'll get the bill without asking for it once your table is cleared, big hint eh?). Efficiency is the key to a higher table turnover rate! This is a "low profit margin but high sales volume" model... definitely works well in view of the current economic climate.
There is a good selection of noodles on the menu, broadly divided into 3 different styles: soup-based noodles, lao mian (dry noodles tossed in sauce/gravy) and stir-fried noodles (which includes singapore fried noodles of course!). ST had the taiwan beef noodles (牛腩面) which I was quite impressed with. Generous portion of soft braised beef in a light clear broth with thin, flat rice noodles. I ordered spicy prawns lao mian (辣酱鲜虾捞面) which was disappointing the moment I saw it (and was proven to be so after I tasted it). The prawns were big and fresh, but the spicy sauce was such a let-down (awful, artificial-looking colour and consistency). It had totally spoilt the taste of the wonton noodle, which is actually quite authentic and well cooked).
The sides dishes were quite good (at least for those that I had tried). I like Cha Cha Mooli (香煎萝卜糕) which is essentially fried carrot cake and kinda resembles what you would get in Singapore but slightly different style. Their drink list is interesting too. I had a Cha Cha Tei which is a freshly-pressed juice with beet, spinach and a couple of other fruits (thus the deep red colour). (The naming of the items on the menu is overly cutesy if you ask me.)
Will definitely be back again if I'm in the area and in the mood for a quick (and cheap) meal. The Crispy duck noodles and Jasmine tea smoked chicken noodles are next on my list to try.
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