I went to Alan Yau's noodle bar
Cha Cha Moon on Ganton St in Soho last night. I love Alan Yau -
Yauatcha is still one of my favourite London places to eat (char sui bun - mmmmmm) and Wagamama was such a breath of fresh air on the London restaurant scene in the 90s - but I have to say that Cha Cha Moon didn't grab me on the first visit. First impressions were good - a funky space, very Waga-like, communal dining. The menu looked amazing and the Holy Vaasna juice (apple, carrot & orange) was delicious. I made the mistake of taking the waiter's recommendation for my main dish - unless I really trust waiters I never do this because it is usually a tactic to shift slow moving items (or am I just being cynical?). I ordered Crispy Duck with Lao mian (boiled) noodles. As you'll see from the photo, what arrived was basically a big lump of carbs next to a big lump of protein, with 2 tiny pickled cucumber slices providing a welcome bit of green. There was also a small bowl of duck flavoured broth which the waiter said I could drink by itself or pour over the duck as it was sometimes "a bit dry" (they really need to work on that sales pitch!). The duck was not dry and in fact was the best bit of the dish - crispy, succulent and with some sort of plum sauce underneath, it was delicious. If I'd had some pancakes and chopped spring onion I would have been a happy man. The problem was the noodles - they were a glutinous lump that refused to separate. They tasted OK but were really tricky to eat and just didn't seem to fit with the duck. All in all it was kind of an odd dish - it needed some chopped herbs or something to lighten it up and Iwould have preferred the noodles and duck combined - maybe in the broth? I am not writing this place off though - out of loyalty to Alan I will be back to try out a few more things - but I will be staying away from the lao mian noodles. One thing it definitely has in its favour is that it's really cheap - our 3 bowls of noodles and 3 juices came to £27 which is good value in anyone's book.
I went to Alan Yau's noodle bar Cha Cha Moon on Ganton St in Soho last night. I love Alan Yau - Yauatcha is still one of my favourite London places to eat (char sui bun - mmmmmm) and Wagamama was such a breath of fresh air on the London restaurant scene in the 90s - but I have to say that Cha Cha Moon didn't grab me on the first visit. First impressions were good - a funky space, very Waga-like, communal dining. The menu looked amazing and the Holy Vaasna juice (apple, carrot & orange) was delicious. I made the mistake of taking the waiter's recommendation for my main dish - unless I really trust waiters I never do this because it is usually a tactic to shift slow moving items (or am I just being cynical?). I ordered Crispy Duck with Lao mian (boiled) noodles. As you'll see from the photo, what arrived was basically a big lump of carbs next to a big lump of protein, with 2 tiny pickled cucumber slices providing a welcome bit of green. There was also a small bowl of duck flavoured broth which the waiter said I could drink by itself or pour over the duck as it was sometimes "a bit dry" (they really need to work on that sales pitch!). The duck was not dry and in fact was the best bit of the dish - crispy, succulent and with some sort of plum sauce underneath, it was delicious. If I'd had some pancakes and chopped spring onion I would have been a happy man. The problem was the noodles - they were a glutinous lump that refused to separate. They tasted OK but were really tricky to eat and just didn't seem to fit with the duck. All in all it was kind of an odd dish - it needed some chopped herbs or something to lighten it up and Iwould have preferred the noodles and duck combined - maybe in the broth? I am not writing this place off though - out of loyalty to Alan I will be back to try out a few more things - but I will be staying away from the lao mian noodles. One thing it definitely has in its favour is that it's really cheap - our 3 bowls of noodles and 3 juices came to £27 which is good value in anyone's book.
That photo does not look appetising!
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