Stylish, modern and in a great location, Cha Cha Moon is Alan Yau's latest eatery. It's a similar formula to his previous establishments - communal eating on long wooden tables and food served efficiently as it's ready.
I had been eagerly reading the early reviews on Cha Cha Moon and liking the sound of it - especially the launch price of £3.50 for all dishes! So when we found ourselves in the vicinity looking for a fast, cheap meal one evening it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl.
Thankfully there was no queue and we were seated immediately in a position with a good view of the kitchen and dining area, enabling us to eye off some of the dishes before ordering.
In the end we opted for the Wonton Mian (chicken wonton); the Crispy duck lao Mian; and the Seafood ho fun. The duck was very good - not too fatty, but the favourite dish was the seafood - loved the black bean flavour and those noodles.
Service was fast and efficient and our food arrived quickly. We really enjoyed the flavours and atmosphere and look forward to returning again asap, especially at those prices.
Remembering this place had just opened we skipped sushi in soho and made a beeline for Cha Cha Moon, a restaurant encompassing all types of noodle dishes from different parts of Asia. As a Wagamama and Yauatcha fan I was eager to see what Alan Yau's brand new restaurant and eating concept was like especially with all the dishes at a very low price of £3.50. We waited in a line of people down a glass corridor which faced onto the kitchen - they were obviously expecting queues and made provisions for it. Peering down into the restuarant there was plenty of space available on the wagamama style benches - however we were told that they were having some problems in the kitchen so they were taking things slow... Fair enough we thought and studied the extensive menu intently trying hard to decide what to pick. After around 10 minutes of waiting we were seated - the restaurant was modern, beautifully designed similar to Yauatcha. Wanting to try as much as possible we ordered our noodle dishes - mine was the Spicy prawn lo mein and Farrah had the Roast duck noodle dish and to top it off we chose shitake mushrooms, spring rolls, dumplings and Mooli pancake for sides. We loved the side dishes - mushrooms were meaty and flavoursome, and the mooli pancake had just amazing flavours of garlic and shrimp and spring onion - rather like turnip paste that you find in Dim Sum. Farrah liked her noodles - duck was excellent quality and the wolfberries gave a different but nice medicinal aroma. However, I was very disappointed with my noodles...it had said Prawn, Aubergine and Wonton noodles on the menu but when it turned up it had neither Aubergine or Wonton. I complained of course and they said the aubergine was a printing error they forgot to tell me when i ordered. But what about the Wontons?- i asked. I was surprised by the reply - it was wonton noodles not dumplings! Never in my life had i heard of such a type of noodles - how misleading! Graciously they took the offending dish off the bill and said their new corrected menu was arriving shortly. We paid £11 each which was frankly brilliant. Despite the hiccups I think we will be coming back, although I did hear a rumour that the £3.50 price of a dish is a introductory offer.....i sincerely hope not!
Stylish, modern and in a great location, Cha Cha Moon is Alan Yau's latest eatery, following on from Busaba Eathai, Hakkasan, Yautcha, Sake no Hana. It's a sililar formula to Busaba Eathai - communal eating on long wooden tables and food served efficiently as it's ready.
The food listed on the menu appears very traditional, all chinese noodle dishes save the sides, although the szechuan wonton are a little tamer than those that I have experienced in Angeles in Kilburn. The tea smoked chicken was delicious and light. A shibuya cocktail was fragrant and fruity, possibly a highlight of the meal. It was a brief visit but I'll be back to try more.
It has just opened so, all food is £3.50 for the near future. I'd recommend that you get down there and see what you think!
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