Cha Cha Moon (Chinese) - London, England (7/10)

Alan Yau’s long-awaited Chinese noodle bar Cha Cha Moon finally opened off Carnaby Street a few days ago. The restaurateur behind Wagamama and Busaba Eathai (as well as Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Sake no Hana of course) has returned to low-budget communal dining.

I hadn’t planned on visiting quite so soon, but when fellow blogger Charmaine at tasty treats! announced that all dishes were priced at £3.50 (!!), my friend and I hurried over to investigate. I’m sure it’s just a promotional offer (lasting two weeks, perhaps a little more, according to our waiter Carlos). As Cha Cha Moon does not take reservations, we turned up at noon - opening time!

The interior resembles an upmarket Wagamama, with long, communal wooden tables and leather-covered benches. The high chairs along a high, narrow counter towards the back by the open doors, overlooking Kingly Court, would be good for solitary diners, with a nice overview of the entire restaurant.

As there were very few people when we arrived, it felt airy and spacious. I honestly thought the place would have been packed because of the amazing offer, but there were about only 20 diners for lunch between 12 to 1. I can imagine the noise and heat during peak times though, particularly with the open kitchen.

That infuriating Alan Yau ‘no photos’ policy was enforced again, as soon as I whipped out my camera phone to take a photo of the interior (with no other diners in frame). A waitress rushed over to tell me that I couldn’t take photos. I asked why and was informed it was a ‘privacy’ matter. I pointed out that there were no diners in my photo, to which she responded that it was ‘restaurant policy’, but that I could take ‘private’ (as in personal) photos. I took that to mean that I could take photos of the food I had ordered and would be paying for, and proceeded to snap away. What is it with Alan Yau and photos??

My friend ordered the non-alcoholic Guava Collins (guava, coconut and lime leaf) - £2.90, which was a stunner of a drink. Perfect for summer and reminiscent of tropical holidays. Highly recommended. My Holy Vaasna (apple, carrot, cucumber, orange) freshly pressed juice was horrible in comparison. It tasted of nothing but carrot and could have come from the supermarket. Can’t wait to have the Guava Collins all to myself next week when I return!

We ordered sides of spring onion pancake and prawn guotie (fried dumpling with prawn, water chestnut, sweetcorn, garlic chilli sauce). Mains were Taiwan beef noodles (braised beef, mooli, preserved cabbage, mustard green, wonton noodle), because I wanted to compare it to the versions I’ve had in Taipei. My friend ordered what can only be described as a mistake - chilli prawn lao mian (with prawn and aubergine).

Everything arrived at the same time, except for the chilli prawn lao mian, which took at least another 15 minutes to arrive. And what a disappointment it was. It was like sweet and sour prawns with a bit of chilli. Four prawns with tails sat on top. There was not even a hint of aubergine, but instead plenty of cucumber! Furthermore, there were tiny pieces of what tasted like fried skin (possibly chicken) in the sauce. I tasted one and was rewarded with a squirt of animal fat. Ughh. Carlos the waiter, blissfully unaware, actually asked my friend, “Was it worth the wait?”!

The spring onion pancake was by far the best - 4 large slices, perfectly crisp, not at all oily, and yet not dry. Perfection. It was delicious dipped in a mixture of soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee Premium) and a good chilli sauce. The prawn guotie wasn’t bad, but not that exciting. It was just unusual to have prawns as a guotie filling, which is why I thought I’d try it.

The Taiwan beef noodles came with tender chunks of braised beef, just the way I like it. The broth was also rather tasty and full of flavour, and not that dissimilar to the one I had in Taipei. However, the wonton noodles were so fine and clumped together in a huge mass that it was almost impossible to separate and eat. Even my post on How to eat Chinese noodles wouldn’t have helped me today.

And I found three enormous chunks (1 ½ inches no less) of pure fat and gristle in the broth. I can understand that this adds flavour to the broth during preparation, but there was no need to serve them to me! But Carlos didn’t think there was anything untoward when I asked him what they were, in case they turned out to be an unusual vegetable that I’d never come across before.

Other interesting items to try for £3.50 include:

Chicken fen pi (smoked chicken, cucumber, red onion, ground fried fish, spicy sesame dressing, fen pi), the only cold noodle dish on the menu
Dan dan mian (dried shrimp, peanut, spring onion, lao mian)
Zhajiang mian (pork, fermented soya bean, cucumber, red chilli, cu mian)
Cod and bitter melon glass vermicelli
Garlic Chinese chives (side)

As it’s only day 4 or 5 for Cha Cha Moon, it’s understandable that some dishes will be a bit hit-and-miss. The service was friendly enough, but the 15-20 minute wait for the chilli prawn lao mian was unacceptable, when everything else had long arrived. It’s also not a place for dawdling over your food, but then none of Yau’s former eateries welcome leisurely dining, with Sake no Hana (still connected to Yau) being the sole exception.

Lunch cost £19.80 for two without service charge (which is only added with groups of 5 or more).

10 - Perfection, 9.5 - Sensational, 9 - Outstanding, 8.5 - Superb,
8 - Excellent, 7.5 - Very good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 - Average

Contact details:
Cha Cha Moon
15-21 Ganton St
London W1F 9BN
Tel: 020 7297 9800

Open from noon daily, no reservations

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide