EkaChai - King's Cross
Address: 66 York Way, London, N1 9AG
Website: http://www.ekachai.co.uk/
Nearest Station: King's Cross Station (Underground)
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday: 12pm – 2.30pm / 4.30pm – 10pm
Ekachai in King's Cross is just one of 4 many restaurants in London serving street food of Thai, Malaysian and Cantonese food. Established on Liverpool Street, London, in 1999 by school-friends Thomas Tjong and Sidney Tsang from Hong Kong who could not find their favourite street food dishes in London. Ekachai has steadily built a reputation for its authentic and keenly priced street-food dishes focused around wok cooking. The interiors are pretty colourful bringing the old traditional feeling to the place.
Hawker8 Special
You can find freshly made Noodles, Rice, Curries, Stir-fries and much more. Their most recent menu contains their Hawker8 special. This Hawker special runs till the 2nd of November, each week a new dish is made for people to try.
I decided to visit during the first weekend of October when I had the 'Nasi Kander' special. Part of the third week of the Hawker8 special as it's currently in its 4th week now. This special included 'Malay mixed curries of Chicken Kapitan and beef rendang served with a salted duck’s egg, fried tempeh, sambal belacan, cucumber, jasmine rice'.
Experience
In England, COVID-19 restrictions are still ongoing, restaurants have been asked to close by 10 pm or face a fine. People are now being made to check in with the NHS Covid-19 app to track and trace any cases. When I arrived at the restaurant, the staff member made us download the app and scan the code. It is part of government policy for everyone to be alerted if there is anyone with cases.
Once that was completed, we were seated at a table. I had a list of things that I wanted already from my research, but Mrs wanted to check what else they had to offer on the menu, so we both had a quick look to see if there was anything else.
There are plenty of dishes to choose from on the menu. The portions you will find are pretty filling. Even though I wanted to try so many other dishes from their menu, the four/five dishes we ordered were more than enough. Personally loved their veg spring rolls and chicken satay, and highly recommended their starters. The famous 'Pad Thai' was appetising with the sprinkles that came with it adding extra flavour to the dish.
This is what we had:
- Veg Spring Rolls (£4.95)
- Chicken Satay (£5.75)
- Pad Thai (£8.95)
- Malaysian Chicken Kapitan (£8.75)
- Red Juice (£4)
- Mango Lassi (£4)
- Coconut Water & Lychee Juice (£4.60)
Drinks
The juices were refreshing, and the red juice I ordered was absolutely a fav filled with Strawberries, oranges, raspberries and pineapple. I had to order another one as I enjoyed it that much, Mrs enjoyed the coconut, but I'm not a fan of coconut much so it did not go down well for me.
Mains
The main I ordered from their special Hawker8 was something different, as the portion was humongous as we both were unable to finish all of it. Although, I preferred the chicken and the rice as the beef did not taste as good. However, I did like the Chicken Kapitan, it was nice, but out of the three dishes, my preferable was the 'Pad Thai' as that was simply delicious.
Conclusion
To conclude, I thought the food was pretty good and filling, although I did not expect the main dishes to be that big of a portion. Hence I couldn't finish most of the plate. I certainly thought the starters were simply delicious alongside Pad Thai. The service provided was good, as Carmen served and treated us well, besides being told to scan the code, where I saw others who did not and found it a bit strange. I felt the price was pretty reasonable as being in Central London, £5-8 dish for the amount of food you have on a plate is worth it.
The experience was enjoyable and busy even at 5ish, most of the tables were filled up. Although, a few people did complain about the music being too loud, which eventually got turned down. Finally, the presentation of the food looked presentable on their plates. There were a few other dishes that I would have tried, but perhaps another time. I simply could not have any more due to the amount we ordered. The great thing about this spot is the fact the chicken dishes are all Halal and so is the 'Nasi Kandar' dish.
Food: 7.5 out of 10
Service: 8 out of 10
Price: 8 out of 10
Experience: 8 out of 10
Presentation: 9 out of 10
Overall: I’ve given this restaurant an 8.1 out of 10.