Chop Chop - London

Chop Chop
1 Euston Rd
London, NW1



This isn't the view from Chop Chop. Rather, we were wandering around Leicester Square, and it had been invaded by Santas. Rather shabbily dressed Santas who looked like they had been dressed by Primark in their papier-chic range. Cans of lager and cider were being consumed in copious quantities. The Santa on the left rushed over to give a very surprised A a hug.



Around the corner now, just outside the greengrocers on Newport Court in Chinatown (directly opposite the Baozi Inn), is this little stand that has for the past couple of years been purveyors of northern style baozi (steamed meat buns), soy milk, and more recently zhongzi: a rice ball wrapped in bamboo leaves.



At the princely sum of £1, you are provided a genuine street-food item the size of a very large first, filled with either chicken, pork, or vegetables. The bread if fluffy and faintly sweet, with a (usually, although on one occasion cold) filling. Definitely to be recommended. [Since the time of writing the price has increased to £1.20: it may not seem much of an increase, but does represent a 20% rise.]



And on to the main feature: Chop Chop noodle bar. Placed conveniently opposite King's Cross tube and train stations, Chop Chop is a sizable locally run noodle house that serves very cheap and very good one-bowl meals.



Fans of the quick and dirty (in this case fairly clean) hot meals on the run will recognise the style: laminated menus divided up into the usual options of starters, noodle soup, rice with saucy stir fry, fried noodles. Wagamama and their ilk managed to turn this into a trendy upmarket pan-asian (read mishmash) experience.



Starters such as satay skewers, etc, are priced around £2, while mains hover between £3 and £4 at a stretch. Incredibly reasonable, but is the food passable?



Ordering via the tick boxes, a la yum cha, there is no question of mishearing your order in this bustling and busy restaurant. As we were ushered in, the waitress had addressed me directly in Mandarin, and so we cannot evaluate whether there may be deficiencies in their use of English. Perhaps the ordering system is to overcome any potential confusion.



Having ravenously consumed our utterly delicious beef satay starter without giving pause to document the event, we moved on to A's seafood ho-fun noodle soup.



The food is unpretentious, and true to its roots: quick, tasty, cheap, and nourishing. Brimming with fish cake, squid, fish balls, mussels, prawns and fish sticks, they certainly weren't skimping on the quantity or ingredients. The soup was a clear but rich broth with strong lemongrass flavours.



My laksa was rich with coconut cream, and the requisite layer of chili oil floating above the noodles, soaking every bite with delicious pain. Too mild for me, but I'm sure that the average punter would have enjoyed its bite. The flavours were authentic, and even had the authentic grittiness of unstrained coconut, which I personally do not like. The portion was again ample, with scatterings of fish cake, fried doufu, prawns, etc.

The damage: After consuming a couple of beers, a starter and two mains, the bill came to just a tad below £15. For those on a tighter budget, or a regular lunch that is quick, hot and delicious, the bill could be as low as £3. Highly recommended!