East Street, Tottenham Court Rd
Posted on: March 27, 2013
EAST STREET
3-5 Rathbone Place
London W1T 1HJ
RATING: 8
PRICING: See web
WRITER: THE EDITOR
WEB: http://www.eaststreetrestaurant.com/
This my friends, is exactly what EAL is all about. While waiting for my Spanish class, I turn several corners in search of that perfect bite. A couple of hours pass pressing my nose against the windows of unknown eateries, and I’m on the verge of dropping to the floor with low blood sugar, when I turn the corner of Oxford Street into Rathbone Place and there I find the East Street restaurant.
It’s a funky little pan asian joint that serves Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and various asian delicacies. Climbing on the back of the whole street food phenomenon, the quality here is spot on. If you think miso soup is boring, you’ll take an about turn after trying theirs. It’s very fresh and wholesome with spring onions and served with pickles, which I devoured but could not identify. The tastiest one was mouli, which I thought was an Indian vegetable only ever used in salads and something that I was never particularly keen on, but pickling it brought out a more palatable flavour.
Edamame beans with salt n chilli, OK so forgot to take a pic of the prawn skewers, but will return and get one of the platter in the name of research!
Their tempura was deliciously crunchy and the corn fritters not so exciting, however I did come across something rather unusual. Cha Tom is prawn mousse wrapped around a sugar cane skewer. Although I am still baffled at how you can wrap mousse around a skewer, and never having come across sugar cane in a restaurant in London; it’s safe to say the wonder of street food has definitely arrived.
A definite must try is Som Tam, a Thai green papaya salad. The salad was a pleasant cross between tart and chilly, and with the crunch of the raw papaya it made a fabulous accompaniment to any main.
Got Som Tam for papaya?
Now I do have an annoying habit of surveying everyone elses food, because more often then not someone sitting next to you has ordered something ten times better. True to form, our neighbours (and in fact every other table) had chosen the platter for two, which looked absolutely delectable. There were two types; the tampopo and the bbq platter. You could choose from satays, coconut prawns, prawns on skewers and other such delights. I shall return and conquer!
The beef’s a shaking, and the noodles are a ho lotta fun!
The main meals however, need to be chosen carefully. On one occasion I ordered the Bo Luc Lac which apparently means shaking beef. The shaking may have meant that the cow was still alive, as it was considerably undercooked. There was a rich sauce, which would have been perfect had there been more of it. The rice was also undercooked, so I basically ate a raw meal. A friend of mine had better luck, opting for Pho Xao Bo; hofun noodles with beef steak. A stellar choice, as it turns out you can’t go wrong with the ho fun!
East Street is always buzzing, it has a fun relaxed atmosphere and the service is very attentive. The decor propels you right onto a bench on a back street in Vietnam. Take one friend or a whole bunch and try everything on the menu, it’s a fun lunch or evening out.
Excited About Lunch 
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