I have lived in London for over half of my life and yet I do not spend enough time exploring this beautiful city! I think most Londoners would say the same. I often stick to where I know or where I live, so when a friend organised for a few of us to go to the Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition at the Tate Modern recently it was a big yes from me!
I usually avoid the West End or tourist hotspots such as Brick Lane at the weekends, and even though the South Bank can get very busy it seems a bit more bearable. And actually I’ve realised that although the Tate Modern can also get very busy because of the size of the building it never seems to feel crazy busy. And I can highly recommend the exhibition, Tillmans is a wonderful photographer.
It was lunchtime when we finished and we were all quite hungry so we decided to make the short walk to Flat Iron Square, which lies between Southwark and London Bridge, in the search of some good food.
I have seen the pad thai from Ekachai pop up so many times on my Instagram feed and every time I think ‘I really need to try it!’. Although there is a great selection of all sorts of cuisines at Flat Iron Square, we couldn’t help but smell the food from Ekachai.
The Food
We couldn’t decide between the dishes so we pretty much ordered the whole of the menu to share between the four of us!
The menu at Ekachai is South East Asian, specialising in the many overlapping street style dishes of Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
From the little plates we ordered the scallop and prawn siu mai dumplings (which I’ve actually made before at a dumpling masterclass!), the pork and ginger fried dumplings and chicken satay. I loved the moist pork dumplings with Chinese vinegar, I could have eaten all four! The peanut sauce was also spot on with the right spice and thickness, and the added crunch from the extra chopped peanuts is always welcomed by me.
However, the real stars of the show were the Nasi Goreng and chicken Pad Thai. Ekachai really know how to deliver on flavour.
The Nasi Goreng had juicy prawns and perfectly cooked squid. We ate this dish so much when we were in Singapore and Java and the flavours took me right back. The big dollop of sambal chilli sauce went down very well too. The Pad Thai was also delicious. The flavours were light and the noodles cooked perfectly, no chewiness at all which can often happen.
We drank prosecco as we devoured all the food out in front of us. What a perfect way to spend a Saturday in London!
Overall
Ekachai offers great Southeast Asian street food that is quick and full of flavour, just how it should be. The portions are very generous making it great value too.
If you are on the South Bank or at the Tate Modern you should definitely make a trip to Flat Iron Square if you’re feeling hungry.
Have you been to Flat Iron Square? Where should I try next time?
Ekachai
68 Union Street
Borough
London, SE1 1TD
Follow me on Bloglovin, Instagram and Twitter for all things food and travel!
Pin for later
It was a mistake reading this at 9am. I want to eat all of my lunch, now. 😉
Haha, yes It make me very hungry writing it. I definitely need to go back!
That is a good looking nasi goreng and sambal – I most definitely approve! I’ve seen it pop up on my feeds a lot too… definitely keen to try it now it’s got your seal of approval!
Well, my seal of approval is all that matters really! 😉