east-street

street-food kind of effect, the interior of east-street

east-street is the newest addition to canteen style restaurants in london. truth be told i was quite apprehensive  about trying it out as its menu is a jambalaya of east-asian cuisine. as much as i love east-asian cuisine, idon’t make it a habit to go to places that serve the breadth of the region. but sometimes curiosity gets the better of both o and i so we figured we’d give it a try.

it’s really a place that i can imagine university students frequenting. the menu is extensive and it would just on this basis manage to satisfy a crowd with diversity of tastes. since we went in the week that it opened there was an offer on which allowed us an appetiser and entree or entree and dessert each. additional such as rice, tea, drinks etc were to be paid for. o and i picked the bulgogi from the small dishes to share as a starter.

i was quite overwhelmed by the choice of noodles, rice dishes, soups and salads and after having read through the whole randomly picked the vietnamese bo luc lac (shaking beef). o had the laksa. the stir-fry’s are not accompanied by rice or noodles which have to be ordered on the side.

malaysian laksa 

the bulgogi was really good and the kimchi managed to pack quite a punch. it was actually quite a generous portion too. my bo luc lac comprised of a beef seared in a rather sweet marinade served with a rather chunky salad. the beef itself was bite-sized and tender but i was quite unhappy with the thickness of the red onion slices. in addition i think the marinade could have benefitted from balancing the sweet, soy and oyster sauce elements. the dominant note was one of sweetness. o’s laksa was sharp and peppery despite the coconut milk which usually helps tame the chili in this soup noodle dish. he was actually very content with it provided the peppery notes were downplayed a bit. i personally felt that the portion size on this was rather steeply priced at ten fifty on this.

for dessert, i wish i had listened to o and picked the thai sticky rice with coconut cream and mango. the only reason why i chose the malaysian black sticky rice over the thai one was because mangoes aren’t in season at this time of the year. o caputured our sentiment on the black sticky rice perfectly when he said it was like eating a rather unusual breakfast porridge. the sweetness of this was very mellow and further dulled by the drizzle of coconut cream. the black rice grains were broken a bit too much for my likes. the sauce that was intended to marry the rice into a pudding was quite tasteless. which was a pity because i love palm sugar and the nuttiness of coconut milk and rice.

malaysian black rice pudding

east-street is cheerful and canteen like and has a student vibe which is perhaps the main reason why i am unlikely to come back. i’ve moved on from my student years and i am not inclined to go back. having said that, if i was in the neighbourhood shopping and needed a bite, i would drop in for another plate of the bulgogi small plate...