Ekachai

Love Ekachai. It’s really fast service and some of the best thai fusion food I’ve had. Only thing is they’ve discontinued the veggie curry with pineapple in it, so have stopped going. That said, I would definitely recommend trying it out as I’ve heard the rest of the dishes are lovely.

I got to try this Asian-​fusion type, cooked fresh to order place a few times as it’s right next to the Cineworld in Southside and definitely one of the best quick eateries to pick from there.
They have a good variety of Asian-​fusion inspired dishes to pick from and do cook them to order, so it’s always fresh and tasty.
I tried the tofu pad thai and it was very good. Not quite heavy enough on the flavours, but very good. Portion sizes are decent as well.
I definitely recommend trying the banana fritters, one of my favourite desserts in the world, they are freshly prepared, piping hot and absolutely delicious.
Ekachai is one of the best quick-​meal places around Southside.

First two times I ate here I walked out happy but the third time I was not thrilled. This place is just A O-​K, nothing to rock my boat over. Don’t think I’ll be eating here for awhile now. Would rather spend my money elsewhere. I normally have the large bowl of tom yum soup.

Tucked away in Southside Shopping Centre, Ekachai is a local gem that I am stoked to have discovered. They have a great range of Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian and some Chinese style dishes, and I plan to give them all a try.
The serving sizes are quite large, particularly the rice and noodles. The Nasi Goreng is tasty and proper, served with an egg on top and full of chilli and spices. Nothing is too greasy, which makes a nice change from some of the Chinese places around SW London, and the service is super-​fast. There are lots of seafood dishes too, and they don’t scrimp on the prawns, which I always appreciate.
The staff are very friendly and helpful, and they also do take away.

I’ve eaten here a number of times… and I generally get one of two things:
1. The Char Kuey Teow… But I take the squid out and add chicken… And this is an excellent dish!
or I get the BBQ Roast Duck with rice… along with my usual starter of prawn toast.
The staff are generally very friendly… The atmosphere and cleanliness has never disappointed… But the best thing I would say is the speed and efficiency of service… Once you’ve ordered, your meal will be with you in under 4 minutes! — Every single time!
The food quality is great — don’t forget to ask for a loyalty card as it helps in the long run.
Awesome place! Try it out!

My opinion on Ekachai is that it continues to exist merely because it’s fast for a sit-​down place and is next to a cinema. The food is alright. When running later than we wish for a dinner-​and-​a-​movie evening, we usually head straight to Southside to pick up the movie tickets and then eat, leaving us with not a lot of eatery options (though this has been expanding lately) and Ekachai tends to get chosen on those occasions. The food isn’t particularly exciting, the service is often lacking, and the drinks are little. But it hits the spot when you’re looking for a decent and quick bite to eat before heading across the way to the cinema!

I have been here a few times and never been disappointed. The food is always super delicious, and quick, and the service is very efficient. It is very affordable, and they often have offers on for multiple diners. The fresh fruit juices are delicious and although your food comes very quickly you never feel rushed. The staff are very accommodating to any requests, I went with a friend and her baby once and they moved tables and brought a baby chair without even being asked.
I have tried wok fried noodles, soup based noodles and also some curry dishes and they have all been tasty, I have yet to try any dim sum though so have something to look forward to on my next visit.
A lovely place to take a break from the shops in southside, or to have a bite before or after a film.

We tried this place as we came out of a movie. I didn’t have much expectation from a casual mall restaurant, but it turned out to be decent. This place was pretty crowded and we shared a communal table with two more groups.
Pad Thai
I’d give 5 stars for the noodles! It had a very nice chewy texture… and the prawns were crisp. I really liked it.
Penang Laksa
My boyfriend ordered it and he enjoyed the soup very much, but it was too spicy for me. He did say, though, the egg noodle is too soft and he’d rather stick with the other vermicelli noodle.
Prawn Dumplings
The crystal shrimp dumplings were good, except it came with sweet sauce. I’d rather dip them in sour sauce with shredded ginger, the kind used for Taiwanese style dim sum.

Four stars because EVERY mall eatery should be like this!
It’s pretty much a carbon copy of Wagamama to look at but the food is a thousand times better.
We started with some sesame prawn fingers and fried fan kwoh. The fan kwoh I wouldn’t order again — it was just too deep fried and the filling was mushy and homogenous. The sesame prawn fingers were decent prawn toasts.
I had the Thai Beef Noodle Soup and it was a total delight. It was an insane portion, piles of rice noodles swimming in delicious dark, beefy broth and topped with stewed beef topped with fresh chillies and fried shallots in a bowl the size of a sink. I asked for extra chillies when I ordered and was brought a little dish full of chopped chillies — perfect! I finished the entire thing, which I can tell you is pretty impressive. It’s big. So many places get noodle soup dishes wrong, it’s all too easy to end up with a dishwater soup, stuck together noodles and a half-​hearted anemic meat topping. But Ekachai did it right — simple, aromatic, generous and comforting.
Others I was eating with had: the sweet and sour pork which is usually my very worst dish on any menu, but this one wasn’t bad at all. Not too sweet and sticky and with lots fresh quartered tomatoes and peppers in the sauce. And the malaysian chicken curry, which I didn’t try but it looked really good and came in a set with steamed rice & salad.
The service was brisk but friendly and smiley throughout and although the dishes come at different times (as they are cooked) we were never waiting too long. It was reasonably priced, tasty, fresh food and I really, really wish every shopping centre/​cinema complex eatery would follow Ekachai’s lead — my world would be a much happier place.

Lovely Asian-​fusion place, best restaurant in the mall by far. This is the kind of place I would bring family when they come to visit.
But I come again and again for the same thing: salmon in red curry which is delicious and always the same great quality and flavours. Other half experimented with various soups and curries, which have all been great. Lots of yummy starters and sides — our favourite is probably the bbq pork rolls — however watch out, as you can easily crank up the cost of the meal. Never had bad food but the bill at the end has sometimes been a bit ouch.
Family-​style seating in long table rows or large banquet tables. Service no-​nonsense but friendly. Toilets are also the best of the mall!

Definitely the place to eat if you want to catch a quick bite to eat before watching a movie. Like everyone has said, the food comes out really quick. This place is more of a 3.5. The things to get are — Beef Ho Fun, Green Curry and Pad Thai. I had the won ton noodles and that itself I’d rate 1 or 2 stars.
I went on a night it was below 0 in London and looks like the restaurant heating wasn’t quite equiped for the cold because I had my dinner with my coat on.

Affordable and tasty. Worth trying less popular meals, they won’t let you down!

Wandworth Southside Food Court is a weird place. You’ve got Pizza Hut, Subway, Maccy D, KFC — and then Spur and Ekachai. Both of which I’ve never seen before.
And it’s a shame I’ve never seen Ekachai before. To sum it up — it’s like Wagamama — with bigger portions, and a little cheaper. And therefore — pretty good!
It’s always quite busy — which is a sign of quality — so you may end up sharing a table with other people — and your order will be taken quickly and curtly — but I don’t take this as a sign of rudeness — it’s just efficiency.
You can see more efficiency in the kitchen. Because you can see the kitchen — it’s all opened up so you can watch the chefs at work — better than looking at the weirdo you’ve had to sit next to.
Food includes noodles, curries, soups and other eastern delights — and you can get beer — which — of course puts it above the other eateries. All are pretty delicious and come in a generous portion.
Of all the restaurants in Southside — this is the best.

Another 3 ½. I had no idea this ws a chain, but it makes sense — the whole thing is very clearly modelled on two high street stalwarts (you know who they are!) and has the feel of a canteen. But, most of the good Malaysian food I’ve eaten in London is in just such a no-​frills setting so I have no complaint there. The restaurant is set up to feed a hungry pre/​post-​cinema crowd and it does that very well.
My obsession with laksa soup is well-​documented, and so obviously I had to try it here. I think this is laksa number 7 and it definitely is top 3 (though now I have to go back and re-​taste all the others to check the final running order, what a shame)… as usual, the soup was vast. This one had the unnecessary addition of a boiled egg which I hid in my napkin, but otherwise surprisingly well-​cooked squid, huge prawns, delicious fishcake and obligatory tofu kept me happy as larry. It was creamy, not too fishy, and crucially, had a very good kick to it which i wasn’t expecting but made it above-​par.
That said, my friend had spring rolls and satay which looked remarkably on-​par. Not bad, just dull.
The menu is huge and diverse, ranging all over Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. I suspect it is a little hit and miss but with every dish less than 7 or 8 quid and them happy to serve up tap water, I think it’s a perfct little place to have next to the cinema and I’m grateful it’s here. Service was quick and friendly but not pushy.
That laksa saved me buying overpriced popcorn and made sitting through Avatar almost worthwhile!

3 ½ stars
Tasty food, quick & friendly service, very affordable and conveniently located right next to the movie theatre. A good spot for a pre-​movie bite to eat!

Just went here with a friend and what dissappointing and awful customer service! Was taken to the table and our menus taken by a unwelcoming grumpy and miserable looking waitress. Who rushed us when we were choosing our menus saying the kitchen would be closing very soon. While eating our dishes 3 other couples came who we noticed were neither rushed or told the kitchen would be ‘closing’ soon. Overral I found the staff and especially that grumpy waitress highly unprofessional and rude and they definitely spoiled our evening.

For a restaurant inside a shopping centre, this is surprisingly good. A cafeteria-​style restaurant with an open kitchen, Ekachai serves up a variety of asian dishes from Thai curries to soups and fried dumplings. All that I’ve tried have been very tasty and the portions have been ample. The speed of service and its proximity to the cinema makes it a great place to grab a quick bite before a film.

This is a really unusual Oriental restaurant, which I would highly recommend. One of the things I really liked was the fact that you can watch the food being prepared in front of you, so you know exactly how and where your meal has been made. It’s more authentic than the average Chinese takeaway, and, more importantly, much tastier. The menu has a good range of interesting meals — I had barbeque pork, and my friend had miso soup with tofu. The food was fantastic, the staff really friendly, and the portions were huge. I want to go back so I can try some of the other dishes!

I highly recommend this restaurant. I have gone over and over and have yet to be dissapointed! The Pad Thai is sooo good and the service is excellent time and again. The restaurant has a great vibe and I often get the homemade Lemon Iced Tea which is exceptionally tastey and cheaper than all the other options And if all this wasn’t enough– there is a cinema just down the way from Ekachai which makes the trip to the Southside Centre, very worthwhile!