Owners of Acclaimed Thai Chain Announces New Chinese Noodle Restaurant

Saiphin and Alex Moore, the duo behind popular — and valuable — restaurant chain Rosa’s Thai Cafe, have confirmed they will launch a new brand, a “Chinese-influenced noodle restaurant concept,” called Hoh Sek Noodles, this July in St. Katharine Docks Marina, close to the Tower of London. The news was first reported by MCA.

Hoh Sek, which means “delicious” in Cantonese will operate as a “casual dining, grab-and-go noodle concept during the day, before transforming into a 40-cover sit-down restaurant service in the evening.” It will include eight seats at a bar counter, plus 30 extra seats on a terrace in summer months.

Two example dishes for the ‘noodles menu’ which starts at £7.50 include: Red fermented tofu soup with flat noodles, prawn, squid, fish ball, water spinach, and bean curd; and pork noodle soup with rice noodles, roasted pork, long bean, celery, coriander, bean sprout, and lime.

Saiphin Moore said in a statement released today: “Noodles have always held a special place in my heart as it was my first noodle shop, which I set up when I was 14 in [Phetchabun] Thailand, that first started me on my career as a chef.

“Years later, Alex and I met in Hong Kong and we fell in love with the street food noodles there. You can buy great and tasty noodles from almost every street stall and they’re also served in the more traditional restaurants. They’re a real symbol of the city’s thriving food scene, so this is what we now want to bring to London and share with everybody.”

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Located in a water-side pavilion known locally as the ‘Round House with the Green Roof’, Hoh Sek will replace a Starbucks and is said to have been inspired by “Saiphin’s time spent travelling Asia and living in Hong Kong; and is a celebration of the world’s finest noodles.”

“Alex and I live close to St. Katharine Docks, and this is where the idea for Rosa’s Thai Cafe was born when we first moved to London, so seems fitting we are returning here to launch Hoh Sek in our own neighbourhood this July,” Saiphin Moore said. “We hope everybody will fall in love with amazing noodles like we have.”

The daytime grab-and-go menu at Hoh Sek, will run from Monday to Friday from 12 noon through 3pm, and will feature a core menu known as “Saiphin’s Six” — six noodle dishes with “Asia-wide influences, but primarily Chinese in focus.”

Hoh Sek is will be backed by private equity group TriSpan, which acquired a majority stake in Rosa’s Thai Cafe last year. Both Saiphin and Alex’s roles at Rosa’s Thai Cafe remain unchanged, with them maintaining creative director and managing director roles, respectively.