Shaftesbury has announced that Chinatown London's Hot Pot has relaunched as Chalida, an authentic Thai restaurant.
Founder of Hot Pot, Jerry Taechaubol decided to pay homage to his Grandmother, a Chinese war-time immigrant who moved to Bangkok and made her living by running her own hawker stall on Yaowarat Road, by relaunching as Chalida.
The new 3,900 sq ft concept at 17 Wardour Street will be Chinatown London’s first restaurant featuring sharing-style authentic Thai street food.
With space for approximately 150 covers, Chalida responds to strong customer demand and the immense popularity of the Thai dishes on offer in the former Hot Pot restaurant. A refreshed menu combines age-old Thai-Chinese homestyle favourites with interpretations of street food the restaurant’s founder grew up eating.
Taechaubol commented, “We wanted to make the very most of this prime central site in Chinatown London and saw a gap in the market to provide a truly authentic Thai offer.
'With food inspired by my grandmother, I named Chalida after my mother – the concept is a true celebration of the women in my life, my Thai heritage and the amazing food that I grew up with on the streets of Bangkok.
'This change has been very special to me, so I’m delighted to relaunch and bring this exciting offer from Chinatown in Bangkok to Chinatown in London.”
Julia Wilkinson, Head of Group Restaurant Strategy at Shaftesbury, said, “We are privileged to have such innovative and forward-thinking tenants that are committed to investing in Chinatown London in the long term. Chalida is a response to customer demand, offering mouth-watering Thai street food in the heart of London’s West End.”
This trend for existing Chinatown tenants launching new sites follows the recent announcement that Alex Xu, who owns Happy Lemon on Newport Court, has signed for an 1,800 sq ft unit at 100-102 Shaftesbury Avenue for the UK flagship for authentic Taiwanese dessert brand, Meet Fresh.
Also, the people behind Cuppacha Bubble Tea at 23 Newport Court have signed for a 200 sq ft unit for new concept, Taiyakiya.
