Last Updated on June 3, 2026
Thai Malaysian Fusion expands in Chinatown
3.0 out of 5.0 starsChinatown was buzzing when we popped over to try the newly opened YiQi Lah! in Newport Court. This spot is the little sibling of YiQi Panasia, which also offers Southeast Asian food. This smaller cover offshoot specialises in street food and, with a quick turnaround, would be perfect for a stop-off before entering Theatreland. Lah! is a popular exclamation in East and Southeast Asia, adding emphasis to a statement.
Interestingly, they have yet to receive their alcohol license and are fully halal certified with no pork on the menu. This makes a little more sense when you factor in that Malaysia is a majority muslim country. As such, we were strictly on alcohol free beverages that evening. Our first to arrive was a lychee drink from the brand Yeo’s, it was cool, creamy and mild.
The keen design sense of YiQi Lah’s other location has translated well; the space is slick but relaxed and is certainly busy.
We started with a chicken satay skewer with Thai cucumber sauce. This sauce was completely new to me. I have not had anything quite like it. Of course, the chicken was nicely charred, toothsome, and meaty, but the sauce, although it was what you would expect a spicy sauce made of blended cucumber to taste like, was a revelation in combination.
Our other starter was the stuffed aubergine, chilli and bean curd skin filled with minced chicken and prawn with sweet chilli sauce. This was aromatic with lemongrass, the filling was bouncy, and the aubergine silky smooth. I have some bean curd skin at the back of my cupboard. I was going to use it to make vegan chicken, but this was a much more appetising use for it.
Next came Tom yam soup served piping hot in a bamboo cane. It was Sour and umami, spicy and sweet, with enoki mushrooms, surimi, lime leaves, tripe, squid rings, fish balls and tomato. Every flavour played a part, and every ingredient added texture from bouncy to tender.
We also had the white pepper beef brisket soup. Heated by the white pepper, it was mild and palate-cleansing, especially in comparison to the flavour bomb of the Tom Yam.
One of our mains was the beef brisket with white rice, served on a wooden plate with perfectly fried sunny-side-up eggs, which was reminiscent of the steaming plates of food served up in the hawker centres of neighbouring Singapore. It was tender with a strong flavour of soy sauce, not just rice, tossed with the anise of Thai basil and served next to a glistening dome of perfectly chewy rice
Our other main was a fried chicken cutlet with butter sauce and a flaky roti, another hawker centre favourite, travelling along with the South Asian immigrants to the region. Had a crisp and golden breaded chicken thigh, creamy butter sauce topped with fried petrified curry leaves.
We finished off with a Thai red milk tea which was Vanilla, creamy, almost like ice cream, but a deep golden umber colour. We also had the Thai pandan milk tea, a popular flavour in the West at the moment and a perennial in Southeast Asia. This was more vegetal than the standard tea but otherwise quite similar. There is currently no dessert menu.
YiQi Lah! Offers a compressed menu in a compressed location, serving hearty portions reimagining Southeast Asian street food classics with flair and confidence.
Address: 18 Newport Court, London, England, WC2H 7JS
Email: info@yiqilah.co.uk
Number: 0207 287 6972
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