After a 10-day scramble to put together a wonton noodle pop-up at Soho’s now-closed Wun’s Tea Room & Bar two years ago, Ryan Leung and Nicole Ma – the duo behind Brick Lane’s Hoko – were confronted with queues out the door. The short run was meant as a test, and the response was strong enough to turn that wonton noodle concept into a lasting idea. Now the husband-and-wife team have turned that idea into a permanent stall: they’ve just opened Hoko Wonton Noodles on the ground floor of Seven Dials Market. As the name declares, it has a tight focus on Hong Kong-style wonton noodles.
“We’ve always wanted a more central location,” Ma says. “A noodle concept works pretty well in a market setting because it’s mostly a work and tourist crowd. And with a simple, pared-back menu, we can serve faster.”
The menu is intentionally compact, and the kitchen stall that pumps out wontons and noodles is also tiny. Two types of hand-wrapped wontons are made daily: prawn and pork, and tofu with king oyster mushroom. “In Hong Kong, many wonton noodle shops are purists and focus on a single filling like prawn,” Ma says. “We add a bit of pork and lard to make ours juicier.”
You can order them in noodle soup or dry-tossed, with a separate bowl of broth for dipping. The clear, savoury broth is built on dried flounder from Macau, and there’s chilli oil made in-house if you want extra heat.
Alongside the wontons are a few additions that nod to classic Cantonese comfort dishes, including noodles with slow-braised, falling-apart beef brisket and tendon. Sides include salt-and-pepper mushrooms, and crispy fried wontons with sweet and sour sauce. Despite the short menu, there’s room to customise, and there are options to suit different dietary needs. Drinks keep close to Hoko’s roots, with Hong Kong milk tea, lemon iced tea and red bean ice.
The Mas moved to the UK in 2021 on British National Overseas passports and began Hoko during lockdown as a Hong Kong milk tea project. Newly arrived in London and homesick, they made silky milk tea in slickly designed pouches. From there, they expanded into food, popping up at markets and festivals before opening their popular Brick Lane cha chaan teng (a style of Hong Kong diner that fuses western and local foods) in 2023. The menu there leans into diner staples such as char siu rice, pork chop buns and thick-cut French toast.
That cha chaan teng background still shows in the look and feel of the wonton noodle stall. Hoko’s clean, bold typography remains – though the new site shifts towards turquoise tones, with a more stripped-back style that nods to traditional wonton shops found in Hong Kong. The space itself is compact, as market kitchens tend to be, but staff wear classic white button-up uniforms to keep the diner spirit intact.
“A bowl of noodles starts from £10 and £14 for the large. We wanted it to feel affordable and accessible,” Ma says. “In Hong Kong, I’m used to grabbing noodles at any time of day, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I miss that casualness. Sometimes you just want a quick bowl without spending a lot or setting aside hours.”
Hoko Wonton Noodles
Floor 0, Seven Dials Market, 35 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LD
Hours:
Mon & Tue midday–10pm
Wed to Sat 11am–10pm Sunday 11am–9pm
