Grab-and-go Haute Cuisine

The person who misses that bowl like they miss a beloved friend; the person who follows that place and that chef around at Boxpark Shoreditch, London Fields and finally to Spitalfields; the person who orders exactly the same thing: Pad Thai with tofu and extra vegetables; the person who declares they could eat those ethereal noodles, puffy tofu, and crunchy bean sprouts every day for lunch, dinner, and all the bites in between. Is there a word that describes that person? Can we call them Pad Thai-obsessed, a tofu devotee, an okra enthusiast, or simply a King Cookdaily disciple?

Pad Thai Bowl at King CookDaily

There are a few places I crave so intensely when I’m out of town for a while, or, as in the case of King Cookdaily, when they close due to relocation. The other one was Pockets, as I wrote, I kept longing for the reopening like a fan glued to their computer, counting down the seconds to snag a ticket for an upcoming tour that goes on sale. I remember checking in with fellow aficionados: What happened to KCD? Have you heard when and where they’re reopening? Is KCD doing any pop-ups or pub residencies? And finally, after what felt like far too long, KCD reopened at Spitalfields, so I could get back to my pad thai routine, with occasional additions: The greenest curry sauce made with coconut water and a spinach blend: Infamous. Umami enriched chickn chopped salad: Lao Bowl.

King Cookdaily, as the name suggests, is a chef’s table. A classically trained chef who turned entrepreneur and became the talk of the town, before transitioning back into a dedicated master cook in the kitchen every day, kind of chef’s table, to be exact. Everything you eat is made instantly by the virtuoso himself, King Cookdaily, the son of a head chef at a famous hotel restaurant in the '70s, who also ran a pub kitchen in West London near Putney Bridge. He grew up in pubs, doing his homework, pouring sweet chili sauce, adding some garnish on plates, or peeling noodles for Pad See Ew. In later years, he went to a catering college, worked in market stalls, pub kitchens, one- or two-star Michelin restaurants, and apprenticed for two years in Spain with a French chef, before returning to London to cook for his fellow townies.

In an interview, when asked how he became a vegan chef, he says: “It was the burnout. I started cooking at 16, jumping straight to work at 18, not stopping a solid 10 years. So all I knew was kitchen. I needed to reset, started going to the London Buddhist Centre, which is around the corner, in Bethnal Green, took up meditation, just going back to my Buddhist roots. My parents would take me to Laos every year, and my granddad was the head monk of a temple, so I always had that connection. I spoke to the elders at the London Buddhist Centre, and they gave me knowledge about being ethical. The first precept: abstain from taking a life. That kind of made sense to me, so I stopped eating meat and went on a vegetarian diet (in 2009). That lasted five years until I transitioned into going full vegan (in 2014). I haven’t looked back since.”

A closer look to Pad Thai, featuring tofu.

After almost two weeks since my last visit to King CookDaily, the cookery with flavours from around the world, with heavy influence from Southeast Asia, especially Laos and Thailand, I’m back there with an urge. An urge to devour. It’s the early afternoon because this is the time I can settle, check the menu, and try to convince myself to have something other than Pad Thai. 7/10 times, I fail, so I drag some friends who would choose other items: Indian-style yellow curry: Yoga Fire, Jerk Bowl, or Japanika. We get some spring rolls as an appetizer and enjoy the colourful biodegradable bowls of vegan abundance.

King CookDaily, thank you for being part of this space we call the world. 

Address: 10 Hanbury St, London E1 6QR

Check Out Our Other Articles