This hole-in-the-wall is one of the cutest (and cheapest) food spots in Melbourne

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In a narrow pedestrian-only laneway, wedged between an escape room and a hairdresser, there’s a tiny hole-in-the-wall kiosk selling Thai noodles for less than $12.

The offering is necessarily simple: the space is closet-sized, with just enough room for a compact boiler and one person to assemble the meals. Four different styles of noodles are served in takeaway boxes and there are a few tables in the laneway where you can perch to eat your spoils. While you’re waiting, there’s an urn with free chicken broth for help-yourself soothing sips in paper cups. You can also add broth to your noodles.

I’m easily overwhelmed by choice, so I appreciate the simplicity here. Step one is to select your noodles, either egg, thin rice noodles, or even thinner vermicelli. Step two is to choose your flavour: there’s “original soy sauce”, fermented tofu, tom yam or chilli pork. Shredded chicken, chicken meatball, fried wonton and quail egg are included with all.

The soy sauce flavour is made with soy, palm sugar, vinegar and fish sauce, simmered to a salty, comforting slurry.

The tofu version is a Thai street-food staple called yen ta fo that relies on red beancurd for its pink colour: it’s spicy, sour and a little funky.

Tom yam is a hot and sour soup-free version of the famous Thai broth, and the crispy pork, well, that’s another version of the original, but with crackling sprinkles.

It’s not unknown for restaurants to be founded because their owners miss certain dishes and bet that others are suffering the same culinary homesickness. Eek Charm is one such place.

Owner Jean Hrair Wehbe grew up in Hua Hin, three hours south of Bangkok, and he remembers his mum taking him to stalls to eat noodles with sweet soy sauce. When he was unable to find the exact dish in Melbourne, he set up this bolthole.

I thought the name referred to how scarily charming the place is. No, silly. It’s a transliteration of the Thai for “another bowl”.

You may want another bowl (OK, a box) of noodles or you might decide to skip to dessert, a few doors along at Snow Moon, a Thai sweet shop which does shaved ice and waffles, and is owned by Wehbe, too.

Much of the prep for Eek Charm happens by day. Jean Hrair Wehbe is actually quite the entrepreneur with four other outlets around the city: Mamao is a Thai restaurant on Queen Street, Pak Soi is a snack bar on Sutherland Street, Mamao Club is a late-night venue with music on Bourke Street, and there’s Lampalong, a street food outlet and dark kitchen in Docklands.

Eek Charm is the tiniest, and has the most restricted offering, but it’s a gem, definitely one of the cutest food spots in Melbourne.