On the site of the Pink Giraffe there has arisen a pan-Asian street-food restaurant which bodes well to become a fashionable success. A darkened and deliberately informal interior, bench seating, and beer served in camping mugs all serve to create a somewhat self-consciously hip venue, whose message is that it's all about the food.

And the food is very good - beautifully presented even when in takeaway boxes, there's a good range of small nibbly dishes such as dumplings, jeon (Korean pancake) and edamame, with a sensibly small range of main dishes - noodles, curry and bimbimbab (fried meat and veg on steamed rice, topped with an egg).

For a meal that was mostly fried, everything was remarkably ungreasy. Possibly aiding the impression of lightness is the relatively small portion size - we ordered what seemed like a long catalogue of dishes but got through them rather fast. The most substantial of the starters we found to be the bao (essentially a Vietnamese veggie-burger in a delightfully fluffy steamed bun).

The oddest of the starters we sampled was broccoli salad - tender, crunchy broccoli stems in what appeared to be a dilute prawn cocktail sauce. The tastiest was probably the nyona tofu - large tofu chunks anointed with sweet chilli, fried to a pleasant chewiness and dressed in the Malaysian style, with peanuts and cucumber. The pork dumplings also were excellent - a thin dough, with savoury but unfussy filling. Another dish we can recommend is the padron peppers - an Asian twist on the classic Spanish tapa is provided by the lightness of the batter and a dash of five spice.

It would be very easy to spend quite a lot of money here - starters range from £3.50 for prawn crackers (!) to around £6 for fried chicken or noodles, and the mains are about £10. This would be fine if the portions were larger, but for some dishes, for example the kimchi jeon, one gets only a mouthful or two of deliciously squidgy, spicy substance for one's fiver.

The small range of main dishes is rather limiting for vegetarians, but pretty much everything can be adapted to tofu. It is not especially convenient for those with allergies but you are encouraged to ask for an allergy menu. There was no available information on sustainable sourcing of meat and fish, but, delightfully, the takeaway boxes are made of compostable card rather than plastic or foil.

This would be a good place to take a trend-conscious date for a light meal, but unless you're persons of small appetite or deep pockets, you'll probably want to plan a trip to an ice cream parlour for later in the evening.

You can easily walk past and miss Pan Pan, which I initially did the first time I went. Its unassuming exterior reflects the no-nonsense, chilled and easy vibe of the interior. This tiny escape from the hustle and bustle of the main road outside boasts a passionate South-East Asian-inspired menu inside, reflected in the many tapas style, small plates of joy.

There are various starters to choose from: we went for the crispy squid which looked like an Instagram-worthy shot on arrival. Each individual piece was a golden beauty, the batter looking like a light tempura style coating, which I smothered in the chilli glaze dipping sauce – enough said!

The waitress had also recommended the KFC-style chicken. This Korean style crispy fried chicken with crushed peanuts could be tossed with either the options of sweet and spicy, garlic mayonnaise or Asian five spice – we went for the latter and were not disappointed. The chicken was elegantly coated with a crispy, light, crunchy crust on the exterior, to reveal the tender moist chicken within – definitely a must for chicken lovers!

For the main I was drawn towards the curry laksa; a coconut curry broth, which includes noodles, bean, sprouts tofu puff, red onion, coriander, chilli, spring onions, lime and fried shallots, with your choice of beef, chicken prawn or duck. I chose prawns with mine – the flavours of this deep orange curry are warm and comforting, the spices complementing the delicate taste of the prawns. The spongy, silken tofu soaking up the laksa sauce is a sensation all foodies must know about!

I have since always been seduced by the curry laksa, however upon another visit accompanying the laksa we decided to get the Bibimbab, which is known to be one of Korea’s most popular dishes. This is steamed rice which had shitake mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, cucumber and a fried egg and you could have chicken, bulogi beef, hoi sin duck or spicy tofu to accompany it. We requested an extra fried egg as it already comes with one and this was not problematic in the slightest. This simple dish surprised me as on first glance it is rice and vegetables with an egg on top - minimalistic and yet so flavoursome, the waitress brought over a hot sauce that traditionally accompanies it; I was so busy enjoying eating it, I forget to add this on!

The service here was friendly and attentive, and there was a good choice of traditional drinks as well as the usual selection. The feeling that you are being served by a good friend and well looked after always makes you feel welcome and ready to return. Pan Pan speaks for itself when both the food and service draw you back. Each time so far I have been surprised and impressed by the passion in the making and quality of the food. This little gem on St Clements has a lot to offer – definitely a must for all those questing foodies. So go on, I dare you to take the jump into this Pan Pan!