What the critics say: Pearl Liang, The Phesant…

26th January 2010, 11:40am

A round-up of the latest reviews

Pearl Liang, London
Giles Coren, The Times, 23 January

"First off, the gai lan arrived. My mother looked at the plate of thick green branches and said, "How are we supposed to eat that with chopsticks?" She tried to make it sound like a cutlery question, but my mother is not a vegetable person and there is not an implement in the world that could get her enthusiastic about eating green food. Indeed, she is not much interested in anything you can't eat with a caviar spoon."

"Still, I yomped it down like a good horse, and Esther ate a trunk or two to keep me happy. The dumpling list is long and lush, and a lovely change from Royal China. Alas, my promises made, I had to order mostly veggie ones, but they had plenty, and they weren't bad. Spinach dumplings were crescents filled with chopped spinach and a few nuggets of corn, not exactly life-altering, a bit 'veggie option', but I can imagine, in a world where I was too poor to buy meat, or was a vegetarian, eating them quite regularly."

The Phesant, Keyston, Cambridgeshire
Jasper Gerard, The Telegraph, 22 January

"The decor could be described as 'simple' or 'rustic'. I'd go for 'rubbish': old red curtains and hunting print wallpaper with red and gold pub carpets that only lack Al Murray's Pub Landlord spilling ale over it. There are three pubs in my parish, none of which could be called gastronomic destinations, but all feel more welcoming than this. The problem is The Pheasant feels unloved."

"My game terrine is fine, with a hint of thyme and green peppercorns. It comes with remoulade made from carrot rather than celery, with mayo, herbs and capers, though the pleasing, punchy taste here is mustard. So top marks for the posh coleslaw, but what is this charcoaled ember? Oh, it's meant to be toast. Baffling."

Babbo, London
Zoe Williams, The Telegraph, 22 January

"Babbo means 'daddy' in Italian, by the way. There is a homey theme to the menu – though not to the actual restaurant – that culminates in a great acclamation about their lasagne, 'a secret recipe of over 100 years old, passed to Chef Douglas Santi by his grandmother'. Amazingly, this was off the night we were in."

"Puddings were great. D had the mixed ice creams (£5), of which the pistachio especially was a masterclass in frozen goodness. I had the white-chocolate cream with sour peach ice cream (£7.50), which was a most attractive confection, dusted with a kind of confetti of white chocolate, on a bed of sliced strawberries (and they, impressively for the season, really did taste of strawberry), the extravagant sweetness of white chocolate poised perfectly against the sharp ice cream."

Tamada, London
Tracey MacLeod, The Independent, 23 January

"We lunched on a shared selection of dishes, starting with grilled flatbread, filled with molten, unsalty cheese (khachapuri). Then borsht, thinner and less beetroot-dependent than the Polish version. ('Oily' and 'watery' were the other adjectives offered by Loudon.)

"Many of the starters are vegetarian and those we tried tasted hugely better than they looked. Fried slices of aubergine (badrijani) impastoed with a spiced walnut paste and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, had a blowsy depth of flavour, while a dish of red beans (citeli lobio), with coriander, and, very possibly, walnuts, revealed a herb-scented subtlety under its unpromisingly mushy appearance."

Circus, London
Fay Maschler, Evening Standard, 21 January

"The menu overseen by chef Nik Biok, previously at a Gaucho Grill, is American-inspired and goes a bit further down that line than most with side dishes of corn hush puppies, smoked tomato stew, mac'n'cheese and the offer of Louisiana hot sauce or red gravy accompaniments.

A first course of cornbread with marinated plum tomatoes, butter beans, feta and basil delivers what it says it will.

"Fried baby squid in a coconut glaze has vivacious spicing.

"The smoked chicken wings seem to have flapped through a bath of all-purpose BBQ sauce but the menu description singles out chipotle chillies and tamarind."

Angels & Gypsies at Church Street Hotel, London
David Sexton, Evening Standard, 21 January

"Angels & Gypsies delivers a tapas menu at table, an easy way to eat, and the prices are remarkably low for the quality and quantity.
Good sourdough bread came with a bowl of fine olive oil flavoured with an aromatic sherry balsamic vinegar (£2).

"Calamari romana style (£5.50) tasted very fresh and were served with a pleasant, citrussy aïoli, but weren't cooked quite crisp.

"A spatchcocked quail (£5) came with an unexpectedly refined splash of brandy-flavoured cream sauce, while roast suckling pig (£7) was a whole chunk on the bone, tender, with good crackling and a refreshing sharp apple salad."

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