The Observer
For possibly his final Observer review before decamping for the FT, Jay Rayner revisited a vast pan-Asian “experience” he reviewed almost two decades ago in its original Camden Market setting. His motive, he explained, was completism: “would Gilgamesh Mk II make any more sense than the original?”
Inevitably, perhaps, the short answer was No. A couple of dishes – popcorn shrimp; dragon sushi roll – were inoffensive enough. But it was the clunkers that grabbed the attention: an “excruciatingly sugary” crispy duck and watermelon salad that was like “a weird trip to the sweetie shop”; lemongrass chicken tasting of “very little including either lemongrass or chicken”; an “astringent and harsh” beef rendang which “a sloppy blight upon the dish’s very name”; “greasy and flaccid” roti; cauliflower and asparagus fried rice that “smells like it’s been made with the leftover cauliflower from a cheap pub Sunday roast”.
“Of course, I’ve made a category error here, just as I did 18 years ago,” Jay concluded. “I came to a restaurant thinking the food mattered.”
Jay Rayner - 2025-02-23
