Traditionally, Chinese people gather with friends and family to celebrate Chinese New Year (“CYN”) the night before and CNY day itself is quite sombre. For my family, we are vegetarian the first day of year.
A group of friends and I decided to usher the Year of the Goat in style with a gourmet Chinese feast with all the trimmings at Pearl Liang Chinese restaurant located in Paddington, London.
In Chinese terms, a gourmet feast means a starter consisting of hot and sour soup, seafood lettuce wraps, jelly fish and plenty of lobster with noodles then main course of steamed fish (sea bass), emperor chicken, roast duck, roast pork, black bean beef on sizzling hot plate, prawn stuffed tofu pot and seasonal vegetables and of course dessert consisting of the traditional niangao (年糕) and more those less traditional mango pudding, sago sweet soup and custard buns.
13 hungry mouths to feed and I think Pearl Liang did a fantastic job and did not disappoint. Although a tad more expensive than its counterparts located in mainstream Chinatown. The service was great, staff were very attentive, especially given the reputation of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown.
The food also didn’t leave me wanting to drink a gallon of water which means there is little or no MSG in their food, the food was cooked well (especially given the restaurant was full and we ordered al a carte for 13 people).
The only downside is that the portions are a little small.
Guess it’s that age old saying and my life long motto …. Good things come in small packages!!
If anyone is looking for an enjoyable evening out on a date or with friends/family and want both a nice atmosphere and delicious Chinese food then look in further. I would highly recommend Pearl Liang.
As they say, a picture paints a thousand words so here’s our table at the end of our feast….
Yup enough said I think 😉
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Gobbytraveller 