Restaurant Review: Sang Thai, Richmond
by Richard Montague
Madhur Jaffrey once said, “You think of a curry and your mouth lights up in anticipation”. This is very much the way I feel about curries, therefore every time I go to a Thai restaurant that specialises in using aromatic ingredients, my interest is piqued and I hope that the flavours have been used in an exciting way. Thai food has always been, for me at least, a bit of a treat, a wonderful way of blending subtle, fragrant flavours with the fiery heat of chillies. The general absence of drier spices, such as cumin and coriander seed, make for more delicate, though no less flavoursome dishes which I love, but only when executed well.
When you walk in to Sang Thai, cosseted away in Sheen Road, slightly out of the hustle and bustle of the main street in Richmond, you are greeted in a traditional Thai manner, with a wai, the hands placed together, small bow and cordial welcome. The décor is dominated by elephants, the national symbol of Thailand, but this is tastefully done and - not just because this is my favourite animal — I liked it.
On the table were fresh flowers, crystal wine glasses, engraved with more elephants, and some seriously tasty spicy crackers. The little touches suggested that someone in the restaurant had a fine eye for detail, it only remained to see if this extended to the food.
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The menu covers an impressive selection of meat, fish and vegetarian meals, as you would expect, but apart from green and red curries, many of the dishes were specific, you would not generally find a pork dish similar to a fish one as the herbs and spices seem to be matched to the ingredients. For example the only meat matched with the powerful, sour tamarind was duck, while lemongrass was limited to the seafood and chicken, where it was more likely to complement than be overpowered.
The wine list is not extensive, but includes a good selection from across the world, from rounded new world reds to lighter fragrant whites, many of which would match adequately with the Thai flavours.
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Restaurant Review: Maze – Gordon Ramsay (executive head chef Jason Atherton)
by Richard Montague
Expectations are always raised when you know you are going to something that bears the “Gordon” label, whether by favourable reviews, recommendations from friends, or indeed the sustained media onslaught from the world of Ramsay Intellectual Property. So when you are on your way to a restaurant that has already achieved a coveted Michelin star and is the signature venue of the favoured protégé in the Ramsay empire, your anticipation should rightly feel justified.
I have to confess at this point that when my wife and I arrived we were not, in fact, anticipating anything other than an anniversary evening spent in silence due to an unfortunate incident involving an interesting choice of footwear combined with my insistence that we travel on the Tube so we could both have a drink. This considered, it is with great pleasure that we found ourselves enveloped by the charming service that has come to characterise the Ramsay phenomenon.
There was not even the remotest flicker of irritation despite our being 15 minutes late, we could almost be forgiven for thinking that they were delighted with our tardy timekeeping, when the reality is almost certainly the complete opposite. We were guided to our table, gladly accepting an offer of a glass of pink champagne, and, our troubles and irritation but a distant memory, we turned our attention back to enjoying ourselves.
The food itself is described by Jason Atherton as “haute cuisine done in smaller portions” or “modern tapas”. This was always going to please me as I could probably be accused of being a person who, although generally enjoying my ultimate choice of dish, will lament the other dishes that could have been mine. This could be a clever way of describing what non-foodies might term greedy, but I would argue “what is the point of having an interest in gastronomy if you are not passionately driven by the desire to experience many of the options a chef can concoct?”
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From the editor, Natalie Bennett: I've lived in London for seven years, and I still love every minute of it. With the theatres, the museums and galleries, the streets dripping with history, there's so much here that many visitors miss. On this site I and a few friends share our enthusiasms, and provide tips of getting the most out of visiting, or living, here. And I'm also a lover of Paris, so I also write at