Timeout Beijing Food Review Feb 2011

The name of this fusion restaurant is the abbreviation of “gorilla” and has little to do with the ape apart from the large menu. There is a large selection from sandwiches, pastas, paella to curry. The high ceilinged wood interiors and warm lighting looks cosy, but is chilly on wintry nights with the draft air.

Conceived by the same owner of Pekotan and Igosso, Gori seems to be an extension of both outfits, going further with a fusion menu that tries to do too many things at once. There’s a large open kitchen, menu specials written on the blackboard and a dessert display counter.

The chicken avocado salad 68RMB is a schizophrenic salad that is overdressed with blue cheese, rosemary and parmesan—too many layers whose flavours do not complement each other. The pickled vegetables 28RMB is fresh, crunchy and delicious but does not have a culinary identity—neither the pickled vegetables of Asia north Asia, nor like achah the spicy tart pickled vegetables in Southeast Asia. Our chicken rendang 38RMB was watery and slightly sweet, more like a curry than the Indonesian version of slow cooked meat, where the gravy is thick and almost paste-like from the hours of simmering in the pot.

The Singapore laksa 68RMB was lost in translation—a bland watery broth with Chinese mifen, the gravy sorely missing the spices, strong scampi flavours and copious amounts of coconut milk and laksa leaves garnish.

A simple plate of spaghetti with tomatoes 48RMB brought our moods up—pasta cooked a perfect al dente, sauce the right side of tart—like how tomatoes taste (as opposed to sweet Chinese tomatoes).

Dessert was a hit and miss. The New York Cheese cake 24RMB was dry and solid. No amount of cream or moisture could have resuscitated it. The pandan chiffon cake 24RMB on the other hand served with a beautiful turban of cream was soft, spongy and fragrant—a real pleasure to devour.

With a little more time to allow for fine-tuning the extensive menu, Gori could take off. We recommend sticking to the dishes that the restaurant executes well, instead of ordering the range of globetrotting fare that leaves one neither here nor there in culinary geography.Juliana Loh

Gori Office park 1F tower AB. No.10 Jintong West Road, Chaoyang District(85906266)Open Daily 1130am-10pm Meal for two around 200RMB北京朝阳区金桐西路10号远洋光华国际AB座一楼

Screenshot 2016-06-21 23.34.06

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