Teachi

According to its website, Teachi offers Chinese food with ‘a modern twist’ which, judging by the menu, refers to the pan-Asian influences evident in some of dishes. Dim sum is served at all times, alongside a selection of small plates ideal for sharing, and larger dishes. Overall the cooking is fine, if not particularly exciting. Chargrilled chicken wings were crisp, salty and juicy: definitely the best dish we ordered. Dim sum had a tendency to be dry and stodgy. And although slow-cooked pork belly with yam featured tender meat and yam in a thick sauce, the dish lacked textural variation and was bland. Likewise, quick-fried beans, supposedly Sichuanese, were promisingly dry-fried first, but were then reduced to what resembled uninspiring fast food by a mildly spicy, congealing soy-based sauce. Teachi’s interior is an almost-riotous blend of bright Chinese paintings on large sections of wall, dark screens and redwood tables with horseshoe-backed chairs. When we visited during a weekday lunch hour, only a few tables were occupied despite neighbouring restaurants appearing to be almost full.