Tiger Rock, Liverpool

It's Grand National weekend in Liverpool, further extending the range of remarkable Scouse sights. There are more young men in suits than might normally be spotted outside Liverpool Magistrates' Court on a Monday morning. Judging by their attire, their lady companions are a thrifty bunch, though one or two spendthrifts have used more than a metre of fabric on their dresses. Add that to the usual Friday night buzz and it's a fun place to be.

I'm down for the first time in ages, visiting H and HC. The latter has had a hard week. Some food then home are clearly written on his agenda. I'd forgotten how compact the city centre is. In no time at all we find ourselves comfortably ensconced in Tiger Rock in the city centre. Reading up on the place, the roots seem to have been in a fairly traditional Thai eatery in the Penny Lane area. (Yes, there is such a street.)

Vikki Teh

Owners Vikki and Kean Teh were clearly forward thinkers, relatively early (for the UK) pioneers of small plates eating. They then thought why stick to Thai?

Many websites are full of cringeworthy nonsense. Theirs is straight to the point. Tiger Rock was formed through our passion for fresh East Asian cooking and the desire to bring the food of our roots to Liverpool. We have tried to pull the best from Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Vietnamese flavours to our menu, with a twist. 

And it does as it says. They now have three units in Liverpool. The menu is huge - including salads there is a choice of 50 plates, plus seven sides. They're obviously not cooking all of that to order, so how do they fare? Pretty well, is the answer. Study the menu and you'll see that the geographical spread is even wider than advertised. Thailand is well represented, favourites including Pad Thai, fishcakes, green curry, Tom Yam Gai and more. Travel through their other destinations for Char Su Bao, Beef Rendang and Nasi Lemak, Laksa and fresh spring rolls. But you'll go to Indonesia as well with Nasi Goreng, and to Japan with gyoza dumplings or Wasabi Suteki, steak with wasabi and pickled ginger.

I sat back and let the locals order. The menu recommends two to three plates per person, which is about right. So often a sharing plate among three can lead to disappointment and disaster. Here the generosity of the portions avoids such unpleasantness. Pretty remarkable given the prices, which are mostly in the £6 - £9 range. To pay more than a tenner you have to go for fillet steak or lamb chops.

Vietnam is the only country I know where you have the option of spring rolls fresh as opposed to fried. Good start. As you would expect, food arrives as and whenever. A major plus is that the table was large enough to hold it all. Went downhill a bit with the chilli and garlic crispy squid. I couldn't taste the chilli or garlic, it wasn't crispy, and it provided vigorous exercise for the jaw muscles.

And I wasn't as taken with the crispy chilli soft shell crab as were the other two, though the similarly cooked beef was better. All good from there though. A couple of salads next. Rojak Kacang - me saying nice things about tofu! There was also egg, nuts, leaves, and a very good peanut sauce. It's hard to pass by a classic Thai papaya and carrot salad, impossible not to love it. HC is a Pad Thai man. This was a lovely version.

I'm leaving the best till last. Enogimaki featured steak wrapped round mushrooms in teriyaki sauce. This was terrific and the visit would have been worth it for the char su pork alone.

In the hands of a chain this could have been a disaster with three or four core sauces pretending to be all things to all men (and women). Although the range is huge, I got the feeling that the kitchen knew what it was doing, with enough nous and skill to replicate the cuisines involved. What I would say is that this is Asia Lite. In just about every dish punches were being pulled. A zing more lime here, another hit of chilli or an extra shake of nam pla there would have made all the difference. That is of course a comment which can be levelled against eastern restaurants throughout the UK. Mr & Mrs Teh are canny operators who are obviously successful, so let's credit them with knowing their market.

Verdict. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It's a place with a bit of pizzazz where you will be fed good, tasty food. Go for the fun, go for the value for money, and don't be too picky.