Chinese President Xi Jinping is signaling that China will send new pandas to the United States

No matter where it is I’m planning on eating, from the latest smash burger pop-ups to far fancier and far-flung establishments, if I can get hold of their menu beforehand, I’m reading it. I’m not sure if it’s my inclination towards over-preparedness, a fascination with food, or a bit of both – but it’s a compulsion. When I scoured the menu at Pearly Cow, Margate, I was mesmerised. Words started jumping out at me: “celery salt”, “dijonnaise” and “smoked caramel”. I found myself returning over and over to pour over it. From experience, this can often set you up for disappointment, as reality doesn’t always match up to the culinary delights conjured in your mind. Luckily, this wasn’t the case with Pearly Cow. The meal begins with a salt cod taco paired with parsley mayonnaise and preserved lemon, and a garlic-baked oyster with parsley and Ashmore cheddar. The crab-like texture of the cod contrasts beautifully with the crunch of the taco, while the oyster is bursting with flavour, once again disproving that cheese and seafood don’t belong together (tuna melts, melt-in-the-middle fish cakes, smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels… I could go on.) Although bread was not needed, bread was ordered, for I’m not a sociopath, and freshly baked sourdough with Hinxden farm butter proved all too irresistible. It arrives still steaming with a quenelle of salty butter dolloped on its side. It’s all you could hope for. There are tempura prawns with seaweed mayonnaise. Delicately battered and garnished with briny seaweed. The only issue is there aren’t more of them – definitely for the best, given what was to follow. Up came a lobster roll that was almost too pretty to eat; a charred, buttery brioche encasing generous chunks of lobster, doused in a delicious mayonnaise-y sauce. With the restaurant’s emphasis on “cooking over fire”, it felt necessary to try a steak. The ribeye came suitably charred, the open flame a definite flavour enhancer – mushrooms served in bone marrow were an indulgently lovely touch. As much as I resist playing into stereotypes of my Russian and Irish heritage, the star of the show for me really was a potato. Not just any potato, beef fat chips, to be precise. A sort of mix between latkes and thousand-layer potatoes, yet somehow with the texture of creamy mash within, these crunchy, crispy little wonders were a little bit magical. And don’t forget the dijonnaise. With just enough room for dessert, I managed to stuff down a chocolate custard tart topped with freeze-dried raspberries (arguably one of the best flavour combinations out there), this was the only dish that didn’t do much for me; a little crumbly and could have used a touch of salt to bring out the flavours, however, it was pleasant. Not forgetting the passionfruit souffle, which my guest described as the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. A seasonal and creative cocktail menu has a variety of inventive tipples, perhaps only lacking in a few of the classics. Pearly Cow looks out onto Margate beach; for those fortunate enough to dine on a sunny, blue-skyed day, the view really is as pretty as a postcard. Velvet upholstery and twinkly lamps pair with the colours of the sea to offer up a comfortable yet luxurious setting for a long, seaside lunch. Pearly Cow, 16 Marine Dr, Margate, CT9 1DH | pearlycow.co.uk | 01843 261200 Read More From a £22 bag of pasta to £28 sandwich – why do they cost so much? How to host a dinner party for under £2 per portion Three authentic Thai recipes to try at home

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A US watchdog has filed a compliant against Elon Musk’s X – previously Twitter – calling for an investigation over the platform’s advertising practices, including the alleged non-disclosure of some posts as ads. The non-profit organisation Check My Ads filed the complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission about the lack of labeling of some posts as ads, arguing that such content on the platform could mislead users. “This misrepresentation tricks users into trusting content as organic and exacerbates the opportunity for scams to occur,” the complaint noted. “Furthermore, by failing to adequately disclose advertisements, X Corp. misrepresents the methods employed to target users or facilitate third-party ad targeting,” it said. After initially spotting instances of adverts on X not being labelled, the watchdog called out users on the microblogging platform in September to flag more such instances they spot. In the following weeks, it gatherd information on “hundreds of unlabelled ads” from several users to build a case to the FTC, demanding X to be investigated. “Not marking ads is no small thing. As the complaint points out, unlabeled ads could trick users into thinking content is organic, increasing the chance for scams,” Check My Ads explained in a blog post. With unlabelled ads on social media platforms, people also have no way to know they are being targetted. While X is set up to explain why any user is seeing a particular ad with a hyperlink, the watchdog found that these links are “frequently broken”. “X Corp.’s lack of disclosures to consumers, misrepresentations to advertisers, and flawed access to explanations about targeted advertising constitute unfair and deceptive practices,“ Check My Ads’ policy director Sarah Kay Wiley said. “We urge the Commission to determine the extent of these violations and address them to the full extent of its authority,” Ms Wiley said. X did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. The complaint comes as X countinues different approaches, including new paid for services, to shore up more revenue, which is down 60 per cent since Mr Musk took over the company. While once advert posts had the word “promoted” below them, they now are seen with a smaller “ad” label, which do not seem to appear on some posts as the complaint mentions. Users have also complained on the platform that they are sometimes even unable to block or report some unlabeled ads. Read More Elon Musk’s new AI bot will help you make cocaine which proves it’s ‘rebellious’ How Elon Musk’s ‘spicy’ Grok compares to ‘woke’ ChatGPT Elon Musk unveils new sarcasm-loving AI chatbot for premium X subscribers VR tool aims to help rail passengers spot and safely tackle sexual harassment WhatsApp warning over fee to keep old messages ChatGPT Plus stops signups after major update

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