EAST IS BEST

FOOD FIT FOR KING

at YING'S PALACE

One of my favourite Chinese restaurants is Ying’s Palace in the Mayfield Shopping Centre. In a very comfortable nicely decorated room, it provides top class meals at a very reasonable price. The only pity is that the restaurant side is poorly supported, though the takeaway is doing very well indeed.

Last night, we took the Set Dinner for Two, cost €20.80 a head. There is also a Set Dinner which is slightly cheaper and another (which I can certainly recommend) that is slightly more expensive. There is also a special that comes in at under €16.00.

But back to the €20.80 menu. You start off with a generous plate of prawn crackers. The first course is a Meat Sung, a beautiful combination of minced pork (or chicken) with cashew nuts served with vermicelli noodles and you can make your own delicious little parcels with the crispest lettuce. Gorgeous.

I need superlatives too for the Chicken and Mushroom soup. Didn't quite know what to expect here but I needn’t have worried. In a clear liquid (chicken stock), swam extremely thin slices of mushroom and little pieces of chicken, along with tiny pieces of spring onion. No additives here, no artificial colouring. Top notch.

The main plates kept up the standard: King Prawn Satay in a bowl, Duck Cantonese style on a big platter. The King Prawn was faultless and the Duck was the most exquisite dish of its kind that I have tasted in a long long time.

They are pretty weak on deserts here (usually jelly and ice cream) and we were happy enough that none was included in this special but we did finish off with a decent cup of coffee and a couple of mint chocolates. With the meal itself, we had a half bottle of a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that cost €8.90. There is a good selection of wines, all at reasonable prices.

Well worth a visit and I’m really amazed that so few try it out. The total for the meal for two came to €50.50.