East And West: Market Street, Ellon

EVERYONE agrees that a dark, windy night calls for comfort food.

After a late meeting in Ellon, I decided a Chinese takeaway was a safe bet ... and East And West fitted the bill.

I opted for a favourite of mine, chicken satay with a side of egg fried rice.

For my Portuguese flatmate, who rarely eats anything but fish, I decided on beef in a black bean sauce with extra vegetables and a side of noodles.

And I had the joy of watching our dishes being cooked in front of me with great ease.

At home we dived into the huge portions and the normally noisy flat became quiet.

The satay sauce was lighter in colour and not as thick as I am used to – and it was in danger of being a bit bland. However, just the right amount of chilli kicked the flavours into gear and gave a fantastic punch to the dish.

The chicken was fresh and perfectly cooked as was the rice.

To her delight, my flatmate found the black bean sauce was quite light and not over-powering.

And, after sampling the great tasting beef, she decided she would start eating more red meat from now on.

Overall, the service and the food exceeded my expectations and livened up a gloomy night.