ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT isn’t exactly a phrase that makes you think of fine dining.
Let’s face it, it’s usually the culinary equivalent of Westlife music – there’s plenty of it, but none of it is very good.
More often than not, these foodfests are an artery-clogging triumph of quantity over quality.
Happily there was plenty of both at the Shanghai Chinese Restaurant.
The eatery doubles as a takeaway, and at first look it’s easy to miss the colourfully-decorated dining area through the archway.
The buffet option (£18.95 per head for a minimum of two people) is an all-you-can-eat affair with a welcome twist – rather than filling your plate from large vats of food, you handpick what you want from the extensive menu and wait as it is prepared for you. An a-la-carte menu is also available – but we were rather on the peckish side and the chance to try a few different dishes was too tempting to turn down.
First on our list was the old classic and my all-time favourite – duck pancakes.
If ever a duck is questioning his reason for living, point him my way – I’ll assure him that his earthly purpose is to be doused in plum sauce and wrapped in a pancake.
This particular mountain of shredded bird came with a deliciously sticky hoi sin sauce, spring onions and cucumber.
I could have eaten it all night, but there were other treats to try.
The mixed vegetable pancake rolls were crisp and pleasantly grease-free, and the seaweed offered a totally different texture and taste.
The real find, however, was the smoked shredded chicken – a mouthwatering blend of fried chicken strips, chillies and garlic which we quickly devoured.
The smiling staff were unobtrusive but always on hand, and no sooner had we polished off our first selection of dishes than our waiter was there to take our orders for the next course.
In my book, the acid test of a Chinese restaurant is their shredded chilli beef, so I quickly put in my bid.
Given the standard of what had come before, I wasn’t surprised when the plate arrived packed with a truly saliva-inducing mound of beef and sticky chilli sauce.
My girlfriend was similarly delighted with her lemon chicken, which was wonderfully tender and smothered in a gloopy citrus sauce.
And the king prawns with cashew nuts was all chunky seafood and rich, dark sauce.
Having taken “all-you-can-eat” rather too literally, we had to call a taxi to haul us back home ... but with so many more delicious dishes to try out, we’ll definitely be back!