“Dad, you’re in town, fancy a bite to eat?” Answer: “Yes.” So we met in Soho after her Covent Garden dance class.

The concensus was for Chinese so we headed for Chinatown and that’s where the problem starts. Unless you’re a regular, you have no idea where to spend your cash. We plumped for Luxuriance. It trumpeted traditional Peking cuisine and it was purely pot luck. My original companion can sometimes be a fussy eater and it was a risk, but in we went.

The extensive menu arrived and we selected three different dishes, a whole sea bass with a special sauce and spring onions, plus a chicken in oyster sauce and beef with a black bean sauce.

Nothing scientific, just giving everybody a choice. Fried rice was the accompaniment. Service was efficient and not overbearing, the atmosphere was calming and the conversation flowed. There is no snobbery here as they give customers the choice of fork and knife or chopsticks.

The piping hot food arrived and we were not disappointed. The sea bass came whole and the waiter delicately removed the skin and boned the fish at the table. A work of art.

The food was a good as it looked. Flavours were distinctive and blended well. The portions were generous so we didn’t bother with a sweet.

Soft drinks, two beers and a pot of tea brought the bill to £37. That was real value in my book. We enjoyed the experience.

However, on searching the web it was something of a shock to see a host of poor reviews for this establishment.

Perhaps we were fortunate that we got a good night. Well, I’ll use Luxuriance again and then I’ll know if we were lucky.  

Nigel Duncan