Taiwan Village

This homely Chinese has built up a solid following over the years with its good-value cooking based on the distinctive cuisines of Taiwan, Hunan & Szechuan. A few generic Cantonese staples are on offer – barbecued spare ribs, sweet & sour pork or chicken in black bean sauce – but it pays to make a beeline for regional dishes such as tiger’s whiskers (shredded pork with peppers, water chestnuts & garlic), cold Shanghai glass noodles with chicken, soy & sesame dressing, deep-fried French beans or a ‘spice-tastic’ Hunanese dish of beef with ‘three chillis’. The interiors feel reassuringly permanent with their expanses of carved wood & decorative ethnic artefacts, while moderate pricing means you get plenty of bang for your buck – even though there’s a minimum spend of £15 per person.