Imperial Dynasty, West Malling

Arguably the best Chinese restaurant in Kent, possibly the south east of England. Ok, so you pay a bit more for it, but believe me it's worth every every penny. West Malling is a nice market town just off the A20 between Maidstone and Wrotham. There are a number of good places to eat, including The Swan and The Farmhouse (see earlier review), as well as several cafés and bars. The High Street has a mixture of old buildings, many of which date from the seventeenth century, there are some interesting little shops too so it's a nice place to visit all round.

I.D. (as it is known) is at the bottom end of the High Street in a charming old building, the dining room features a large inglenook fireplace in which stand three half-sized terracotta warrior statues and in spite of an up to date feel there are still many original features and beams in place. The menu is a mixture of traditional and contemporary dishes, with a number of set menus on offer. Dishes start from around £4.50 and go up to about £9.50, with seasonal specials like lobster and oysters often available at reasonable prices.

We ordered the mixed hors d'oeuvres and Mongolian lamb to start, which arrived quickly and were nicely presented. The lamb came with all the usual accompaniments you expect with crispy duck...the cucumber and spring onion, pancakes and hoisin sauce...lovely! We decided to go with a seafood theme for the main course, huge tiger prawns in a mandarin sauce and a fantastic sizzling dish of scallops (Yes, I know...scallops again!) and king prawns in ginger and sesame with a bowl of special fried rice. Unsurprisingly after all that we had no room for desert, so I can't comment on them I'm afraid. The staff were attentive and friendly, the dining room was nicely decorated in creams and cappuccino tones, a few nods to the festive season without being over the top, all in all a very pleasant place to be. We have eaten here three or four times over the last few years and the whole experience has always been consistently good. There are enough unusual dishes to keep you coming back to try new things, all in all it has to be highly recommended!