I have to admit I'm a takeaway sort of a person when it comes to Chinese food. I tend to over order loads of different dishes, create a small banquet, and polish off a second one the following night. 

And a Chinese restaurant is not really an 'out, out' kind of place to go is it? And definitely not at the weekend. 

…or so I thought…

So we found ourselves in Dynasty at the weekend. 

May's face when we walk in is so welcoming. It's busy but she can find us a table and we have a lovely chat with her before she takes our drinks order. Tiger beer! And prawn crackers.

The menu is big, every type of curry, noodle, and rice dish you would expect. I'm just going to do what I would normally do with a takeaway. Order a lot. It could get embarrassing. 

Roast duck to start. Reliable, tasty. It's nicely presented with a little pot of pancakes and a delicious sweet sauce. 

The restaurant is full and there is a party atmosphere with large and small groups gathered to enjoy Hadleigh's only Chinese restaurant for what seems to be a mix of special occasions and a bit of a treat after a hard week's work. One of the tables is enjoying a birthday do. 

It feels a little bit more glamorous inside than I remember. The front of house staff are in matching uniforms and there are lovely flowers and candles on the tables. Some food comes to the table with little floral decorations reminiscent of bonsai and there are those individually wrapped flannels for mopping up after knocking up your own duck pancakes.

For our main courses we have gone full-takeaway-two-night-tastic.

Chicken curry

Salmon with green peppers and black bean sauce

Roast pork with salt and chilli

Sizzling prawns with spring onion

Rice

But what's this, May turns up with my favourite take away dish (which I had resisted ordering in an effort to try something new) and sneaks it onto the table. We're going to have a tough time getting through this food.

The sizzling prawns arrive in great style and they are cooked to perfection. I have no trouble polishing them off, they melt in the mouth and are so piping hot, sizzling away in their little bowl. The pork is also delicious and my favourite takeaway dish has a little more finesse when it's not in a takeaway box. The chicken curry is staying hot atop a warming contraption, it has a traditional Chinese curry flavour and the chicken is soft and succulent. We would not have ordered the salmon in a takeaway, but it is proving to make a lovely change with small pieces of salmon cooked in the rich dark sauce with crispy, crunchy peppers.

Everything is cooked to perfection, and there is just so much of it. People at other tables are sighing and pushing their plates away, they just can't get through it all, and are taking it home with them.

May weaves in and out of the tables chatting to customers in such an interested, warm way. The diners seem to love this and she is attentive and professional. The other front of house staff are efficient and friendly, pausing briefly to talk with customers and enquire how they are.

It's taking a while but we are making progress, and the food is gradually disappearing. A second drink helps that along. The Birthday Table takes delivery of a birthday pudding and they break into 'Happy Birthday'. 

Unable to eat anymore we ask for the bill and it arrives with a platter of sliced fruit. The perfect end to a really good, well cooked, beautifully presented meal. The food was really excellent, the service very special and we feel like we have been 'out out'. It's been too long since we ate in. We are not surprised that people are choosing it for their special occasions and we now cannot understand why we haven't made more of an effort to go down there, between awesome takeaways.

Thank you May for a lovely night out.

Dynasty

117-119 High Street

Hadleigh

IP7 5EJ

01473 828838

Order online at https://dynastyhadleigh.com