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Chinese restaurants are like Everton Football Club. A presence on the High Street for longer than anyone can remember, it's been a long time since they actually won anything. Flair is not their strong point - they are better known for their endeavour. Though unlike Everton, they do particularly well in Manchester.
On a recent visit - our first for some time - we found the Summer Palace quite unchanged by the passing of the years. The curiously uninviting ante-room that seems to serve as a deterrent to the first-time visitor, the goldfish (the same goldfish?) fretting anxiously at the corners of the tank, the grand but unused staircase and the quiet, serious atmosphere of the dining room itself. Our fellow diners gave the impression that they were loyal regulars. The place was a little brighter than we remembered it, but still seemed sombre in comparison with all the shiny new places that have opened in recent times.
The menu is mostly pretty familiar stuff, though a determined search revealed a couple of novelties. We kicked off with crispy lamb pancakes - an ovine version of peking duck - which turned out to be pretty well indistinguishable from duck. Another starter of salt and pepper squid was of an almost nuclear intensity, albeit in a good way. The meat was tender, the batter light and the chilli and spring onion dressing full of zing. Both of these starters were excellent. For mains, Tracey chose Singapore noodles and I went for the Yang Chow fried rice. These came in supersize portions. Tracey was overfaced and forced to retire from the field of play early on. I coped, I felt, manfully with the resulting carbo-fest. When at one point I started to flag, a request for some coriander to perk things up a little was met, if not happily, then at least readily. Both of the main course dishes were good, though, as is often the way with Chinese food, outshone by the starters.
There is a short wine list, from which we chose a poor Chardonnay at £12.95. Tsing Tao and Tiger beers are available, though Everton fans may be disappointed to find that Chang is not.
The service was lacking in warmth. More than any other factor - the food, the atmosphere, the room itself - I felt that this coolness defined our visit. It's a shame. This is, after all, a family business, not the plaything of some soulless corporation. Are things so grim that a smile or a few cheerful words are out of the question? What terrible secret casts such a gloom upon our hosts?
The Summer Palace is a Chester institution. Say 'Chinese restaurant' and the odds are that this will be the place that first springs to mind. Judged on the food alone it most likely is the best Chinese in the middle of Chester. But I look for more than that: a bit of fun, a sense of occasion, even excitement or luxury, and these are virtues the Summer Palace does not possess. We couldn't help noticing the volume of take-away trade that was going on during our latest visit and it may be that this is the best way to enjoy the pleasures of its kitchen.
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