AFTER a hard evening's trawl around Worcester Christmas shopping, my friend and I were ravenous and looking for a warm and filling meal to end our night.

Having been turned away from three other venues which were full, we managed to get a table at Chung Ying Garden in Friar Street - and we weren't disappointed.

Too busy chatting to concentrate on the ample menu, we plumped for the set meal for two at £31, with a bottle of house white to share.

The drinks arrived promptly, and were soon followed by our first course of chicken and sweetcorn soup.

Pleasingly, the piping hot soup was full of moist, tender pieces of chicken and crunchy sweetcorn and went down well with both of us.

I have had the dish in other Chinese restaurants and have been disappointed at the glutinous consistency that it can sometimes take on, but thankfully this had no hint of that at all.

Next to arrive was everyone's favourite - Peking duck rolls. The quarter duck was shredded in front of us and was mouth-wateringly good, with a perfect crispy skin and soft, tasty meat.

We soon loaded our pancake rolls with hoi sin, slithers of fresh cucumber, spring onion and carrot, as well as the meat, and happily declared that if we had to choose a last meal on Earth, this would be it. Delicious.

The main courses were beef fillet in black bean sauce and king prawn with cashew nuts with a bowl of yeung chow fried rice.

The beef was poured on to a sizzling hot plate at the table and the delicious smell filled the restaurant.

The beef was melt-in-the-mouth tender and the salty black bean sauce was just runny enough to coat the rice. The prawns, presented with their tails still on, were succulent and juicy and perfectly complemented by the cashew nut sauce.

By the end of the meal we were both satisfied and delighted that we had been turned away from the other restaurants as our experience at Chung Ying was faultless.

It was service with a smile and the bill came to a reasonable £42. There is no doubt that we will return.

CHUNG YING GARDEN, 50 FRIAR STREET, WORCESTER Tel: 01905 330460SERVICE: ***** FOOD: ***** VALUE: **** AMBIENCE: ****