Blackburn: Welcome Restaurant

2:29pm Monday 3rd March 2008

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A FEAST for the eyes and the senses, the Welcome is an undiscovered gem.

It's not much from the outside and, tucked away at the bottom of Darwen Street, it is a bit forgotten.

What with all the takeaways it could easily be mistaken for just another fast food joint, but if the extensive menu catches your eye you'll be in the door like a shot.

A weekday night probably isn't the best time to try a Chinese restaurant and there was very little atmosphere, with only one other table in the place occupied.

But it didn't matter. In fact it was something of a bonus as it meant the staff, who were a tad abrupt in an endearing way, gave us their undivided attention and could not do enough for us.

There was a group of us so we opted for a banquet and I'm really glad we did.

£10.90 each for a soup, a selection of starters, and as many main courses as you like - seriously, as many as we wanted.

The menu just says kindly: "Eat as much as you like within the premises. But you must not waste the food."

The secret is to order a few dishes at a time and then more if you need them so as you don't make the usual mistake with Chinese food where your eyes are far bigger than your belly.

Plus it is all freshly made - not like many of these "all you can eat" buffets where the food is left out for hours for everyone to slowly pick at.

The spring rolls were particularly tasty and our favourite main courses were Beef in Szechuan Sauce and Cantonese Sauce and Salt and Pepper Chicken.

The different flavours they included were a real taste sensation and we talked about little else than the food.

We couldn't help it. It took up so much of the conversation every time we tasted a new dish.

There are a lot of variations when it comes to Chinese food and you can get it so wrong, so it's always a risk to try a new one.

But I am pleased to say I will definitely be back - if only for a bit more banter with the staff!

The verdict

We talked about little other than the food. We couldn't help it.