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COWBRIDGE
River View
Dinner
It’s official... I’m a convert to Chinese food. I’m usually a curry person and my husband’s the one who favours a Chinese. Having heard good reports on the River View Chinese restaurant in Cowbridge, I was intrigued. What I found was ‘proper’ Chinese food. Now I’m hooked!
Finding somewhere to park is a doddle as the car park is less than a hundred yards away. The restaurant is then accessed via a small footbridge spanning a pretty little river. As soon as we walked in, we were welcomed by Lyn the manager with the biggest smile ever and shown to a table to look at the menu over a drink.
The menu was pretty comprehensive and because Chinese food is not my forte, we asked Lyn if she could choose our menu for us which she was happy to do. We were shown to our table on the first floor. The décor was tasteful and typically Chinese. There was a good buzz from the diners already seated with at least three other large tables being occupied.
We started our meal with a plentiful plate of hors d’oeuvres which included barbecued ribs dripping in tasty sauce, vegetable spring rolls, satay skewer chicken, prawn toast, seaweed and crispy wonton. All were cooked to perfection. I particularly enjoyed the seaweed and kept returning to the plate for more. Luckily finger bowls and heated scented clothes were on hand as this was a messy but thoroughly enjoyable affair. Head chef Mr Wah Li had even crafted an exquisite swan out of an apple which goes to show the high level of care taken in presentation.
Our main course consisted of sizzling king prawns with ginger and spring onion, sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour fish and egg fried rice. The prawns were the fat and juicy and the sauce was so flavoursome but at the same time light and delicate. This also was a firm favourite.
Lyn was very attentive and explained each dish and then left us to savour each one.We were offered a choice of puddings but quite honestly we did not have any room and were more than satisfied with our meal. We’ve since been back a number of times for lunch and evening meetings as the service is so quick and the food is so good.
Don’t just take my word for how great River View is. Ian McIntosh of Groundwork Wales, together with his family, just happened to be on the next table to us and as we had finished our meals at the same time, we had a quick chat to him about what he thought of River View. He was very enthusiastic, saying that it was the best Chinese food he had had in fifteen years. He promised to send further thoughts to me in any email.
This is what he wrote.
“A new Chinese restaurant on two floors, the Riverside is in a light and attractive location with ready access to the public car park in the centre of Cowbridge. We went on a Sunday when by mid afternoon there was an encouragingly large clientele. There is space enough between tables for conversation.
The service is friendly and attentive with staff really looking to the wants of their customers in a way too seldom found. The 'taster' menu approach which the restaurant has adopted offers both flexibility for the customer and good value for money as well as some dishes less commonly found.
The food itself is remarkably good -- fresh and clean to the taste. Even the soft noodles, too often in Chinese restaurants prepared without respect for either ingredients or the diner, were al dente. Generally ingredients were allowed to contribute their own taste to the dishes instead of being overwhelmed either with spices or factory made sauces and nothing was over cooked, another frequent fault with this cuisine in Britain. Recommended strongly.”
River View represents excellent value for money and is the perfect place for an intimate dinner, business lunch or party. A big thank you to Ian of Groundwork Wales for his comments which are much appreciated.
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