Takeaway test

MY experiences of Chinese takeaways for this page have not always been good ones.

The dishes can veer towards sameness and the clichd feeling of still being hungry an hour later is often unfortunately accurate.

But Moon Wok came with a recommendation, so I entered hoping it could go some way to changing perceptions.

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The interior is tiled, modern and spotless. There is garden-style seating for waiting customers and a couple of large plants add to the decor.

A large flat-screen television adorns one wall. When I go, Edwina Currie is spouting on some programme. It's enough to put anyone off their food but that's certainly not Moon Wok's fault.

The kitchen is in a separate room, although there are small windows allowing customers to see what's going on. It's a nice touch and, for some strange reason I've never fully fathomed, adds a touch of reassurance.

I opted for one of the set meals, which consisted of sweet 'n' sour pork balls, chicken chop suey and yung chow fried rice.

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The food came all in one dish, which saved on washing up but wasn't going to win any prizes for presentation.

The meat was good quality, there were a few large prawns and the rice was dry, although the pork balls were oversoftened through being sat in the sauce.

I also tried the chicken with cashew nuts in yellow bean sauce. Again, the meat was good and there were several other ingredients, such as peppers and spring onions, to make the dish more interesting. There were plenty of cashews - a positive move as they are hardly a cheap nut option.

It could perhaps have done with a little more sauce, although Moon Wok thankfully avoid the takeaway shortcoming of having main meals swimming in liquid. The rice was of the right consistency and dry.

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Best of the lot was Hong Kong-style sweet 'n' sour pork, which was chewy, without being tough and came with a range of vegetables and tasty sauce.

A nice touch is that meals come with a fortune cookie. One of which, when cracked, revealed the message 'A sweet smile is your ability to make New Friends'.

In Moon Wok's case, I suppose it does.

Address : High Street, Wath-upon-Dearne

Open: Monday noon-1.30pm and 5pm-11.30pm, Tuesday closed, Wednesday to Saturday noon-1.30pm and 5pm-11.30pm, Sunday and Bank Holidays 6pm-11.30pm.

Parking: On street

Atmosphere: Efficient

Service: Fine

Range of Menu: Extensive - 236 dishes, plus set dinners

Delivery: Service available but charges apply.

Waiting time : 15 minutes

How did it taste: Good

Cost: Set dinner 5.20, chicken with cashew nuts in yellow bean sauce 3.70, boiled rice 1.50, sweet 'n' sour pork 3.70

Verdict: Seven out of ten