Charlotte Percival had visited before, so she knew it was worth looking beyond the unpromising exterior to find the restaurant within.

We attracted a few stares when we dined at China Palace restaurant on Monday evening.

Not because of any behavioural or fashion faux pas, more thanks to our choice of company.

You see, on this occasion, we were accompanied by a baby. Not just any baby, though. "Isabelle", was a plastic, computerised doll entrusted to my teenage sister by her school and programmed to squall from the moment we sat down.

Luckily, on a Monday night, the restaurant wasn't too busy and diners were more amused than annoyed by our guest of honour.

The waitresses were accommodating, chatting with us about how it worked and why we had it.

Nonetheless, we soon reached for the off button.

The exterior os this Chinese restaurant hardly suggests a palace. It is located at the top of a draughty flight of stairs in the InShops building in Selby, but the interior is immaculate.

As soon as you open the door you are welcomed by warm, burgundy walls and plenty of comfy sofas. A waitress immediately greeted us and took our drinks order.

Three cokes (£2.40) and a glass of tap water promptly arrived and we were given ample time to read the menu while feeding the baby/doll.

All the usual dishes appear, but the menu allows enough choice to try something new. Appetisers start at around £2 and include seaweed, prawn toast and mussels with black bean sauce. For mains, you can choose from the likes of baked duck with pickled ginger and pineapple, sizzling monkfish with ginger and spring onions and dried vermicelli Ha Moon style.

As there were four of us, we decided to share starters and chose BBQ spare ribs (£4.50), pancake rolls (£2.40) and prawn crackers (£1.20).

We sat in the bar, admiring the fish tanks and listening to tinkling piano music, before being seated.

China Palace exudes a pleasant, peaceful atmosphere with enough space between the tables to afford privacy.

The walls and tablecloths are a rich, burgundy colour, complemented by subtle lighting and a central feature of plants and hanging Chinese lanterns.

Our starters quickly arrived and we hungrily attacked the plate of ribs. To be honest, I'm not a fan of ribs, finding them fatty and gristly.

These, however, were tasty, meaty and almost crispy, with hardly any fat. The pancake rolls were filled with a tasty mixture of meat and vegetables, while the prawn crackers were satisfying enough, but could have done with more flavour.

I had chosen Peking crunchy duck with Chinese mushroom sauce and prawn meat stuffing (£8.30) for my main course, while my sisters went for fried chicken and mushrooms (£6.10) and chicken and green peppers in black bean sauce (£6.10). Adam chose his usual dish of sweet and sour chicken and we ordered boiled rice (£1.60), egg fried rice (£1.80) and fried noodles (£1.80) too.

There was a bit of a wait in between receiving the first dish and the last, but we could snack on the rice and noodles or try out the chopsticks (with hilarious consequences) while we waited.

Elspeth's chicken in black bean sauce was delicious, she said, with plenty of quality chicken cooked with chunks of green pepper and onion and slices of red chilli. It was spicy, she said, without masking the flavours.

Faith's fried chicken and mushrooms was a hit too, with carrots, mushrooms and spring onions in chicken-flavoured gravy. She thought it a little salty, though.

Adam pronounced his sweet and sour chicken "gorgeous" and enjoyed its well-balanced sauce, tender meat and crunchy vegetables so much he finished the lot.

The only dish to disappoint was my own. The duck was tasty enough, but topped with huge chunks of prawn meat stuffing which I had not realised would be like an omelette. As I don't like eggs, I felt a better description on the menu would have stopped me choosing it. The Chinese mushroom sauce was not mind-blowing either.

Having said that, I did enjoy the generous portions of rice we had ordered, and the noodles, which were mixed with bean sprouts and spring onions.

Deserts include a range of ice creams, sorbets and fritters. We asked for a banana boat and a chocolate orange bombe (£2.55 each), as well as two Chinese teas (40p each). The banana boat was filled with fruit salad, fresh cream and vanilla ice cream, while the chocolate orange bombe consisted of refreshing orange ice cream encased in chocolate. The Chinese tea, served in a beautiful Chinese teapot, washed them down well.

The bill came to £48.10, which we thought very reasonable. We have been to China Palace many times before and long may the tradition continue.

China Palace, Unit 23, Market Cross, Selby, 01757 701597

Charlotte visited China Palace on Monday, January 22.

factfile

Food: tastyService: efficientValue: reasonableAmbience: tranquilDisabled access: NO