Ho Mei Village, Wellington

enjoys a feast of Cantonese cuisine at Ho Mei Village, Wellington.

I was once idly browsing around a well-known Chinese supermarket in north London, having dropped by for a few bottles of Chinese beer, when in one of the freezer cabinets I came across a clear plastic bag of many, many small items I couldn't identify. They looked a bit like little fruit gums, at first glance. Quite attractive really.

They were fish lips.

This came back to me when I Googled "Cantonese cuisine" to find out what exactly I should be ordering from Ho Mei Village so as to capture the true regional flavour — the menu proudly states: "Probably the Best Cantonese Cuisine in Shropshire", after all.

Well, I quote from one internet source: "Besides pork, beef, and chicken, Cantonese cuisine incorporates almost all edible meats, including organ meats, chicken feet, duck tongue, snakes, and snails."

Well, I've scoured the Ho Mei's takeaway menu and chickens' feet and ducks' tongues (it never really occurred to me that ducks have tongues) are notable by their absence. Personally, I'm glad. I'm one of those pathetic diners who prefer their food not to remind them of the poor beast that laid down its beak in the cause of dinner. Shell-on prawns are bad enough, but a pair of feet standing on your plate? Or fish lips? Talk about the kiss of death . . .

Clearly, as Chinese restaurants have spread across the globe they have toned down their "authenticity" to suit local markets, in the same way that Indian cuisine developed the chicken tikka masala to keep the post-pub crowd happy (one in seven curries sold in Britain is a CTM, apparently).

So Ho Mei's menu is a dependable list of many of your favourites and mine, along with a few extras. In fact, my other-and-better half Christine and I have been using the restaurant for years, on and off; for one thing it's a handy takeaway stop-off on her way home from work. She's in the habit of taking a cool beer and prawn crackers at the bar while the order is being prepared, and always gets a warm welcome. Service is quick and very polite.

On this occasion, we thought we'd over-order for reporting purposes – any leftovers wouldn't be left over for long, since Her Ladyship gives the impression that she'd gladly hoover up a takeaway for breakfast, if allowed.

Starters, then, were steamed prawn dumplings (£3.20) and the fantastically titled Imperial Gourmet Combination of Five Delicacies (£6.20). Given the Cantonese verdict on what does or does not constitute a "delicacy" (see above), I might have jibbed at this. But in fact I've had it before, and it actually comprises a variety of distinctly unalarming finger-food: seaweed (in reality, fried cabbage of course); mini spring rolls; deep-fried wonton wrappers; sesame toasts; and spare ribs with lovely sticky sauce.

Christine declared the dumplings to be very acceptable little savoury cushions packed with minced prawn, before we did justice to the "delicacies", all of which are moreish in the extreme.

Mains next. Chicken chow mein (£5.10) offered thin noodles and plenty of moist texture with added crunchy beansprouts to go with tender chicken. It's not demanding, more delightful comfort food. Sweet-and-sour chicken (£4.80) is instantly identifiable from pretty well every takeaway across the land, and comes with a vaguely phosphorescent sauce that is frankly too sweet and not sour enough – but that's not Ho Mei's fault; it's what the masses call for. I suppose it's the Chinese version of chicken tikka masala.

Better was chicken chop suey (you might have noticed here a chicken theme, but that's her fault not mine), which isn't on the menu but which was rustled up without question when asked for, and went down very well, with tender pieces of meat and juicy mushrooms. Finally, and best of all, roast duck in plum sauce (£6.00) had an impressive portion of sweet plum sauce coating beautifully tender pieces of game.

Overall, I suppose, we were pretty conservative with our choices, but then it's always tempting to go for the favourites. And it's a good way to judge the quality.

If you're feeling a bit more adventurous, there's a section of the menu that veers off into Thai country, and I might well be tempted next time round by Thai hot and sour yum soup (£2.50) or a green curry (£5). Vegetarians get a decent look-in with eight starters and 25 mains in separate sections of the menu, although they could also pick up items from the standard starters menu.

So, the verdict? Ho Mei is as good as it's always been. Good service, good food. I'm just thankful that they stick to the requirements of their British clientele: chickens' feet might make good back-scratchers, but I don't want one anywhere near my plate.

ADDRESS

Ho Mei Village, 2a Vineyard Road, Wellington TF1 1HA

Tel: 01952 222767

Web: www.homeivillagerestaurant.co.uk

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Quarter crispy aromatic duck with pancakes, cucumber, hoi sin sauce (£8.50); Special mini spring rolls (six) (£2.50); Fried chicken in spicy chilli garlic dressing (£5.20); Crispy shredded beef with salt and pepper (£5)

CHEF'S SPECIAL

Fried king prawns in fruity sauce (£5.10); Fried pork with hot chilli in black bean sauce (£5.40); Sliced fillet steak in fruity sauce, Cantonese-style (£10)

VEGETARIAN DISHES

Bean curd with vegetables in chilli-bean sauce (£4.50); Aubergine with green pepper in black-bean sauce (£4.50); Mixed vegetables in satay sauce (£4.50)