Elements in CMK’s trendy theatre district have been open for over a year now. We have often walked past it and considered going in, but have always been on our way somewhere else, or not hungry enough to make it worth while (An important point - read on).

My girlfriend and I both love Chinese food. As we were home this weekend and going out in CMK we decided to give Elements a go.

The restaurant is located opposite Lloyds No1 Cafe and the Theatre main entrance. The whole restaurant is on the first floor, so just follow the stairs up. The concept was unique to Milton Keynes when it was first opened (a new Indian restaurant, called Chilies, offering the same style of dining has just opened in the same area).

Elements offers you the chance to sample "elements" of Far Eastern cuisine, including Thai, Chinese and Malaysian dishes. It is styled rather like a huge canteen, with seating for over 400 people. There is a function room available for private hire, and two bars.

You are taken to your table, and served your first round of drinks and then from there on it is help yourself time! The food is served buffet style on several counters, and you can go back as often as you like. There is a wide range of starters, main courses and desert dishes to sample. Also available is a teriyaki bar, where you select your ingredients and the chef cooks it for you. You will also find a selection of sushi, which was somewhat, depleted when we went along, but I will be trying that next time!

On the menu during our visit was crispy duck (evenings only) beef in black bean, Malaysian chicken curry, pork sate, mussels in black bean and much more. A full range of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks are available from the bar. The beer selection is very good, and includes Chinese lagers. Everything we tried was cooked well, and extremely tasty.

The only downside to this style of restaurant, from my point of view is th
at is very much like a school dinner hall. It gets extremely busy, and is not really the ideal setting for a romantic meal. However, it seems popular with the kids, and is very good value. It would make a perfect starting point for a night out with your mates.

The evening meal cost £13.49 per head, lunch is available for just 7.49 (but offers a smaller selection)

*UPDATE*
We went up to Elements for my birthday recently. I had more time and so was able to sample more of the food on offer. I have to say it is all as good as the few dishes I tried on my previous visit.

I recommend you try the Teriyaki bar - Like a Mongolian Wok only more carefully cooked and quite spicy. The Sushi selection is a bit limited, but again very good quality. The whole bill was less than £140 for 8 adults, drinking at least two beers each.

A final point - We took my Mum, who is in a wheelchair. The access was excellent, the staff were brilliant and she had no trouble at all.

Get stuffing guys!