It's not all bad in Northampton! (Jade Pavilion (Northampton))

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Jade Pavilion (Northampton)
Date:	29/06/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous food in wonderful surroundings, attentive and friendly staff

Disadvantages: Disabled access is a little iffy

When visiting Northampton recently my sister and I decided to book a table at the Jade Pavilion Chinese Restaurant, I'd heard good things about the restaurant so was looking forward to visiting.

The interior of Jade Pavilion is gorgeous, the restaurant is decorated in black and white which looks very attractive and sophisticated with a classy look that I loved as soon as I walked in. There are water features throughout the restaurant which are gently lit up and these create a very relaxing environment in which to eat your meal, as do the large leafy plants which line most of the walls.

The menu is very extensive, it took us over half an hour to decide what we were going to order! Luckily there had been a large bowl of prawn crackers placed on the table when the menu's were handed out so we picked at those to stave off the hunger while we made our minds up - eventually we chose a starter and main course each and as Jade Pavilion is licensed we picked out a nice bottle of red to go with our meal. The wine menu is excellent actually, there is a wider choice of wine than in any other Chinese restaurant I've been in and alongside the name of each bottle are suggestions regarding what food that particular wine would compliment the best.

I absolutely enjoyed very morsel of food I ate in this restaurant. The starter I chose was Crispy Duck Pancakes and they were wonderful; served on three seperate plates so that I was able to construct my pancakes to my specific tastes, there were eight or nine thin and floury pancakes together with a heap of shredded duck and a small jug of rich and thick Hoisin sauce. It was deliciously cooked with the crispy duck melting in my mouth and being complimented perfectly by the fruity sauce. My sister opted for Spare Ribs in a BBQ sauce which turned out to be a pile of smaller ribs than I am used to seeing; I filched a couple from her plate and they were tender and so well cooked that the beatifully seasoned pork fell off the bone as I bit into it, there was not an ounce of fat or gristle on these ribs and the rich BBQ sauce clung well to the meat to create an absolutely wonderful mixture of flavours and sensations.

For my main course I chose Lemon Chicken which was served with boiled rice at my request and this whole dish was infused with a delicious lemon sauce that was rich and extremely flavoursome. There was a huge amount of chicken in the dish and this was all very delicately flavoured, it had obviously been well marinaded as the flesh of the chicken has a creamy lemon flavour throughout which really compliments the poultry beautifully. I've eaten this dish in the past at other Chinese restaurants and can honestly say this was the very best I've ever tasted. The rice too was boiled to just the perfect consistency and became wonderfully creamy with the addition of the sweet yet tangy lemon sauce.

My sister ate her usual King Prawn Chow Mein which looked equally as delicious, surprising me with the sheer amount of large juicy prawns that were served with the meal. The noodles didn't look greasy at all, surprising really considering the oil that usually leaks from this particular dish in other Chinese restaurants, and there is a good selection of crunchy vegetables for my sister to enjoy. She commented on how tasty her meal was and didn't leave as much as a drip of sauce on her plate so it must have been good!

When the attentive member of staff noticed we had finished our meals she handed us the dessert menu, now I was stuffed to bursting but couldn't resist a slice of chocolate cake with ice cream. The cake was extremely rich and chocolatey while the vanilla ice cream was deliciously smooth and of an obvious high quality. There are a wide variety of desserts available from Jade Pavilion from basic fruit or plain ice cream to the other end of the scale which encompasses the chocolate cake I ate and a rich looking fruit gateaux that the lady on the next table was working her way through while we were still on our starters.

The staff in this restaurant are definitely worth a mention, as I mentioned above they are attentive but do not make nuisances of themselves. As they passed our table they would enquire as to whether everything was OK with our food (it always was!) and I felt they genuinely cared about the answer to their question rather than just going through the motions as often happens in pub restaurants I visit. If there was a problem I have no doubt it would have been quickly sorted out to my satisfaction because all members of staff seemed to want to make sure we enjoyed our meal.

The bar in Jade is fully stocked with lagers, beers, wine and soft drinks. There is also a very good selection of hot drinks available from liqueur coffee, standard coffee, hot chocolate and tea. Prices for drinks are slightly more expensive than other pubs and restaurants in the area but this is to be expected as this is, in comparison, an upmarket eaterie who are quite justified to charge a little over the odds for their drinks.

There is an issue when it comes to accessibility for disabled visitors. While the restaurant is on two levels, to get to the first floor (where we were seated) there is a wide sweeping staircase which needs to be navigated. I myself have mobility problems and found the stairs a bit of a struggle if I'm honest, this could easily have been avoided by phoning to book a table on the ground floor but I hadn't realised there were so many stairs inside so I would certainly recommend you call to book an easily accessible table if you are visiting with someone who doesn't walk too well.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my meal in Jade Pavilion and would not hesitate to return in the future, lip smackingly good!

Summary: A wonderful Chinese meal in Northampton.