When I used to live in Ruislip, the best Chinese in town was Tai Pan. I left Ruislip in 2006 and now live in Essex and I still think Tai Pan is the best takeaway ... so when my sister started going on about this oriental buffet restaurant in Uxbridge that she liked with the same name, I wondered if they were connected and was delighted to discover they were. There was only one thing for it - I would have to visit her and take a trip to Tai Pan!!

We visited on a Saturday evening which is probably their busiest evening, but we were able to book a table for 6.30 pm with ease (the week before), which was a bonus because a lot of places wont let you book for a Saturday night.

It was busy when we arrived, but got even busier after 7pm. That said, they did take us straight to our table when we arrived and we weren't herded into the bar area first (which is what has happened with other buffet restaurants I have been to - presumably so you buy more drinks?).

We paid £15.50 each for the buffet plus drinks (about £2 for a soft drink) which is the Saturday night price (lunch times and weekday evenings are cheaper for the buffet).

The decor in the restaurant is very modern and welcoming, and the tables and chairs comfortable but stylish.

The buffet foods are placed on a variety of hot plates in a kind of circle in the middle of the restaurant and there was a huge choice - lots of starters such as wontons, spring rolls, prawn toasts, satay sticks, soups etc then aromatic crispy duck and pancakes, then a huge array of mains (beef, chicken, pork, duck and vegetarian tofu dishes) as well as several types of rice and noodles (chow mein, singapore style etc). There was also a fridge area for desserts (not that we had room!) which had mini cheesecakes, cakes, ice-cream, jelly and fruit.

Apparently (according to the menu) you can also order main dishes to be cooked freshly just for you in the evenings and this is included in the buffet price but we didn't do this as there was such a huge choice of dishes available anyway as part of the buffet.

The staff were all very courteous and quick to replace cutlery, plates etc and the toilets were very nice (I always think you can tell a lot about a place from the toilets!)

The food was absolutely gorgeous and we left absolutely stuffed (and keen to return one day!). I'm just glad I moved away as I'm trying to lose weight at the moment and if I lived near Tai Pan i'd have no chance!