Wish You Were Eating Here?

Once in a while you discover a takeaway that makes a dish no-one can match.

So imagine the Friday night disappointment to find my favourite Chinese closed and the owners back in the Far East on holiday.

What do you do when you’ve set your heart on their Singapore noodles and nothing else will do?

Well, something good, very good, came out of this mini-crisis when, on the way home in a mood, we happened on Longton House, in Chapel Lane, Longton.

What may have begun as “making do” turned into a veritable banquet for four, although – greedy guts alert – there were really only three of us.

Singapore noodles or Singapore vermicelli or even Singapore chow mein can vary so much from takeaway to takeaway, and I would like to think I’m a bit of a connoisseur on these matters – after years of searching for the right one.

So, in the absence of the right one, I gave Longton House’s version a go and, I must say, they made a valiant effort.

Not quite as spicy as I like, but good enough to lift the gloom that had descended on seeing that “closed” sign.

Mrs Ellis and daughter Amy added another three main courses to the order – you can see who does the eating in our house – and we chucked in boiled rice, fried rice, chips and a pot of curry sauce just for dipping.

A sackload of prawn crackers came for free and the lot came to 24 quid. Now I call that very reasonable.

My favourite from the girls’ three dishes was beef in Kung Po sauce. No fatty, gristly lumps in this one, just tender chunks. And the sauce was superb.

Next I tried a king prawn and chicken satay dish with some of those large, plump and fleshy prawns you usually only see abroad. Again the sauce was very good.

And finally I cleaned up what was left of the chicken in Peking sauce which Mrs E
has a liking for. Yes, you’ve guessed it, the sauce was pretty tasty in that one too.

Later, as we sat there surveying the debris of a very good takeaway, we all agreed three mains, not four, would have been plenty. But, when your employer is paying, who wouldn’t stick another one on the bill for good measure?

As for my favourite place, with the Singapore noodles to die for, that holiday could just end up costing you more than you think.

Brian Ellis

FACTFILE:

Longton House, 53 Chapel Lane, Longton, Preston PR4 5WA

Tel: 01772 612292