It was a cold night, the grey sky was threatening rain, it was getting late and most places had stopped serving food.

So the fluorescent lights of Maxi's restaurant looked inviting as we drove along the Bingley relief road between Keighley and Crossflatts.

Maxi's exterior is nothing to write home about - a rather plain, nondescript building - but once we were met at the door we felt like we had been whisked thousands of miles away to mainland China.

The decor incorporates chairs with red and green fabric covers to match the table cloths, a marble floor, and a range of Chinese art including a large charcoal drawing. Red paper lanterns add a touch of character.

My dining partner soon felt at ease on realising that they served Tsingtao, a traditional Chinese-brewed beer and one of his favourites. This brought back happy memories of time spent in the Far East and we were soon reminiscing over a trip to Hong Kong.

The extensive menu includes a host of appetisers, starters and main courses along with a varied wine list. The main dishes are split into three catagories - vegetarian, meat and seafood dishes. There is definitely something for everyone.

I could imagine it becoming a haven for vegetarians - whose section was the largest - with dishes including deep-fried aubergine with sweet and sour sauce, broccoli spears withmixed chinese mushrooms, mixed vegetables with chilli and black bean sauce, and vegetarian Singapore vermicelli.

The meat dishes include chicken with ginger and spring onion, beef with green pepper, and roast duck with plum sauce.

For a starter I chose sweetcorn soup while my partner opted for crab meat and sweetcorn soup.

In the short wait for our starters, the waiter - in traditional dress - brought abasket of prawn crackers for us to snack on.

One prawn cracker later and our soups had arrived. They were served in red and white bowls with traditional Chinese soup spoons. Both soups were piping hot and were very tasty with a generous helping of crab meat in my partner's.

For main course we chose king prawn Szechuan style and king prawn with mushrooms from the seafood section, along with egg fried rice for two.

The soup dishes were rapidly replaced by a heated dishwarmer in the middle of the table powered by two tea-light candles. The main courses were carefully placed on top with the egg-fried rice being served separately.

The waiter unwrapped two sets of chopsticks, placed a small amount of rice in each of our Chinese bowls and left us to enjoy the food.

The king prawn Szechuan style was a delicious mix of garlic, peppers, chillies, onions and king prawns. The chillies gave the dish quite a fiery taste without being overpowering.

The slightly sticky consistency of the rice made it easy to pick up and blended well with the spicy prawns.

The king prawn with mushrooms was also nicely cooked though it was blander and included slices of carrots and pieces of spring onion. I enjoyed it immensely as it was very flavoursome without being hot.

All in all, we reckoned the food was excellent and the staff highly attentive.

Because the food is cut into larger pieces, I was happy to use the chopsticks - even though I am a novice - and I soon forgot that I normally use a knife and fork.

We visited on a week night, so business was fairly quiet though there were a number of couples. For a livelier night out Maxi's offers Ladies Night, on a Thursday, with a fourcourse banquet followed by a latenight disco.

Unfortunately it was soon time for us to go as we had work the next day but I know I'll be visiting again - it's got to be cheaper than the air fare to China!

MAXI'S 23 Airedale Road, Keighley. Tel 01535 601792

  • Our writers comment on what they find during a single visit. They accept standards vary from day to day. In the interest of fairness, they do not reveal their identities, and they pay for their meals in full. Each venue is judged against other restaurants of a similar type.