The Mayflower Chinese, Somercotes
Published On Friday 29 Aug 2014 by Sticky Beak
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My flock are , as you well know , ravenous pretty much 24/7. Over the summer holidays my baby chick and her friends have raided my food cupboards and gone through the contents like a plague of locusts, so one night we didn’t have much of anything left with which to make dinner. I ruffled my feathers in frustration and spat my worm out in a performance Audrey HepBIRD would have been proud of, before announcing I was ordering Chinese Takeaway as I wasn’t cooking that night.
A week or so after that takeaway we had some friends round and we decided to have another treat, so we ordered take away from the same Chinese; The Mayflower on Birchwood Lane in Somercotes.
We parked in Birchwood Lane itself to pick our orders up, although there is parking a bit further up in the Marketplace next to the Co-op and they do also offer a delivery service within a few miles free of charge.
This blog is going to be a bit different to most of my others in that I will list some of the dishes we have sampled and give a general commentary on people’s thoughts of the food, rather than go into a lot of detail.
So, for the appetisers, we have tried Prawn Crackers, Salt and Pepper Shredded Chicken, Shredded Beef in Peking Sauce, Spicy Sesame Chicken, Spring Rolls, Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs and Sesame Prawn Toasts. The items that you know to be cooked in oil (such as the prawn crackers) were all voted to be very tasty and not greasy at all, and the Spring Rolls had lovely crispy pastry around them. The Prawn Toasts were very meaty affairs indeed, you could actually see a good layer of prawns, and the Ribs and Shredded Chicken had a great chilli kick to them as indicated on the menu. So those that like spicier items were catered for too. The Spicy Sesame Chicken was a bit like the fried ball shapes you get for sweet and sour, but with a denser batter that had sesame seeds in it, and it came with a sweet chilli dipping sauce too. Everyone was really happy with their starters on both occasions that we tried them.
For the main dishes there are the usual suspects such as Sweet and Sour Pork Balls and Chicken Chop Suey as well as more specialist dishes like Thai Green King Prawn Curry. In addition we have had Chicken Kung Po, Szechuan Chicken, Black Pepper Chicken, Special Chow Mein and Chicken Chow Mein. Both times we opted to pay an extra 50p to upgrade from boiled rice or chips to egg fried rice. The Chow Mein dishes come in large size foil trays, and each one could comfortably feed 2 people if you wanted. In the Special Chow Mein I was impressed by the fact that the meat was decent sized chunks and wasn’t cheap fatty bits that you sometimes get. The Kung Po and Szechuan dishes both had plenty of fresh vegetables in them too, which gave them a nice texture and flavour. Again, people were pleased to report that the dishes hadn’t been swimming in oil, they were all piping hot, and the portion sizes were very good too.
When we went in to collect we were greeted with a smile and spoken to very politely. Our dishes were prepared for the times we were told so we weren’t left waiting for ages either, another plus if you want to go and collect yourself. The premises themselves are very clean and their hygiene certificate (rated the maximum 5) is clearly displayed. I would have to say that we were very pleased with the food and service we had from the Mayflower, so if you haven’t tried it before I can definitely recommend it. Nice one Somercotes, you’ve got a lovely little gem here!! Hot Wings for the Mayflower team, we look forward to using you again soon when we have lazy night planned :)
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