Chengs Kitchen, Preston

We enjoyed a Sunday lunch at this little High St Chinese eatery this weekend. The decor was a little bit fancier than the neighboring restaurants and the price a little higher, but it was an enjoyable meal and the food of good quality. The service, from an older Chinese gentleman, was also very attentive and helpful, something we haven't experienced at other Asian eateries in the same area.

The dumplings we shared for entree were probably the highlights of the meal. All of them were plump and full of flavour.

The dim sum serving came with one vegetarian, one scallop and one prawn. I was only lucky enough to try a prawn one but it was gorgeous, filled with one plump prawn.

The shumai were also pleasing both texturally and taste-wise.

The fried pork dumplings were generous in size and flavour. Unlike some pork dumplings that are sometimes filled with just a bland mince, these had chives and garlic and pork, plus a crispy pastry. Yummo!

The spicy calamari was exceptionally good. I love this style of calamari- tender, crispy pieces of squid with a gorgeous chilli and onion coating. Just beautiful.

After gorging on these entrees, I decided to be good and just have some stir-fried vegies and steamed rice for lunch and let the others share some of the richer mains. Asian is probably the only cuisine that I am happy to do this- the vegetables are always beautifully cooked, fresh with a nice crunch and a flavorsome sauce.

The other mains also looked really great. The chicken and cashews was a very generous serve, and whilst the chicken was thigh which I am not a fan of, it looked quite lean.

The sizzling Mongolian beef was a little spicy for some of the tastes at the table, but also looked yummy with nice large, lean pieces of beef.

Overall, an enjoyable lunch at Cheng's Kitchen. Whilst a little more expensive than your standard Asian eatery in the same area, but the service was overly good which I think made up for the price.