Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | January 18, 2014 | 25

WE overestimated our capabilities by somestretch . . .

I blame the fact it was a freezingThursday night and I’d been shivering anddaydreaming about crispy duck pancakes sincebreakfast time. My friend Louisa blamed thefact she’d been sitting on the commuter trainfrom London with nothing else to think aboutexcept food.

Combined, both these reasonsspiralled into quite an epic order.Fortunately, our waitress at the YimWah Express is either very tactfulor used to people getting carriedaway with the menu.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasthe latter. Having walked downRegent Street past a gaggle of veryempty Chinese restaurants, turninginto Yim Wah (it sits temptingly atthat horrible junction on LensfieldRoad), I was very pleased I’dbooked – it was packed. Therewas a birthday party going on,students nibbling noodles andChinese families (always a goodsign) tucking in.

That’s not to say it’s the mostbeautiful restaurant to hole upin: it’s functional and practical with wonderfullyattentive staff and featherless ducks slowly cookingin the background. But it is warm, cosy, smellsincredible and they don’t mind you chatting away

in the corner until closing time.Drinks-wise I played it safe with a coke – it is

dry January after all – while Louisa opted for hotbubble tea (£3.50). Neither of us knew what itwas, only that cool indie types order it at painfullychic cafés that make you feel out of your depth, soended up spending a good five minutes trying towork out how it was made and what the purple,berry-like globules at the bottom of the glass were.

It tasted a bit like very sweet chai,but it turns out the jelly bits wereactually flavoured tapioca. It wasgood but definitely not the mostrefreshing drink. . .

But then, who cares what you’redrinking when the mixed horsd’oeuvres are so good (£4.40 perperson)?! We stopped discussingthe merits of bubble tea (there isvery little bubbly about it), as soonas a plate patchworked with ribs,satay chicken, seaweed, springrolls and prawn toast arrived.

The satay was nutty, the chickenall too happy and tender to meltin your mouth, the spring rollscrisp on the outside and fresh inthe middle, the prawn toast nicelyfrazzled but minus the grease, and

the seaweed was, well seaweed, but it was damngood. And the ribs? Oh, the ribs were delicious.Sweet and soft and glazed and ohh. . . they mademe seriously regret not ordering a whole portion.

But had I done that, I’d have missed out on thecrispy aromatic duck, which would have beena travesty (£10.20). Perfectly papery pancakestopped with salty dollops of hoisin, strips ofcucumber and crumbly moist duck and crispy,shredded skin – it was the best bit of the evening,hands down.

Sadly, we tried to follow it up with a healthiermain (kind of).

Beef crispy noodles (£7.50) swam in amushroomy sauce alongside a ‘let’s be good’vegetable side dish. Now, pak choi is a fairlyrecent discovery of mine. Crisp and bright green,it’s addictive dunked in soy sauce, but in garlicsauce a la Yim Wah (£7) I struggled. The stemshad gone a tad soggy and I had to scrape off theexcess garlic (there was a lot – A LOT), which wasdisappointing, but Louisa had no complaints soperhaps I just picked the wrong side of the plate.

Or it was that the beef and vegetables paledwhen compared to the sweet and sour chicken(£8.20) and the special fried rice (£5).

The chicken was slathered in stickily sweetsauce and paired with snappy chunks of onion,green pepper and pineapple for bite, and the rice,crammed with prawns, peas and veg could havestood alone as a meal in itself.

And I love rice, mainly because I spend toomuch of my time lamenting the fact I just can’tcook it properly at home; my own attempts swervebetween claggy, soggy, sludgy and um, burnt.

So Yim Wah, I know where I’ll be coming to getmy rice fix in future.

�Ella Walker’s eyes prove bigger than her stomach at Cambridge’s Yim Wah Express.

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A flavourful feast

TWICE-BAKED CHEESESOUFFLÉS(serves 6)

For the souffles:1tbsp (heaped) polenta1½tbsp olive oil, plus extra forgreasing1tsp butter25g plain flour250ml semi-skimmed milk50g grated Parmesan cheese1tsp Dijon mustard50g light soft cheese2tbsp (heaped) snipped chives,plus extra to serve2 large egg yolks3 large egg whites50g rocket, to serveFreshly ground black pepper

For the tomato salsa:350g cherry tomatoes, finelychopped½ small red onion, finely chopped1tsp tomato pureePinch of crushed dried chilliesFreshly ground black pepper

Lightly brush six 150ml ramekinswith olive oil and coat with thepolenta, shaking out any excess.Place the ramekins in a smallroasting tin.Heat the oil and butter in amedium saucepan, stir in the flourand cook, stirring, for one minute.Remove from the heat and pour inthe milk, a little at a time, stirringwell until the mixture is smooth.Return the pan to the heat andcook, stirring constantly, until themixture thickens and comes tothe boil. Remove from the heat.Reserve one heaped tablespoonof the Parmesan and stir the restinto the mixture, with the mustard,then the soft cheese in smallspoonfuls. Add the chives, seasonwith pepper and leave to coolslightly.Meanwhile, make the salsa. Mixtogether the tomatoes, onion,tomato purée and crushed chillies.Season with pepper, cover andchill until ready to serve.Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan180°C/gas mark 6).Beat the egg yolks into the cheesemixture. Whisk the egg whites tostiff peaks. Using a large metalspoon, fold a spoonful into themixture to slacken slightly. Gentlyand evenly fold in the remainingwhites, half at a time, keepingthe mixture light and airy. Dividethe mixture evenly between theramekin dishes.Pour cold water into the roastingtin to come halfway up the sidesof the dishes. Bake for 15-18minutes until golden on top andrisen. Carefully remove from thetin and leave to cool. The souffléswill sink as they cool.The souffles rise again whenre-baked, and you can preparethem up to 24 hours in advance.If re-cooking, preheat the ovento 200°C (fan 180°C/gas mark 6)and remove the souffles from thefridge about 10 minutes beforebaking. Turn each out of its dishand place on a baking sheet linedwith baking parchment.Sprinkle the reserved Parmesanover each souffle, then bake for 10minutes or until risen. Scatter withchives. Serve each with a pile ofsalsa and rocket.

taste testYim Wah Express, 2-4Lensfield Road, CambridgeTelephone: (01223) 309530Email: info@yimwahexpress.

co.ukOpening hours: 11.30am-

10pm dailyCost: Dinner for two people,including drinks, came to£52.10.

Disabled access: *Food: �����Service: �����Atmosphere: ����Value: ����

Classic version/lighter perserving: kcals 275/175, fat21.6g/10.6g, sat fat 12.5g/4g,salt 0.9g/0.5g.