Oriental Express Takeaway

Oriental Express works the Market Place in central South Normanton as the village's smaller-counter Chinese takeaway, a short walk from Chillies and the more recent Spice Village curry house. The menu is a tight Cantonese-and-Chinese set: sweet and sour dishes, satay and curry-sauce mains, the usual run of chow mein and fried rice, set meals priced for one or two and a handful of duck and prawn specials at the higher end.

For locals it's the practical Market Place collection option — a few minutes off the A38 if you're coming back from the East Midlands Designer Outlet, and easier on the wallet than the larger sit-down restaurants further into the village. The shop has held the pitch for years and trades on the same low-key local-loyalty model that keeps small Chinese kitchens going in Derbyshire villages: keep the cooking consistent, keep the menu pruned, look after the regulars.