Cathay Princess

Cathay Princess sits on Cotmanhay Road, the main route running north from the Market Place out through the Cotmanhay post-war housing estate. It is one of the established Chinese takeaways in this end of Ilkeston, with its own website, a steady delivery round and a menu that runs longer than most of the local independents.

The kitchen works through a broad Cantonese-led list with a clear Hong-Kong-style sweep — sweet-and-sour pork balls and chicken Hong Kong style, beef in black bean, chicken with cashew nuts, salt-and-pepper ribs, foo yung, Singapore-style fried rice, plus chow mein and chop suey across the standard meats. The starters section is unusually broad: spring rolls, prawn toast, ribs in three sauces, salt-and-chilli wings, sesame prawn on toast. A small vegetarian section caters for the non-meat household member, and the kitchen runs proper set meals for two to four.

Trading is evening only, opening at five and running through to around eleven, with delivery covering Cotmanhay, central Ilkeston, Larklands and the immediate residential streets either side of the canal. Most orders come by phone or through the Cathay Princess website; collection trade is steady. Among locals on the Cotmanhay estate, it is one of the default Friday-night calls.