Oriental Wok

Oriental Wok is a small Cantonese-Peking-Thai takeaway on Chapel Street, in a parade just off Ripley's Market Place. It sits in the cluster of three Chinese shops Ripley has on this central stretch — Oriental Wok, Wan's Garden and previously Laureate Oriental — but holds the strongest reviews of the three, with a Tripadvisor score above four and several local Facebook recommendations.

The menu runs wider than most neighbourhood Cantonese shops: the standard chicken-in-black-bean, sweet and sour, foo yung and chop suey list, but also a properly populated Thai section, an aromatic crispy duck listing, and a slightly longer seafood selection. Set meals are sized for one, two or four. Free parking sits across the road, which is unusual on this part of Chapel Street, and the shop is closed on Mondays — Tuesday through Sunday it opens late afternoon through to around half past ten, with the Friday and Saturday close pushed back a little.

It is the option Ripley regulars pick when they want a Chinese cooked with a bit more care than the standard takeaway sheet usually allows.