KACHINA oozes class and style as soon as you walk in.

The decor of the Chinese restaurant and dim sum bar is light and the whole atmosphere is relaxed.

My husband and I opted for the banquet menu, which, on a Thursday evening, was a very reasonable £14.95.

There is a choice of 30 different starters.

After we dithered for a while about what to have, our waitress suggested that we start with a platter of some of the starters and a plate of crispy aromatic duck.

Within a matter of minutes our starters arrived, and the duck was removed from the bone at our table.

The serving staff were extremely polite and on hand to give us tips with the best way to eat some of the starters, as we were complete novices.

Our selection included barbecued spare ribs, smoked shredded chicken, satay chicken, crispy seaweed and prawn crackers, all of which were fantastically delicious.

We then opted for some more starters - a bowl of tasty hot and sour soup each and crispy Mongolian lamb.

By the time our main courses arrived we were both completely stuffed, but managed to eat them nonetheless.

I had Szechuan king prawns with egg fried rice and my husband had Kung Po beef with rice.

The main courses look a little on the small side, but considering the amount we had had to eat, they were enough.

Forget all your manners when you eat at Kachina - you use your fingers and it is almost impossible not to make a mess.

But for the quality of the food and the attentive service, it is well worth a visit.

VG

Kachina 376 Shirley Road, Southampton

Reservations: 023 8078 0222