Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

I recall, some 20 years ago, visiting for my birthday when a good friend decided to give eating with chopsticks a try. Sadly, the best he could do was to spear a chip with them. However, the experience did not deter the restaurant from offering chopsticks to diners in the years that followed – although my friend never did master them.

Fast forward to 2023 and the welcome is just as warm, the team as efficient and the menu as extensive as it always has been. The restaurant was full with the exception of the two biggest tables – quite a feat for a windy Wednesday evening. Families, couples and colleagues had obviously made the effort for the four-course set menu that will set you back less than £16 a head.

Deciding this was too good a deal to miss, my guest chose the meal deal, starting with a rich, hearty duck soup followed by crispy and golden prawn wontons. While there is a vegetarian set menu available, I’d set my heart on salt and pepper bean curd which was as vibrant in appearance as it was in flavour.

King's Cantonese is located on King Street, Drighlington (Photo: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

My guest’s main course of sweet and sour chicken was a classic that was executed perfectly, with a silky sauce of just the right piquancy. A dish of rich chocolate ice cream rounded off the four-course feast in style.

King’s is the restaurant where I had my first taste of mock meat. The original plant-based meat substitute, it was invented by the vegetarian Chinese Buddhist monks centuries ago and is widely used in Asian cuisine.

It absorbed the flavour of my spicy satay sauce perfectly, while its springy texture provided an interesting contrast to the plethora of crispy peppers and onion. Side dishes are generous in size – my portion of boiled rice would have cheerfully fed two.

King’s is how eating out was before Instagram took over and put fancy decor over service and food quality. There are no gimmicks, no blossom trees, just delicious, authentic cuisine and spot-on service at a price that won’t make your eyes water.