I’ve always loved the debate surrounding the best takeaway, or ‘carry out’ if you’re right out in the sticks.
Everyone has their favourites, but one man’s banquet can be someone else’s bad experience.
Sometimes I think it boils down to luck on the night, plus the factor that the hospitality industry seems to be faced with an increasingly hard-to-please audience.
Yumi in Ellon
I witnessed this first-hand when we decided to order from Yumi, which can be found on Bridge St in Ellon.
Having opened last September, it has become our go-to for Asian cuisine and it would seem half of Ellon feels the same.
With this not being our first rodeo, we knew to order as soon as the place opened at 4.30pm on a Saturday night.
The young front-of-house server is a complete gem, and took our considerable order with complete professionalism, even double-checking the list.
We were having dinner with our neighbours, Cathy and Kevin, who have become very dear friends.
They have also dedicated foodies and having travelled widely, they know good food.
I arranged a time of 6pm for collection, note that this hotspot is cash only.
Upon arrival, one customer was in the middle of a complicated request, something about sauce in a separate pot.
Again, the young chap on the till didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
There was quite a queue, and rather a lot of huffing as he patiently explained that there would be a wait time of around an hour for those who hadn’t ordered in advance.
I take this as a sign of a popular takeaway, with dishes made from scratch instead of being rustled up in advance and passed off as fresh.
It’s a pity some fellow customers didn’t feel the same; sadly I think impatience is becoming commonplace towards hospitality staff in general.”
The interior of Yumi is modern and welcoming, I’ve been in many a takeaway joint where a battered old sofa serves as a place to perch.
I collected our order which smelt incredible, before hot-footing it to Cathy and Kevin’s house with the goods.
The food
The menu itself has so many varied options, with 21 different dishes available as a starter
The mains also offer something a little different, from Chicken Masak Lemak to Foo Yung dishes and curries.
When I say I went overboard in ordering, well buckle up because there was enough food for the 5,000, never mind four adults and a prawn cracker mad five-year-old.
Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but you really do get a good feed with generous portion sizes.
To start with, we selected chilli wings, crab claws, prawn toast, Thai chicken skewers and King Do ribs.
Plus a big bag of prawn crackers, because how can you not?
The wings were battered while the King Do ribs were cooked in traditional Peking fruity sauce.
Kevin, who is a spice fiend, felt the wings could have done with more of a kick, but nonetheless he enjoyed the dish, and appreciated the cripsy veggies which were served alongside.
The ribs, delicious.
There’s something quite animalistic about tucking into ribs, and the meat had clearly been cooked to perfection as it fell off the bone with ease.
Sticky faces and hands, my five-year-old even gave the ribs a try and declared them delicious.
His favourite dish however, was the crab claws.
Deep fried and with plenty of juicy meat, there were at least five to share out.
They were served on a bed of lettuce, and were beyond tasty without feeling too heavy on the old digestion.
Onto the Thai chicken skewers, which were served with lemongrass and red pepper sauce.
Again, the meat had been cooked well and the flavour was just beautiful.
As for the prawn toast, not too chewy or too crispy.
In other words, just right, especially when dipped into sweet and sour sauce.
We took our time trying all the dishes as opposed to ordering set meals, and this worked out really well.
My husband openly admits that he always orders the same thing, but with more of us sat around the dinner table, it was an opportunity to try something new.
The mains were served with our choice of egg fried rice and fried noodles, I never claimed this meal would be healthy.
We opted for a classic, duck in plum sauce, Malaysian satay chicken, a special curry and Thai sweet chilli chicken.
The latter was my choice, and consisted of light battered chicken coated in a sweet chilli sauce.
It was bursting with flavour complete with a rainbow assortment of vegetables and a lovely thick and tangy sauce.
The portion was sizeable and very enjoyable.
Kevin, who is a huge fan of Indian cuisine, declared the Chinese special curry to be one of the better ones he has sampled over the years.
It came with some big juicy prawns and again, lots of vegetables hidden in the sauce.
The duck in plum sauce was another crowd-pleaser, and the Malaysian chicken came with a succulent coconut and peanut sauce.
It was stir-fried with peppers and onion, so there was plenty of texture and the peanuts really tantalised the taste buds.
A simple and yet delicious dish which took us all by surprise, was the salt and pepper chips.
With the Aberdonian accolade of “fine” we all agreed the chips were very moreish.
To finish off this absolute feast, I ordered banana fritters to match my sweet tooth.
Deep fried and drizzled in syrup, I was full after two mouthfuls.
This is a dish so sweet it will make your teeth ache, but in my eyes it had to be done.
I can confirm that we were able to put together yet another feast the next day thanks to considerable leftovers.
The verdict
When it comes to cost, the bill came to £78.90.
Yes, it’s hefty.
But considering we ordered more than a dozen dishes, with portion sizes big enough for everyone to have a try, it comes in at just under £20 per head.
You can’t really compare to a dine in experience, but I personally felt this was good value for money.
This wasn’t your standard evening as we enjoyed dinner with friends, with the added bonus of not having to cook.
We’ll definitely be ordering again, although next time I’ll go easy on the fritters.
Information
Address: Unit 3, 32 Bridge Street, Ellon Aberdeenshire AB41 9AA
Telephone: 01358 722982
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