Oriental @ Sharrocks, Lifeboat Road, Formby

May 30 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

Emma Pinch is spoilt for choice at the revitalised Shorrocks, in Formby

AS THE only night spot for about 10 miles around, Formby’s Shorrocks Hill enjoys something of a legendary status locally.

Growing up it had a certain glittery mystique as the backdrop for all sorts of gossip before you were old or cool enough to go; later on, it was where you gigglingly decided to go at a fairly lubricated point in the evening when frankly you were old enough to know better.

Shorrocks Country Club is now an up-market fitness centre and conference venue, and last November it’s onsite restaurant, Oriental @ Shorrocks was launched.

I didn’t know what to expect at the end of the wide sweep of driveway and behind the thick screen of pines. High priced haute cuisine or all-you-can-cram-in buffet?

Done out in rich creams and soothing shades with names like oyster and mushroom, the first surprise is how light and airy it was. Most of the restaurant is set in a windowed conservatory overlooking the woods beyond.

The second surprise was how much choice there was. It clearly wasn’t a restaurant tacked on to the fitness centre, so all the bases were covered. Banquets start at £18.50 per head and the starters and the main courses are endless, plucked from all corners of the South East Asian world.

There is a sizeable list of light vegetarian options, from diced cucumber with cashew nuts to speciality mushrooms either curried or fried in light oyster sauces. Also, if you’re after something light, the revived Shorrocks has about 10 soups, or you can construct your own main with a standard sauce, then anything from squid, beancurd, fillet steak or lamb. It’s pretty much a case of tell them what you want and you’ll get it.

There are also about 40 varieties of noodle dishes, thick and thin, Japanese and Chinese, rice noodles, wheat noodles, fried, crispy and steamed from £8 upwards.

For starters, my friend chose an old classic, crispy duck and pancakes (£9.00). I took a hop into the unknown with the intriguingly titled mixed vegetable amusement (£5.20).

Service was unhurried and gave us a chance to have a nose around the joint. In the darker corners, huge gilt mirrors reflect light and glitter balls inject a bit of nightclubby sparkle. The walls are hung with dozens of black and white photos of film stars, mainly, in various combinations and for a reason we couldn’t discern, Colin Farrell, Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson and George Clooney.

The duck came immaculately presented on white plates. It was not too fatty and not the crispiest of its oeuvre, but as satisfying as ever and with offers of more pancakes and salad if wanted.

Any disappointment over the vegetable amusement not involving anatomically shaped tubes was quickly quashed when we discovered how light and tasty the dish was. Finely chopped mushrooms, peas, mini sweetcorns and carrots in oyster sauce sprinkled with minced cashew nuts in one bowl and a plate of crisp iceberg lettuce shells to wrap the veg in. It’s funny, the extra frisson of pleasure you get from making things at the table. Maybe that explained the amusement part.

For our mains, we chose Bean Curd with Prawn Stuffing in Black Bean and Chilli (£9.75) and the recommended West Lake Pork with Salt and Chilli (£9.00)

The bean curd dish came as about eight omelettey-textured oval packages in a thick clear sauce threaded with egg white and chopped vegetables. It was an interesting dish. I enjoyed the lightness of it and fresh taste of the curd, but the prawn flavour was rather too delicate and overwhelmed by the sauce. I couldn’t detect any chilli in it, or black bean for that matter, but it was unusual and I was glad I went for it. The West Lake Pork was more substantial, and more of a crowd pleaser. The sliced pork had a sweet, smokey taste and a deliciously crispy crust, without being greasy. It sat on a cushion of fresh finely chopped vegetables. With both dishes, it was the first occasion in a long while when I’ve had a Chinese dish that really did taste as though it offered some nutritional benefit as well as that fix that you crave now and again.

The service was excellent. We were asked when we would like the next course, rather than being hustled through it, and the waitress who served us was informative and utterly charming.

The restaurant offers a takeaway service as well and taking remainders home with you is normal.

The bill, which included a bottle of house white, came to a very reasonable £45. In the past 10 years or so, while Indian restaurants have evolved from the flock walls and chicken in fluorescent-coloured goo merchants of old, into establishments offering modern, healthy, authentic alternatives, Chinese restaurants have lagged behind. But the Oriental @Sharrocks was a fresh take on Chinese cuisine and hopefully the sign of things to come.

Oriental @Sharrocks, Lifeboat Road, Formby, Merseyside L37 2EB

Tel. 017048 878009

Web www.oriental@shorrocks.com

Opening times: Open from 5pm to late every day.

Parking: Onsite car park

Disabled access: All flat

Value for money: Good

Ambience: Light and modern

Service: Friendly

The bill: £45.50

emma.pinch@dailypost.co.uk