My first British Chinese restaurant

Apparently, people in Harrogate love Chinese food.  There are a ton of Chinese places in town, with the most famous appropriately named "Chinese Restaurant."  Very clever.  We decided to try a different place though.  The Imperial Chinese Restaurant had good reviews on Tripadvisor so we gave it a whirl.  It was a really fun experience, and so different than American Chinese restaurants.

When we first walked in the restaurant and told the host we didn't have a reservation, he said he could seat us as long as we could be out by 8:15.  It was only 6:30.  We didn't think it would be a problem.  It turns out that he needed to set a time limit because it was an all-you-can-eat, cooked-to-order, restaurant. 

Imperial Chinese Restaurant

This place was such a great find!  We told them we don't eat meat or shellfish and they came out with a ton of different veggie dishes for us.  We had about eight small dishes in all, and they were all delicious.  My favorite was the seasoned bean curd.  Trust me, it tastes a lot better than it sounds.  The restaurant is a really cool concept because they make the portions different sizes depending on how many dishes you order.  So you can feel free to try lots of different things.

We also decided to have some sake with our meal.  Yes, were were at a Chinese restaurant ordering a Japanese drink, but they had it on the menu.  They must want people to order it :)  The Chinese waitress definitely thought we were crazy.  She said she doesn't drink sake because one of the small cups would make her drunk.  To each their own.

Overall, it was really fun to see how the British present Chinese food.  Very different, but very good!