We’d never been to The Chequers in Watlington before, renowned, judging by its red plaque outside, for being featured in Midsomer Murders back in the day.
But now instead of murder and intrigue, the place is bustling with an entirely different kind off customer, those after a good meal at Mayfu Chinese at The Chequers.
With so many village pubs on their knees, they must be applauded for bringing something new to the table and keeping our hostelries alive
Because having been taken over by Gosia and his wife De a year ago, placing Hong Kong born chef David Man in the kitchens, it is now veering away from the traditional pub classics menu and introducing a Chinese vibe to the restaurant instead.
“We wanted to stand out from the crowd and bring something different to the table, literally,” Gosia says. “We could serve pub food like everyone else but as we are a bit out of the way, we’ve chosen something different to make us stand out.”
‘We could serve pub food like everyone else but as we are a bit out of the way, we’ve chosen something different to make us stand out’
Which is why we found ourselves hurtling across Oxfordshire for some of David’s Chinese cooking.
David isn’t reinventing the wheel at Mayfu, that’s not the point, so there are no surprises, and all the classics are evident, with a few Thai dishes thrown in for good measure. And while Mayfu might mirror most Chinese takeaway menus, here you get the added bonus of being able to enjoy your meal in the enchanting, historic 16th century pub.
here you get the added bonus of being able to enjoy your meal in the enchanting, historic 16th century pub
Which meant we dived into crispy duck with pancakes and duck sauce with alacrity, as well as the salt and pepper tofu, a portion of pork dumplings and some seaweed to kick things off, a fight soon developing over who would nab the last mouthfuls.
The duck was served pulled, complete with pomegranates, crispy skin and a nice hoisin sauce, plus the accruements of spring onion and cucumber, and disappeared in an instant. The pork dumplings were juicy, and generous with meat, although the sweet and sour sauce was a bit generic.
The salt and pepper crispy tofu was served in crispy poppadum cups with slices of raw onion and red pepper but weirdly no sauce, so all a bit dry, but the tofu was really well seasoned, and the seaweed was as crispy, sweet and sugary as we’d hoped.
Little cloths were then served, hot water poured on from a teapot to inflate them, a nice touch with which to clean our fingers, and then the main event.
Some beef in black bean sauce, which arrived sizzling on a skillet, and was an immediate favourite; delicious, rich, salty and sweet at the same time, ticking all the boxes.
The house special chow mein with mixed meat stir fried in gravy (chicken, roasted pork and prawn), was a new experience and was devoured pronto.
The Szechuan veg dish was spicy and piquant, the Kun Po sweeter and spiced with peppercorns, while the fried rice provided the perfect accompaniment.
The only dud note was the beef curry, as recommended by our waiter, probably ill advised when all our other dishes were Chinese, but tasted rather bitter.
Excited about dessert – pineapple and banana fritters with syrup and ice cream, toffee bananas and white cookie dough, we ordered them all. Crowd pleasers all round.
The toffee bananas were little round balls with a spoon-tapping toffee exterior, the fritters soft and sweet inside, the cookie dough eye-wateringly sweet and thus much appreciated by my daughter.
There was a party of 15 enjoying a reunion in the furthest room as we left, with no signs of slowing down, grateful for the space and the hospitality, just as we had experienced for ourselves. The Chequers provides that and more.
With plans to roll out similar models in Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire villages imminently, Gosia and De’s new Chinese model is a trend that’s going to keep on giving.
With so many village pubs on their knees, they must be applauded for bringing something new to the table and keeping our hostelries alive for their local communities.
So thanks guys for a lovely evening, not a murder to be found. Can you just open the next one nearer us?
Mayfu Chinese at The Chequers is on Love Lane in Watlington. MORE INFO HERE
