WHEN you struggle to park outside a takeaway because there are so many customers' cars there already, it is a sign that the establishment is doing something right.

I was forced to park round the corner and join the queue at the Empire and it wasn't even teatime.

The good thing was that it gave me the chance to study the menu and decide what to have by the time I reached the counter.

The Empire is both a fish and chip shop and a Chinese takeaway. Clearly most of the locals were going for some good old fish and chips but I had to be different.

There is a large selection of Chinese dishes available and reasonably priced too.

I went for deep fried beef with hot and spicy sauce and boiled rice and for the better half I ordered kung po beef, again with boiled rice. In total the two dishes came to £9.

I had about a 10 minute wait before heading home. The portions weren't the largest you'll be served but were certainly sufficient for all but the gargantuan appetites.

My beef dish was interesting because, although it had been deep fried, it wasn't crispy, instead remaining tender. The sauce was nice and tangy, although a little more would have been welcome. The kung po dish comprised lean strips of beef cooked with vegetables and cashew nuts, served in a hot sauce. You couldn't quibble about the number of cashew nuts, which was a pity on this occasion, as the better half informed me she didn't really like them!

But overall the food was well cooked and reasonably priced.

TASTE 7 TEMPERATURE 8 SPEED 7 VALUE 7 CHOICE 8

Empire is on Accrington Road, Blackburn.