IN Chinese circles it's the year of the dog. Not a fact my husband and teenage children find amusing.

Doubtless they are concerned because I need no encouragement. Hubby turns a fascinating hue of purple every time I refer to him as our Westie's daddy. And the children are not speaking to me after I called her their sister in front of friends - in public. And then there's the dog's Christening; well that was actually a rather successful April Fool sort of So it came to pass that, as persona non grata, on the domestic front, I felt in need of comfort food in the sympathetic company of a gaggle of girlfriends. You know the sort; those who don't batter an eyelid at a three hour telephone conversation, or think nothing of spending just as long in the same shop. And they will walk next to me when my dog has her tweed coat on.

More often than not our girlie nights consist of a takeaway, devoured curled up on squashy sofas with a side order of gossip perfect. However, now there is an alternative because after a long absence, Skipton has finally got a Chinese restaurant, E-Pan, on Swadford Street.

Blink and you'll miss it - it could lose the neon transport caf style cards on the window though.

Once inside, more than a nod has been made in the direction of themed ambience, although don't expect fancy. No chopsticks on the table, just knives and forks. Neither were they offered - I had to ask.

The extensive menu is mouth watering though, and there's a surprisingly large wine list. The ubiquitous special banquet was tempting, and there are set dinners aplenty, including one for vegetarians.

Appetisers average £4 and main dishes are from to £4.50 to around £8. We began with half an aromatic crispy duck with pancakes, salt and pepper spare ribs and frogs legs in garlic sauce, which were magnifique (apologies for the change of continents).

Staff were in abundance almost a case of too many cooks because, despite this, service was a little hit and miss. However, everyone was pleasant.

Our main courses consisted of deep fried duck with prawn meat, sweet and sour chicken, crispy beef and Szechuan king prawns. We accompanied these with crispy noodles and rice chosen from an ample selection of side dishes.

Coffee came with fortune cookies and all in all we enjoyed our food, which was plentiful.

I had reserved our table and the restaurant was busy, soon becoming full.

The atmosphere was relaxed and as we lingered over coffee at no time did we feel hurried.

I have said the restaurant is small, and it did become very hot the rain and wind of a cold night actually offering relief as we exited onto the street. Our bill totalled £61.70 excluding drinks.

I've never really been able to manage dessert after a Chinese meal, and this occasion was no different, especially as we'd devoured our main meal leaving nothing even for a doggy bag. And my fortune cookie prophecy?: "Old Chinese proverb say; it is wise woman who knows where to draw line between four paws and faux pas, for this is the path to true domestic harmony"

Reviewed by Helen McGee