I may as well start with the ringing endorsement that a friend of mine who has spent about four years in China, and who joined us for dinner at this restaurant on two occasions, described the place as the best Chinese restaurant in Sofia.

That puts it, in my view, somewhere around the middling to high scale for a Chinese restaurant in the "West" if Bulgaria may be counted as such. That scale is subjectively determined by my own experiences of cuisine and restaurants in Far Eastern countries and major cities around the world.

My criticisms of the place are but few, and of the type that need not distract too much from a pleasant evening. I do not much like the wider surrounds of the restaurant, given that the area increasingly is infested with stupid-looking denizens of dark cars. That is hardly the restaurant’s fault, but at least should be noted as among the reasons that parking nearby is not easy.

On all of the occasions that I have eaten at China Dreams in recent months, as an individual I was swiftly seated and when we arrived as a group with a booking, we were served with efficiency.

The restaurant makes a claim to some sort of purist tradition by preparing food in a way suitable for handling with chopsticks, or at least its website claims so. Which makes it slightly ironic that on the first occasion that I ate there, I neither was offered nor saw chopsticks. On subsequent occasions, they were much in evidence.

On my first visit, I ordered the hot and sour soup (250g, 4.99 leva) and was surprised to find it far above the insipid standard of such dishes at equivalent places in Bulgaria. Similarly, the calamari with spicy sauce (400g, 8.99 leva) was a taste delight of great presence.

When we visited in larger groups, our practice was to order a number of dishes and share them. Thus I encountered a number of notable dishes, the chicken with mango (500g, 10.99 leva), chicken with pineapple (500g, 12.99 leva), the beef bon fillet with bamboo (29.99 leva) and the sweet and sour chicken (500g, 10.99 leva). The last two items became especial favourites of ours.

Other menu options include, naturally, a fairly diverse set of offerings of salads, soups and rice dishes (on all occasions I opted for the plain white rice, 2.99 leva for 400g).

A slightly disconcerting note was struck on our most recent visit when we were told that a new wine list was in preparation and we should choose according to an odd system whereby the waiter showed us various bottles that otherwise were standing around nearby the tables. Not only did he show us the imports first (presumably a side-effect of at least half our table speaking English) but he had to go back and forth to check the prices of the bottles in which we expressed interest.

I was rather tempted by the fine South African Kleine Zalze wine, which I know from some years ago, but at close to 40 leva a bottle (it costs about 25 leva in shops) that was a bit much for casual drinking. We opted instead for a Bulgarian wine of good standing and no humble price, either. With one of our party drinking only Chinese tea - he was driving - our most recent bill for a table of four was fairly representative, at about 130 leva.

For all that, it is worth noting that service generally was polite and efficient. My first visit to the restaurant was a casual one on a Saturday night in February and I was among just a few customers, but on all other occasions China Dreams has been well-supported and without having booked in advance, we would not have secured a table large enough for all of us.

Address: 17 Dimitar Manov Str, Ivan Vazov, Sofia

Tel: 0899 806 866

Open: 11am to 11.30pm

Credit cards: yes