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The 'Dining Room' is a good quality restaurant serving an excellent selection of modern and imaginative dishes - without being afraid to keep it simple when necessary. This is where East meets West, classic meets contemporary.

The Dining Room is, quite simply, unique. Not because it is a fine restaurant, but, because of its distinct design, it also provides an atmospheric setting. The subtle and seductive lighting creates a relaxed mood, worthy of the interesting food and helpful service.

The Dining Room is open from 12 noon, taking on various menus throughout the day, and in typical New York style they serve fine food as late as 1 am. So, whether it is a business hospitality lunch, post work sustenance, or fine evening dining, the Dining Room at Apartment provides a suitable venue.

Not everyone is aware that Newcastle has its own Chinatown, and in some ways very elegant it is, with the bright, clean colours, carpets with no apparent expense spared, and discreet lighting.

You need to be a real enthusiast to distinguish between the many dishes of the Cantonese cuisine. Here at The Dragon House there is a wide choice, based on a traditional format, with little flourishes and additions that make for even more interesting eating. The pork and oyster hotpot springs to mind.

Most Chinese restaurants do well with their special lunches. These two, sometimes three course events are invariably good value, quickly served and satisfying. To those cynics who ask if I have considered why, I would only say there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating what was not served the night before provided the rules of hygiene have been observed. Many of our mothers did it all the time and can anyone say we are the worse for it? Deafened by your silence I rest my case and trot off down to The Dragon House to enjoy my three course lunch for £5.50. I might even celebrate with a bottle of chilled Chinese beer.

At Sachins you will not only master the art of eating Punjabi style but simply revel in the sheer enthusiasm of the staff. Spread over two floors, the dining area decorated with terracotta pots, polka dotted flooring and a life size image depicts a busy Indian road, an up-close-and-personal experience of real India.

An assorted platter of five tandoori dishes to start could be followed by a main course of murg karahi, diced chicken cooked in Punjabi spices tossed in a wok over a bed of onions, or the Mughlai Akbari, tender lamb simmered in lightly whisked egg, nuts, fresh cream and sauce.

King prawns and monkfish feature in the seafood section and is served pot roasted with tomatoes, ginger, capsicum and coriander, or marinated, barbecued and cooked in a medium spiced sauce. For dessert the delectable honey pot filled with vanilla and toffee ice cream topped with toffee sauce and caramelised pecans may catch your attention.

Abdul Latif's experiments with the curry are sometimes playful, but deeply satisfying; this British restaurateur of Bangladeshi origin founded the Rupali Restaurant, now renamed Curry Capital, which earned a place in Guinness World Records in 2004 for the world's longest-distance curry delivery. But residents of Newcastle-upon-Tyne have a reason to rejoice as they do not have to stray too far for their curry fixes.

The menu covers plenty of area and the use of top-notch ingredients shines through dishes like hash maza, a bhuna styled duck breast cooked in a delightful combination of spices, garnished with fresh coriander, and the fairly dry chinghri sagella, marinated king prawns prepared in the tandoor then cooked with fresh spinach, ground spices, garlic and onions. For that tandoori hankering try the thali, an assortment of chicken and lamb tikka, ¼ tandoori chicken, king prawn, seekh kebab, mixed vegetable bhuna, pilau rice and naan bread.

Rupali is also well-known for its curry hell challenge, the ultimate palate scorching test with the curry.

Take an abandoned signal box, add a saloon coach from the Great Northern Railway, spice well and you have what is probably one of the most unusual Indian restaurants in the country. The atmosphere is lively with a good mix of customers, including the local business fraternity. A specialty of the house is chilli chingri masala, super king prawns barbecued and cooked in specialty blended hot spices.