I've been meaning to go back to Jilin since it re-opened in December, and finally managed to get a group of friends together to try last week. It used to do generous portions of good chinese food in a plastic-tabled rather shabbly room, and was better if you didn't look into the kitchen. That's all changed for the better.

It's now a smart, modern dining area, with a bar, aircon and TV (ho hum) and better still the kitchens have been completely rebuilt - with a glass window so you can see the chefs at work in a clean kitchen! The food was good, and generous, and the whole fish in sweet and sour sauce was spectacularly presented. Better still the service was pretty good too. Overall it was a great evening with good food and company, what more do you need!

So I'm trying to work out which is the best Chinese Restaurant in Freetown; Indochine has the best atmosphere/presentation but it's a run-off between Chinatown and Jilin for the quality/value of the food.. they're all good and I haven't tried the other two recently (New Shanghai & Peking) so watch this space; whatever happens Jilin is a contender!

5* because: 5 of us agreed it's in the top 20% of restaurants in Freetown.