YES, I could have a table for two for Saturday night, said the woman who answered the phone at The Orchid. But only at 6pm or 6.30pm. And I could only stay for two hours.

This was off-putting. But presumably it is the price you pay for wanting to dine at a popular restaurant, so I went ahead and booked.

The Orchid, at the Studley Hotel in Swan Road, Harrogate, is beginning to make a name for itself. It has earned a mention in this year’s Good Food Guide, for a start – impressing the editors with its “innovative and exciting pan-Asian cooking”.

I’ve eaten plenty of innovative and exciting Asian cooking in my time – a fiery hotpot eaten in Chengdu, capital of China’s Sichuan Province, and delicious steamed dumplings I once had for breakfast in the eastern Chinese city of Yangzhou spring to mind. So this was a challenge I just had to meet.

The Studley Hotel is a grand old building in one of Harrogate’s quieter central streets. It was bucketing down when we arrived, so we were glad we were able to park on the street just outside.

Inside, The Orchid is cool, elegant and contemporary. Wooden tracework partitions and vaguely oriental paintings on the wall give an indefinable feel of the east, without being too obvious. The floor is polished wood, the tables small (those for two, at least) without feeling too crowded.

As for the menu, that is spectacular. Pan-Asian is the right word for it – there are dishes here from Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Canton, Korea, Hong Kong and Sichuan.

Our eyes grew round with anticipation. Starters ranged from Hong Kong soft shelled crab to Japanese tiger prawns, Malaysian satay beef to Korean steamed dumplings. There was even seabass soup from Hong Kong.

The range and variety of main courses was even better. When was the last time you found Gaeng Panaeng Nuea (richly spiced curry with coconut cream) from Thailand, Pork Tonkatsu (deep fried marinated loin of pork) from Japan or Calabasha Prawns cooked with butternut, green beans and coconut milk from the Philippines all on the same menu?

We ordered drinks – a pint of proper Czech Budvar for me, an apple juice for Lili – while we pondered the menu.

Eventually, Lili opted for the Singapore Crispy Prawns (£6.90) for her starter, while I chose the Mieng Gai (lightly spiced minced chicken, seasoned with crushed peanuts, shallots, peppercorns, garlic and lemon served on Thai betel leaves, £5.20) from Thailand.

We’d scarcely sat back after ordering before our starters arrived. My Mieng Gai was spectacular. It arrived as four neat piles of minced chicken, crushed peanuts, chopped shallots and peppercorns arranged on four betel leaves for me to wrap myself. The plate was artistically set off with a pink-petalled lily flower, and the taste was astonishing: an explosion of heat, tartness and spiciness that warmed and tickled the taste buds without burning.

I couldn’t sample Lily’s prawns because I can’t eat seafood, but she assured me they were among the best she had eaten in the UK.

Starters over, we sat back and eyed each other happily, knowing we were in for a good meal.

For our main course, we had ordered between us the lightly steamed fillets of seabass with garlic and plum sauce from Hong Kong (£19.50) and the black pepper sizzling beef (£9.50 for a ‘small’ portion) from Canton. We also ordered a side dish of 7 Jewels vegetables (£5.75 for a small portion) to share. Lily chose the Hong Kong stir fried noodles (£6) to accompany her meal, while I opted for plain steamed rice (£2).

Again, our meals came quickly: almost before we had had time to draw breath. The sea bass arrived on a huge, heated dish shaped like a metal fish, and was delicious: succulent and delicate. There were no bones, and to my surprise the plum sauce complemented the tender flesh beautifully.

The sizzling beef was also excellent – large chunks of tender diced beef sizzling in a sauce with beautifully cooked green peppers, and perked up nicely by the peppercorns and lemongrass.

The seven jewels vegetables included fresh, crunchy baby sweetcorn and mange tout in a light soy sauce. It was a crisp, light dish that complemented the others well.

Lili’s noodles could have made a meal in themselves, although my steamed rice was a little on the dry side.

We feasted, and between us managed to polish off almost everything on our table, a sign in itself of the quality of the food.

I just managed to find room for a delicious, refreshing and zesty mango sorbet (£4.90) and a cafetiere of excellent coffee (£2).

The food at the Orchid is excellent. If I have any gripes, they would be to do with the speed of the service (I would have liked a slightly more leisurely meal) and the price.

Our bill came to £71. This included an “optional service charge” of £5.85 which was already built in. Not many diners, I’d bet, would have the determination to say they did not want to pay this.

This is a shame. The service was excellent, but I like to feel it is my choice to offer a tip.

That apart, our meal at The Orchid was thoroughly enjoyable – and judging by the cheerful chatter coming from the busy tables all around us, we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed our visit.

Just make you book well in advance to avoid disappointment – and don’t expect to be able to linger.

The Orchid Restaurant, 28 Swan Road, Harrogate. 01423 560425

• Stephen and Lili visited on Saturday, September 6.