On a Wednesday evening in late summer I made my way to Eatzen in Ashbourne Town Centre, a Chinese restaurant of which I had heard good reports. My friend Robert lives in Meath and was prevailed upon to join me. I thought he was within spitting distance but in fact the journey to Ashbourne from his pocket of Meath near Navan took almost as long as mine from south Dublin. Geography never was one of my strengths.

There's no getting away from the fact that Eatzen is located upstairs in a shopping centre. Personally, I find that a dispiriting prospect – particularly in the evening when the shops are closed and the car parks are empty and more than a little creepy. Somehow eating in a shopping centre is alright during the day when the experience is an adjunct to the shopping, it doesn't feel right as an evening pursuit. As it was, Tesco was still open when we arrived and our table on the upper mezzanine level of Eatzen afforded Robert a terrific view of the checkouts and all the goings on there.

There was no stinting when it came to designing and finishing the interior of Eatzen – it is undoubtedly very smart. It's a large space, divided into upper and lower levels and with the ramped feel of a catwalk. The furniture, lighting and fittings are of high quality (and the bathrooms are very luxe) but the overall feel of the place left me cold. Clearly I was finding it hard to put the whole shopping centre thing out of my mind.

For starters, we shared a ¼ Aromatic Duck (€15) and a portion of Yuk Sung (€8). The Duck had been prepared by a Weight Watchers aficionado – it was a politically correct version of the classic with all the evil removed: that is, there was plenty of meat but none of the crispy, delicious, unctuous fat that is the real reason that anyone ever orders this dish. As Robert observed, "we're grown ups and I would have preferred if they had allowed us make that decision for ourselves."

Yuk Sung – 'finely minced pork presented in a crisp lettuce wrap' according to the menu – was bland. We felt that it would have benefitted from a piquant dipping sauce to liven things up. My pal Rebecca makes a mean version of this and I'd be happy to put the chef at Eatzen in touch with her if he'd like a few pointers.

Neither of the main courses that would have been our first choices was available on the night that we visited. So I'm sorry to say that I can't report on either Thai Style Cuttlefish or Steamed Scallops. In their stead, we ordered Szechuan King Prawns (€20) and a Malaysian Beef Randang Curry (€20) – perfectly edible, pleasant plates but both missing the mark in terms of the exuberance of flavour that one wants from Asian food. Stir Fried Asparagus and Chinese Broccoli with Ginger (€8 each) were, respectively, dull and very good.

Presentation throughout was as smart as the premises but in the final analysis neither one of us thought the quality of the food anything better than a decent takeaway served on posh plates. Service was efficient if slightly terrifying in a camp commandant kind of a way.

Our bill for two, with one portion of steamed rice, a good Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream (€7.50) and no drinks other than tap water and a single Chinese tea (Eatzen was unable to provide a requested decaf coffee because of a broken machine) came to €92.30 before service. €50 a head for competent but unexceptional food and no alcohol is just too much to my mind, but perhaps because there are so few options for locals to choose from in this neck of the woods Eatzen can get away with it.

Eatzen Fine Cuisine, Unit 4, Building 3B, Ashbourne Town Centre, Co Meath. 01-8352110. Rating: 2/5