A pair of Ayr restauranteurs believe their passion for cooking sets them apart from the competition after scooping a top prize at the Scottish Asian Food Awards.

Ruby Seven Days, based in the town's New Bridge Street, was highly commended in the Cantonese Restaurant of the Year category at the prestigious awards. 

Husband and wife owners Lisa Liu and Louie Cheung, originally from Hong Kong, have been running the restaurant for the past decade.

The restaurant was also highly commended in the same category at last year's Scottish Asian Food Awards.

Lisa runs the front-of-house service whilst Louie cooks in the kitchen after spending the last two decades as a chef.

Speaking of the award, Lisa said: "It is a great achievement for us to be highly recommended twice and we are so grateful.

"We will keep working to improve and hopefully next year we can be the overall winners in the category.

"The award is voted for by customers and we are so happy that our hard work is being recognised by those who eat here.

"We have a young family, so trying to juggle everything can be a challenge but it has been worth it so far."

Lisa believes her husband's passion in the kitchen for his own business helps set Ruby Seven Days apart from the rest.

She explained: "We have six staff in total but the difference from other restaurants is that my husband is the chef.

"He cooks so passionately and makes delicious food for the customers. He has been working as a chef for 20 years and has a lot of experience. 

"We have a great mix of dishes from Chinese to Thai to some Japanese, so there is something for everyone.

"Obviously, it's a challenging time for the hospitality industry with rising bills. but we will keep trying our hardest to improve and get better."