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It’s 100 years since the first Chinese restaurant hit our
shores. Grab your specials board and ‘chalk up a
Chinese’ to celebrate 100 years since curious British
diners tasted their very first oriental dish.
The year was 1909, the food was
Cantonese and the most popular
item on the menu was pork in a sweet
and sour sauce called ‘Jarjow’. Maxim’s,
in London’s Soho, was opened by
former ship’s chef, Chung Koon, but
it wasn’t until after the Second World
War that the Chinese restaurant
became a true British institution. And
now, according to figures from the
Restaurant Association, Brits eat more
than 110million Chinese meals a year.
Until the Seventies, Chinese restaurants
served British-style food such as
chop suey, curry and sweet and sour.
Today’s oriental dishes have become
far more representative of all of China
where there are more than 50 different
regions, says Harry Yeung, MBE, director
and executive chef of Manchester’s
Yang Sing group of restaurants and
hotels.
Harry tells Stir it up: “As British
tastes change, authentic spices,
flavours and textures emerge.
Chinese cooks are now able to be far
more adventurous than in past years.
“For example we now serve more
ostrich to our diners than any other
restaurant in this country.
“It is served as a steak and is very
popular among our customers.
“As a rush of new ethnic restaurants
hit Britain, Harry, whose dim sum chef
father Tim Kwan arrived here from
Hong Kong in 1967, believes Chinese
food must evolve to stay at the top
of the food tree.
“We are very much into fusion cooking
and by that I mean fusing different
styles such as Malaysian and Thai tastes.
“The future of Chinese food in Britain
becomes more exciting each year.” |
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