Eight (baat) is phonetically similar to fortune (faat) or “about to hit the motherload” more like and is significant if you’re Chinese1. Chinese being a culture which has an insurmountable archive of superstitions and a belief system that links fortune to being fortunate. Lady luck is not a bad thing to have on your side, Rob Green could do with some. People will go to great lengths to associate themselves with the number 8. Like bidding for a mobile phone number, car license plate detail, the house number, the more 8′s and multiple 8′s – my brother’s mobile number ends with triple 8s – in one’s life, the more prosperous one’s life might turn out to be. So it is believed. Imagine my delight when I saw the number 88 stamped across one of the giant red pillars outside My Old Place. It’s like winning the lottery, yes… just a number indeed, but if superstition was anything to go by, it would appear to be working. The modest restaurant has garnered gleeful reviews2 online, the Guardian critics especially love it, but more than that, the layman raves about this place too. The word amongst the various social circles (Facebook mostly) is that My Old Place is one of London’s finest Szechuan restaurants, Taiwanese people in London especially love this place. Situated in the shadow of Liverpool Street station, it is

We already know that Pearl Liang’s dim sum menu is more than formidable, however for a Chinese restaurant to have an equally capable dinner menu, that is a definite rarity in London. The word on the street is that Pearl Liang is one such rarity. I already consider this establishment to be serving benchmark dim sum in London, and I wanted to find out if they were a true jack of all trades. For this, we descent to the depths of the Paddington Basin to discover just how alluring it really is

This will be the penultimate entry in my unofficial 2010 Chinese cuisine fortnightly special which is (unofficially) intended to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year (Tiger) which will fall on the 14th of Feb this year. I had always been fasnicated with the idea of Haozhan, being it is one of two restaurants (the other being Plum Valley) in Gerard Street to break from the mould of old world Chinese cuisine. It was obvious that these guys wanted to set Chinatown alight with a touch of elegance, both of which carry shades of Hakkasan. While Plum Valley is more disciplined in it’s approach toward Chinese fine dining; Haozhan dares to venture to the realm of pan asia with a menu that marries the best of East and West, and isn’t shy to get a little creative with their recipes. On paper at least, Haozhan seems an exciting prospect : Owned by Joe Kong who’s family owns New Fook Lam (also in Gerard Street) and having secured a kitchen of ex Hakkasan and ex Kai talent: New blood poised to grab the torch away from their founding fathers

I once held the narrow view that only three types of Chinese restaurants exist in London. Ones that specialized in barbeque meat, others serve dim sum and the rest ripped people off. This perspective is largely unfounded as the diversity of London based Chinese restaurants with specialist regional cuisines are more than far reaching. There is a healthy army of Szechuan inspired eateries, ‘hand-pulled’ noodle specialists are easily accessible, till recently Taiwanese cuisine has been making its waves and not forgetting the ever popular ‘Dai Pai Tong’ style café concepts imported from the streets of Hong Kong. Ah yes, the beauty of Chinese food – diversity. Quite separately, there has been a quiet revolution in what I view as a rebranding exercise which new fangled Chinese restaurants are embarking upon in applying abit of gloss to their respective businesses. The highest profile of these self-appointed fine dining establishments being Hakkasan – a Michelin star holder since the early noughties – serving as an inspiration and subsequently igniting a trend that has seen more success recently with Kai also awarded a star in 2009. Hakkasan wasn’t the first to do it as much before my time, Lee Ho Fook (which today, is rip off central in Gerard St as far as I am concerned) achieved the eponymous status in 1974. So it seemed that there is a market for seasoning Chinese

Dim sum week continues to roll through LondonEater and I have chosen to return to Leong’s Legends Continues – a restaurant which I panned not too long ago. I have good reason to go back because I have heard good things about their dim sum. I take the view that ala carte and dim sum menus in the same restaurant are entirely mutually exclusive; I feel that the style of food is distinct enough which can lead to wildly differing meals. I suppose it is also the same reason why some Chinese restaurants hire dedicated chefs who are in charge of either menus. This isn’t just limited to London restaurants; I carry the same sort of mentality wherever the restaurant is, be it Crystal Jade in Singapore or Kam Fook in Sydney – both of which were memorable meals

The countdown to Chinese New Year begins now. We are technically now at the tail’s end of the Ox year – an insidious one I must say, but in little over three weeks, we will be welcoming the year of the steely Tiger and one which should see us return to prosperity once again. I have been saving up my Chinese restaurant articles and thought it’d be a nice lead-up to the Lunar New Year celebrations. The first day of Chinese New Year will coincide with Valentines this year, and it will last for fifteen days. Depending on who you ask, there are several reasons for the CNY festivities running for as long it is, though as my parents had explained it to me, this period was traditionally the only fifteen days in which people had time off work, technically, there are no more Chinese public holidays during the rest of the year

I finally pulled the trigger. I downgraded my travel card to exclude free roaming in zone 1. I’ll have to pay as I go into central London (I work in zone 4) or use more bus routes, but that’s only a mild inconvenience compared to the annual £600 savings, not to mention the ‘health benefits’ associated with a longer walk home. So my new home station is now Earls Court (again) – probably just about the noisiest street in London. There are plenty of restaurants in the area (I’ve tried most multiple times, including the new-ish Mangosteen), but lately have been frequenting this Chinese restaurant for quick after work bites

Forty five minutes after exiting Temple tube station, I am still wandering around the area. I could have sworn I have walked past Buddha bar before – which faces the river – but for the life of me, all I can see is a Walkabout. Defying pride, I finally make the call to the restaurant for directions; they tell me I need to keep walking right, and then some. Ah, there it is, under a bridge

Many many moons ago, people used to refer to me as ‘Leong’. And several moons after, I became a legend, and I galloped into the sunset with my silver stallion and lived happily ever after. No, I’m kidding, but I did (and still do) go by Kang L(eong), Leong being my surname for anybody who is wondering. I think it translates to ‘Gentle’, so you can all refer to me as Mr Gentle from now on (perhaps a reflection of my skills in the boudoir….?). This (of course) has nothing to do with the Taiwanese restaurant we’re going to talk about, which is now so successful, it has open its second legendary outpost. Let’s find out if indeed, the legend does continue

Royal china is a popular destination for those wanting to experience proper dim sum in London. Located just round the corner from queensway tube station, one could also manage a brisk walk through hyde park,weather permitting of course. a brief history of sunday breakfast, chinese style  For the uninitiated, dim sum is a specific chinese cuisine which is usually served in the mornings till lunchtime in chinese restaurants (this doesnt seem to apply in London). It is normally a weekend affair where families and close friends gather. It can be rather hectic as most chinese restaurants come to life with all the hustle and bustle. A bit like the chinese version sunday brunch. It is also a tradition where the elderly gather to chill out (not sure if they’d call it that..), read the paper and engage in lively debate. That’s also why some people also refer to dim sum as yum cha, which means drink tea. (you might have realised alan yau’s yautcha is a play on the words so you are drinking alan at his joint)  Dim sum (in cantonese) roughly  translates to ‘touch heart’. Depending on whom you speak to, ’touch heart’ can mean that the food is just so heart-touchingly good, or that the food comes in small bite sizes, they are like little gifts to touch your heart. Both are valid interpretations in my opinion, especially when you are eating at Royal China