What is it about the Chinese or the East Asian love of food?  Certainly, we live to eat and not the other way around.  Food is part of my earliest memories and a fundamental part of who I am.  It's in my blood and soul, even as with most second generation I can't cook half as well as my parents.  I love talking about food, drawn by an array of aromas, tastes, textures, contrasts and ingredients.  My eyes light up when I see good food, from a sumptuous wedding feast to a simple well-cooked meal at home.

I'm sure there have been many occasions when you have sat down to a meal with extended family or, perhaps, your British Chinese or other friends where the topic of the conversation has not only been on the present meal, but what and where you ate the last time and what and where to eat the next.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

I can see friends and acquaintances' eyes glaze over with astonishment as plate upon plate is served and I have asked for my third bowl of rice at a Chinese restaurant.  I can hear their mental conversations: "How is this woman packing in so much food?"  You can blame the genes for my ability to eat rice and short (5-foot-nothing) does not equate to a small appetite! 

"We do not remember days; we remember moments." ~ Cesare Pavese.

I am the daughter of a restaurateur.  My father didn't set out to be a chef and own a restaurant, but economic circumstances and a lack of formal education, money and English meant he had to learn a trade quickly when he arrived in England in the early 1960s from Hong Kong.  As with many who immigrated to the UK, he got a job through family connections in a Chinese kitchen and started to learn how to cook.  He found he had an aptitude for cooking, i.e., the speed, dexterity and mastery of ingredients and tastes required of a good Chinese chef.  And, as they say, the rest is history. 

Through hard work, my parents bought their own restaurant in the mid-1970s and throughout the remainder of the 70s, 80s and early 90s our family restaurant became the "exotic" neighbourhood place to eat, serving classic Cantonese dishes for the adventurous locals, as well as a limited English menu for the diehards, who wanted Western fare...yes, even in a Chinese restaurant!  I remember with amusement taking orders from regular customers for fillet or sirloin steak and chips, but they insisted it was served with my father's special Chinese gravy!  It became a game for me to see whether I could tempt some of our regulars to try something different.  I'd do my best to describe dishes in mouth-watering details; they'd listen attentively, but always ended up ordering something "safe", something they knew.

Seeing with Fresh Eyes.

You notice changes more sharply when you're not surrounded by the person, situation or thing on a daily basis.  Each time I come back to the UK to visit family and friends I see things with fresh eyes.  Certainly, I have new lenses when it comes to Chinese takeaways and restaurants; my thoughts are confirmed by family and friends, who are in the catering business.  People have become more adventurous in their food choices in the last 10 to 15 years. 

For Chinese takeaways, this means more variety on the menu.  Now dishes once only served in restaurants have become standard items, such as shrimp toast, yuk sung and kung pao chicken.  However, more choices for customers means taking short cuts to save on time and labour, like buying prepared spring rolls instead of making them from scratch.  When I was growing up and helping at my parents' restaurant, I actually enjoyed the task of putting a pile of filling on to a spring roll skin and rolling the skin up to make a large, chunky spring roll - there's definitely a skill in rolling up a good spring roll and not only that, but to make a large number in a short amount of time.

And to Continue with my Conversation with Helen Yuet Ling Pang.

Because of my love of food, I was interested to find out from Helen Yuet Ling Pang what she thinks are the up-and-coming trends in world and Chinese cuisines.  Food writing is Helen Yuet Ling's hobby and passion, and it shows in her exciting food blog, World Foodie Guide (WFG).  She spends most of her spare time researching restaurants, keeping up-to-date with the latest openings, finding out what other food bloggers are doing and keeping in touch with them, and doing general publicity work by being part of food communities like Chowhound, as well as writing reviews for DimSum.

Helen Yuet Ling, What gave you the idea of writing a food blog?

"I've always been interested in food.  As the child of a restaurant owner, it would be strange not to be obsessed about it.  I never learned to cook properly, although my mother did try to teach me.  I always enjoyed hanging out in the kitchen and chatting to her, rather than doing anything hands-on.  So, apart from some survivalist cooking (a few simple dishes), I preferred to eat out.  This habit must come from a childhood of having food served to me, whether in the restaurant or at home.  I've eaten in a lot of restaurants over the years, although I've slowed down since meeting my husband - he prefers to eat good food at home and he does all the cooking!

For years, friends would ask me about good restaurants I'd visited and it got to the point where I thought I'd better write down all the information for them instead.  WFG started life on Squidoo (a site that lets you create ‘lenses' based on the idea that anyone can be an expert on something), but in September 2007, I decided to move the restaurant reviews to a blog because I wanted more interaction with readers; this is very important to me.  Everyone loves to talk about food, no matter who they are or where they are from.  I've made some fascinating contacts through my blog in places as far-flung as Melbourne, New York and Jakarta.

I started to add recipes to my blog, kindly donated by my family and friends. These have been extremely popular and have attracted more visits and comments than the restaurant reviews.  Chinese recipes are very sought after.  I've been cooking a bit more now and there are a couple of my own recipes - steamed and pan-fried dumplings and XO scallops with noodles.  My mother's so impressed!  WFG is a great meeting point for people around the world, who love food."

What is the best thing about writing your blog?  What sort of people have you "met" via the blog?

"The best thing about writing the blog is getting feedback from people. All the feedback has been incredibly supportive and some of the comments have been invaluable extensions to my posts.  The people I've met through WFG have mostly been other food bloggers, so I've discovered a whole new world of food.  Everyone has their own speciality and style, and I'm very much inspired by what I've seen.  I'm always amazed by their professionalism and passion, and I'm pushed to work ever harder on WFG as a result of wanting to improve it all the time."

What have been reactions from restaurants you've reviewed?  Do they know you are reviewing them?

"Most restaurants don't know what I'm up to, so it's great for me, as I can be left alone to scribble in my notebook and take as many photos as I want.  I don't want to feel any pressure to write a ‘positive' review of a restaurant.  I have no connections with any restaurants and no one has ever offered me a free meal.  A few waiters have asked, mostly out of curiosity, and, on those occasions, I will tell them what I'm doing.  One waiter, Chinese of course, suggested I turn it into a money-making venture when I said reviewing restaurants was just a hobby!  I've only ever been told once to stop taking photos; this was at Sake no Hana, Alan Yau's latest eaterie.  By then, I'd already taken more than enough for my review, which incidentally was the first in the world and has had around 700 views so far.  Readers need to see the food as well as read about the experience, so that's why I'm always very keen to get the photos.'

What have been some of your favourite countries for food?

"You can see from WFG that I will eat almost anything from anywhere.  But I do love Japanese food.  The flavours and ingredients are at the same time familiar and yet different to Chinese food.  I have many Japanese friends, who have introduced me to different types of food and I've eaten some sensational meals in Japan - sashimi from fish caught that day and Kobe beef that melts in the mouth (proper Kobe beef, not this ‘Wagyu-style beef' that all restaurants love to feature on their menus). 

I also love pasta.  Fortunately, my husband cooks a lot of Italian dishes, as he spent some time in Milan.  Once in a while, I get a craving for a thick, juicy Argentinean steak cooked medium-rare.  I used to go to this great Argentinean steakhouse on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and endure long queues just to have this steak.  My dream is to travel to Argentina, spend some time on a ranch, go horse riding, and eat steak every day.  But I'd have to leave my vegetarian husband behind..."

What are the up- and-coming world cuisines to hit restaurants in the coming year or so?

"The key trend in the UK seems to be tapas from every cuisine imaginable.  I used to think this referred only to Spanish food, but now you can find Indian tapas, Japanese tapas, Italian tapas and the list goes on.  Of course, dim sum served day and night would be Chinese tapas, like at Yauatcha.  Restaurants are selling smaller dishes that people can share, even in French restaurants, such as La Petite Maison, where you would traditionally have two or three courses each.  Alan Yau's latest venture, Sake no Hana, serves smaller Japanese dishes for sharing.  Sharing allows you to try a wider variety of things, but on the downside, you'll most likely end up with a bigger bill."

What are trends in Chinese cuisine you're seeing in restaurants?

"I'm not sure what's happening in Chinese restaurants in other countries, but in London, we seem to be moving towards more modern Chinese food, inspired by more unusual ingredients and influenced by other cuisines - Japanese, Malaysian and so on.  Dim sum served throughout the day and into the evening continues to be popular, as people seem to prefer sharing many smaller dishes, rather than ordering a few larger ones. 

I'm also pleased that people generally have a much more positive image of Chinese food.  I'm not saying that good Chinese food has to be expensive, but now it's not just about takeaways or a meal in Chinatown, which is what ‘go for a Chinese' meant.  It can also be exquisitely presented and heavenly to eat, with Alan Yau's Michelin-starred restaurants and David Tang's China Tang leading the way.  Haozhan has also attracted much attention in Chinatown with its creative dishes and stylish decor.  As for me, I'm just as happy tucking into king prawn dumpling soup in Crispy Duck on Gerrard Street as I am sampling shitake and duck roll at Yauatcha."

Are more restaurants turning to Pan-Asian cuisines now?

"I think so.  Restaurant owners seem to be under the impression that East Asian food is popular with diners, which is of course the case.  There have never been so many Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Indonesian and even Burmese restaurants in London as there are now.  So when business flourishes within these cuisines, restaurant owners think that Pan-Asian is the way to go.  It rarely works though because Pan-Asian food attracts an incredibly fickle clientele that knows no loyalty.  I don't like Pan-Asian food because it creates a mishmash of very unique national cuisines, confusing rather than educating the diner, who will go away having spent a small fortune without a clue about what he or she has eaten.  I want to eat in a restaurant that specialises in one type of cuisine and excels at it."

Do you think the quality (decor, service, variety and quality of food) of Chinese restaurants has improved in the last 10 to 15 years?

"I haven't eaten at Chinese restaurants so regularly over the years to be able to speak with much authority on this.  I'm currently making more of an effort to try restaurants in Chinatown, in my endeavours to find good, cheap, but tasty one dish meals for a future post on WFG.  Haozhan and Crispy Duck certainly revealed some surprising gems that I wrote about on WFG.

There are certainly more Chinese restaurants outside Chinatown that aim at a more upmarket clientele, having spent considerable amounts on the decor, securing the best chefs and trying to change the image of Chinese food as being cheap, fast and not very good.  This is a positive trend because I want people to see that Chinese food can be exquisitely presented, use unusual, but delicious ingredients and served in beautiful surroundings.  I always feel really pleased when I hear non-Chinese people telling me that their favourite dim sum restaurant is Yauatcha, and not just because it's also my current favourite!"

Your Views Please.

Please join our conversation and let us know whether you agree or disagree with Helen Yuet Ling's assessment of food trends.  Do you think the quality of Chinese restaurants has improved - is it "Food, Glorious Food!" or just OK?  Do you have experience of the modern Chinese takeaway and can share the trends you're seeing?  Is food a fundamental part of being Chinese or do you think it just isn't that important?  What are your earliest memories of food?  Please share your thoughts below or email me direct at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Happy eating!

Susan S. Cheung

Food photos courtesy of Helen Yuet Ling Pang