Mixed roast platter

Chinese food is widely considered a part of British life now. But how did it evolve over its more than 100-year history on the island?

Since the opening of the first recorded Chinese restaurant in London in 1907, Chinese food and its culture in the UK have undergone great changes.

As many of the first Chinese migrants, be it seamen, dockworkers, or students, came from China's southern coastal region like Guangdong (Canton) or Hong Kong, Cantonese cuisine, which features char siu (roast pork), sweet and sour pork, beef with oyster sauce, and dim sum, has dominated the menu. Chinese restaurants also developed some stylized adaptations to suit British tastes.

But this started to change as increasingly more people from other parts of China came to the UK, especially after the Sino-British joint declaration in the 1980s. Dishes including Peking roast duck, dumplings, Kung pao chicken became increasingly popular.

The first 10 years of the 21st century saw a boost in Sino-British exchanges and communication. The Chinese community in the UK now boasts a population of more than 600,000 people, one-sixth of them Chinese students from almost every corner of the Asian nation. Restaurants specializing in Sichuan, Hunan, and Northeastern Chinese cuisine are burgeoning. Even those originally dedicated to tender and slightly sweet Cantonese food have begun to include dishes of other flavors such as intense, spicy Sichuan dishes, and hot pot.

As an increasing number of Britons go traveling or living in China, they experience more of the Chinese food palette and pursue authentic Chinese food after coming back to the UK.

Adam Sadler, who worked in Shanghai for 10 months, found himself obsessed with dumplings and Sichuan food.

"I'm a massive fan of jiaozi (dumplings). Xiaolongbao is my favorite. But you can't get good xiaolongbao in the UK," said the young financier when he dined in a Cantonese restaurant in central London. "When I lived in Shanghai, there was a place just sold dumplings. It was 3 RMB for 12 dumplings. They were great. That's what I had every day for 6 months. Now I've lived in China. I've come back to London. I don't like British-Chinese food. I like the authentic Chinese food. I like hot pot as well. Sichuan hot pot is amazing."

Though unable to find good xiaolongbao in Britain, Sadler still regards London as the city to have the most authentic and tasty Chinese food in Europe.

Don't believe it? Why not come and try it for yourself?