Chinese Food Evening with Fay Maschler and Guests
Apr 9th, 2008 by admin
Last Thursday at the British Museum in London, Evening Standard food critic Fay Maschler hosted a lively discussion about Chinese food with guests Alan Yau, Sir David Tang and Fuchsia Dunlop. I felt a little sceptical about the event, but nevertheless paid my £5 to find out what they had to say.
Alan Yau is British Chinese restaurateur extraordinaire behind Hakkasan and Yauatcha, the only Michelin- starred Chinese restaurants in Europe. He sold these recently for $60 million to an Abu Dhabi company, but will be working with it to open more restaurants world-wide. He also owns Japanese eaterie Sake no Hana. I must admit, I truly admire what Yau has done to raise the profile of Chinese food in the UK, and Yauatcha is my favourite restaurant for dim sum.
Sir David Tang is Hong Kong born and has a finger in many pies, including China Club, Shanghai Tang and China Tang at the Dorchester. I love Shanghai Tang clothes, but have not yet managed to justify spending a small fortune eating at China Tang. And Fuchsia Dunlop is apparently the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Having written two Chinese cookery books and Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, a memoir of her years in China, she is also consultant to Sichuanese restaurant Bar Shu. I’ve just eaten at Bar Shu for the first time (review to follow in three days), and am interested in reading her memoir.
Dunlop kicked off with an earnest introduction to the history of Chinese cuisine and the important role that food plays within Chinese culture. She explained the five flavours that should be combined in a meal to create balance and harmony – sour, sweet, bitter, hot and salty, and the Chinese custom of eating in order to stay healthy and ward off illness (sorry, this second point would take a book to explain!).
According to the Chinese people she has met, Western cuisine is considered ‘boring’, as there is the assumption that there is just one ‘Western’ cuisine. However, non-Chinese people tend to make the same mistake about Chinese food, when it is in fact incredibly diverse and regional.
For example, in the north, the staple grain is wheat, so people eat plenty of pasta, dumplings and bread. There is also a great variety of pasta, including orrecchiete (Italian for ‘little ears’) near Xian, also called ‘ears’ in Chinese. Northerners eat much mutton, which some southerners (including the Cantonese) find too strong. And there is less use of ginger and more use of garlic and chilli in the north. Apart from the peasant diet of noodles and dumplings, there is also the Imperial Court cuisine of Beijing, which is incredibly elaborate.
Eastern China (Shanghai and the surrounding regions) is famous for its elegant literary cuisine, using sweeter flavours, Shaoxing wine, Jinhua ham and seafood like hairy crab. Western China includes hot and spicy Sichuanese and Hunanese food. In the south, the Cantonese have a reputation for eating everything, but this, according to Dunlop, is due to the great biodiversity there, hence the wider choice of things that can be consumed. Cantonese cuisine is very elegant and refined, with an emphasis on natural flavours and steaming techniques.
Tang pointed out that unless one travelled widely within China (rather than just visiting a few cities), it would be difficult to sample the vast array of Chinese cuisine. He quoted a famous Chinese saying – “Live in Hangzhou, marry in Suzhou, dine in Guangzhou, and die in Liuzhou” – Hangzhou is considered to be the most beautiful place in China, the women in Suzhou the prettiest, the food in Guangzhou the finest and the best wood for coffins can be found in Liuzhou!
Yau added that Cantonese food has had the benefit of a longer historical development (the Cantonese were among the first to leave China and introduce their cuisine to their host countries world-wide) than other regional cuisines, which still lack finesse and sophistication and need more time to blossom. He blamed Mao for killing off the Chinese culinary culture from 1949 onwards.
The panellists went on to discuss Chinese food in the UK. The consensus seemed to be that it was not in a very good state, due to the difficulty in hiring skilled chefs from abroad and sourcing products and ingredients, as well as the general attitude of Chinese restaurant owners.
What are your thoughts on Chinese food in the UK, or in your country? Do you think you’ve ever tasted genuine Chinese food, or simply been served bastardised versions created by restaurant chefs to suit ‘local tastes’?
Check out the Useful Info page for more informational posts on Chinese food.
Wow, I really enjoyed reading your post. I have been to Shanghai Tang in Hong Kong, love the clothes but they tend to also be on the high end of wallet capabilities. I think I may have even visited China Club (not sure) with an expat living there.
Indian food also can be eaten to keep the body healthy and ward off disease. Even to manage one’s day to day mood/approach. As I understand the Chinese system it is as complex as the Indian one, and quite regional as well.
There are a couple of books written by an Australian on the Chinese medical system for health. They are amazing and even tho I follow the Indian system (which is quite different), still changed my approach to a few things.
Oh and here, Chinese food has improved incredibly in my life time, and there are some great places in Sydney. But …. once you have tasted …… some great places in HK …….. even the cheapest of Cantonese places can have excellent food …….. there is no comparison with my local offerings. Except for Mandarin House’s most excellent pan fried dumplings.
Love walking in the parks in HK and seeing everyone exercising, tapping their bodies and meditatively beginning the day with tai chi.
My partner is Cantonese so my Chinese food experiences can best be lumped into two categories, *before* and *after* meeting him. I had no idea the range of dishes and flavors in Chinese cuisine. I grew up on heavily Westernized Chinese food.
I’ve traveled to Hong Kong and eaten at many authentic restaurants locally (California, US). Outside of Asia, I find Vancouver Canada to have the best tasting and most authentic Chinese food though.
My local options for Chinese are limited: 3 buffets (one of which I avoid like the plague) and 2 that are fast-food like. The one I went to is pretty good for smalltown, USA- even if they have bastardized fare. One thing I didn’t like is their rice isn’t in a cooker so some of it had dried out and it isn’t the quality I’m used to. I keep better rice at home. But they had a few items that I’ve grown fond of while doing dim sum in Montreal, Can. They weren’t as good, but fixed the craving. Montreal’s dim sum in China Town has spoiled me for what passes as Chinese food elsewhere. There, it’s the real deal and even serves bole, which some of the tea shoppes don’t sell because no one buys it.
VegeYum Ganga: Yes, my best friend was Indian and we always used to compare the two systems of eating for one’s health – they share many things in common. I just listen to my mother, it’s much simpler that way. Like if you eat too much toast or fried things, you’ll have too much ‘hot air’ (and spots!) and you’ll have to counter that by eating xyz or drinking a Chinese herbal soup that will be more ‘cooling’. Can’t wait to go to HK & Beijing this October for plenty of amazing food!
Allen: lucky you, otherwise you might have been stuck at the *before* stage for ages! I’m embarrassed to say that I know very little about Chinese cuisine, apart from Cantonese and of course the food I ate while living in Beijing. But I love experimenting and trying new things. I have an aunt who lives in Vancouver, though I’ve not been. I’ve heard good things about the Chinese food there though!
Mish: hello again! Adorable cat (I have a cat too)…If I didn’t live in London, I’d be hard pressed to find anywhere decent in small towns in England. But there’s nothing better than mum’s home-cooked food! My mum’s coming to visit in a few weeks and I’m going to get her to make all my favourite dishes, to fix my craving!
I am Hong Kong born Chinese and was in the UK from 2000 to 2005 (1 year in Brighton and 4 years in London). Looking back, I found myself generally quite miserable in my eating-out experiences. Maybe I didn’t dig into my pocket deep enough, I often ended up eating something quite unpalatable. I won’t forget, in and about 2004, myself eating a wonton soup in a small restaurant in Kensington – the wonton was just hardrock meatballs with thick wrapping. That wanton soup cost 8 pounds!
To get something near authentic or to my Chinese taste, I found myself having to pay quite a lot. There’s a related Chinese saying: When people leave their home country, they are devalued. But when things (including cooking ingredients) leave their country of origin, they are overvalued.
Hi Kit
How are you doing these days? Don’t you remember your Wong Kei days with Jaishree?! I went with you once, and it was rather good actually. But I am sure you are now eating very well back in HK. As for me, I find I do have to pay quite a bit to eat well, but I prefer eating out once in a while, than regularly eating not very good food. Betty took Jaishree and I for dim sum (cheap and surprisingly good!) at Crispy Duck on Wardour St. Anyway, if you come back and visit, you might find that the Chinese food has improved a lot!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen Yuet Ling,
I hope all is well with you.
I think Chinese food in the larger cities, such as London, Birmingham and Manchester has improved since the 1990s when I lived in London. Each time I go back to the UK to visit my parents, in-laws and family I see improvements, such as variety of food on offer and different influences on food. Perhaps, people’s tastes have matured and they are asking for more authentic dishes. I, also, think there is some improvement in takeaway food with dishes now standard on the menu that you wouldn’t have seen outside of the restuarants in the big cities.
Of course, in the UK and here in the U.S. (even large cities) you are not going to find the volume and variety of eating places you find in Hong Kong and other parts of East Asia (where even the food stands are excellent), and certainly not the cheap prices. You have to go out and seek the places; there will be one or two good places and affordable usually – I treat this seeking out of good food as an adventure. It’s the same for other cuisines – of course the best Italian food is found in Italy or the best sushi in Japan, etc. – but we make do with the circumstances/situation in which we live.
Wherever I’ve lived I’ve managed to find one or two establishments to fill my craving for authentic Cantonese food and dim sum, even if it means driving for a few hours! However, out of necessity, I have become a competent cook taking lessons from my father, mother and mother-in-law to reproduce good home-cooked Cantonese and Hakka dishes I crave for – so different to when I was the single girl-about-town who never saw the inside of a kitchen! Plus, I feel good that I can recreate these authentic dishes for my children so they don’t grow up in a cultural eating void.
Susan S. Cheung
Hi Susan
I’m fine, hope you’re well too! Thanks so much for your comments and insight into the state of Chinese food in the UK. Your children are very lucky to have you as their mother! I’m really looking forward to exploring HK and Beijing restaurants this October to compare with what I’ve had in London…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen,
I’m fine. Thank you. I have been developing a new blog recently. Take a look if you are interested: http://www.mktse.wordpress.com
Good to know that you will be in HK this October. Let’s catch up over a meal here.
Kit
Hi Helen,
As someone who grew up eating typical British fare but now has a Chinese ladyfriend (who lives in China) I am in the middle of a very steep learning curve !
I was already aware that the vast majority of the “Chinese” food I had eaten in the UK was nothing like that which would be eaten in China and am looking forward with a degree of trepidation to finding out what “real” Chinese food is going to be like.
My trepidation stems from the fact that I am somewhat squeamish about food. I flatly refuse to eat anything with a face on it and I find I have great difficulty coping with bones.
Strangely enough I called into a local Cantonese Takeaway for some “fast food” late last night (one which was attached to a restaurant) and took the opportunity to discuss with them the possibility of their being able to serve me a “proper” Chinese meal some time. The manager was more than helpful, and even understood my qualms as already stated.
We have agreed that I will telephone him about a week in advance of when I wish to take a table, and he will arrange that the appropriate staff are on duty who will prepare me an “authentic” Chinese meal, and with none of the dishes staring back at me.
I have no idea what the surcharge for this will be, that is not the point, but to find that he was so accommodating was, it itself, very reassuring that he will make it an enjoyable and educational experience for me.
In the meantime I shall be scouring your site for recipe ideas and hints on the basis that, although I may never be able to speak the language there is no reason not to enjoy the food.
You take care, and keep up the good work on this informative and friendly blog. Consider yourself “rolled”.
Tom
Hi Tom
You sound a bit like my husband. He’s English and vegetarian, but started eating fish a few years ago (no faces, no bones, and definitely no seafood). We’re off to Hong Kong and Beijing this October – his first trip – so it will be an eye-opener!
Your upcoming ‘authentic’ Cantonese meal sounds fascinating. I hope you’ll be posting about it! You never know, maybe your manager is genuinely keen to promote real Chinese food.
There might be a couple more simple Cantonese recipes soon, as my parents are coming to visit in a few weeks…
Helen Yuet Ling