By Jeryl Wong (Volunteer Chinese Fortunes Oral History Project)

China is a country with the largest population and, for over a thousand years, the largest and one of the most impressive cuisines in the entire world. It also plays a major part in British food culture. Why did that come about? Why did Londoners fall in love with Chinese food? The speed at which the taste for Chinese food has spread throughout Britain is truly remarkable.

The history of Chinese food in Britain is best understood in relation to the history of Chinese immigrants. Historically, the first Chinese eating houses in Britain catered not for local customers, but for Chinese sailors who had settled around the docks in London’s Limehouse and wanted a taste of home. Until the 1940s, the majority of customers in the restaurants were not English but Chinese immigrants.

In the aftermath of World War II Chinese food began to grow in popularity. British servicemen returned from various parts of the Empire and the Far East with a willingness to try different foods and cuisine and a new enthusiasm for Chinese food and restaurants. This in turn saw the rise of the restaurant trade in Soho. Chinese people entered the catering trade because of the downturn in shipping and the closing of laundries, traditional areas of employment. In the 1950s and early 1960s there was an influx of Chinese from Hong Kong who provided the necessary workforce. The restaurants served Cantonese food because of Britain’s old colonial links to Hong Kong where most of the chefs came from. The lack of certain authentic ingredients meant having to improvise and also adjust a few dishes to suit the liking of British customers, for example Chop Suey, an old style Chinese cuisine consisting of meat and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean-sprouts and a starch-thickened sauce.

With the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, staff at the Chinese Embassy in London were recalled but the majority chose to stay in the UK and many of them then went on to open Chinese restaurants. Kenneth Lo, a former Chinese diplomat, became a popular and well known author of several Chinese cookery books explaining the intricacies of Chinese cooking to the British public throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s. He went on to become a legendary figure on the capital’s restaurant scene and also the foremost expert in Britain on Chinese food, and played a huge part in popularizing and improving its consumption.

Legend has it that the first Chinese takeaway came about in 1958. At a popular restaurant in Bayswater, London, those who could not get a table asked if they could take the food home. Thus the first takeaway was born. Their numbers increased and today there are takeaways in towns throughout the UK. They became popular because they opened until late – after the closing of pubs – and were affordable, good value for money as well as exotic. Eating Chinese food at home had an appeal all of its own.

In the 1970s there was an influx of ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam, many of whom entered the catering industry. The quality but also the diversity of Chinese cuisine and restaurants continued to improve in Britain.

The increasing availability of authentic Chinese ingredients, the publication of cookery books and the launching of cookery programmes on television saw a huge upsurge and interest in Chinese cooking. Woks, root ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dried mushrooms, bean curd and a host of different varieties of noodles became readily available. People were opting to cook their favourite Chinese dishes at home.

Yan-kit So was a Chinese author who also became known among the wider public and contributed much to the popularization of Chinese cooking in Britain. Her first book published in 1984, ‘Yan-kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook’ covers a wide range of dishes from all four main regional styles of Chinese cookery, not just Cantonese. It remains a highly popular book for Chinese home cooking to this day, mainly because of its clear and precise explanations accompanied by detailed photos making it easy to follow. Her recipe for Chinese dumplings, ‘Jiaozi’, was particularly appetizing and popular among British home cooks. She was always critical of Chinese cooks who ‘Westernized’ Chinese recipes in order to make them more commercially appealing. She championed authenticity and quality in Chinese cooking.

Ken Hom, an American born Chinese chef, launched a cookery programme on BBC TV called ‘Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery’ in the 1980s. It was such a success that the accompanying book sold more than a million and a half copies and is still in print today. He is recognized as a celebrity chef and is a well known fixture on TV programmes and continues to champion Chinese cuisine to this day.

Kenneth Lo, Yan-kit So and Ken Hom, and latterly Ching-He Huang, helped take the awe out of Chinese cooking and, by doing so, encouraged home cooks to have the confidence to try Chinese dishes at home.

By the 1990s Chinese restaurants and takeaways were a fixture across the country and Chinese food had made the transition from being an ethnic food – the food that Chinese people in Britain eat – to an acceptable and normal part of British cuisine. “Going for a Chinese” was on a par with going out for fish and chips.

The quality and authenticity of Chinese food has progressed significantly in the last 20 years. British people have become more adventurous and enjoy regional Chinese food like Sichuan, Xi’an and Hunan cuisine. It is no longer just Cantonese food that is on offer. In 2017, the British-born Chinese chef, Andrew Wong, won a Michelin star for his inventive, historically inspired cooking. Chinese ready meals routinely form part of the weekend family shop as all large supermarket chains provide a big selection of Chinese ready meals as well as ingredients.

In Newham, a Mr Chan opened the borough’s very first Chinese restaurant in 1941 in Manor Park, serving Chop Suey dishes to local customers. In 1959, Mr Chi Fai Wan arrived from Hong Kong as a kitchen worker. He worked in several Chinese restaurants and in 1970, went on to buy the Chan’s restaurant from its retiring owner. Mr Wan continued to run it as a family business to this day. He has been part of the fabric of local Chinese community for 79 years, serving as chairperson for the Newham Chinese Association before retirement.

Today, Chinese restaurants and takeaway outlets can be found everywhere in London, far beyond the traditional heartland of London’s commercial and entertainment activities. The London Borough of Newham is home to some of London’s well-known Chinese eateries and shops. Whilst the Chan’s Restaurant in Manor Park, opened in 1941, is the oldest Chinese restaurant in the borough, the Yi-Ban in the London Regatta Centre, overlooking the City Airport, is arguably one of the finest dining places in the capital.

Chinese food and restaurants have come a long way since the early days in London’s Limehouse and it is hard to imagine a world without delicious Chinese food being readily available, be it through takeaway deliveries, restaurants or home cooking.

Further Reading

• McDonough T (2014) Anchored in London
• Association of Elderly from Vietnam, Lambeth, London.
• When was the UK’s first Chinese takeaway opened?
• See online: https//www.boundless.co.uk/be-inspired/lifestyle/british-food-heroes
• Featherstone M & Tamari T (2007) Consumer-Culture and Chinese Food in Britain
• Dietary Association Proceedings, Taiwan 2006. A Chinese version in Jiangxi Social Science, No 8 Pp234-244.