A Chinese food and culture tour through London: noodles, dim sum and ancient treasures for a Sinophile who misses China
- Unable to visit China because of the pandemic, one confessed Sinophile travels around London for her fix of Chinese culture, food, drinks and artefacts
- From dim sum in China Tang at the Dorchester to a cocktail at Opium in Chinatown, and a UK-style suburban takeaway, there is plenty of choice
I miss China. It’s been three long years since I was last there and the itch for street noodles, speedy trains and the wafting scent of temple incense has become overwhelming.
Pre-pandemic, I was visiting annually, often for weeks at a time, travelling to small villages and odd outposts in the name of guidebook research before settling in for a craft beer at the Great Leap Brewing bar in Beijing. But two years into the pandemic, China feels farther away than ever.
Luckily I live in London, a city with historical ties to Hong Kong and the Middle Kingdom. With lockdowns lifted here, I set out to get my China fix in the British capital.
My first stop is Bell Lane, in East London, where it is possible to do a short noodle crawl. Noodle and Beer provides a tongue-numbing Chongqing xiao mian but before I move on to a dinner of Guilin-style mifen at Chew Fun a few doors down, I am distracted in Spitalfields Market by pearl milk tea and someone serving savoury jianbing pancakes from a food stall. I return home and fall into an early food coma.