British appetite for Chinese cuisine soars

At noon on a recent sunny Saturday, I sat down on the wooden bench of a spacious open kitchen to enjoy my own delicious handmade herb linguine with sweet juicy tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.

Hours of busy chopping, dough kneading and pasta rolling that very morning certainly paid off as the lovely flavors melted in my mouth. Listening to jazz music in the background and birds chirping outside the window, I almost imagined I was on holiday in the exotic Tuscany countryside.

I was not in Tuscany, of course. Instead, I was taking a pastamaking class at Central London's La Cucina Caldesi cookery school.

The United Kingdom is a nation that has, in the past, been "notorious" for its food, and I still remember worrying before I arrived here about being stuck with boring fish and chips for dinner every day. Hence, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered how multicultural and dynamic London's food scene is.

Eight years of living in London has taught me how to make dishes from many different cuisines, thanks to lessons from the likes of La Cucina Caldesi, and after learning from my new friends about their grandmas' secret recipes.

I have also learned where to shop for my favorite ingredients: Korean kimchi from New Malden, spicy curry from Brick Lane and the freshest fish from Billingsgate Fish Market. Even during busy weekdays, I have the luxury of tasting flavors from around the world from Borough Market, which is minutes from my office in the heart of London's Square Mile financial district.

Chinese cuisine is also rapidly evolving. London's Chinatown, which was famous in the previous century for basic dishes such as kungpao chicken and sweet and sour pork, has undergone a massive face-lift and now offers the likes of hot pot from Sichuan, oyster omelet from Taiwan and delicately made xiao long bao from Guangzhou, and much more.

Michelin star Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha have destroyed the old stereotype of the oily Chinese take-away. Chinese food is increasingly an art, a way of life, and a window for the world to understand Chinese culture.

In more recent years, celebrity chef Ching He Huang has popularized Chinese food through her BBC programs, teaching British audience how to make a mouthwatering dish in five minutes. Meanwhile, young chef Jeremy Pang has opened the School of Wok in Covent Garden and is giving hands-on guidance to students.

More recently, I observed a Chinese cooking lesson at St Michael's Catholic College in London, where 13-year-old students were learning how to make stir-fried egg noodles. The lesson was a part of the Healthy Chinese Cooking Ambassadors program that was launched in 2013 by the sauce manufacturer Lee KumKee. It has already reached more than 1,000 British students.

Seeing the big smiles on the students' faces as they took a bite of their own delicious noodles, I felt that Chinese food is bringing China to London. Through food, China is truly becoming an essential and welcome ingredient in London's cultural melting pot.