Thanks for posting the link. It was a fascinating read. I’m always interested in how the food of immigrants keeps to its traditional roots and how it adapts to the tastes of local customers.
The history of the UK’s Chinese community is different, in part, to that of the North American Chinese. And that relates to colonial influence, primarily with Hong Kong. The first communities were founded by men who had served aboard British ships and made their new homes in ports - London, Liverpool and the inland port of Manchester. This was mainly in the middle of the 19th century. A larger second wave, also from Hong Kong, moved here in the period after the end of the Second World War to the 1980s.
As for the Anglicisation of the food, this was a relatively easy task as chefs would have been well used to adapting traditional dishes to British tastes in Hong Kong.
Whilst the vast majority of the UK’s Chinese restaurants remain as those Anglicised Cantonese places, it’s becoming easier to find other regional foods. In Manchester’s Chinatown area, I can readily find restaurants specialising in Beijing, Sichuan and Hunan food, alongside the better known Cantonese.
Same for me. To that end, here’s another article on the topic:
Edited to Add: I’m expanding my knowledge of Hong Kong, reading Fortune’s Bazaar: The Making of Hong Kong - yet another case of learning that I’ve so much yet to learn!
Wonderful read, thank you for posting it!
