China Town

The year of the dragon gave way to the year of the snake on Sunday. Here is your guide to the tastes and habits of London’s 100,000 Chinese and how to join in.

Victoria Stewart|Karen Dacre|Jonathan Prynn, Business Editor @JonPrynn|Susannah Butter @susannahbutter

24 April 2013

Kung hei fat choi to you! That’s Happy Chinese New Year, which on Sunday celebrated the end of the dragon and the beginning of the year of the snake. Ancient Chinese lore believes the sixth of the 12 animal signs is a good omen and those born in the year of the snake are cunning, intelligent and good at business. But beyond the celebrations at the weekend, here is our guide to where London’s population of 100,000 Chinese eat, party, shop and live.

EAT

Selfridges:

Pigs’ ears, tails and trotters are available for the store’s regular Chinese customers and work well marinated in shaoxing rice wine, soya sauce, sesame and chilli oil, then barbecued until caramelised and crispy.

Harrods:

There is huge interest in eating quintessentially British food like afternoon tea or William Curley patisserie to take away.

HKK:

The high-end Chinese restaurant opened in December in Shoreditch serving 15-course set menus for £95.

A Wong:

A restaurant serving Chinese street snacks, whose slogan is “bringing a little bit of China’s kitchens to the capital”, was launched last month in Victoria (awong.co.uk).

Bo London:

Michelin star Chinese chef Alvin Leung recently brought his “X-treme Chinese” cooking from Hong Kong to Oxford Circus with this extraordinary restaurant that serves an alternative toad-in-the-hole: Yorkshire pudding with a frog’s leg and lotus bulb.

Min Jian in Kensington and Barshu in Soho:

Great for business lunches where private rooms are often hired out for entertainment.

Four Seasons on Gerrard Street in Chinatown:

Often cited as the best place for roast duck.

The Ritz:

Its traditional allure for Chinese clients helped the hotel achieve record revenues in 2011. Importantly, menus there are available in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

Mandarin Kitchen in Queensway, Bright Courtyard on Baker Street, Princess Garden of Mayfair, Dragon Palace on Earl’s Court Road and Golden Dragon in Chinatown:

Best for dim sum.

The Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant in the Wing Yip Centre in Croydon:

A favourite for family get-togethers.

Young Cheng on Shaftesbury Avenue:

Popular for simple barbecued meat and cheap wok cooking.

Cafe T PT on Wardour Street:

Favourite of TV presenter Gok Wan.

Chilli Cool, King’s Cross, and My Old Place in Whitechapel:

Popular with Chinese students looking for affordable Sichuan food.

Victoria Stewart

SHOP

Hackney’s Burberry, A quascutum and Pringle outlets:

While the East End is not often considered an international luxury shopping destination, the streets of E9 have become increasingly popular with Chinese visitors who flock to the area’s designer outlets. Keen to snap up a relative bargain — a £2,500 jacket can be purchased for £1,900 — they are after beautifully crafted luxury merchandise that celebrates a typically British aesthetic. Mandarin speakers and Mandarin signage await — and they are also able to process CUP, the most popular credit card in China.

Selfridges:

Currently experiencing a 25 per cent rise in Far Eastern customers, Selfridges is looking to double its 25-strong team of Mandarin speakers.

New Bond Street:

A keen fan of experimental, innovative fashion as well as more classic labels such as Prada and Celine, the Chinese shopper is increasingly creative in her choices.

Via website LUX UP:

An internationally run company, dedicated to informing Chinese customers what they can buy and where in London.

Bosideng:

With 10,000 stores across China, it opened its first UK flagship on London’s South Molton Street last year, offering suiting in classic heritage textiles of tweed and herringbone and Barbour-inspired quilted jackets.

Karen D acre

PARTY

Casinos:

According to Hong Kong businessman and socialite Sir David Tang: “More and more Chinese mainlanders go to casinos in London and most of them ‘live’ in shops, especially Selfridges and Harrods. They don’t party per se.” The Hippodrome casino is popular because you can game and dine under one roof. A bestseller in its cocktail bar is a concoction called Mr Craddock’s, inspired by a drink from the 1930s with rum, gin, lime juice and grenadine.

Boutique nightclubs like Boujis:

The young and beautiful come to dance to house music and enjoy entertainment like live bongo music. Boujis says its Chinese client bestseller is vintage champagne, especially the Dom Pérignon Oenotheque. Soon to be launching a Hong Kong outpost.

Thames boat parties:

Organised by the Chinese Society at UCL and very popular especially with karaoke enthusiasts, according to style blogger Susie Bubble.

Nightclub under the Thai Square restaurant, Trafalgar Square:

Squeezes in more than 100, with free entry for women before 11pm, or free if you spend more than £30 in the restaurant upstairs. Tables, with free champagne, start at £150 for six people.

Susannah Butter

LIVE/STAY

Five-star hotels:

The Langham, Meridien Piccadilly, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and The Ritz. Wealthy Chinese visitors crave top central locations, particularly in the West End and near Park Lane, and hotel “brands” they trust to provide the highest standards. They also prefer hotels that employ Mandarin-speaking staff, like The Ritz, and a tailored service for Chinese guests such as the Langham’s Ying programme, which includes Chinese tea and Chinese TV channels in rooms.

Homes:

All central London new luxury developments, but particularly the South Bank, Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf. They prefer new apartments with the highest levels of modern facilities. Riverside locations are highly prized, partly because they have good feng shui — but proximity to large numbers of potential tenants is also important as the flats they buy are often rented out. They are enthusiastic buyers in the redevelopment of King’s Cross for this reason. Chinese buyers flock to exhibitions of new London developments that are held in Hong Kong every weekend to buy “off-plan”. They often avoid Victorian and Regency homes because they may have “bad history”. Preferred features are floor-to-ceiling glass, a concierge service, air conditioning and underground parking.

Jonathan Prynn

China Town

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