Have you spotted any 'Frozen in Time' places?

A request to bbc blog readers: Have you noticed any 'Frozen in Time' Chinese restaurants or takeaways where you are? If so, please take a pic and send it in! I'd love to add to the ones already posted.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating.

Click here to see what I mean.

Frozen in Time (#4)

I found this one on Flickr. I love the wild, clashing colour scheme and the old fashioned typefaces used in the sign.

Not only does the shopfront look untouched in decades, it also seems to have been very well maintained. A sign of a careful and devoted business owner. Note the selection of carefully tended potted plants in the window too.

The classic touch is of course the net curtains, which discreetly shield Sun Hong's customers from the prying eyes of passers by. Truly Frozen in Time.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating. If you see any other 'frozen in time' Chinese establishments, drop me a line!

Frozen in Time (#3)

Whilst searching around for 'Frozen in Time' Chinese restaurants and takeaways around London I managed to overlook the most obvious place to look - Chinatown itself.

The last few years have seen massive change in Gerrard Street (and it seems there's more on the way) with businesses opening and closing all the time. When even the ancient Kowloon Restaurant gets a makeover, you know things really are changing.

Friendly Inn, at the eastern end of Gerrard Street, has been here as long as I can remember. I think it was even here before Gerrard Street was pedestrianized and had a road running through it.




The exterior sign may look old fashioned now at first glance but it was clearly designed to suggest modernity and class in its time; You can almost picture businessmen with 70s sideburns and wearing large kipper ties coming here for a post-work dinner. Looking inside, you can see fittings and furniture that might not have changed in decades.

In all these years I've never eaten at Friendly Inn once, yet I'd love to see it remain as it is.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating. If you see any other 'frozen in time' Chinese establishments, drop me a line!

Have you spotted any 'Frozen in Time' places?

A request to bbc blog readers: Have you noticed any 'Frozen in Time' Chinese restaurants or takeaways where you are? If so, please take a pic and send it in! I would love to add to the two already posted.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating.

Click here to see what I mean.

Frozen In Time (#2)

Apologies for the blurry pic. I just happened to spot this takeaway while I was sitting in my car waiting at some traffic lights.

It's just off Clapham Common in South London, close Clapham South Tube station. What the photo doesn't show very well is the traditional looking pictures on the wall. I'm guessing the window and door are recent replacements but I did like the vintage-looking shop sign. :)

'Frozen in Time' is the bbc blog's celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating. Please let me know if you spot any more 'Frozen in Time' Chinese establishments.

Frozen in Time (#1)

Have you ever come across a Chinese takeaway or restaurant that looks like it hasn't changed since the day it opened - probably decades ago?

I like places like this. They have a sense of age and endurance. They are survivors in a world of ever-changing shop fronts and constant re-vamping. They also stir up feelings of nostalgia and memories of the takeaways I knew as a child. From the plastic, laminate counter to the scuffed, grubby lino flooring; Multi-coloured plastic strips in the doorway and cans of coke stacked up in 3s.

I happened to pass this restaurant at the weekend and thought I'd start a 'frozen in time' series on the bbc blog. It's on Duke Street, Mayfair, right next to London's hottest department store Selfridges, in probably one of the ciy's most sought after locations. No idea what the food is like but the fact that it's still here must be a testament to its popularity.

If you see any other 'frozen in time' Chinese establishments, drop me a line!

Memories fading, places changing.

My top 8 fastest fading memories of London Chinatown...

1) The road that used to run along Gerrard Street, before it was pedestrianized.
2) The restaurant that burnt down.
3) Going for dim sum with the family at the big restaurant that used to be on Leicester Square - the one that had the wax food on display in the window.
4) An age when I didn't like dim sum and would rather have gone to McDonalds instead.
5) Going for wedding banquets at Chuen Cheng Ku as a child and being bored out of my mind.
6) A time when Mainland Chinese were a rarity in Chinatown restaurants and Mandarin would barely be heard.
7) The East European looking lady in a funny costume who would stand outside 'So China'.
8) Dumpling Inn.




Photo by aidy100percent