Event: 'Chinese Kitchen Medicine' @ The Dana Centre

Caught an ad for this interesting sounding event over at Dimsum:

Delve into the vast depths of Chinese kitchen medicine to find out how food is used as a recipe for health. Booster herbs and tonics, roots and soups all form part of classic Chinese kitchen welfare.

Speakers:
-Edward Eisler, Jing Tea Ltd
-Song Ke, Director, Asante Academy of Chinese Medicine, London
-Ting-Ming Li, Director, Institute of Chinese Medicine, London
-Vivenne Lo, Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University College London
-Xun Zhou, School of Oriental and African Studies

Maybe the event wil finally shed some light on those mysterious packets of dried plant matter my mum keeps in the kitchen.

Get your tickets by calling 020 7942 4040 or e-mail tickets@danacentre.org.uk. Full details here.

A new era, or the end for London's Oriental City?

Note: This story has since been updated here.

The rumours have been flying around for months now but Oriental City in Colindale, north London, could be set for a major re-development. What this means for the Asian shops and restaurants there at the moment is not certain, although the developer has apparently promised that all the current tenants will be allowed to return. It would certainly be a huge loss to the community if we were to lose what must be (in my opinion) the best food court in the country, if not the world!

The planning application was submitted in July 2006 and you can see what the developer has planned for the site here: http://www.399edgware.com/

In response to the plans, a campaign has been set up to protect the interests of the businesses that currently operate in Oriental City: http://groups.msn.com/SaveOrientalCityCampaign

When a similar re-development of London's Chinatown was announced, there was a lot of outrage and false rumours. In the end, most of the shopkeepers affected by that project accepted a pay-off and moved out, but neither the rumoured High Street supermarket nor the proposed 'Shanghai' themed shopping mall materialized to take their place.

The Independent reports:

The owners of Oriental City have stated that the present Asian businesses will not be forced out, saying the new Oriental City would be "bigger and better", with 30 per cent more space allocated to the Asian businesses, "retaining the important cultural and community spaces," according to a spokeswoman. The development will eventually include private housing, a primary school and a community centre. She said there had been numerous meetings with the local community and the sub-tenants over the past 20 months.

Jason Tang, a Chinese takeaway owner, shopping with his wife, Debbie, and their daughter, said: " It is very important to keep this place going because it is somewhere new Chinese immigrants who don't speak English can come and find others like themselves. The people who run this place are only concerned about the money, not the future."

I hope that the final decision, whatever it is, preserves the unique Asian aspects of the existing mall and that we do not end up losing this valuable and popular destination for the Chinese community in London.

Police appeal for information after Chinese restaurant owner found dead

A sad story reported by the BBC.

A Chinese restaurant owner has been found dead after returning home with the day's takings. Kam Fum Chung, 65, known as Helen, was discovered by a family member at her house in Hillingdon, west London. Police said there was no sign of forced entry, but her silver VW Golf was missing as well as the Mandarin Restaurant's receipts.

Police believe the vehicle was taken from the address in Meadowview, Cowley, some time after Ms Chung got in about 0030 GMT on 6 November. The vehicle was recovered burnt out approximately four miles away in Denham, Buckinghamshire, the following day.

Det Ch Insp Steven Lawrence said: "It's vitally important that we trace who was driving it and may have carried out this horrific attack." He said the car's plates may have been changed but it was distinctive due to a damaged wing mirror on the driver's side which was taped up.

It is of course a terrible thing to happen to anyone and I'm sure the thoughts of readers will be with the family. Let's hope the perpetrators can be caught quickly.

Random Picture of the Day (or So): Skyscrapers

It's strange how a Hong Kong tower block can be smaller, more cramped, more run down and shrouded in far more pollution than it's UK equivalent, and yet still feels a hundred times more desirable a place to live. I guess the inclement weather and the surrounding metropolis might have something to do with that...

Chinese tourism boom predicted for the UK

Now that China has made Britain an officially 'approved destination' the numbers of tourists visiting the UK from China is expected to increase dramatically in coming years.

In this article, The Times' Will Hide tags along with a group of Chinese tourists to see what they make of Cambridge, drinking lager in the rain, 99s and other British delights.

"This is just the first of many" says Huang, shepherding his group into the National Maritime Museum. "By 2020, 100 million Chinese will be travelling abroad of which five million could be coming to the UK".

Visit Britain, which promotes England abroad, is rubbing its hands in glee - not least because of the free-spending ways of the Chinese once they arrive. Forget Westminster Abbey and Edinburgh Castle; "what they really want is a day at Bicester Village shopping centre in Oxfordshire, a tour round Old Trafford to learn more about Manchester United, and plenty of Chinese meals," says Huang, "steak and kidney pie and fry-ups are definitely off the menu".

But wait, a fry-up is a British classic! You can't come all the way here and not try a Full English. Ah well, perhaps that's just another b.b.c. thing :)

Let's all have a nice cup of... cold, boiled water.

Drinking cold, boiled water or 'doong gwun sueh' in Cantonese seems to be a uniquely Chinese practice that you may or may not have picked up from your parents.

Maybe like me you have childhood memories of a large, metallic, family vacuum flask with its mysterious, mirrored interior that always contained surprisingly hot water.

There are a number of benefits to drinking cold, boiled water. First is the lack of impurities and bugs (something that is more important in Asia than here in the U.K.). Second, it is a neutral alternative to stimulant-laden tea or coffee and third, it is believed to be a 'cooling' ('lerng') drink that can counteract the effects of 'hot air' that Chinese people say some foods contain (look out for a future post on the whole concept of hot and cooling foods or 'yeet hey').

There is something strangely appealing about cold, boiled water. It does have a taste. And when you drink it, it feels like it's doing you good. Or maybe it's just the taste of nostalgia, and memories of that old flask on the family dining table.

Of course, there is one major downside to having a cup of cold, boiled water: You can't dunk your biscuits in it (I know, I've tried).

When fantasy and reality collide.

Whilst many Asian/Western interracial relationships are successful, occasionally things don't quite go as planned and can reveal the way racial ideals and fantasies can obscure cold, harsh reality.

This article by Will Jory, journalist for the Daily Telegraph, starts with a particularly extreme example of the Oriental fantasy turning into a nightmare and then goes on to recount his own experiences which, erm, didn't go to well either. He also discusses the general concept of white English guys' perception of Asian women.

Many Western men take inordinate gambles with young South-East Asian women, the kind of gambles they would never consider at home.

Why? Obviously, there is a physical attraction. For many Western men, the slender, petite, ever-youthful figures of Eastern women can be seriously alluring. Then there is a cultural aspect: Thai women have a grace, a femininity and a deferential sexiness that many women in the West appear to have forsaken.

The attraction of female submissiveness might be reprehensible, but it is none the less real. Who doesn't like having their clothes washed, their meals cooked and their brow smoothed by a soft and loving hand?

Yes, I know the temptation well. For something not entirely dissimilar happened to me, another thirtysomething Englishman, a few years ago.

Well, I don't know. The guy seems totaly down on the whole 'Oriental fantasy' thing but that seems to be mainly down to his own preconceptions being wrong. After all, a lot of mixed relationships actually work out fine.

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Just realised I had comments set to Blogger members only. Now changed so anyone can comment.