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Chicken Stock
My grandmother, Lily Kwok, met my grandfather, Chan under the most remarkable circumstances. Lily was a maid and cook for an English family in Hong Kong and was walking the baby with a friend when saw...
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Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
My parents married in the 1975 in Bury in a small traditional ceremony followed by a wedding banquet of huge proportions. My mum said practically all the Chinese who were in Britain were invited and...
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I never knew my grandfather…
My grandfather, was called Kwok Chan. He was born in 1914, four years before my grandmother. Though no one had seen or spoken to him for many years previously, we know that he died in 1961, a year...
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It has been said that the Chinese will eat anything that walks on four legs...
It has been said that the Chinese will eat anything that walks on four legs with its back to the sky. In actual fact, Leung joked with Lilly that only the tables and chairs were safe from the voracious...
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Winter melon and wolfberry soup
When we go for dim sum (also known as yum cha, which literally translated means ‘drink tea’) we bump into lots of family friends and one of those is Mr Dong. He grows his own winter melon, as does...
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Chicken Foo Young!
Foo Yung has been criticised as an anglicised Chinese dish but actually this omelette dish has roots in a Shanghainese dish called Fu Yung Egg Slices. Nonetheless, I believe we should embrace...
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Waterchestnut and Prawn Dumpling? Buy the dim sum cookbook and learn how to...
This is a really easy recipe but very effective and a party pleaser. Try this recipe at home and see what you think.This book is now available to purchase in Waterstones and online with Amazon. Also...
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How did we end up in the UK?
Mrs. Woodman senior’s concern for her amah’s well being was exceptional. Unlike the majority of expatriate families, she genuinely cared about the plight of the local Hong Kong Chinese. With a brutal...
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Want to try make Pan-fried Pork Dumplings…… Then buy The Dim Sum Cookbook –...
This recipe is one of our family favourites and its so easy to replicate at home. We hope you will enjoy making these with your family. Purchase the DIM SUM Cookbook from all good bookshops and...
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Pork Open-Top Dumplings – Siu Mai – Buy our DIM SUM book today!
This recipe is taken from the DIM SUM book out now in Waterstones and online with Amazon. Also pick up a copy at Sweet Mandarin. We are having a book signing party at Sweet Mandarin on 22nd February...
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Tuesday’s Pork Rib Broth
My twin sister Helen, younger sister Janet, younger brother Jimmy and I grew up in the family food business and lived above the shop. Like our parents and their parents – it was a way of life and we...
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Lettuce Wraps (or San Choy Bau in Chinese)
When I make this dish, I think of my grandfather Chan who grew up well practised in Kung Fu and also immersed in his family’s restaurant business. He’d often amuse himself by throwing lettuces in the...
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Crispy Won Tons
These are one of my favourite dim sum. They are a great party food and are so easy to make. You can fill the wontons with any filling of your choice. I prefer using prawn as it makes the wontons light...
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BUY Our DIM SUM Book – Ken Hom Loves Our Book!
This book is now available to purchase in Waterstones and online with Amazon. Also pick up a copy at Sweet Mandarin. We are having a book signing party at Sweet Mandarin on 22nd February 2015 5pm –...
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Prawn Dumpling Mr Matt Preston? Masterchef Australia’s Next Challenge: Dim Sum…
Our brand new DIM SUM cookbook is out and we are delighted that it has caught the eye of Matt Preston, the formidable judge on Masterchef Australia. The DIM SUM Cookbook is now available to buy in...
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Look Inside our DIM SUM Cookbook – and Buy Buy Buy! Thanks Antonio Carluccio...
This DIM SUM Cookbook is a culmination of generations of dim sum recipes and even has a chapter on Superfood dim sum. This book is now available to purchase in Waterstones and online with Amazon....
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Hot and Sour Soup
Helen, Janet and I gave up our day jobs as a lawyer, engineer and financier to open Sweet Mandarin in 2004 to the horror of our parents who protested that restaurants were hard graft and...
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Merry Christmas – We’re having Peking Duckenail for our Christmas Roast...
Peking duck is Beijing’s most famous dish and was served to numerous Emperors. However, the true Peking duck recipe takes over 24 hours to make and requires a pump to blow air between the skin and the...
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My Mum’s Chicken’s Feet Soup (For Beautiful Skin)
When my mum was pregnant with us, her knees were pained by the weight of the bump and Lily made this soup for my mum to boost her cartilage. There was a surprise in the pregnancy – only I had shown up...
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Won Ton mean ‘swallowing a cloud’
Literally translated, wonton means ‘swallowing a cloud’. The wonton floating in the soup is supposed to resemble the clouds. Every province in China boasts their own version of wontons with a variety...
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Women in China
When I travelled to Guangzhou in 2002, I found China to be a country that was careering head first towards the 21st Century. My base was a hotel housed in a skyscraper which was circled by endless...
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Beijing Dumplings – For Chinese New Year and all celebrations from our brand...
To celebrate and bestow prosperity for the Chinese New Year these dumplings are cooked because they symbolise golden ingots used during the Ming Dynasty. Similar to the Christmas pudding where a lucky...
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Adam and Eve Oyster Omlette
A dear customer who asked to remain anonymous came to Sweet Mandarin one night with her husband to eat. I will call them Adam and Eve. During their meal, an argument ensued and Adam walked out to cool...
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Sesame Prawn Toast
The old Chinese fable goes that this dish was created by a Beijing chef whose specialty was mantou bread and a Guangzhou chef whose specialty was seafood. The Beijing chef travelled to Guangzhou to...
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Valentine’s Day – Buy our DIM SUM book for a sweet valentine’s gift
On 14th February its Valentine’s Day - a day that evokes such an amazing energy at Sweet Mandarin because the room is filled with love. The banquet this year comprises of amazing dishes including...
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The Story behind Sweet Mandarin
“To the ruler, the people are Heaven; to the people, food is Heaven”. (An ancient Chinese proverb) My grandmother, Lilly Kwok, was born in 1918 small village in Southern China. As an unborn child, she...
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Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is one of the key ingredients in Chinese cooking and is used as a base for many of the recipes in this book. This really simple Chinese recipe is for a light, delicious and naturally...
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Healthy Fish Soup
My great-grandmother and great-grandfather were betrothed at the age of four and had an arranged marriage ten years later. Great grandmother was dressed in red – for luck and good fortune – before...
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