As a consequence of London’s cultural diversity it benefits from a breadth and quality of global cuisine that’s hard to match, and when it comes to Chinese food it’s easy to think of Gerard Street as your logical destination. But Chinatown grew out of the long relationship between the UK and the Cantonese of the south. This has then morphed into the wonderful regional cuisine and hot-pot specialists that ringfence University College in Bloomsbury.
But it’s not just the central areas that have benefitted – good old Shoreditch, with its comparatively affordable commercial property, an inquisitive and youthful demographic plus a burgeoning Chinese population, has a growing selection of excellent restaurants from all over the nation.
While the south of China around Hong Kongis hot and humid, lending itself to the easy propagation of rice, the northeast is considerably cooler and dryer and bases its dishes around wheat and corn, featuring noodles and dumplings along with simple, unpretentious dishes of root veg, pork and seafood.
So it was that for the first time in ages we eschewed Sunday roast for a culinary experience at one of the new Shoreditch hot-spots, Xi Home, to participate in a masterclass to learn how to make dumplings. Five couples attended and we were taken through each step from the base ingredients of flour and water to arrive at a plate full of delicious dumplings.
The team all hail from Dalian, a port city located across the bay from Beijing, and create a sense of journey through the sharing of their authentic cuisine. No corners are cut to make the magical little parcels that are surprisingly laborious to create. They talk you through the cultural beginnings of dumplings, and show how the fillings are made. We then made dough from scratch, proved it then rolled it into small circles, ultimately acquiring the secret of how to pinch them into form before boiling. The result was a fabulous meal (and a doggy bag), but the afternoon proved to be so much more than that. There’s the pleasure of collaborating with your guest and a genuinely mindful process that put us in the best of moods on our way home, as well as acquiring a pretty nifty dinner party skill.
What a fun way to spend a Sunday lunchtime. And did I mention that you get to eat lots of dumplings?
Xi Home Dumplings Bay, 10 Blossom Street, E1 6PL, near Liverpool Street Station
Their dumpling masterclasses can be booked in advance for £49.50 p/p on Eventbrite
Upcoming masterclasses are on 16th and 23rd February and 2nd March