London’s Chinatown is located in the metropolitan area, close to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. It can be distinguished immediately by a large red arch entranceway, paifang, that was built in the traditional Qing Dynasty style with four Chinese character “英伦呈祥.” Basically, Chinatown only occupies the area in and around Gerrard Street so “town” is a bit overstating it.

    Just as other Chinatowns are centered around food, Chinatown in London has a range of authentic restaurants decorated with Chinese symbols such as golden dragons and red lanterns. I often go to Chinatown twice a month just to satisfy a craving for Chinese food and reduce my homesickness. It is the place where I can “rice up” my happiness by eating barbecue pork and a bowl of steamed rice.

    Yesterday, I went to Chinatown again but with my professor and classmates after our lecture, and we were dying for Cantonese cuisine. It is difficult for us to walk past without being drawn closer by the scent of sweet and sticky barbecued meats since most of the restaurants like to showcase their freshly roasted duck and juicy pork belly in their windows. At last, we chose Lotus Garden for lunch. It is famous for its mouth-watering barbecue classics like roasted duck and crispy pork.

    We are all huge fans of Chinese cuisine. Almost everyone loves having rice as part of our Chinese menu and chose steamed rice or fried rice on the side. Interestingly, some of my friends confused “fried rice” with brown rice since “fried rice” is really white rice but turns to brown when fried with soy sauce and oil.

    For my British friends who get bored of eating burgers and French fries at local restaurants, Chinese cuisine might be a change in taste. However, for me, it is my consolation when I miss Shenzhen and my family. Rice always reminds me of my happy childhood and the fact that I am rooted in rice culture no matter where I am. From a very young age, when I stayed with my grandma in the kitchen and saw her cooking dinner for the family, I was always told by her that the daily happiness of every family begins with a delicious home-cooked meal and rice is a central part of dinner. Later, I learned to show sympathy and respect for our peasants when reciting Tang poetry such as “Do you know the food on your plate, each grain was hard-earned, mate?” Rice gradually become an important part of my life.

    After several years, I came to Great Britain for my undergraduate degree and started to try exotic cuisine from different countries. I like Bella Italia’s bolognese, Burger & Lobster’s British lobster roll and Liman Restaurant’s Mediterranean bread. However, I love Chinese food most and I am addicted to steamed white rice. As a Chinese student studying in London, I am really proud that Chinatown is a place that can create happiness for my foreign friends. I am also happy and grateful that I can eat authentic Cantonese food in London, nearly 5,000 miles away from my city, Shenzhen.