This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I was born in Hounslow and moved to Surrey when I was a baby. My parents moved to the UK from Hong Kong when they were in their teens in the 1960s.

What does home taste like?

I herald from a Chinese takeaway/restaurant background so the smells (and occasional tastes) from the fryer, sweet and sour sauces, fried rices intertwined with traditional Chinese herbal soups, steamed fish and Hakka dishes like steamed minced pork and salted preserved vegetables.

Know any good Chinese restaurants?

Am I allowed to go international?

London: Imperial Treasure — yes it’s pricey but it’s currently my favourite Peking Duck in the city)
Pearl Liang — my go to dim sum spot
Han — really delicious cumin lamb skewers
Kaki — currently craving their ma la xiang guo (it’s 7am as I’m typing this)
Sambal Shiok — only place I go to for laksa cravings
Four Seasons — always reliable and constantly serving one of the best roast meats and rice in London
Din Tai Fung — the best chain in the world, and the best xiaolongbao in London
Lualu — delivery only, they do these brilliant Tawainese braised snacks, great in the summer.

Share a food memory:

When the clock hits 5:30pm on a Saturday and the family has 15 minutes to lay the family dinner table, inhale a bowl of rice with some other dishes, clear the table and relay it for a party of 8 by 6pm. Mum is the first one to finish so she can start setting up the kitchen, big sister is next so she can set up the restaurant and dad is always the last to finish as he sucks out the eyes out of the fish head.

Most underrated Chinese ingredient:

Fermented red bean curd.

Dream dinner party guests:

This is in an ideal world where I’m not socially awkward and intimidated by food heroes. David Chang, Andrew Wong, Mary Berry and the Eater London crew (they do wonderful things to promote small businesses and diversity).

How did you learn to cook?

I guess being in a kitchen since the age of 12 you start to pick things up. You absorb techniques, ask questions about ingredients and watch how quick and hard working you need to be to make a kitchen work.

Most underrated Chinese kitchen utensil:

Meat cleaver! So versatile.

What would you like to tell the world about Chinese food?

There’s something for everyone, it’s diverse, and in one form or another it is accepted globally. I also want to give a tribute to the Chinese takeaway culture, yes it’s easy and trendy to say ‘this isn’t real Chinese food’ even though it is a cuisine designed and cooked by Chinese people but it is something that has personally given so much to me and I’m sure many others. The countless fried rices and aromatic crispy ducks sold is what allowed my parents to put a roof over our head and give my siblings and I an education and has helped shaped me into the person I am today.

#ChineseFoodiesofIG: John Li of Dumpling Shack