Chinese New Year 2015 in London Chinatown brings an evening of lanterns, dumplings, bubble tea and bakery shopping. This Roberts London film follows a food-led walk through the neighbourhood on New Year’s Day itself, before the larger weekend celebrations.
First published on 21 February 2015, it records a visit to Jen Cafe in Newport Place, a stop for fish-shaped cream cakes and a search for buns and delicate cream cakes to take home.
This is an archive visit. The shops, menus and arrangements shown belong to 2015 and may have changed since filming.
An evening in Chinatown
The film begins with a reflective introduction about London’s contrasts: wealth and hardship, generosity and indifference, darkness and light. It then turns towards Chinatown and the food that has brought me there.
Lanterns stretch across the streets above the shopfronts. People move between restaurants and bakeries, stopping at windows or squeezing past one another along the pavements. The lights, signs and crowded displays give the walk its colour.
I describe 2015 as the Year of the Sheep and explain that I have come on New Year’s Day to see the neighbourhood and visit some favourite places for food and drink. The commentary mentions the parade and performances planned for the following weekend. This film follows the food walk rather than that later parade.
Watching dumplings being made at Jen Cafe
The first stop is Jen Cafe in Newport Place. It is a small, practical cafe, and part of its appeal is visible from the street: dumplings being shaped by hand in the window.
I pause to watch the work before ordering the Beijing dumplings. The camera stays close to the preparation, showing the filling, wrappers and repeated movements that turn a simple dough parcel into something worth stopping for.
Inside, I try the translation app on my phone against the Chinese menu. The film also notes that English menus are available during this visit, so the app is more of an experiment than a necessity.
Beijing dumplings and coconut bubble tea
My order is pork-filled Beijing dumplings with soy sauce and a coconut bubble tea. The dumplings arrive on a white plate against the cafe’s green tabletop: a straightforward snack that needs very little embellishment.
Getting a slippery dumpling to behave for the camera proves harder than eating it. My chopstick skills are not quite equal to the filming ambitions, but the pleasure of the food comes through.
The coconut bubble tea has tapioca pearls at the bottom and a broad straw to draw them up. In the commentary, I compare their chewy texture to jelly sweets. It is a drink I enjoy alongside the dumplings before heading back into the streets.
A machine making fish-shaped cream cakes
The next diversion is a machine making small fish-shaped cream cakes. Moulds, moving parts and fresh cakes catch my attention through the window, and watching the process becomes part of the snack stop.
There is also a brief, comic misunderstanding. Someone beside me asks whether I am a famous English actor. I explain that I am not, joking that he would have a much larger camera.
These small encounters are part of the appeal of filming a walk like this. The route is shaped by whatever looks interesting, whether that is a restaurant window, a machine at work or a conversation on the pavement.
Buns and cakes to take home
Before leaving, I need to collect something for my girlfriend. I look for buns at Golden Gate Cake Shop, including char siu buns with a sweet glaze and Chinese-style barbecue pork filling. I also consider a roast pork bun for myself.
For the cakes, the destination is Kowloon Bakery. My girlfriend likes the small sponge cakes with character-shaped cream decorations, which I describe in the film as Hello Kitty-style cakes.
The decorations look firmer than they are. They are made from soft cream, and keeping them upright on the journey home requires a degree of care I admit I rarely manage.
When my girlfriend buys them, the box travels home level and protected. In my hands, a character’s face can end up across the lid within twenty minutes. They still taste good, even if the presentation suffers.
Chinese New Year 2015, remembered through food
The closing sequence returns to the streets, shops and food preparation that give Chinatown its character on this visit. The evening is remembered through small things: dumplings made in a window, a glass of coconut bubble tea, fresh buns and a box of cream cakes.
I finish by wishing viewers health and happiness for the Year of the Sheep. The film preserves that particular New Year outing in London, with plenty of reasons to stop and something to carry home.
