#999 Sweet Nothing – Meeting a client who has just flown in from Switzerland, taxi-ed from the airport to Sweet Mandarin and their sole purpose in visiting Manchester is to eat at Sweet Mandarin.

When I set up my little restaurant with my two sisters in November 2004, many people were sceptical that this business would work. For a start, we still got asked for ID when we went to buy alcohol and were unheard of in Manchester. However, we slowly built up our loyal following from the 20,000 residents on our doorstep and were prepared to do every task necessary to make it work – whether it be sweep up, lug the tables and chairs in a zillion different combinations depending on bookings, sell our houses to get financing and even sacrifice the love life (sorry darling!). So when we now get clients from Switzerland, Brazil, USA, France, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Cayman Islands and even Australia, we thank God for the blessings that are pouring down on us and try our best to look after all you lovely clients.

Alwyn and Cathy pictured here are a lovely couple whom I met on Twitter. Forget internet dating, lets talk internet dining. The first meeting with them was like meeting old friends. Gosh its amazing. After all this Tweeting, we finally meet. 140 characters becomes real instantaneously. The body language, the smiles, the face to face chat. It’s such an honour to meet finally and I can’t wait for Alwyn and Cathy to try my food. I cook for hundreds of people every night but there is still butterflies in my stomach – a mix of anticipation and excitement, a pinch of nervousness – I don’t want to let them down….but I’m gonna cook my heart out for you.

All I can say is the love that radiated in the room when they sat with us could have lit up the Blackpool Pleasure Beach at Christmas. To know they loved my food is #999 Sweet Nothing. These are the moments that give me a joyfulness so sweet that I want to burst into song. But I won’t burst into song, because that will cause the rain to pour. And we’re already in Manchester – rainy city, so lets not go there.