Congratulations to all the Graduates.

We see new friends coming in and old friends are about to leave. Graduates now have a big decision to make in their life track. Some of them will start their career next summer while others will plan for their further study. Time flies. Three years at university transform a person from a high school student to a professional ready to serve society. We at Sweet Mandarin congratulate you on your hard earned degrees and give you our best wishes.

But before you start to fly high, please slow down and spend a quiet moment on your university campus, where you have been studying, working and making friends for three years. Give sincere thanks to every road you went through, every book you read, and every friend you made. Because once you begin to work, you will see how different it is from university life.

At university, all moments, happy or sad, have been treasures from heaven. Pack them up in your mind, and embark on a new journey. Plenty more such moments are waiting for you in the years to come. Whether these moments are good or bad, you will understand life through experiencing them.

Years later, when you are in another part of the world, the moment you think of your youth, you will realise that part of your heart is still at university and Manchester will always be your home!

To celebrate, join us at Sweet Mandarin for a graduation banquet. To book a table email Lisa@sweetmandarin.com or book here

Thank God for Peter Kay. I love the Bolton born comic and man-of-a-thousand-faces who loves Chinese food.
Here’s my favourite joke (thanks Peter) ….. So I went to the Chinese restaurant and this duck came up to me with a red rose and says “Your eyes sparkle like diamonds”. I said, “Waiter, I asked for a-ROMATIC duck”.

Finally, Peter has returned to us in Manchester with his tour which has people in stitches as he turns the most trivial of daily nuisances in the world of the working class family, and turns them into comedy gold. Without this man, life would, quite simply, be a bit boring.

I’ll feed Peter and I’ll feed all you lovely people who are going to see Peter Kay’s show at the MEN. We are next door to the Crowne Plaza Hotel which is a short 5-10 minute walk to the MEN Arena. Approximately 40 furry footsteps and you are door to door. Click HERE for the AA Routeplanner and Map.

OK, and I’ll get you revved up with that uber-annoying (because once heard you can’t get it out of your head) ‘Is This The Way To Amarillo’ song that Peter forced upon us, Peter Kay at his exasperated best.

To book a table at Sweet Mandarin email Lisa@sweetmandarin.com or call 0161 832 8848
Sweet Mandarin Address: 19 Copperas Street (off High Street), Manchester M4 1HS

I visited the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show at the GMEX last week and bumped into Clive and Adam from Sugarvine. It was great to see them because we go back five years, when Sweet Mandarin started and it was Clive who helped us make a 360 panoramic video of Sweet Mandarin and introduced us to google and online marketing. Sugarvine has grown to an impressive 20 regional sites so not only are locals reading about your restaurant and menu, but their million or so visitors around the country are too.  I’m often asked what tips I can give to budding restauranteurs. One of them is speak to Cliver or Adam at Sugarvine 0844 277 9858 for your promotions and marketing and just to understand your market and competition.  They are affordable, effective, have their finger on the pulse and are very pleasant people to work with – oh and they are a fellow Twitterer too (follow them http://twitter.com/sugarvine) .

To celebrate my forthcoming appearance on Iron Chef on Channel 4 in April/May (5pm- 6pm daily), I’ve teamed up with Sugarvine to launch a fantastic competition worth £180 (the Chinese believe 8 is a lucky number because it sounds like the word ‘rich’. Putting together 1 and 8 symbolises ‘always rich’).  Enrich yourself and win a three course banquet for 2 (with a bottle of wine) and a cookery school place at Sweet Mandarin.  To enter click  here  on the Sugarvine website and best of luck! Remember you have to be in it to win it.

Breathe. Breathe again. I’ve got some news my friends. I’m going to be starring on Iron Chef UK when it airs on Channel 4 in April/May. This is like a dream come true for me. Thank you God. You’ve already given me an amazing blessing when Sweet Mandarin received the most prestigious accolade, winning the Gordon Ramsay F Word Best Local Chinese Restaurant award. Deep breath. My heart is racing because I love Iron Chef. I’ve watched all the American versions and am in love with Chef Morimoto and Bobby Flay. I can’t wait to get to Kitchen Stadium – this is an experience of a lifetime.

I am honoured to be invited to cook on Iron Chef and will dedicate my dishes to Manchester, my followers on Twitter and to all my clients at Sweet Mandarin. I’m gonna tweet throughout the cook off so follow me for more of the action http://twitter.com/sweetmandarin.

PRESS RELEASE: 6th April 2010
Lisa Tse to star on Iron Chef UK

Lisa Tse, CEO and head chef of the award winning Sweet Mandarin is to star on Iron Chef UK when it airs on Channel 4 in April/May. Lisa has already received one of the most prestigious accolades, winning the Gordon Ramsay F Word Best Local Chinese Restaurant award and her cookery school is now fully booked for months. This latest challenge will see Lisa battle against the Iron Chefs in a specially created Kitchen Stadium.

Iron Chef originated from Japan and its American version has received cult status as well as receiving the blessing of Michelle Obama who invited Iron Chef to the White House. In each episode, a new challenger chef battles one of the resident ‘Iron Chefs’ in a one-hour cooking competition based on a theme ingredient. In April/May, the UK will witness Iron Chef which is like no other cooking show before it. It combines haute cuisine, sports broadcasting and martial arts. It is crazy, zany and addictive.

Chef Lisa said “I am honoured to be invited to cook on Iron Chef. My three passions in life are cooking, people and business, and Iron Chef ignites all three. For everyone in Manchester, for my Twitter friends and my customers at Sweet Mandarin, I will rise to this challenge and try my best. I’ve been told that when the secret ingredient is revealed, we are free to choose what to cook and have an hour to produce something amazing. The Japanese call it omikase. I call it omigod — cooking without a net!”

For more of the action follow Lisa on Twitter http://twitter.com/sweetmandarin as she proposes to tweet throughout her cook-off.

About Chef Lisa Tse

Lisa is the CEO and brainchild behind Sweet Mandarin, an award winning Chinese restaurant, cookery school and corporate team building events organizer in Manchester, which she set up with her two sisters in 2004. Lisa won the prestigious award of Best Local Chinese Restaurant 2009/10 on the F Word and Gordon Ramsay was highly impressed with Lisa’s cooking. Sweet Mandarin has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Times, on BBC Newsnight and on the front cover of the Shanghai Daily. Lisa is the third generation of women in her family in the restaurant business and their story, self titled Sweet Mandarin was published by Random House in 33 countries and covered in a documentary by the BBC and the Chinese Channel. In 2010, Amoy chose Lisa as their chef of the year to celebrate Chinese New Year. Lisa has been cooking from the age of 11 years old and now cooks at Sweet Mandarin and for celebrities.

Dear Friends,

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year for 2010 and thank you for your continued support and friendship.

2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger – a year filled with strength, courage, bravery and luck. Incidently, this year’s Chinese New Year’s Day falls on 14th February 2010, Valentine’s Day. To celebrate we have created a wonderful menu for the month of February (click here and we will also serve the a la carte menu too ). We have two sittings every evening – one at 5/6pm, the second at 8.30pm. Please do book via lisa@sweetmandarin.com and we look forward to accomodating you.

Apparently, tigers are courageous, active, and self-assured. Optimistic, passionate and independent. Rebellious, dynamic, and unpredictable. Quick tempered but considerate. Affectionate but careless. The Tiger is a natural born leader and symbolizes power, passion and daring.

Interestingly, famous people born in the year of the tiger include Queen Elizabeth II, Demi Moore, Agatha Christie, Tom Cruise and Marilyn Monroe. Do they portray those attributes above? Tweet me your thoughts (follow me on Twitter @sweetmandarin)

Wishing you a very Happy New Year

All the best and see you soon.

Lisa, Helen and Janet
www.sweetmandarin.com