LH: Well, I’m the best dinner companion you can get from Sweet Mandarin – I am king of all the dim sums. Some call me ’smooth and a real meaty treat’.

Q: Where does your name originate from, Lion Head?

LH: My name comes from the clan “Lion’s Head Meatballs” from 900 B.C. An old Chinese spinister who became the only woman chef to the Emperor of China made delicious pork meatballs for the Emperor’s afternoon tea. To ward off evil curses, she gave my ancestors (the meatball) the courage of a lion and the Emperor, on first sight exclaimed “Wow this mere meatbll resembles a Lions Head”. The Emperor bit into the Lion Head and jumped for joy that he had tasted Heaven. So, that’s how Lion Head the name, and reputation stuck with us.

Q: What advice would you give to other wannabes who want to join the list?

LH: Exercise, only the trimmest meats get into the gang, and you gotta be the best you can. So even the chicken wing (heheh) can get in there, just.

Q: What are your interests?

LH: I love singing karoke, but sometimes the neighbours tell me off for singing too loud. I can’t apologise for my natural talents – that’s the roar of a real lion head!

Q: You’re an eligible bachelor dim sum. Tell the audience what your ideal dim summette would be like?

LH: (laughs) Someone who is carries herself well, smells gorgeous and loves to sing. Ahem, like the Beautiful Beijing Dumpling – she’s mighty fine.

So, now you’ve met the mighty Lion Ball. Meet him face to face at Sweet Mandarin by booking your table here.

My grandmother, Lily Kwok was born in a small village in Southern China in 1918, confounding the midwife who’d predicted that she must be a boy because she had kicked so hard in the womb. That independence, strength and energy stayed with her all her life. Lily is 88 now, and still a fit, intelligent and – I’m afraid to say – stubborn woman despite all that she has been through. She and I are very alike. Lily and my mother, Mabel, inspired and shaped much of what I have done with my life: my success at school and in business; my return to the catering trade; my journey back to China to rediscover my roots, and in doing so, discovering her roots too. Her story is my story, and it’s the story of Sweet Mandarin. My sisters and I were immersed from birth in the Chinese catering business – the fourth generation of our family to make a living from food. We grew up in a family firm that was built on decades of graft and hard-earned experience, and we were expected to give up our evenings and weekends to help out behind the counter or in the kitchen. Not surprisingly, by the time we were teenagers we just wanted a way out. I became a lawyer, Lisa, my twin, a financier and Janet an engineer, but for all our efforts to escape we found ourselves choosing to follow in Mabel and Lily’s footsteps in the end. We opened our own restaurant together in 2004, and called it Sweet Mandarin. None of our friends in the Manchester Chinese community understood why we were doing it. The restaurant business is a very demanding one – the hours are long, the work hard and the economics precarious. One moment you’re in the black, the next something unexpected has plunged you into the red. It’s a tough, male-dominated world too, so why would three twenty-something professional ladies with good degrees and white-collar careers want to risk it all for something they’d seen their parents slave over all their lives? Our friends in Manchester had done everything they could to avoid taking on any responsibility for their own parents’ restaurants and takeaways, even moving hundreds of miles away so it was impossible for their family to call them up and expect them to rush home to help out. Living any nearer would involve a burden of guilt and obligation from which they were desperate to be free. I could count on one hand the number of my Chinese peers who were going back into catering.

They thought we were taking a step backwards, and even at the huge street party we held for the restaurant’s launch, with firecrackers and performers and champagne, I could see them quietly shaking their heads over the choice we’d made. The generation above them understood though. I remember old Chinese – the bosses of the established Chinatown restaurants and supermarkets – smiling on us with respect. It was an acknowledgement that we were carrying the flickering, dimming torch for a new generation, and they wished their own sons and daughters would do the same, keeping the community alive and handing down traditional recipes and family business know-how to their own children.

Opening my own restaurant gave me all those things; it was much, much more than a chance to test my entrepreneurial streak. It brought me closer to my sisters, for a start, and though I’m the voice for all of us in this book, they share this heritage with me as well as the work of setting up Sweet Mandarin. It also introduced me to my grandmother and mother all over again and opened up a bridge between us that crossed East and West, uniting the present and the past. I came to understand what their lives had been, and what my generation represented to them.

Lisa, Janet and I had problems getting our business off the ground, but all our slog and late nights were nothing compared to Mabel and Lily’s struggle. They arrived in Britain from Hong Kong with nothing, strangers in a foreign country. Everything they had they built from sheer perseverance and toil, and everything we had came from them.

Every Saturday morning, my mother, grandmother and I shop at the Chinese supermarket. We buy stock for the kitchens at Sweet Mandarin and food for our own home cooking. In the past I’d only known the barest facts about my grandmother’s long life, but when we began these weekly trips she started to reveal the real story, bit by bit. I’d known some things already – just the anecdotes and the funny characters that make up family folklore – but now the detail and the scale of what my grandmother had gone through began to emerge. It was as though each bottle or package that she picked out for our basket was tied to a different chapter of her life, and now she wanted to share it with us. When your entire family works in restaurants, food becomes a family album – an heirloom that triggers memories.

Very little has been written about the experiences of mainland Chinese immigrants to Hong Kong and to Britain, but I knew that as I discovered more about the journey my grandmother had made, and the extraordinary things that had happened to her, this was a story that had to be told. It’s shared by many of the Chinese who settled in this country, who also carved out a place in their new homeland through the catering trade.

To Buy the Book, Sweet Mandarin Click Here

I know I look young, but my goodness I’m in my 30s now.

Dear Friends, I’ve just come back from ASDAs empty handed. I’ve run out of vodka and tonight I’m making a vodka flambe drunken chicken so I thought just pop into my local ASDA and get a bottle of vodka. The lady at the check out looked me up and down (and no I was not wearing school uniform!).

‘Do you have ID?’ she asked.

‘No’ I said smiling and added ‘I haven’t brought my passport as I wasn’t planning on leaving the country today.’ I said sarcastically.
She looked at me sterly as if I’d just offended her mother. Then she gave me the daggers. I swallowed and thought oh dear, me and my big gob. I should have kept zip.
‘Sorry love, if you don’t have ID, I can’t sell you that bottle of vodka’. she said smirking – probably thinking I was a daytime alcoholic skivving school.
I shook my head in disgust. ‘I’m over the hill, love. I’m 30 odd’.
‘Sorry, its our policy. You should be over the moon that you still look 15.’ I didn’t know whether to be angry or happy. All I can say is if anyone is going to the off-licence, can you buy me a bottle of vodka. The chicken is in desperate need for a drink.

So having just knocked off over half my years off in one fell swoop. I’ll put getting asked for ID on the Sweet Nothing List.   That means when I get to 50, I’ll might just be looking old enough to buy my first pint in a pub. Well only time will tell.

See you at Sweet Mandarin and I’ll happy give you a rendition of Eliza Dolittle ‘The rain in spain stays mainly on the plain’. It will crack you up. I promise. Book a table here.

Crazy but true. Hollywood is descending on the sleepy Northern Quarter. Although we are less than 25 yards from the polished doors of the Arndale Centre, half of Manchester probably will never ever wander in the Northern Quarter – and although those members of the public are missing out on an absolute unique dining and shopping experience, the majority of the shopkeepers in the Northern Quarter, including myself are not too fussed. We’re more easy going and have the 20,000 residents in the area to cater for most of the time. Having said that, its always nice to meet more people outside of the enclaves of the four streets that make up the Northern Quarter.

The Northern Quarter is a get together of independents who don’t want huge chains descending upon us and creating pure and utter blandness. What we at Sweet Mandarin stand for is something different, something fun, something unique. That’s why we opted for the Northern Quarter rather than elsewhere in Manchester. We deliberately placed ourselves outside of Chinatown to make a statement.And I suppose its working. Gordon Ramsay crowned us with the Best Chinese Restaurant in the UK on his F Word Programme and we’ve recently been shortlisted for the Tsingtao Best Chinese Restaurant Competition.

I have also noticed there have been a significant number of American clients visiting us but I never in a million years would suspect that Tinseltown would zero in on the Northern Quarter (I mean they have the whole world at their fingertips) and say “I have found the perfect location for Captain America. Manchester’s Northern Quarter.”  LOL That is quite funny. I better tell you now Captain America, Manchester has signed a huge disclaimer for the weather. It rains here. Sorry about that but I hope that adds some dramatic effect for your movie. Today, outside Sweet Mandarin I witnessed a mini waterfall and a running stream. And its August. Anyhow, we welcome you to the Northern Quarter and to Sweet Mandarin.

I got my letter through the post. In about two weeks, we’re going to be inundated with the stars and their entourage – and we’re talking mega entourages whose presence could be mistaken for a union meeting. Talking about pre-orders for food at Sweet Mandarin….its gonna get a bit crazy at Sweet Mandarin but I say bring it on. I can’t wait to cook for Tommy Lee Jones (I got your dim sum won tons right here right now), Samuel L Jackson (I got your chicken wings ready for you here!) and the superhero Captain America aka Chris Evans (the perfect portion of prawn twitters lol here ) (and we’re not talking the ginger Chris Evans).

Amazingly, in the midst of our August showers, I have been rescued by Captain America, my hero!

About Captain America

Based on the Marvel Comics character from World War II. A brave, yet mild-mannered young soldier named Steve Rogers volunteers to undergo a series of experiments for a US army Super Soldier program. The military succeeds in transforming him into a human weapon, but quickly decide that their Super Soldier is far too expensive a creation to risk in combat. So, they decide to put him to use as an army celebrity and parade him across Europe to boost morale by performing in USO shows for American troops. He is even given a costume that bear the colors of Old Glory for the stage. Then, when a Nazi plot reveals itself Rogers must rise up and and become the First Avenger, in order to save his country. Steve Rogers becomes Captain America and he earns his way into the hearts and souls of every American, bringing hope and justice to a war-weary nation. Later, during a mission to Germany to stop his archenemy – The Red Skull, from launching rockets at the allies, Captain America sacrifices himself and winds up frozen in ice for almost six decades! Revived, Steve Rogers now must join forces with new heroes and become an Avenger of the modern age.

Media

Here’s the Manchester Evening News Bulletin about Captain America being filmed in the Northern Quarter (link)

Book Your Front Row Seat at Sweet Mandarin

If you want to star gaze from the comfort of Sweet Mandarin as Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Evans and Samuel L Jackson whizz around in their car chases and jump from the Smithfield Fishmarket Wall, click here

The scene that stays with me is a bar packed with people, a swarm of twitterers in overdrive, with a mix of titilation and trepidation, after Manchester’s first Twestival. I met twitterers who have kept me company in virtual reality, made me burst into laughter and order Sweet Mandarin takeaways from me.

So what is a restauranteur and cookery school owner like me doing on Twitter. My journey into this scrappy world of 140 characters is thanks to my customers telling me about this MUST TRY social network. I responded “Look, I got Facebook, Myspace, Blog and a real life restaurant with hundreds of clients…what’s so good about Twitter?”

They responded with such passion – “its instantaneous, its addictive and it gives us a chance to figure out how you fit it all in – a restaurant, a cookery school, a book, juggling your family and Lisa – you’re everywhere – HOW?!”. Their arguments roused my curiosity and struck so deeply into the psyche of me that I put aside my common sense (and time) and signed up. 7000 followers and 3000 tweets later, I’m hooked and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I tell you that I’m firing up a wok, I try to crack a joke (try is the operative word), I’m watching tv, I’m exercising – now I’m not. Twitter lets you talk about the minutae of life and with my life, it revolves around my clients and food. What fires me up is the “Sweet Tweets” – bookings for tables, orders for takeaways, compliments (I love you too) – because I live to cook and serve…..and Twitter has helped me to run my business in the most fun way possible.

About Me

I set up Sweet Mandarin with my two sisters four years ago, achieving a long held dream. We wanted to be slightly different and offered modern Chinese cuisine and exotic cocktails. We have been blessed with a loyal following many of whom have become friends who come to Sweet Mandarin to catch up on life, hang out and eat good, fresh, healthy Chinese food – and also learn how to make it via our cookery school. Being part of the Manchester Twitterati is a natural extension of our lives – and relationships. I’ve learnt that there are many things which try to divide us, but food is that one uniting factor – and through our snippets of food – I share the highs and lows with our community in Manchester. Twitter helps us to understand each other better and just say what we have to say (in 140 characters). Follow us @sweetmandarin and if I can help, I will.

Reminder: Tweet Up @sweetmandarin on Sunday 18th July 5-7pm.

I love my job at Sweet Mandarin. I cook, I teach people how to cook, I make lots of friends along the way. Pictured here with me are my No.1 clients: Bill with his ‘I Love Sweet Mandarin teeshirt’ together with Sue, his wife, and Vicky their daughter. I met them when they came to dine at Sweet Mandarin and we just had a great laugh together during the meal. They came back nearly every single week and it was just a joy to serve them. Its so great to see a friendly face and catch up on the news todate.

Sue has previously joined me on the Intermediate Cookery course at Sweet Mandarin and loved it – she is now a pro at making steamed seabass, sweet and sour, beef and blackbeans (fresh, not from a jar) and spicy Sichuan king prawns.

Today, the family have joined me for the Dim Sum Masterclass at Sweet Mandarin Cookery School – and I had to put this on my Sweet Nothings Blog. Bill made the I Love Sweet Mandarin teeshirt and when I saw it – it brought a huge smile to my face. Wowsers, that is so sweet and I wanted it to share it with you my dear readers. They are so so lovely and really make my job at Sweet Mandarin worth it 110%. I dedicate this blog entry to Bill, Sue and Vicky. Thank you for being a great friend and you are always welcome at Sweet Mandarin.

I’ve just slobbered all over a Pakistani Mango and I’m not ashamed to share that fact with you. It was such a juicy sweet experience I gotta climb to the top of my wokbox and shout it to the world. Forget green or red mangos. Go for the Pakistani Mango. There is zero substitute for the nectar sweet honey flesh that this yellow mango encases. You’ll love it and yes you too will shamelessly slobber all over it until all that is left is the big bad pip. And it makes the best mango puddings too – I’ve been churning them out and my clients are loving these beauties. Book your table at Sweet Mandarin here and I’ll save you one.

Going Mad About The Mango

Mango is the fruit par belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. It is a prominent fruit among the commercial fruits of Pakistan. Mango have many varieties and known for attractive colours, aroma, delightful taste and high nutritive value. Mango fruits contain 10-20% sugar. Mango is an important source of vitamin A & C & contain vitamin B.

Pakistan is an important mango growing country in the world. The soil and climatic conditions of Pakistan are highly suitable for mango cultivation. According to FAO production year book of 2001, Pakistan stands FIFTH among mango growing countries of the World and today Pakistan share 10% share in total mango exports.

Mango has second position after Kinnow in Pakistan. It is grown in the province of Punjab and Sindh. The mango from Pakistan is well known for its taste and quality abroad. Pakistan export mangoes mainly to to neighboring and European countries, i.e. Afghanistan, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, France, Malaysia and Singapore etc. fetching foreign exchange.

Langra, Dusehri, Samar Behisht, Chaunsa, Anwar Ratol are important varieties grown in Punjab. Sindhri, Bagan Pali, Suwarneka, Neelum and Gulab Khas are leading ones from Sindh.

Pakistan mangoes are also known as The king of Fruit and one of the most popular fruits in the world. Sun Citrus export these mangoes with a delicious, mouth watering flavour and rich aroma.

Mangoes are available from May through August at Sweet Mandarin. Book yours here

I love taking photographs and have joined Flickr where photographers (professional to amateur i.e. me) upload their photos and share in techniques on how to take the best photos. I also hold Flickr meet ups where everyone comes to Sweet Mandarin armed with the latest kit and big lenses. Wow there are some powerful beasts roaming the streets of Manchester. The king of the pack is Tootdood. Check out his profile and his pictures – click here . The guy puts so much passion and energy and love into each photo that he inspires me and makes it onto my Sweet Nothing List as #965. Go Toot Go!

Reminder. We are holding the next Flickr Meet Up – keep in touch with us by joining us on Flickr.

Christmas Menus 2010

We wish all our clients a very Happy Christmas in 2010. If you fancy a Christmas party with a twist, then welcome to Sweet Mandarin. We can seat 60 people per sitting and have three sittings – one at 12noon , one at 5pm-6.00pm and one at 8.30pm. The below special menus will be offered from Mid-October till 31st December 2010 to celebrate Christmas. Group bookings are welcome – a security deposit of £10 per head will be required to secure your table (this deposit is non refundable and non transferrable if the party does not turn up on the booked date). To book email lisa@sweetmandarin.com . We warmly welcome you to our establishment and thank you for your custom. Book before 30th September 2010 for your free bottle of wine.  We can also do a roast dinner with all the trimmings if members of your party want a traditional English dinner.

Menu A  – £19.50 per head (for the additional course of Aromatic Crispy Duck add £4 per head)

First course: Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup or Sweetcorn Soup (V)

Second Course: Christmas Platter of Seaweed, Sesame Prawn Toast, Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls, Salt and Chilli Spare Ribs, Chicken Satay Sticks (vegetarian option is Seaweed, Vegetable Tempura and Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls (V)

Optional Additional Course of Aromatic Crispy Duck (add £4 per head). The vegetarian option will be salt and pepper mushrooms (V)

Third Course – Choose one from below (served with egg fried rice):

• General Tse’s Sweet and Sour Chicken
• General Tse’s Sweet and Sour Vegetables (V)
• Crispy Sichuan Beef
• Beef with Sweet Pepper and Blackbean sauce
• Malaysian Satay King Prawns
• Cantonese Style Pork Chops
• Crunchy Mix (V) 

Menu B – £21.50 per head (add £4 per head for additional duck course)

First Course: Hot and Sour Soup or Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup (V)

Second Course: Christmas Platter of Seaweed, Sesame Prawn Toast, Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls, Salt and Chilli Spare Ribs, Chicken Satay Sticks (vegetarian option is Seaweed, Vegetable Tempura and Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls (V)

Optional additional course (add £4 per person): Aromatic Crispy Duck with pancakes, spring onions, leeks and hoisin sauce or Salt and Pepper Mushroom wraps (V)

Third course: Choose one from the below – served with egg fried rice:

• Snowflake Broccoli King Prawn
• Red style cooked chicken and chestnuts
• Pan fried seabass fillets with a soy drizzle on a bed of bak choy
• Fillet steak in black pepper sauce
• Buddha’s Golden Picnic Basket (V)
• Thai Green Vegetable Curry (V)
• XO King Prawn (spicy sauce)
• Spicy Chicken from Hunan Province

BOOKING FORM CLICK CHRISTMAS 2010 BOOKING FORM

The above image was designed by Clear Marketing (Hannah Leaf) and won a Bronze award in the Roses Advertising Awards 2009.

As I was serving these wonderful folk, my heart twinged with sadness and longing. Unlike my grandma’s and mum’s businesses who have loyal regulars every single week – on the same day, at the same time – ordering the same dishes (‘Usual please’) for the last 50 years – being located in the Manchester city centre area – the population is far more transient.

Nonetheless, I value my regular customers and corporate clients and set myself a personal challenge to get to know my regulars with a view to build a lasting legacy for Sweet Mandarin and future generations. Helen, Janet and I want to invite you to my very exciting events see below. Who knows, maybe after my 50 years, our grandchildren can invite you, our regular customers to a wonderful event like the above.

July Events

13th July 6-8/9pm Rich Dad Poor Dad Cashflow Game (free)

18th July 6-8pm Twitter v Flickr Meet Up (free)

10th August 6-8/9pm Rich Dad Poor Dad Cashflow Game (free)

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

Today, there are so many incredibly delicious brands of chocolate to indulge in but there is one that is dear to my heart and which my sweet tooth craves, and that is Ferrero Rocher.

As a kid growing up in the backstreets of Manchester, I was mesmerized by the adverts that surrounded Ferrero Rocher – the tray filled to the brim and eventually the last one was distributed around a room filled with impossibly glamorous people and an even more dazzling chandelier.

Every Christmas, Chinese takeaway owners visit neighbouring Chinese takeway owners and usually bring chocolates and oranges. Well the oranges were usually discarded to the kitchen, but the chocolates were inspected and given a shake through the wrapping paper to try to distinguish what kind they were. Most were recycled by way of gifting them to another visitor but when it came to receiving boxes of Ferrero Rocher, I ensured those boxes of chocolates never left our premises.

There is an art to eating a Ferrero Rocher. The way I have always always always insisted upon to my siblings (after all I am the oldest by 2 minutes), is to eat layer by layer but DO NOT break the wafer shell. When one has nibbled away at the chocolate encrusted nutty layer, the wafer shell should be opened and the hazelnut Nutella goo should be scooped out (with the tongue of course) and the whole hazelnut hidden inside the hazelnut Nutella goo eaten as best possible without it getting stuck in the teeth. At the very end, that is when one can pop the two wafer shells into the mouth to melt. It takes so much better than just crunching into one of these beauties. Try it and let me know the difference. You’ll thank me for the advice above and that is why Ferrero Rocher makes #970 Sweet Nothing.

When I hang out with my sister, she cracks me up. She sometimes just looks at me and we’re laughing our head off. You know, properly ROFLMAO (Rolling On Floor Laughing My Ass Off). These belly laughs are almost in an involuntary reaction because once you start laughing its really hard to stop. I tell you its great to laugh and just let it out – I call them belly laughs – because the laughter bubbles up from the belly and effervesces up tickling the nose. What a great way to just release any tension. It sure makes the day much sweeter. That’s why belly laughs make my #971 Sweet Nothing.

Happy Independence Day. Today on the 4th July 1776 America celebrated its independence from Great Britain. The funny fact I learnt was that the legal separation of the countries actually occured on the 2nd July rather than the 4th July. However, on the 4th July fireworks, banquet and parties were scheduled. So the entire USA adopted 4th July as the official celebratory day. That means food trumps legal papers! Hey I’m cool with that!
Thank you to America for embracing our book, Sweet Mandarin – which is used in schools in America and has been endorsed by Amy Tan and Oprah’s chef, Art Smith (click here) .

When we received the news that we had made it to the Final of the F Word’s Best Chinese Restaurant Competition we were estatic. Thanks to our wonderful customers who nominated us, we were on the map a la Gordon. However, before Gordon,  we were and still are are the third generation of women restaurateurs and have always had great families follow us generation after generation. Their gran knew our gran (who set up her restaurant before Chinatown was established), their mum knows our mum and now the third generation visit Sweet Mandarin.

Nothing had quite sunk in even when a black car picked us up at our home to drive us to the studios in London. Having not slept the night before didn’t help when we were faced with 50 chicken breasts and about 100 pieces of squid to cut in the F Word kitchen – and we had an hour’s prep time to get through the mountains of ingredients.

I was cutting away in my own little world when suddenly this voice said ‘Hello Lisa!’ It was Gordon Ramsay. He was so tall and I was so shocked that it was the man himself that I nearly cut my hand.  It was at that moment that it finally sunk – I was in the competition headed up by Gordon Ramsay to find the UK’s Best Local Chinese Restaurant and after three generations who have endured rollercoaster after rollercoaster it was a chance for me to restore the family name.  Then I got nervous.   I finally realised that this competition was real and was shocked that Gordon knew my name. I’ve seen him on the TV, but for him to know and praise me was a chef’s dream come true.  It was a true honour to cook with him and a huge accolade to get 82/100 mark for the Mabel’s Claypot Chicken (my mother’s recipe which we serve at Sweet Mandarin). When we won the Best Local Chinese Restaurant Award 2009-2010 I had tears in my eyes.  To my dear customers and to all of Manchester, this trophy is for you.

If you want to pop over for my mum’s claypot chicken, please book a table here

Virgin Trains now have regular trains every twenty minutes from Manchester to London and vice versa. Travelling down on the Pendolino faster-than-a-bullet trains  takes a record 2 hours and 10 minutes rather than the previous 6 hour zombified journeys one used to have to endure.  So technically I could be in London faster than getting from one side of Manchester to the other side.

Whilst London offers incredible opportunity and a zillion potential customers from all regions of the world I’m happy to dip in and out of London rather than pitch up Sweet Mandarin in the capital.

I find it sometimes so busy that the zillions of people that are tripping me up left, right and centre that I can’t do everything I want to do in London. Travelling on the tube for instance is my biggest nightmare. Its claustrophobic and I’m breathing in this hot rancid air that makes me faint. Even after a super super shopping spree, getting back to Euston and then getting a seat on the train back to Manchester is that little bit more stressful. That’s because everything is faster and rather than 10 to 1 person buying that sweater or train ticket, its more like 100 to 1 in London.

Personally, after I’ve collapsed in my train seat there is no sweeter image and sound than seeing the Manchester skyline and hearing the words now arriving at Manchester Piccadilly. That’s why this royal welcome home makes #975 Sweet Nothing.

For me, the family table is the heart of the house, where all the highs and lows of the day are celebrated or commiserated. It’s a sanctuary which rejuvenates me not only physically but spiritually and emotionally. In this day and age where there are more and more people living alone, the family table is replaced by a table at their favourite restaurant, Sweet Mandarin.

Dining together allows us to better understand who we are, regardless of our social status. The food does not have to be elegant, complicated or fancy. I find that busy people like simple food- the busier they are, the simpler the food. The food at Sweet Mandarin is straightforward home cooking with a few contemporary dishes.

Getting back to the table allows us to love and nurture each other and renew connections to our families – however they are configured in this diverse and ever-changing society. Such connections are crucial in a fast-paced world where we feel more disconnected every day.

One of the best ways I know to restore that daily balance is to sit down at the table. As a child, growing up in Manchester, UK, I learned the importance of the family table or eating together in a restaurant. It was there that I felt love matched only by my family’s appreciation for fresh, wholesome food, a love of good cooking, and a fellowship just not possible if you are eating on the go or if you are whizzing through the drive-in window of a fast food outlet.

These early experiences started me on my life’s journey of cooking for families. It is around the family table that there are times of celebration and times of great sadness, and always we came together to embrace the food and each other. The table is a place of communion for life’s large and small events: holiday meals, weddings, birthdays, and everyday get-togethers. We welcome you to our family table at Sweet Mandarin. Don’t be a stranger, you’re home from home at Sweet Mandarin.

Try our wonderful banquets – to be shared with friends and families. To download the menus go to www.sweetmandarin.com

Do you need to book out Sweet Mandarin for your special event – call Lisa 0161 832 8848 to discuss your event and how we can make it extra extra sweet.

Best wishes and sweet dishes to you and your family.

Lisa

www.sweetmandarin.com

Tel: 0161 832 8848

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sweetmandarin

Facebook: Sweet Mandarin Appreciation Group http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Mandarin/26658875016

Myspace: www.myspace.com/sweetmandarin

In the 1980s we were the proud owner of the wide screen tv (black and white), swirly brown carpets with matching hideous wall paper and dungarees. We were also highly protective of our stash of flying saucers in industrial sized containers. That was the beauty of growing up above a chippy. We got the chance to go to Bernard’s cash and carry behind Asdas and there was a sweet display that would make Willy Wonka proud.

Its great to see flying saucers making a comeback as they were my favourite sweet. Two pastel coloured wafers containing fizzy powdered sherbert that zizzled the tongue.

Let me share with you my way of eating these beauties:

1. Nibble the edge and open up the saucers.
2. Eat the first saucer.
3. Then lick the sherbet. Shiver.
4. Finally in huge satisfaction, rest the second saucer on tongue and let it melt.
5. Repeat.

That’s why Flying Saucers are #977 Sweet Nothing . If you are visiting Sweet Mandarin you are always welcome to bring a packet or two of flying saucers!

At Sweet Mandarin, we love and welcome birthdays. If you are celebrating your birthday at Sweet Mandarin, let us know and we’ll arrange to surprise the birthday girl or boy with a cake on the house. You can even eat the whole thing with your hands if you must.

We can cater for parties of 2 to 80. If you need balloons, table decorations, banners or special requests, let us know and we’ll try our best to make your birthday party a most memorable night. If you are looking for a perfect gift, don’t forget our memoir, Sweet Mandarin. And we’ll sing Happy Birthday to you. That’s why Birthdays are my #978 Sweet Nothing.

About Happy Birthday To You
“Happy Birthday to You”, also known more simply as “Happy Birthday”, is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person’s birth. According to the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and “Auld Lang Syne”. The song’s base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages.

Here’s a picture of Janet’s third birthday.
Front row L to R: Helen, Janet, Lisa
Back row Jimmy and Mum