Chinese New Year makes me think of many things. The importance of spending time with family and friends, reflecting on the year just gone, and my hopes for the year to come. But more than anything, it makes me think about food. 

Food is central to Chinese New Year and is rich in symbolism. At this time of year families traditionally eat steamed fish to bring prosperity, dumplings for wealth, special extra-long noodles for happiness and a long life.  

Customs and recipes have been handed down through families for decades. But since I started working as the Chinese restaurant lead for Uber Eats, I’ve been struck by how a new generation of restaurants, chefs and owners are fusing these historic traditions with a more modern way of doing things. 

There are thousands of Chinese restaurants on Uber Eats in the UK, and this number is only growing. Approximately half of these are in London alone, from the epicentre of Chinatown out to all furthest limits of the city. 

The foundations of Chinatown and the Chinese restaurant scene across the country were laid from the late 60s to the 80s, when people arrived – primarily from Hong Kong – and set up new businesses in their new home. 

Half a century on from these beginnings, these restaurants are being passed on to the younger generation, including classic places like Leong’s Legend in Leicester Square or Four Seasons – the most popular Chinese restaurant on Uber Eats in Chinatown. In a welcome sign of the changing times, more than ever we are seeing daughters taking over their family businesses too. 

2022 is the year of the Tiger. The last time we celebrated the year of the Tiger was in 2010. And even in that short space of time so much has changed. 

In recent years, the number of Chinese students coming to study in the UK has boomed, fuelling the growth of a new breed of authentic and modern restaurants that resonate more with the vibrant food scene back home. Head east to Aldgate and you’ll find the adventurous newcomers Chew Fun and Noodle & Beer: both located next to a 30-storey student accommodation block.  

When I was a student myself in Edinburgh, I was pleasantly surprised to find two new bubble tea shops directly opposite Edinburgh University’s eighteenth century Old College. The former tenants were a bookshop and a gelateria, but now long queues for bubble tea regularly snake down the old stone streets. 

For Chinese New Year, people don’t typically make resolutions. But in the spirit of combining cultures, I think it’s a good thing to do. Food delivery apps play a great role in exposing new audiences to new food, and Chinese cuisine has never been as innovative and contemporary as it is right now. So my resolution is to continue seeking out the most exciting Chinese restaurants in the UK and championing the best they have to offer. For any Chinese restaurant that is interested in joining Uber Eats, please do contact me here: tom.lu@uber.com. 

We next celebrate the year of the Tiger in 2034. I can’t say what the next hot trends will be by then. But if the last few decades are anything to go by, it will be worth the wait.