Shaanxi-themed food stall Murger Han serves pita bread in lamb soup, in London. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Other Chinese food sellers are also noticing that British people are eager to get their teeth into new flavors.
"Times have changed and Britons are more ready to move forward and try new things," said Li Bin, who runs Murger Han, a Shaanxi-themed food stall that offers liangpi (cold noodles) and roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers).
Though little known in Europe, roujiamo are believed to have first been prepared in China some 2,400 years ago.
To prepare the dish, streaky pork must be stewed for hours in a soup containing about 20 different spices and seasonings that include cinnamon, anise and cardamom, before being minced into fine shreds and stuffed in a mo, a piece of flatbread baked yellow until it is crisp on the outside and soft inside.
Li, 28, says the tradition behind the dish is more important than anything else.
"We won't adapt for those who can't accept it. All ingredients are imported from China to preserve the original flavor," he said.
After starting the business two years ago, Li said it was initially something that soothed his homesickness and the longing for home among his friends from Shaanxi.
According to Mintel, a global market researcher, food inspired by the dishes from the most populous country in the world have been Britain's favorites, both at home and in ethnic restaurants, for the past two years.
Research found that 80 percent of people who use restaurants or takeaways have visited a Chinese eatery, followed by 71 percent who have visited Indian outlets and 40 percent who have eaten Mexican food.
