Culinary marvels
China DailyAn author, lawyer and wine critic, Ch'ng Poh Tiong writes about cuisine from a cultural and historical point of view. In his 100 Top Chinese Restaurants of the World 2020, just published as its second edition, the restaurants aren't ranked. What's fascinating about this book is that it explores Chinese restaurants around the world-and not just the ones you'd expect in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Among the cities represented are New York, London, Paris, Mumbai, Yokohama, Bangkok, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Foshan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Suzhou … the list goes on. Beyond the restaurants themselves, the reader will discover numerous things they may not know: that xiao long bao didn't originate in Shanghai but was already very popular in Kaifeng during the Northern Song dynasty; that the best char siew may actually be in Malaysia; and that there's a teahouse in Yangzhou that makes up to 50,000 bao a day.