[title]
We all know breaking up is hard to do. But tucking into a plateful of steaming, pillowy-soft dim sum? Easy. That’s where this punny tour of Chinatown comes in, inviting anyone battling a break-up to dry their tears with paper napkins and get stuck into comfort food instead.
Disclaimer: I am not a recent dumpee. But, the chance to chow down on a load of moreish steamed parcels is enough to tempt me down to Leicester Square station. Here I meet 29-year-old Hui Wang, our guide and the founder of Koala, a new travel company curating tours for solo travellers to meet likeminded people. When our small group of six gathers, Hui shepherds us through Chinatown crowds to Lisle Street’s Tao Tao Ju – her favourite dim sum spot.
Inside she talks to the waiters in Mandarin, expertly orders from the tick-box menu and soon a tower of bamboo steamers arrive. From grilled pork buns that look like soft white clouds, to sticky beef balls, and glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, we devour them until we’re drunk on dumplings. Hui chips into the general chit-chat with anecdotes about what food meant to her growing up.
Bursting with buns, we waddle down the road to our next stop, Beijing Dumpling, to feast on pork dumplings soaked in vinegar and dishes of saucy noodles. For a lovelorn group, everyone is looking pretty carb-happy by the end.
If you’re after a tour of Chinatown’s nooks and crannies, visiting just two restaurants in the area may be a disappointment. And you won’t get much in the way of relationship advice or discover any illuminating information about dim sum. But if you are hurting from a break-up, a cosy Sunday packed with comfort food and dinner table chat with some new faces, might be just the ticket.