The Museum of Childhood - Chinese New Year 2019

Last month marked Chinese New Year – The year of the Pig, and as my Grandad hailed from Hong Kong, we are always keen to encourage the girls to embrace their heritage, so my Mum and I took them to The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.

As a celebration the museum had teamed up with Mothers Bridge of Love Charity and the Chinese Association of Tower Hamlets to put on a free celebratory day with lots of fun activities taking place throughout the day on the ground floor of the museum.

With mandatory Lion dancing, martial arts and tai chi performances as well as a number of arts and crafts activities available as well as the usual attractions of the museum, it made for a really great couple of hours out with the girls, on a particularly mild February Saturday.

The girls particularly enjoyed the arts and crafts area which included making their own red envelope for ‘lucky money’ and colouring in masks with lots of other children from the area. 

Chinese masks at The Museum of Childhood

There was a stall at the entrance to the museum selling various nik naks such as dragons on a stick and some slightly more expensive items – these cost £1 each so didn’t break the bank.

Bridget's £1 dragon from The Museum of Childhood

Bridget was enthralled by the various folk dancing shows and both the girls loved the dragon dancing too.

Unfortunately, as there was a massive queue to get in we missed out on the fan dance which was participatory for the children, so that was a shame, but it was lovely to see so many people engaged by the event. We queued for about 20-25 minutes.

If you haven’t visited the Museum of Childhood with your children, it is a must visit place in London for a variety of reasons.

Aside from the fact there are lots of things to do for the children, it will also be a walk down memory lane for you too. I absolutely adore the historical side to the museum and seeing not just toys, games and the like from my era of growing up in the eighties and nineties, but from my Mum and Dad’s in the sixties and even my Nan’s in the forties. It’s fascinating and the children stay engaged as it is all toy related. 

Bridget and Beatrice finding the Chinese toys at The Museum of Childhood

Who else remembers that Teapot House from the 1980's? (The Museum of Childhood)

And it's not just displays of old toys either, there are things like historical prams, highchairs and baby related products too, as well as children’s clothing through the ages, which ticked the box for my Mum and made her incredibly nostalgic. 

The girls loved the doll's houses and dressing up in historical attire although unfortunately the lady who was organising this, was so bombarded we didn't get the chance to find out from which era the outfits came from. 

Fancy dress at The Museum of Childhood

Beatrice has recently become interested in Sylvanian Families and they were a big hit at Christmas and her birthday so imagine her delight at seeing a range of them on display.

Beatrice admiring the Sylvanian Families at The Museum of Childhood

The arts and crafts area is a mainstay for the museum too, which is a good little interactive activity to keep the children occupied – I had to drag mine away, despite it being packed, as they can never get enough of colouring in and the like, even though they do it daily at home!

There is a Lego and Duplo play station for children too and the Pirate play area is just fab. As well as a variety of pirate’s hats and accessories to try out, there is also an excellent pirate ship, treasure chest to explore and a few learning Q&A type areas for slightly older children. Once again, I had to drag my children away. 

Pirate Bridget at The Museum of Childhood

Beatrice steering the pirate ship at The Museum of Childhood

My treasures finding treasure at The Museum of Childhood

Bridget on the pirate ship at The Museum of Childhood

We ended our Chinese New Year day out with dim sum in Gerrard Street, Chinatown and enjoyed some more dragon dancing as well as the fabulous and pretty lanterns that adorn the area every year for Chinese New Year. 

Me with the girls at Gerrard Street, Chinatown for Chinese New Year, 2019

My Mum with the girls at Gerrard Street, Chinatown

Bridget with the Lion dancer at Gerrard St, Chinatown

The Museum of Childhood is a great museum and one I’ve enjoyed since my own childhood. It’s perfect for a family day out on either a dry or a rainy day, and if you visit on a bright day and it doesn’t take up too many hours – you’re not far from wonderful Victoria Park which is, in my opinion one of the best parks in London for small children.

Entrance to the museum is free, but works on a donation basis, and they do a variety of groups for storytelling during the week and even at the weekend which are also free. This was our first visit with both of the girls; and I’ll be sure to return soon.

A London Lunch: New Loon Fung, China Town

On Saturday, Bridget and I joined my parents for a dim sum lunch at New Loon Fung, Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown.

It's the first time we've eaten there, and we were impressed. 

We had a combination if dishes, starting with Seafood Crispy Noodles, which were the perfect mix of crispy round the edges, and soft in the centre where the saucy seafood had sat atop. The seafood in question was a generous portion of scallops, prawns and squid plus a combination of vegetables - all cooked to perfection, delicious. 

Seafood Crispy Noodles

We also had roast duck on rice, usually a favourite, but this was the one, slightly disappointing dish, as the duck was overdone and had taken on that liver-esque taste and texture. A shame.

Roast Duck on rice

Dim sum dishes at New Loon Fung were all pleasing though, sui mai and har gau plus prawn cheung fun, as the cornerstones of every dim sum meal we have, were all good. 

Other dishes though that impressed included a scallop and spring onion dumpling, sesame paper wrapped prawns which were deep-friend and delicious, Shanghai style dumplings - Xia Long Bao, with pork and a soupy broth inside - two beautiful mouthfuls, and some gorgeous crispy vegetable spring rolls. The squid cakes were also good despite being devoid of my favourite coriander. 

Paper Wrapped Prawns

Spring Rolls

Squid Cakes

Shanghai Dumplings

Char Sui Bao, the soft doughy steamed bun filled with barbecue pork, were on top form, which is just as well as my little toddler foodie, Bridget, loves them. She has recently become much more adept at using a spoon and fork and it was lovely to see her feeding herself noodles, rice and the like all on her own. 

Char Sui Bao

Bridget enjoying her dim sum

As a sweet treat, we had egg custard tarts to complete the meal which were excellent; sweet, flaky pastry containing a light, bright yellow-hued baked custard, just delicious. Bridget had her first try too and, as usual loved them. 

Custard Tarts

The meal for the four of us (three adults plus a toddler) came in at £70 including service which was good considering we over-ordered and took away a couple of boxes of leftovers. Service at New Loon Fung was excellent and the staff here were extra attentive to Bridget, which really makes a difference when eating out with a toddler. I'll definitely return to New Loon Fung for more.

We rounded off the day by visiting Trafalgar Square to join into the St George’s Day festivities, which included a bit of a street party atmosphere, lots of food and drink stalls, a few fairground attractions, people in medieval dress and a Chef’s area where I watched a short demo from Masterchef winner, Natalie Coleman – so plenty going on. A great family day.

The Cheung Family

Bridget having fun in Leicester Square

A London Lunch No. 7: Dim Sum at Young Chen, Lisle Street

Dim sum for lunch makes me happy, very happy indeed.

My Grandad on my Dad’s side hailed from Hong Kong, so certain delicious Chinese delights, such as Char Siu Bao, remind me of my first tastes of dim sum, and offer the same kind of comfort food nourishment to me as macaroni cheese or my favourite, Pie & Mash.

I like to think of dim sum as the Chinese version of ‘afternoon tea’, as I only ever enjoy after 12pm, however traditionally, I believe this is served all day, and of course with the accompaniment of Chinese herbal tea. Not a massive fan of herby teas, I usually wash my dim sum down with a bottle of two of Tsintao, probably the most well known Chinese beer.

Many of the restaurants around Chinatown in Soho get a bad press, but actually there are a few real jewels, and frankly I blame sheer snobbery for people shunning the ‘dutty’ looking venues in favour of more fine dining style Chinese. Dim sum doesn’t need to be gourmet or artisan, so here is a lunch recommendation for one of my favourites, Young Chen on Lisle Street.

Probably the most well known dish, Siu Mai, are the little pork and prawn dumplings topped with bright orange cod roe gems. An odd looking little dish of steamed parcels, there is a reason they are so commonly known, they are absolutely delicious, and the Young Chen varieties always leave you wanting more. The always have a mixed texture inside, minced pork, chopped up pieces of prawn and a flavourful bite from spring onion – they are a must order at any dim sum venue.

One of my favourite dishes, has to be King Prawn Cheung Fun, not least because it includes my surname. Again, this isn’t the most beautiful or inviting plate of food, however the cannelloni-like rice noodle wrappers, filled with deliciously fresh, large meaty prawns and sitting in a pool of sticky, salty soy sauce can bring such a joyful sensation to the mouth. Like many dishes served as dim sum, Cheung Fun has a sweetness to it and for me, it is a truly addictive plate of food.

Ha Gau, the other well-known dumpling, are another favourite – shaped like a sea shell, the original are filled, again with prawns and are quite simply fantastic little bites of joy. But do try other varieties too, such as those with chives.

I cannot order dim sum, no matter how many are in my company, whether one or ten, without ordering one of my favourite things in the world – squid cakes. I don’t know the Chinese name for these sadly, but they are fabulous patties made up of squid, fiery chilly, garlic and ginger and the herb that frankly improves most things to my mind, coriander. I didn’t take a photo on my last visit, despite knowing I would be writing about them, as I literally inhale as soon as they arrive.

If you like Char Siu Bao, or indeed deliciously sweet char siu, or the sweet BBQ pork of Chinese restaurants, then you will probably like what I call Char Siu Pastries. Little mini pies of slightly greasy flaky pastry filled with the delicious barbecued meat and topped with sesame seeds – they are to die for. The element of grease is particularly good if you have been on the sauce the night before too. 

These are probably the dishes I most often order and enjoy when having dim sum, but there are tons of others that often make up the selection, such as fried chickens feet (yes really), turnip paste and lots of other dumplings. If I go with a crowd, normally my family, then we might be likely to order Beef Ho Fun – flat, delicious fried noodles topped with tender beef in a black bean sauce, or crispy noodles with seafood to bulk up the order too.

One thing that I must mention, is the simple, but incredibly delicious dessert of dim sum – the egg custard tarts. An alarmingly yellow hued custard centre surrounded by sweet, flaky pastry these are an absolute must if you have a sweet tooth like me. 

Dim sum can vary in cost depending on how many of you there are and how hungry you are. But if you go in a two to Young Chen and order 4-5 dishes of the above you could expect change from £40 so it’s a reasonably, yet very enjoyable food experience.