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15/11/2011 20:13 | By Craig Butcher, content editor, MSN Food

Kai Mayfair wins best Chinese restaurant award

Judges vote Kai as best UK Chinese restaurant in the Tsingtao Legacy of Taste award. We meet the judges to discover why it stood out and what it means for your local high street Chinese restaurant.

Kai Mayfair's Bernard Yeoh collects his Tsingtao Legacy of Taste award (© Tsingtao Legacy of Taste)

Tsingtao Legacy of Taste

Kai Mayfair's Bernard Yeoh collects his Tsingtao Legacy of Taste award

Restaurant entrepreneur, Bernard Yeoh, has beaten off thousands of Chinese restaurants to win the coveted Tsingtao Legacy of Taste competition for his Michelin-starred Kai Mayfair restaurant in London.

Bernard, who was also a contestant in the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2010 Commonwealth Games, has now struck gold with his multi-award winning dining establishment.

TV chef Ching-He Huang was among the judging panel (© Tsingtao Legacy of Taste)

Tsingtao Legacy of Taste

TV chef Ching-He Huang was among the judging panel

The Tsingtao Legacy of Taste accolade was awarded to Kai Mayfair last night in London after a six-month search to find the UK's best Chinese restaurant, led by TV chef and cookery author, Ching-He Huang.

On Bing: Learn more about Ching-He Huang

After a public vote named over 1,000 Chinese restaurants across the UK, the top three most popular restaurants were then visited by the judging panel. These were:

Kai Mayfair;
Yang Sing, from Manchester and the 2008 inaugural winner; and
Grand Imperial, the newcomer outpost in Victoria, London, of the well-known Malaysia-based restaurant.

The judges were torn between high-end Michelin-starred restaurant Kai Mayfair and traditional Manchester institution Yang Sing, but they ultimately plumped for the more forward-looking cooking apprpoach.

Bernard, who puts Kai's success down to his talented head chef, said: "[Head Chef] Alex [Chow] and I have developed Kai Mayfair over the last seven years and it's an honour for our team to win an award that was judged both by customers and an expert panel who scrutinised every aspect of our food and service. Tsingtao Legacy of Taste is well respected in the industry and we were up against some fierce competition."

On MSN Food: The UK's top 10 Chinese restaurants

Watch this behind-the-scenes video as the judges visit each of the three finalists

The Tsingtao Legacy of Taste judges were looking to celebrate those restaurants using authentic techniques, fresh, high-quality ingredients and with a passion for service.

In addition to Ching, the judging panel consisted of food archaeologist and broadcaster, Alan Coxon, Tsingtao Beer's James Wright and Cathay Pacific catering manager, Antony Edwards.

For more about the award, visit the Legacy of Taste website

The Top 20 placed restaurants were (not ranked):

Kai Mayfair, London
Grand Imperial, London
Yang Sing, Manchester
Yu and You, Blackburn
Chop Chop, Edinburgh
Hakkasan, London
Sweet Mandarin, Manchester
Shanpan, Reading
Happy Gathering, Cardiff
Water Sky, Bristol
Pearl Liang, London
Charlie Chan, Cambridge
China Red, Poulton-Le-Fylde
Haozhan, London
Abacus, Bolton
Alisan, London
Chifan, Dorking
Dynasty, Bristol
Red Chilli, Leeds
Lou-Shang, St Annes on Sea

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11/11/2011 05:53

i'm sick off european chinese food. this "expert" ching he huang doest actualy seem to know anything about genuine chinese food (for reference, and clarity, by "genuine" i mean food that is actually cooked & eaten in china....). she says "you can see where the chinese heritage comes from - this dish is subtle".....what!!!!??? hahaha! the most obvious thing about "genuine" chinese food is that subtle is the last word that would ever be used to describe it! chinese food is always incredibly full bodied/powerful and in no way subtle! so don't think these guys know anything about this!! ps alley, you are wrong, these dishes are not suited to the english taste...if they cooked real chinese food local people would prefer it to the rubbish that comes out of chinese takeaways here.....also sorry to be a picky "bi" but it is sha bi not xia bi....

Previous replies

ronnie Osulivan147official

11/11/2011 03:45

well if it was a bunch of chinese guys judging it wouldnt of made the news. they had to throw in one or two white poeple just to make it worth reading lol... I find it funny when a few years back the best chippies in the UK were ranked up, and not one single chippy mentioned was a chinese chipshop.. it was justt white people that sold fish and chips.. lol bit unfair isnt it, the chinese make more food have massive menus and some friggin fish bar that sells about 5 things gets top chipshop. ppfftt

Previous replies

alley watson

11/11/2011 01:30

I'm sorry but who the heck are these guys to judge Chinese cuisine ? the English i mean.

what a load of bull, what's one chef that we've never heard of know about China and a bloomin marketing manager, come on, Only Antony Edwards seems the most knowledgeable. Unless you are sweating you **** of in a Chinese kitchen with the rest of the Chinese chefs in China then you aint qualified to do jack. Proper Chinese food is in China and I know cos ive been there like many other Brits, not these guys, the meals they are eating are purely suited to an English taste. Yingguo ren xia Bi !!