About Me
ABOUT THE BLOG
For Jo, who eats and puts up with me =)
This collection of food reviews, recipes, ramblings and memoirs from other food cultures are the culmination of a long-standing ambition of mine to get into food writing and share my love for all things gastronomy-related.
Majority of the restaurant reviews are from my adventures and escapades around London’s increasingly diverse food scene as well as some unforgettable meals while travelling around the world.
My recipes centre around favourites that I’ve learnt/adapted from experimenting with my arsenal of cookbooks and Malaysian family recipes that have been passed down the generations.
My hope is that you will be inspired to explore new cuisines, get cooking and follow me in search for that perfect meal.
Enjoy!
Guan (guanleongATgmailDOTcom)
BIOGRAPHY
Born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Guan currently resides in London and is a former Finance Analyst turned Le Cordon Bleu trained chef & Supper Club host. His strong affinity to all things food is a result of being nurtured with years of divine, home-cooked Malaysian-Nyonya cuisine and a love for London’s cosmopolitan food scene. He writes about food and travel on instagram (@guan_chua) and his blog (theboywhoatetheworld.com).
Guan contested on Channel 4’s ‘The Taste‘, a cookery competition where he was mentored by American chef turned food writer and television personality Anthony Bourdain. The show also featured British food writer Nigella Lawson & Los Angeles chef Ludo Lefebvre as the other celebrity mentors.
A passionate ambassador of Malaysian food, Guan hosts regular Supper Clubs and Pop-Ups in London specializing in Malaysian-Nyonya cuisine, a subset of Malaysian food from his family heritage that brings the best of Malay and Chinese food cultures together. He has also conducted cookery classes and live demonstrations for Malaysian cuisine at food festivals and trade fairs.
Great blog you’ve got here! Love that you cover a lot of restaurants in the east (I live in the west) so lots of it are new to me!
Cheers for dropping by – glad you like it! The compliment means more coming from a foodblog veteran – still early days for this project of mine. Spent a few of my uni years in the comfort of Bayswater duck back in the day (but I really think the East End is where its at for food these days).
I’ll give one of your many recipes a go one of these days and will blogroll Tamarind and Thyme. Will definitely drop by regularly.
YOU ARE MAKING ME FATTER JUST BY LOOKING AT ALL THE GOOD FOOD!!
YUM YUM
Hi! found your blog from An american in London when I was reading the 2009 restaurants post. We’ve also just started our food blog!! Anyway, because we love any asian food, do let us know when you find any good places.
JiaSeeMee: thanks for stopping by. I take it from the blog-name there is some Hokkien influence/origins? I’m actually Hokkien myself (from Malaysia, grew up in KL, but parents are Penangite).
My 2 cents worth on Asian food… I particularly like Soseki and Tomo for Japanese, Cafe East and Viet Grill for Viet, Rosa’s for Thai, Malaysia Kopitiam for Malaysian, Gold Mine and the original Bayswater 4 Seasons for Chinese dishes and Pearl Liang and Imperial China for Dim Sum. You can find Cafe East and Kopitiam on the blog, but haven’t had a chance to review the rest…
Me too. (from Singapore, K is Teochew though. sama sama la)
We’ll definitely go try those places, esp the Vietnamese ones. Actually we’re going to Pearl Liang on Monday week!
You might want to try Addie’s Thai cafe at earl’s court. It’s currently our favourite Thai place. Have you heard about Sedap(Straits food)? I’ve heard many good reviews about that place! I can’t wait to get my sambal fix there.
JiaSeeMee: Love the food and Sedap – its probably one of the most authentic Malaysian places alongside Kopitiam/C&R and Rasa Sayang. I’ve been about 3 or 4 times over the past 5 years or so and if it weren’t for its inthemiddleofnowhere location in between Old Strt and Barbican, I’d probably find myself there much much more often.
Hi there, I think you have a great blog! Am so glad I found it, can’t wait to read more about your foodie adventures from a fellow KL-ite!
Thanks for the kind words Kay. Will certainly be dropping by Chopstix 2 Steak knives as well!
awesome blog dude…u’ve inspired me to start my own!
Tx jack! Do stop by again and share the link of your n
Blog when it’s up and running!
Really enjoy your blog!
Have you been to Tangawizi in Richmond?
http://www.tangawizi.co.uk/
Fantastic!!!
Keep on eating!
Nice job Guan. Top notch writing.
P.S.: Love the “for Jo” part =)
Loving your blog!
Sams: tx 4 stopping by and subscribing! 🙂
Hi Guan, thx for your list of recommendations, much appreciated. Think we ‘met’ through IG! I love your title, so appropriate. Looking forward to trying some Malaysian nosh.
Eleanor: You are very welcome! Should def try to connect when you’re in London next month!
Hi! I’m so glad to have stumbled across this blog – I’m an Equity Research Analyst by day and a foodie by, well, all the time! I’ve just started in London too so I’m glad to have something like to as a guide for places to visit 🙂
Xinmei: thanks so much for stopping by and glad u like the blog! Hope it’ll help you settle into ur new life in London! Hope to give the lovely recipes on your blog a go some day!
Really enjoying the blog – and the beautiful photos on your travel photography site!
@Rebecca: thanks for stopping by and for the kind words! glad you like it. Just took a browse of globalstreetbites.com and love it!
Thank you! And thanks for the Twitter follow. 🙂
good stuff guan! so much joy to browse through!!
@Ali: Thanks for stopping by Ali and for the follow! Was great meeting you last night at Luiz’s and really hope to stay in touch.
excellent submit, very informative. I’m wondering why
the other experts of this sector do not notice this.
You should continue your writing. I am sure, you’ve
a huge readers’ base already!
Hello Guan, LOVE your blogs and definitely enjoyed your performance on the taste. All your dishes looked amazing and I’m sure they all tasted incredible as well. I’m passionate about cooking and EATING of course, being Taiwanese myself, we love our food! Especially healthy eating, and keeping a good diet (without compromising the flavours!!) to promote healthier life. I’d like to ask you to join an affiliate scheme to promote this fantastic programme called the Human Revolution, it is a life changing mental and physical transformation programme that has proven to be successful with many of our existing clients. To give you a rough idea on what we do, this is the link for the scheme. http://www.humanrev.com/affiliatescheme/
Should you be interesting and would like to discuss this matter further please contact me on paige@humanrev.com , I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks!
@Paige: Thanks for stopping by the blog and for the kind words Paige. Not really interested in this sort of affiliate scheme though I’m afraid!
Where else did you stay in Crete beside Eleonas? My wife and I stayed in Crete in 1972 and plan to return May 2015 for birthday.
Boyd: We spent just over aweek in Crete last time we visited. First half was in Eleonas. The 2nd half was in the port town of Chania.
Anything memorable in Chania
@Boyd: Was a quaint town, beautiful harbour & great restaurants (some of our best meals in Crete I reckon were in Chania itself)
wow ur blog is amazing!!!! ill be visitng london & Barcelona soon and im malaysian too..so any specific restaurant you would recommend me to try?? http://www.cindysplanet.com
@Cindy: Hi Cindy – I wrote up a piece about Barcelona’s Tapas scene not too long ago here https://theboywhoatetheworld.com/2012/07/28/bar-bar-barcelona-3-must-visit-tapas-bars-in-the-catalan-capital/ – do check it out. Re London, there’s plenty of choices depending on what cuisine you are after? I particularly love Corner Room, Typing Room, The Clove Club, Brasserie Chavot & Brawn (all are reviewed and searchable on my blog if you want to have a read). Enjoy your time here in Europe!
Hi Guan. I found your blog while I was searching for a culinary school in England. Sorry If I’m asking too much but can you provide me a little information? Like which school you graduated from? Or would you recommend Tante Marie Cordon Bleu Programme?
@Shin: Hi there, this blogpost I wrote back in 2013 will probably answer most of your questions https://theboywhoatetheworld.com/2013/09/14/out-of-the-bleu-from-city-boy-to-cordon-bleu-trained-chef/
Thank you very much for the reply. I really would like to go London campus, but unfortunately it’s expensive for me. Therefore I’m looking for the schools where I can get a Cordon Bleu Diploma with a lower price. Plus, Cordon Bleu London demands an English proficiency exam from International students, rather than a phone interview. By the way, your site mesmerized me, so I’m your follower starting today. 🙂
Just discovered your blog. Love it and also love how passionate you are about Malaysian food. I was born in Penang myself but am now living in Auckland, New Zealand. Will be coming back to read your blog often. Keep up the good work.
@Foon Lam: Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by the blog Foon Lam! Stay in touch.
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Guan!
You are such an impressive guy! Keep doing what your doing! Love the blog!
Your Friend-post tonsillectomy buddy- Dalton AKA “James”