I flew from Canada to the UK to try Chinese takeout, here’s what I thought

A foodie who flew from Canada to Britain to try a range of takeaway meals has given his verdict on Chinese food.

Yani MacuteThe 32-year-old spent a month in the city of Leeds in February, staying with his cousin.

He said one of his goals while exploring Britain was to buy British-Chinese takeaway food because he had seen people raving about it on TikTok.

Yani spent $44 on one meal, consisting of chicken balls, Cantonese-style sweet and sour chicken, sesame shrimp toast, chicken feed, fried rice, fries and curry sauce.

In a TikTok showing himself eating, Yani explains that he was most excited to try the shrimp toast since he didn’t see it in North America.

He explains what the item contains in a follow-up clip, telling his followers: “There is chopped shrimp in the fried toast with sesame on it. Dipped in curry sauce is so delicious.’

When trying the chicken chow mein, Yani describes the sauce as “thick” and “almost like honey.”

Many viewers commented on the curry sauce in Yani’s clip, finding it an unusual accompaniment.

However, in another Tiktok he defends the seasoning and tells his fans: “For all you curry sauce haters out there, it’s not like an Indian curry, it’s like a Katsu curry, a Japanese Katsu curry.

“It’s a bit sweet, but also curry-like, but it’s nothing like an Indian curry.”

After having his first British Chinese takeaway, Yani traveled to the Philippines, but when he returned to England he entered the second round.

He muses in a TikTok: ‘I’ve been traveling for a month and tell me why this is the first thing I wanted to eat when I got back to Britain?’

In an attempt to balance things out a bit, he opted for a number of different items for the first time, with his meal consisting of prawn crackers, fries, chicken in orange sauce, crispy chili beef, shrimp toast, chicken chow mein, pork in sweet and chili sauce, fried rice and curry sauce.

Some of the differences he notices while eating the meal are that the prawn crackers are ‘a lot bigger’ than he is used to.

He also reveals that in Canada the chicken and orange sauce come pre-mixed, but the meal he orders in Britain contains both items in separate containers.

The color of the sauce is another difference: in Britain it is ‘bright yellow’, while in an image showing Yani of the dish in Canada it is more of a golden brown colour.

When tasting a piece of chicken soaked in the “citrusy” yellow sauce, Yani describes it as tasting like meat dipped in orange juice.

Meanwhile, he gives a thumbs up to the crispy chili meat, noting that it’s still crunchy despite being covered in a mix of sauces.

Finally, he dips a triangular piece of shrimp toast into a bowl of curry sauce, a satisfied look on his face as he bites into it.

Overall, Yani says the British food is “fairly comparable” to Canadian Chinese takeaways, but the British Chinese food has a different flavor and you get more freebies like prawn crackers and fries.

The self-employed photographer, who is originally from the Philippines but now lives in Toronto, explained how he tackled his food challenge, saying: ‘My mission when I arrived in Britain was to try a British-Chinese takeaway.

“As soon as I arrived, I made it my mission to get one.

‘Before I ordered it, I did some research online about what to order – I wanted the full experience.

“I would definitely make it again, although I think the Canadian Chinese is better.”

Commenting on some of the biggest differences he noticed, he said, “I noticed that some dishes in Canada are called the same but presented differently.

‘A Canadian Chinese is usually saltier, the taste is very different.’

Yani said that although the Canadian Chinese takeaway was superior to the British Chinese, there were two British dishes he particularly liked.

He said: ‘I loved the sesame seed prawn toast and dipping it in the curry sauce.

‘I recently went back to Britain and tried crispy beef, which is definitely one of my favourites.’