If the mention of a Chinese meal conjures up images of lurid chunks of deep fried chicken, it’s time for a rethink.

The Asian cuisine, whose love affair with most Britons extends to nothing more wholesome than crispy seaweed and sweet and sour prawns, is undergoing something of a revolution. Restaurants specialising in regional Chinese cuisine, and not in the ubiquitous, greasy western version, are flourishing.

Nowhere is the Chinese restaurant scene in the UK more dynamic than in London, where two eateries from Hong Kong restaurateur, Alan Yau, are challenging the perceptions of Chinese food. Hakkasan and Yauatcha in Soho have made Chinese food sexy, with innovative cocktails, all-day dim sum and delicate Chinese teas. So influential to the country’s restaurant scene is Alan Yau regarded that last year he received an OBE, together with Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, for services to the restaurant industry.

Of course there were top quality Chinese restaurants before Yau - Lee Ho Fook in Soho and Poons of Covent Garden were awarded Michelin stars in the 1970s. But with dishes such as diver caught scallops or organic pork, Yau is bringing the appeal of Chinese food to a generation of people to whom sweet and sour is anathema.

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The reputation of Chinese food has gone so awry in recent decades that a condition, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” was put forward in the late 1960s, although its symptoms and causes remain wholly. “Sufferers” cite headaches, sweating, facial swelling and numbness around the mouth among the symptoms of the illness, which has been connected with the consumption of Chinese food, or more loosely with monosodium glutamates (MSGs).

Such has been the repellent affect of MSGs that some restaurants now advertise MSG-free dishes, or even entire menus free of the stuff. However, the infamous ingredient is not as evil as its reputation suggests, and is not limited to Chinese food. It was discovered over a century ago by Japanese cooks as a flavour enhancer.

“In culinary terms it is much like Parmesan cheese, and is regarded as a condiment by the Chinese, while westerners see it as junky,” says Fuchsia Dunlop, who has studied Chinese food for ten years and spent two years at chef school in China. “It’s no worse for us than refined salt or white sugar,” she says.

Infact glutamates are a naturally occurring amino acid present in many foods, including tomatoes, ripe cheese, peas, chicken and broccoli, and also in condiments such as soy sauce, Marmite and Worcester sauce. When stabilised with salt it becomes MSG, a product used to enhance the flavour of condiments, ready-made meals and a number of other products.

The dangers of MSG consumption are little known, and like most foods, consumption in moderation is arguably the best step forward. Says Dunlop: “A lot of top Chinese chefs use judicious use of MSG, just as they would sugar or salt.”

The message is to go easy on soy sauce and bottled sauces, and like any health-conscious diner would in any restaurant, opt for dishes with a variety of fresh vegetables and anything in season, so specials are a good bet.

MSG scares isn’t the only thing holding back Chinese food – there’s an ill-conceived presumption that all ingredients are imported from Asia, accumulating heinous food miles. But in reality, many restaurants will source produce locally simply because it is cheaper. “Without realising it, or advertising it, they [Chinese restaurants in England] will use a lot of locally sourced produce,” says Ching-He Huang, author of a contemporary Chinese cookbook, China Modern, and presenter of Ching’s Kitchen on UKTV Food.

While some Asian seasonings and vegetables cannot be sourced from within the UK, meat and fish are of course available here, and increasingly farmers are experimenting with growing Asian vegetables in the UK.

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