This autumn, The Peninsula London welcomes award-winning Hong Kong chef May Chow for her UK debut and a month-long takeover of Little Blue Noodle Bar. Taking place from 5 October to 1 November 2026, and created alongside culinary agency Tribe & Gather, the residency pairs masterful Cantonese technique with the late-night energy.

Inspired by Hong Kong, a city shaped by the movement of Chiu Chow traders, Shanghainese arrivals and a Cantonese diaspora that carried its food across the world and brought new flavours home again, Chow has developed an à la carte menu that centres on the craft of Siu Mei, or roasting.

Using a vertical Apollo drum oven, as found in Hong Kong’s neighbourhood roast shops, premium British meats are air-dried, roasted at high heat and finished with carefully layered glazes. Alongside two distinctive styles of Char Siu, the menu includes sharing plates and exclusive rice and noodle dishes created especially for the residency.

The Siu Mei selection includes Tamworth pork collar char siu marinated with red fermented bean curd, red yeast rice and aromatic Mei Kuei Lu rose wine, before being slow-roasted and finished with a glossy maltose glaze. A Wagyu beef short rib char siu offers a richer, savoury interpretation, pairing the marbled beef with black fermented bean, five spice, aged tangerine peel, peanut and honey.

Elsewhere, the menu includes raw scallop with cucumber, coriander and green peppercorn; salt marsh lamb tartare with fermented bean curd, pickled mustard greens and fried bean curd; crispy cuttlefish with seaweed and black garlic; warm eggplant with chilli garlic and pine nuts; and a pan-fried dumpling with braised short rib and black vinegar. For dessert, Duckshit Oolong Ice Cream is served alongside hot, crisp, deep-fried apple mochi. The ice cream is infused with single-origin Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong oolong tea, prized for its intensely floral aroma.

The drinks programme focuses on drinks that are rooted in place, exploring the relationship between Cantonese food and acidity, salinity, savouriness, fermentation and age, with an emphasis on wines and sake with texture and depth. The concise selection spotlights small producers, traditional methods and lesser-known regions across wine, sake, cocktails, zero-alcohol serves and independent beers.

May Chow is an award-winning Hong Kong chef, entrepreneur and cultural figure whose approach to modern Chinese cuisine combines Chinese heritage with global influence and contemporary culture. Her debut restaurant Little Bao opened in 2013, followed by Cantonese gastropub Second Draft and Happy Paradise, her personal love letter to Chinese cuisine.