As a child, I have always been around food. I was fortunate enough to grow up with Chefs as parents, my mother being a master at the Vietnamese cuisine and my father being a Chef in multiple Chinese restaurants. Both my parents were divorced, so I had to see my parents separately but I always got the full experience from both cuisines. My parents were my inspiration in cooking.
I had been blessed growing up in London, UK, one of the most culturally diverse cities on the planet. During my adolescence I had formed friendships with people from all over the world and because of these fruitful friendships, I was lucky enough to have eaten food from all around the world at a young age. I remember the days where I would go to my friend’s house to play Fifa to hang out and his mother would offer us a bowl of Jollof rice, Chicken and Chin Chin for snacks.
My sister opened a Vietnamese restaurant when I was 14 years old, and I had worked there helping out in the kitchen and serving food as a waiter. The restaurant used my mother’s recipes where I had learnt the secrecies to my mother’s cooking; this was the beginning of my culinary adventure. Cutting and prepping food in a restaurant environment was tough, but after a couple of months I had gotten faster and more efficient in the kitchen. My mother had taught me all the techniques she’d used, such as hand placement when chopping to safety measures when cooking. When it came to cooking, my mother was a perfectionist and I don’t even think I have reached my mother’s level of cooking, to this day.
During my University days, I was an Avid traveller. Having travelled 28 countries in 4 years I was fortunate enough to have tried food from all around the world, the dishes I ate were as authentic as they could be. I was quite the reckless backer-packer in my youth, as I would hitch hike and coach surf to save money; this was the only way I could travel as much as possible. Many of these experiences led me to try home cooked food from all over the world, as my hosts and their mother’s would teach me how to make their hearty home cooked meals. I would even eat delicacies that you wouldn’t find in restaurants. I was also working part time as a chef whilst partaking my studies.
Food was a medium for me to connect and form friendships with people. I always loved inviting people to eat my food, as it was a means to express my companionship and care for others. Eating with friends had given me inspiration to become creative and cook challenging dishes that could take days to cook. My friends would critique my food and give critical feedback, but I appreciated all the feedback whether good or bad. To me, food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.
So why the name Dumpedling you may ask? the reason was mainly because of a break up which happened at the beginning of 2022 which was the reason why i started a page. I wanted get over things so i create this page to distract myself initially. I wanted a name that resonated with the pain I was going through at the time. It was a little random, but I was eating dumplings and the idea suddenly manifested. So here I am today a Dumped Ling Travelling, making food from all over the world and sharing recipes and love through my short form videos. I hope you enjoy them and thank you for reading ❤️.
