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

A foodie who flew from Canada to the UK to try a range of takeaway meals has served up his verdict on Chinese food.

Yani Macute, 32, spent a month in the city of Leeds this February while he stayed at his cousin's house.

He said one of his objectives while exploring the UK, was to buy British-Chinese takeaway as he had seen people rave about it on TikTok.

Yani spent $44 on one meal with it comprising chicken balls, sweet and sour chicken Cantonese style, sesame prawn toast, chicken chow mein, fried rice, fries and curry sauce.

In a TikTok showing himself tucking into the meal, Yani explains that he was most excited to try the prawn toast as it wasn't something he saw in North America. 

Yani Macute, 32, spent a month in the city of Leeds this February while he stayed at his cousin's house. He said one of his objectives was to buy British-Chinese takeaway

Yani spent $44 on one meal with it comprising chicken balls, sweet and sour chicken Cantonese style, sesame prawn toast, chicken chow mein, fried rice, fries and curry sauce

He explains in a follow-up clip what the item contains, telling his followers: 'There's minced prawn inside the deep fried toast with sesame seen on top. It is so good dipped in curry sauce.' 

On trying the chicken chow mein, Yani describes the sauce as being 'thick' and 'almost like honey.'

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

However, in another Tiktok he defends the condiment, telling his fans: 'For all you curry sauce haters out there, it's not like an Indian curry, it's like a Katsu curry, Japanese Katsu curry.

'It's kind of sweet but it's also curryish but it's nothing like an Indian curry.' 

After having his first UK Chinese takeaway, Yani went traveling to the Philippines, but when he got back to England, he went in for round two.

He muses in a TikTok: 'I went traveling for a month and tell me why this is the first thing I wanted to eat when I got back to the UK?'

In a bid to mix things up a little, he opted for some different items to the first time, with his meal consisting of prawn crackers, fries, chicken in orange sauce, crispy chili beef, prawn toast, chicken chow mein, pork in sweet and chili sauce, fried rice and curry sauce. 

The prawn crackers in the UK are much bigger than in Canada, Yani says 

Many viewers commented on the curry sauce in Yani's clip, deeming it an unusual accompaniment

Some of the differences he notes, while he eats the meal, is the the prawn crackers are 'a lot bigger' than what he is used to.

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

The color of the sauce is another difference, with it being 'bright yellow' in the UK, while an image Yani shows of the dish in Canada, it's more of a golden brown color.

On sampling a piece of the chicken dunked in the 'citrussy' yellow sauce, Yani describes it tasting like meat dipped in orange juice. 

Meanwhile, he gives the crispy chili beef a thumbs up, noting that it is still crispy despite being covered in a mix of sauces. 

Lastly, he dips a triangular piece of prawn toast in a tub of curry sauce, with a content look on his face as he bites into it. 

Overall, Yani says that the UK dishes are 'pretty similar' to the Canadian Chinese takeaways but the UK Chinese has a different flavor and you get more freebies like prawn crackers and fries.

Explaining how he went about his food challenge, the self-employed photographer, who is originally from the Philippines but now based in Toronto, said: 'My mission when I got to the UK 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 went online to do some research on what to order - I wanted the full experience.

'I would definitely get it again, although I do think Canada's Chinese is better.'

Commenting on a few of the biggest difference he noticed, he said: 'I noticed that some of the dishes are called the same in Canada but they are presented differently.

'A Canadian Chinese tends to be more salty - the flavor is very different.'

Yani said that while Canadian Chinese takeaway was superior to a British Chinese, there were two UK dishes he liked in particular.

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

'I went back to the UK recently and I tried crispy beef - that it definitely one of my favorites.'