Sam and Dandan met in Beijing, where Sam was working in marketing for Chinese tech companies, and Dandan was managing restaurants and bars. Food was always a shared passion, particularly the bold flavours of Sichuan, Dandan’s home province. After they got married and moved to the UK, Dandan found she wasn’t able to find the flavours she missed so much, so began to experiment more in the kitchen to recreate the food she missed. When Sam got laid off from his job, it was the perfect opportunity to go for what they had always dreamed of – starting a project to introduce authentic Southwestern Chinese cuisine to a wider audience. They moved to Sichuan for a year, learning recipes and techniques from friends and chefs across Sichuan, spending time at Xindongfang culinary school in Chengdu, and doing street food popups at a friend’s bar. They moved back to London at the beginning of 2026, and Mànmànlái (which means “take it easy” in Mandarin, reflecting the unhurried, pleasure focused nature of Sichuan culture) was born!
