24/08/2026
❤️🏆 No trophy this time, but we still came home with so much.
Yesterday was OPPA Kitchen’s very first time competing in the British Street Food Awards Northern Heat. 🥟🇬🇧
Let’s get the result out of the way first: we didn’t win anything. 😂
But by the time we packed up and headed home, Wing and I both agreed that this was honestly one of the most enjoyable events we’ve ever been part of.
First of all, a huge congratulations to all of yesterday’s winners! 🏆👏 The standard of street food traders was incredibly high, and for newcomers like us, simply having the opportunity to compete alongside everyone was already a brilliant experience.
We didn’t make it onto the podium this time, so we’ll just have to stand underneath it, watch carefully and learn from the people who did. 😂 Hopefully one day, we’ll be good enough to stand up there ourselves and have a trophy handed to us too. 🥟🏆
This year was even more special for us because, after being held in Manchester city centre for many years, the Northern Heat came to Stockport for the very first time. To be one of the traders competing at the first Stockport edition really was an honour. ❤️
A massive thank you has to go to John and his family, as well as everyone working behind the scenes. From arrival and set-up to trading, judging, voting and the awards, everything was so thoughtfully organised.
As traders, we didn’t have to worry about anything. We could simply stand behind our pans and concentrate on cooking the best Gyoza we could. That’s the kind of event you finish and immediately think: we’d love to do that again. 👏🥟
And of course, thank you Stockport. ❤️
Before we had even officially opened, one lovely local customer came over, picked up our menu and asked what time we were starting. Once we opened, she became our very first customer of the day and the first person to vote for us. Wing loved her so much that she had to ask for a photo together. 😂❤️
Throughout the day, we saw so many familiar Stockport faces. Customers who had eaten our Gyoza before, friends who came along to cheer us on, and plenty of new customers trying our seven flavours for the first time.
Thank you to everyone who stopped to look at the menu, queued for Gyoza, wished us good luck and voted for us. 🙏🥟
And we also have to thank the amazing Hong Kong community who came to support us. 🇭🇰❤️ Some live around Stockport, some were volunteering locally with a CIC, and one family of three even travelled all the way up from London by train just to be there.
Throughout the day, we kept hearing people ordering their food and suddenly saying our little secret phrase: “Hong Kongers, keep going!” 😂🇭🇰
Every single time, Wing and I smiled.
So no, we really weren’t disappointed to go home without a trophy.
It was our first competition, and we went there to learn. We met some incredibly talented traders, experienced a brilliantly organised event and had so many people come over throughout the day to support us.
For OPPA Kitchen’s first time competing, that already feels like a pretty good result. 😊
The other amazing traders can look after the trophies for now. 😂🏆
We’ll keep cooking Gyoza, keep learning and keep improving.
Hopefully, the next time we compete in the British Street Food Awards, we can make it just a little bit further.
And if one day we do get the chance to stand on that podium, I think Wing and I will always remember one thing:
Our very first British Street Food Awards competition happened right here in Stockport. ❤️🥟
Thank you, Stockport.
We genuinely loved every minute of it. ❤️🏆🥟
