London, Feb 9 : Chinese food has taken over from Indian food to become Britons' favourite international cuisine, reveals a new survey.

The Brits have now developed a love for dishes such as sweet and sour and chowmein rather than spicy chicken tikka masala.

The traditional British grub came third, followed by Italian and Thai at the fourth and the fifth respectively.

The survey was conducted by Sharwood's.

"Traditional English dishes will always have a place in our hearts, but they will never be able to excite the tastes buds like a Chinese meal can," the Sun quoted a spokesman as saying.

"After a while, it's easy to get bored of fish and chips or roast dinners, so it's nice to enjoy something slightly more exotic.

"Chinese cuisine has a wide variety of dishes which mean there is pretty much something for everyone, even if you aren't usually that brave when it comes to trying new food," he added.

Of the 3,000 respondents, one in ten claim to be completely confident in their ability to cook international cuisine without any difficulty.

And a third even reckon they are more likely to try and make their own ethnic meals at home instead of heading to the nearest restaurant.

The ten most popular international cuisines in Britain

1. Chinese

2. Indian

3. British

4. Italian

5. Thai

6. American

7. Mexican

8. Japanese

9. Greek

10. French