Buy chocolates – a gift from my Marks and Spencer rewards point plan, so free
Have a cocktail, something delicious, somewhere relaxing
Have dinner out – decided on Shikumen (we had a coupon)
Eat cake
None of my birthday wishes worked properly! First the chocolates couldn’t be bought – trouble with the coupon I had. Then i decided the antihistamine i was taking (for a post viral rash) was making me very groggy so I decided against alcohol of any kind. Then Shikumen didn’t have the one dish on the menu that was my absolute favourite and I was forced to choose something brand new that wasn’t nearly as good. And we didn’t get the cake since the evening went flat at that point.
It wasn’t the happy birthday i’d planned.
I’ll survive and extend the celebrations until the end of the week so i can fit some good things in. But I did take a few photos.
We weren’t sure what this tree was all about – on Bishopsgate
Two photos showing the changing face of The City. Note the curve on the firstI really like this little closed street off Bishopsgate, with a tiny peek of the Gherkin. Must take a photo from insideThe contrasts around the Gherkin make me smileThere’s always some odd art establishment around the GherkinChicken Sha Cha at Shikumen – the substitute dish that didn’t come close to my favourite
There are some happy after-notes, though. Marks and Spencer were so sorry I couldn’t get the chocolates on my birthday that they sent me a e-coupon big enough for chocolates and cake. Hawksmoor are extending their half price offer so I’ll go back. Tom wants to take me to dinner on Wednesday. I picked up ingredients to make aperol spritzes today or tomorrow. Juliet bought me a cornflake cake with some tea on Thursday. Yay!
London has a very moderate climate. In the summer there may be a short burst of heat that’s surprising and stifling. There’s no air conditioning, indoors is as oppressive as outside, and things seem a bit surreal. The winters are mild, rarely reaching zero, and a few flakes of snow are magical, even if they don’t amount to anything.
For a few years the papers have promised ‘the worst winter ever’ – more empty promises. However, this Wednesday I woke up to a real blanket of snow. They had been calling it the Beast from the East. Beast? Well, it was definitely more than a few flakes but by Toronto standards this was slightly more than kittenish. However, the snow did keep falling, traffic was barely moving, trains didn’t run, airports were closed or chaotic – it was a Snow Day in London.
The Canadians in UK and London on Facebook had a great time making fun of the British, although they did appreciate that this country has nothing in place to deal with what would be considered quite ordinary in Canada.
It was all a good bit of fun.
I started my Bump Buddies mentor course on that first Snow Day. It was crazy getting to the place. The classroom was freezing and many of the attendees brought their children, whose schools were closed. The course is OK. Those two days we did soft subjects – Listening and Communications Skills, and Choices and Values. We start at 10am and work till noon, at which time lunch arrives. After lunch we work again until 2:30pm and then go home.
Most Londoners weren’t dressed for the weatherOur healthy vegetarian lunch at Bump Buddies training
On Wednesday night I had reserved a table at Hawksmoor Spitalfields. It was a bitter evening and, after a day at the training, I was tempted to call it off. But we bundled up and carried on.
I’ve wanted to eat there for some time but the prices are high and I’m not really into steak houses. However, Hawksmoor was having a soft launch period after renovating – Fifty percent off and I was lucky to get in under the wire. We had great service and the food was fantastic.
We chose three starters – Potted beef & bacon with Yorkshires & onion gravy, Bone marrow with onions, and Ash-baked beetroot with pickled fennel, horseradish & hazelnuts. I absolutely loved the potted beef option and could have this by itself for lunch easily! The marrow was very nice with the onions being a nice sweet contrast to the savoury, creamy marrow. The beetroot was lovely, so refreshing and like the one I’d had at Blacklock last year.
Starters at Hawksmoor – I’d go back at full price
We shared one main – Herb fed chicken – it was a lovely balance of flavours but I thought it a tiny bit dry. Still delicious, though. We also got sides – Dripping fries, Buttered English greens, and the Doddington Caesar salad. The fries were a nod to Krish. they were delicious but not special and not many of them. The greens were perfectly cooked. The salad was much bigger than I had expected and I was feeling very full but I did enjoy the presentation and taste very much.
Yes, we were almost bursting but did share a Burnt Butter ice cream scoop. This was a fantastic choice – not too much of it, not too sweet and intensely buttery and delicious. I couldn’t fault anything I ate. Beautiful!
