Monday 30 July, 2018
The summer has continued very hot, sometimes with very little breeze. It’s hard to do much and people outside are quick-tempered and slow-moving. London in the heat isn’t a pretty thing.
I’ve stayed indoors as much as I can. And I decided to buy myself a Sindy doll. I really want one from the 60s, when I would have had my first one, but they are scarce and expensive. I got one from the 80s instead. She’s called Bunches. Her clothing is very flimsy but I made her a crinoline petticoat so that her skirt would fill out. I’m not convinced it looks right but it will do for now. I’ll keep my eyes out for another.
My friend, Susanne, and I used to meet quite often. We met through DigitalEve UK. She was feisty and interesting and had come to London from Austria. When her work contracted ended she had a lot of trouble finding something new. So I mentioned eModeration to her, as a stopgap, where she could find a job from home using her German. She’s gone from strength to strength and now works fulltime for them. So it’s much harder to pin her down for a meeting.
But we made it! I sent Susanne, a fellow foodie, a list of ‘hot’ restaurants and she chose The Smoking Goat Bar on Redchurch Street. Susanne is familiar with Northern Thai food so was game to try the new place. My review:
I got there to a quiet restaurant and asked to be sat near the back, where it seemed quieter. Back here there are low stools rather than chairs. There’s a good view of the bar area, where barbecuing takes place. By the time we left it was heaving with people.
We were recommended four sharing dishes so we deliberated. Here’s what we had:
Barbecue Tamworth Skewer – 1 each. This is marinated belly pork alternated with some of its fat and barbecued on skewers
Gai Yang Chicken with Sriracha – This had an extraordinary sour and spicy flavour that surprised me. I would have this again, while from the menu it hadn’t sounded interesting at all (friend’s choice)
Smoked Aubergine with Egg & Chill – an intensely smoky whole small aubergine with a lovely runny poached egg and some lovely herbs
Northern Thai Style Mutton Laab – this was a bit salty but delicious. It was strewn with herbs and chili. Spicy!
Stir Fried Cornish Greens & Soy – our nod to vegetables. Nicely done!
Lardo Fried Rice – I chose it since it’s described in reviews as ‘A must-have.’ So we had to have it! The rice was greasy in a good way and studded with green chillies, crispy lardo and some egg. I did really like it but now I’ve had it, I’ve had it and would move on to a plain jasmine rice, which I hear is bottomless.
I’d go again! (And the price was a nice surprise!)
And, since we were on Redchurch Street, we took a stroll along the street and down a few paces along upper Brick Lane. Lots to entertain us along the way, including some familiar and some newer street art.
Susanne recommended a drink in The Owl and the Pussycat, one of her favourite pubs. The atmosphere was quieter than most and there was some space in there. A nice retreat from busy Shoreditch.
When you stay home, you create a lot of dishes. Everyone that comes to visit us notices our dishwasher. They usually stop and look over and ask ‘What’s that?’ I suppose it looks like a rather snazzy beer fridge. But it’s a countertop dishwasher. Krish bought it in a sale and it arrived with a scratch, so it was reduced even further. You’d have to know Krish to know how much he loves that machine.
