Sunday, 14 January, 2018
Here I sit on yet another cold, grey morning after a couple of frivolous Netflix half hours. It seems to me that this is the greyest January I can remember in London. Krish says it’s always like this. Maybe I have the February blahs a little early.
Then there are culinary distractions!
The first was Shikumen and our third visit to this Aldgate location. We don’t usually go to expensive restaurants, preferring hole in the wall discoveries, hidden gems where only locals visit. Then we saw that a new Aldgate location of the small chain, Shikumen, was opening in the Dorsett Hotel near the tube station. For the first month they were offering 50% off all food if you reserved a table. Great opportunity! We seized it.
We visited Shikumen twice that month. The food was expertly cooked, the space was clean and modern, and the service was attentive and friendly. It was a no-brainer. However, the prices are high and we’re used to a cosy plate in Toronto’s Chinatown, so the discount is a must.
Just before Christmas Shikumen offered 50% off gift certificates so we ordered two and waited for the new year.
Our first visit was for dinner last week. I completely surprised myself by walking the 5.5km all the way along Mare Street, Cambridge Heath Road and Whitechapel Road to Aldgate. I was very happy to see the Dorsett in view at the end of the route.
We had a delicious dinner in the empty restaurant (it was early), comfortable with the gleaming mahogany furniture – it feels very relaxing there.
Our £40 coupon (bought for £20 gave us a small hot and sour soup (which has tiny shrimp and scallops), braised eggplant with minced chicken in sichuan sauce, our favourite crispy prawn with cashew and chili and a small bowl of egg fried rice – and oolong tea, which was refilled promptly. We paid an extra £4 and the service charge – bargain for this quality! Everything is done well. It’s not the mindblowing experience we like at Middle Kingdom in Manchester but it’s a lovely retreat on a cold winter’s evening.
Yesterday I met a friend, Susanne, near Elephant and Castle. Our aim was chat and lunch! Susanne is from Austria and has been living in London for a long time. We met through a volunteer position with DigitalEve UK and always find plenty to talk about. It helps that we both enjoy photography, travel, walking/exploring, and food! We’re also both from somewhere else (although, of course, I was born here) so there’s plenty of discussion around that experience.
Susanne suggested I venture south of the river to try the Mercato Metropolitano on Newington Causeway, not far from the Elephant & Castle tube station. The Mercato is a huge market hall filled with independent food and drink sellers – no chains here! This is a community project, with diverse (although predominantly Italian) restaurant counters, along with workshops and other hands on experiences. The idea sprang from Milan and Turin, where it seems it was time-limited. The London location is permanent.
I arrived at Liverpool Street station to begin the rest of my journey. For some reason, I always feel very connected when arriving there – and for more than transport reasons. It feels like the beginning of an adventure, although the station was less crowded than it often is.
It’s the thirteenth so perhaps inevitable that, despite a really good start, somewhere into the early part of the journey, the ‘bus voice’ announced a diversion. My mapreading skills are pretty dismal but it did take me across the ‘wrong bridge,’ – Blackfriars, the only non-scenic bridge, no views across the river -but happily deposited me at Elephant & Castle tube so I could navigate from there.
Susanne met me outside and we went in. It’s a huge hall, divided into a few areas. You can get a trattoria experience with cocktails or wine and beer, pizza, pasta, coffee, cake, gelato, arepa, fried fish, lebanese, Vietnamese and so on. A very large food court experience with some very loud music!
We shared a pizza (Napoletano, with anchovy and basil) and an arepa plate – pork roast, black beans, cheese, pico de gallo, and plantain. Everything was delicious – and filling. Price for those two? Together £17. Not fast food prices but reasonable for London and a full belly.
On our way out, we stopped at the Italian deli. I was mindful of the full fridge at home – we are trying to clear it out – so bought only some new grano padano (always needed) but was so tempted by the lovely meats there. I was envious of the half-price pannetone that Susanne bought but stopped myself in time.
A quick visit to Tesco at Liverpool Street, a crowded train home, and finally relief for my legs!