London – Page 27 – slightly weird

14th January 201814th January 2018

Culinary Distractions – Shikumen and Mercato Metropolitano

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.

Whitechapel sign — **Whitechapel is changing from a rundown East End neighbourhood to one that is modern and corporate**

View from Shikumen — **The view from Shikumen shows that Aldgate too is definitely 21st century**

Continue reading “Culinary Distractions – Shikumen and Mercato Metropolitano”

29th December 2017

What to do in the doldrums between Christmas and New Year – Museum of London

Friday, 29 December, 2017

Right after Christmas, it’s nice to have some sensible eating days before the New Year’s Eve celebrations – whatever they may be this year. So we’ve been having our customary plates of raw vegetables, cheese, and hummus. This is a staple throughout the year. One of us will think of having dinner and proclaim it to be raw veggie day, and it’s always a roaring hit even it occasionally becomes dinner for company! (We snuck in some pakora from Ambala, lest we feel too healthy!)

Raw veggies

Yesterday, Thursday, Krish announced that we should go to the Museum of London to see the performance of The Christmas Carol. It sounded like a great idea. The sun had finally started to shine, no rain in sight, and it’s one bus the whole way.

There’s only one lane in each direction but we were in the doldrums and things moved along pretty quickly. We went from the flat land of Dalston towards the increasingly high rise area around the Barbican. As you get closer, there’s one of my favourite views from the top deck of a bus (third photo)

**Exodus from Hackney along Balls Pond Road**

The Barbican, opened in 1982 to replace slum dwellings, is brutalist architecture at its best, having been voted London’s ugliest building. Its mass is pretty stunning. It actually is on multi levels with numerous entrances from ground level, with staircases and walkways to join the whole. There is a theatre and exhibit spaces, and various community areas contained within this estate. Walking around here can get very interesting as long as you don’t get lost along the way. From a distance there are two tall buildings, from close up it’s a more practical hive of flats.

But today we weren’t lingering. Maybe I’ll take more photos another day. Continue reading “What to do in the doldrums between Christmas and New Year – Museum of London”

24th December 201729th December 2017

Jolly old Christmas

Saturday, 24 December, 2017

I feel very fortunate not having to deal with rushing around to buy lots of presents, not having to visit too many people, and generally not needing to stress about Christmas. I also greatly appreciate the British sense of humour at this time of year, or any other for this matter.

When grocery shopping is a Must, the humour on this list is very much appreciated.

And, in case, I get weighed down by the issues that face the world these days, it’s good to be reminded of the really important problems reported on the front page of this newspaper:

We braved the damp, chilly weather for a visit to Walthamstow. Alas, although determined not to give in to the possible depression these grey skies may bring, our exploration fizzled rather than sparkled. Walthamstow put on an amusingly tacky show – it doesn’t look as hokey in the photo below!

And we watched the very British tradition of queuing to jam into the shops before the general closure of shops and transportation on Christmas Day.

Things were coming along in the flat, though. Just a bit more cleaning and it may even feel like Christmas.

And some Christmas eve baking – of mince tarts, sausage rolls, and anchovy cheese straws definitely helped things along. (My baking style is rustic!)

On Christmas day, Krish made dinner (something that has always been my domain but happy to give it up this year.

Dinner was pork tenderloin, stuffing balls, roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts, some apple sauce, cranberry sauce ( like both!) and some kosher pickle. It may look beige, but it was truly delicious!

A hot water bottle each, some hot chocolate with liqueur and the night was complete.

17th December 201728th December 2017

A fast visit to Spitalfields Market

Sunday, 17 December, 2017

On the run up to Christmas, there’s one place I wanted to visit and that’s Spitalfields Market. It was raining and cool but it takes only eight minutes by train from Hackney Downs, our nearest train station, to Liverpool Street, the closest station to Spitalfields. There’s so simply no excuse to stay away!

(This history: “Spitalfields takes its name from the hospital and priory, St. Mary’s Spittel that was founded in 1197. Spitalfields served as a microcosm of this polyglot society, the ‘melting pot’ fusion of east and west. Historically, it has played host to a transient community – primarily for new immigrants. From its small beginnings in the 17th Century, Spitalfields Market blossomed…trading six days a week. By 1876 the market had fallen into decline”…a former market porter called Robert Horner…started work on a new market building which was completed in 1893 at a cost of £80,000. The market moved to Leyton in 1991 but at the end of 2005 the Spitalfields regeneration programme restored the original market area. Today it’s filled with “designers / makers and artists selling fashions, homewares and accessories or a treasure trove of vintage and antique clothing, furniture and other wondrous oddments!”

**Bronze Sculpture** – must find out the story behind this

This was going to be a whirlwind visit, and I’m sure I’ll be back many times to talk more about Spitalfields but today I walked through, had some lunch, looked at some stalls and left! I was puzzled to see that so many new official looking freestanding kiosks had sprung up and wondered why they were there and if they were permanent. While I love food, I’m not happy with how so many London markets are turning into overpriced food courts. I didn’t let this take away from the charm of this lovely market, part old, part new, always thriving as it changes day to day.

**The market was ready for Christmas. In the bottom photo a large pile of Christmas costumes was ready for who knows what to come.**

I had a coupon for Wagamama so had a small lunch, or at least I thought it might be a small lunch since I chose a child’s meal. Mistake! There was too much food. The ramen was way too big for a child and was bland , flavoured only with Sriracha sauce. The hirata buns (bao) were as nice (and as tiny) as always and could have been enough! Lesson learned. Not a huge fan of Wagamama but a coupon is a coupon and the service was fast and friendly. Free lunch!

Continue reading “A fast visit to Spitalfields Market”

14th December 201722nd December 2017

Quick visit to Whitechapel, The Geffrye Museum and Dalston Eastern Curve Garden

Thursday, 14 December, 2017

Christmas is ever closer! It feels like I haven’t been out as much but in fact, looking back over the last week, I’ve seen and done a lot. I’ve just had my second cup of tea and am ready to share.

On Thursday, we had a great day quite locally. It’s days like this that help me understand why we are still here in the east end (for some, a no-go zone) and not moved on.

I had a list of things I’d like to do and, amazingly, we did them all. First we went back to Ambala in Whitechapel and bought samosas, pakora, and three kinds of sweets. From here we strolled over to Middlesex Street (Petticoat Lane) so that Krish could check out the runners’ shop. We were surprised to see that there are new buildings still rising out of what used to be a slum area. The fact they are going to be so tall made me a little sad. Slums are not a good thing, even cleaned up, but these higher buildings will definitely change the neighbourhood – the look, the feel, the real estate value, the lifestyle, the inahbitants, the visitors – immensely. Change is inevitable.

Sweets at Ambala, Whitechapel

We jumped on a bus to the Geffrye museum. The Geffrye Museum isn’t a well-known one. Most visitors to London wouldn’t have it on their radar, but it’s one of my very favourites. The museum explores ‘the home’ from 1600 onwards. It does this with ‘rooms’ displayed as it would have been at the time. The museum itself is housed in 18th-century almshouse buildings. At Christmas time, the rooms are decorated as they would have been in that era. I’ve been there every year that I’ve been in London since 2002 and, although I can skip through faster these days, I don’t tire of it.

That day there was a craft fair. We browsed but didn’t buy. Crafts are deservedly but prohibitively expensive these days. Then we did a high speed run through of all the rooms! Zoom!

The Almshouses - Geffrye museum site — **The Almshouses – Geffrye museum site**

Christmas interiors at the Geffrye - guess the era! — **Christmas interiors at the Geffrye – guess the era!**

Which is your favourite?

There’s something fantastic about free museums. It gives a more casual atmosphere to things and allows you to dip in and out of them over the year and not become bogged down in the experience. London is special for this.
Continue reading “Quick visit to Whitechapel, The Geffrye Museum and Dalston Eastern Curve Garden”