London: Playing Tag in Tate Modern

It was sunny this morning, but then it got rainy. Anna enjoyed a book as she drank her coffee.

Later I went with Nancy, Chris and Anna to meet up with their family friends for a short walking tour around Monument/London Bridge. We did a loop from Monument, across the bridge, along the river past the Tate Modern, then back across the Millennium Bridge and over to Monument again. Then we climbed up the monument. 

The Tate Modern's main hall didn't have any exhibit in it - it was completely empty. We went down into the open space to investigate, and Shifra (age 5) started a game of tag with everyone. 

Later, from the Monument, we had a good view of the Tower Bridge.

I leave for Hong Kong in less than 5 hours. It's almost time to go to the airport! 

London: Parkland Walk and Green Lanes - plus Bulgarian Crepes, Yogurt Dip and Turkish Gözleme!

This morning we had a big brunch around 11:30 AM. Nancy and Chris had gone on a 10 mile run; Anna and I slept late.

Then we headed off to Highgate to go on a walk. We took the Parkland Walk, which used to be a railroad, but now is a partially paved, flat trail that goes for 3 miles uninterrupted (since it goes on bridges or tunnels when passing roads). It was a really nice trail - very green, with some nice views of the city and various landmarks. If I lived anywhere near it, it would be great for running too. I'm really excited that London has things like this - so much green and so many outdoor things to do when the weather is nice.

Here are some pictures from the trail.






We ended up in Finsbury Park, where we came across a baseball game! It was a real team, with uniforms and everything! I was surprised to see it. We continued walking onto Green Lanes, which is a commercial area with a big Turkish population. Our first stop, however, was at a Bulgarian restaurant where we had a takeout order of crepes filled with chicken, and some delicious cucumber yogurt dip. They were very good, and the lady at the restaurant was very nice. I'll have to go back! About 1 block later, we stopped at a Turkish restaurant that had gözleme, which are also crepe-like and filled with different things. We had two made w/ spinach, very fresh. They were similar to Afghan bolani, like the ones sold in San Francisco. This place seemed great too, and I'll come back to try their Turkish pizza and kebabs.


I took a picture of peppers at a Turkish market.

We continued walking all the way to Turnpike Lane - living this far up wouldn't be ideal, but it's on the Picadilly Line which has direct trains to my school....so it's a possibility. The idea of good Turkish food all the time is tempting.

We took the tube from Turnpike Lane down to Finsbury Park tube stop, walked around there for a bit, then took a bus part way home.

After resting a bit, I went out again to meet up with Caroline and Laurence, friends of Becca and Kyle (and other Tufts folks). They are both really nice - they live a bit far out in South London, but they had lots of good advice for me. I am looking forward to seeing them next fall as well - hopefully they'll have some BBQs in their big garden. We had some food and some drinks, and then I came home to check in to my flight for tomorrow. I checked in right on time, and it appears that I got emergency exit seats for the flight to Hong Kong. If so, that will be great.

Anna and I unpacked my package that I shipped to London directly from San Francisco. I'm happy to report that Kelly Clarkson made it safely!


I'm all up to date now...tomorrow I leave for China!

London: East London Adventures

On Friday night, I met up with Chris from the airplane for some drinks. It was a lot of fun, and I'll definitely hang out with him again once I'm back in the UK in September. It's nice to make an actual friend on a plane ride - I don't think this has ever happened to me before.

On Saturday I slept a bit late, and when I woke up Nancy and Chris had just returned from the farmer's market at Hampstead Heath. I decided to go for a run, but thinking ahead, I slipped a 5 pound note in my pocket. I ended up running to the Heath, probably only 1.5 miles total, before I ended up at the farmer's market myself. It was quite nice - lots of baked goods, sausages, cheeses - and a fair amount of veggies too considering it's only early May. I met one vendor selling different salsas, and asked him about his chili peppers. It turns out that he grows them here in the UK and in the summer and fall he'll be selling fresh ones at his stand. So that's good to know, since many chilies are hard to find here. I ended up buying a chocolate croissant to eat as I walked home - it was beautiful out, but I couldn't help missing going with Jess to the Alemany Farmer's market in San Francisco. There were no empanadas at this one, or pupusas, or meyer lemons. But I did see kale!

I didn't get out of the house till nearly 2 PM, but when I did I ventured off to East London to scope out different neighborhoods. Perhaps I'll end up living out there, so it was good to see them. I first went to Shoreditch, then walked from there up through Hoxton Market. Next I took a bus over to Broadway Market, then through London Fields. London Fields reminded me of Dolores Park - lots of young people picnicking and drinking beer. Broadway Market was nice too - lots of stalls selling vegetables, sandwiches, cheeses, juice, etc. I bought a nice goat cheese and grilled veggie sandwich.

Next up I took a bus down to Bethnal Green (which was a very nice area - I'd definitely live near here), then over all the way to Roman Road, then down to Bow Church. Then I took another bus back toward Stephney Green and Whitechapel before getting back on the tube again. I liked some areas on this journey more than others, but overall the trip was well worth it - I got to see yet another side of London.

After this I met up with Adam again and we went to Regent's Park to throw frisbee. It was still really nice out, so this was fun. After throwing frisbee for a while, we went to look at the ducks before I took the bus back to the Barker's house.

The Barker's and I went out for Indian food at a place in Highgate - not anything too special, but even un-special Indian food here is better than most places in the US. Then we went to see a movie called "In the Loop" which is a new movie. Here's a link to the preview.

I thought it was okay, but I got kind of lost in the end. Overall, it was like watching the West Wing, but with British people too, and lots of swearing. I think Nancy, Chris and Anna felt about the same. But it had the girl from "My Girl" in it, so that was cool.

Here are some pictures I took - unfortunately I barely took any on my East London journey.


Canal near Broadway Market


Frisbee players on London Fields

London: More Empanadas and Posh Pizza in Brixton

At dinner on Thursday, Limster told me about a place near Borough tube stop that makes Chilean chacarero sandwiches. They're called El Vergel, and I looked them up and discovered that the restaurant serves all sorts of Latin American food. I decided on Friday to check it out.

It took a while to find the place, since it was on a side street and I hadn't written down the address, but I eventually found it. It was a cute cafe, with a long communal table - though I was the only customer at 11 AM.

The table at El Vergel

I had an empanada (Chilean style, though not great because it was microwaved - toaster oven works much better) and also a tea. After a bit, the owner (who is Chilean) came over and talked to me - we chatted for quite a while in both Spanish and English, so that was nice. I'll definitely return in the fall!

Empanada served a/ w nice homemade pebre (bell pepper, onion, cilantro, lemon, spices)

Next I headed down to Brixton, a neighborhood with a big Caribbean community (especially Jamaican and Guyanese) and a famous market. I took a double-decker bus to see the neighborhoods as I traveled. The top front seat of the bus is awesome - you can see everything.

The market was a lot of fun - all sorts of things for sale - produce, fish, meat, clothes, electronics, soap, etc. etc. I took some pictures.

Fish stall

Scotch bonnet peppers seemed to be the primary type of chile sold. I didn't see many other varieties, but maybe there are more during other seasons. Lots of okra.

A street in the market.

Butcher

I roamed around for a while, then ended up having lunch at a pizza place that I had also read about called Franco Manca. It reminded me of something you'd see in the Ferry Building in San Francisco - kinda posh, organic ingredients, simple menu printed in trendy fonts, glass bottled homemade sodas, blah blah blah...except there is no pizza this good at any markets in San Francisco :)

The crust was sourdough (or something) and it tasted a bit like pita bread - but still not bad, especially the crispy bits - the pizzas were baked on order in wood ovens. The sauce was just about perfect to me - bright tomato flavor. Cheese was good too. So it was really a very good pizza and a good value. It seems like this place is doing well since it was quite crowded.

My pizza w/ two types of salami on it. On the left, some homemade ginger lemonade, and on the right, some garlic and chile infused olive oils.

After roaming around Brixton a bit more, I took a bus back up to Elephant and Castle (which gets its name from a pub that used to be there - Nancy and Chris have a book about tube station name origins in their bathroom) then took the tube to King's Cross.

I met Jacob there, who is currently doing a masters at SOAS. He was very nice and showed me the on-campus housing where he lives (and where I applied to live for next year). It's quite new and nice, but I am still not convinced it's where I'll want to live - I still need to figure out whether getting a place independently will make more sense for me. More on this later perhaps...

After this I was tired, so it was time to head back to rest...I think I took a bit of a nap on the tube on the way home.

More soon!

London: Nyonya Food

Tonight I met up with Limster (a friend from chowhound) for a meal at Sedap. It's a newish Malaysian restaurant in London specializing in Nyonya food.

Here's a description of Nyonya cuisine:

"Nyonya food, also referred to as Straits Chinese food or Lauk Embok Embok, is an interesting amalgamation of Chinese and Malay dishes thought to have originated from the Peranakan (Straits Chinese) of Malacca over 400 years ago. This was the result of inter-marriages between Chinese immigrants and local Malays, which produced a unique culture.

Nyonya food is also native to Penang and Singapore. However, over the years, distinct differences have evolved in nyonya cooking found in Penang and Singapore than that in Malacca. The proximity of Malacca and Singapore to Indonesia resulted in an Indonesian influence on nyonya food. Malacca Nyonyas prepare food that is generally sweeter, richer in coconut milk, and with the addition of more Malay spices like coriander and cumin. Meanwhile, the Penang Nyonyas drew inspiration from Thai cooking styles, including a preference for sour food, hot chilies, fragrant herbs, and pungent black prawn paste (belacan)."

You can read the rest of the description on the website marimari.com, which I think is at least fairly accurate. Click the link in the links section that says "Description of Nyonya Food"

Now I'll just copy what I just posted on chowhound.

I thought the restaurant was very good - best Malaysian food I have had outside of Malaysia - definitely better than what I could find in Boston or San Francisco. We shared:

Roti Prata w/ Chicken Curry - The roti was crispy and flaky, clearly freshly made. Quite good. I liked the chicken curry - it tasted a tad undersalted to me - but it was still good.

Seafood Crab - Crabmeat, shrimp, cuttlefish and fish stuffed in a crabshell. This was served w/ some pickled vegetables and a sweet chili sauce. I liked this, though I wouldn't necessarily order it again. But it's something I had never tried before and the presentation was cool.

Penang Char Kway Teow - The noodles were served hot out of the wok, and they were very good. I especially liked the bits of Chinese sausage. Shrimp were cooked perfectly. The serving seemed small to me - I realize that servings in UK tend to be smaller than the US (in the US, this dish would have been twice as big), but I still noticed the small serving most in this dish, especially considering the price.

Sambal Brinjal - Nice presentation, eggplant was tender and the sambal was spicy. I wouldn't necessarily order this again either, but I would definitely order other dishes with the sambal.

Curry Tumis Fish - This was my favorite of the lot. I felt the serving here was pretty generous - chunks of boneless sea bream and perfectly cooked okra in a sweet and sour curry broth. This reminded me of similar Cambodian and Malaysian dishes I'd had before, but the balance of flavors in the sauce was perfect - just the right amount of sour/sweet/spicy. We had to order extra rice to soak up all the sauce. I would definitely come back just for this dish.

Nyonya Kuih - We each had an order of this - really good! The dessert tonight was freshly made, and was a cake made w/ tapioca and coconut. It reminded me of a cross between a mochi and a macaroon.

Limster got a frothy milk tea which was also really good - I only had a sip as I was avoiding caffeine to fight jetlag.

Here are some pictures of our meal. I will definitely be back at this place in the fall!

London: Walk to Borough Market

Jet-lag hit me last night - I had a lot of trouble falling asleep, even after listening to my Mandarin lessons.

I woke up at 8:30 and went on a run in Hampstead Heath. It's really nice running there - parks like this inspire me to go running. It started raining on my run - but the smell of the trees and the rain was really nice, and since it wasn't too cold I didn't mind.

I rode with Anna on a bus (double decker!) to UCL this morning, and she showed me around a little bit. We went into the University of London Student Union, and I saw the entrance to the main library. Then Anna went on to class, and since I had 45 minutes to spare, I went in to the British Museum. It's free and located about a 2 minute walk from my school, so that will be very nice.





Next I met up with Coll, a friend of Karen's who studies at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He's about to head off to Argentina to study, but it was fun talking to him and hearing about his experience in London. His school is located just next to SOAS. We had lunch at the Architechtural Association cafeteria.

We walked around after this for a bit, then Coll had to go to a meeting so I went off on my own. I walked through Soho, Trafalgar Square, across the Thames and along the south bank of the river to Borough Market. I took some pictures along the way.



A double-decker bus on Oxford Street!


London has palm trees!


Chinatown!


Pedestrian Bridge!


Big Ben!


Kid doing jumps on his bike!

I arrived at Borough Market and took some more pictures.


I almost bought some candies for the plane ride. But I didn't.


I took this picture of Turkish Delight.

Borough Market is open Thursday-Saturday, but Thursday seems to be the least busy day, and many stalls weren't even open. But there are lots of good foods to try there, so I'm sure I'll be back.


In addition to an Argentinian empanada (which wasn't that good), I had this creme caramel. It was pretty good.

After the market, I sat in the cathedral for a bit - a choir was rehearsing so it was very nice. Then I took the tube back to the Barker's to rest.

London: Hen Photography and Buckingham Palace

I met up with Adam (a current member of Shir Appeal) this afternoon. I had brought him the latest Shir Appeal CD from Boston. He's studying abroad for his entire junior year.

I got to check out his living situation. He's studying at UCL, but it seems like the on campus housing he's in is similar to what SOAS offers. He lives in a single room - it's pretty spacious and has its own bathroom - and a shared kitchen is down the hall. The kitchen was pretty big and nice too...later this week I'll be checking out the SOAS housing, but after seeing his situation, it definitely seems not bad for just a year.

After this, we walked through Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, and St. James's Park. There, we met a somewhat odd photographer, who tried to recruit Adam for his photography project, which involves photographing strangers. He also noticed me photographing some pigeons and hens, and told me I should get down to eye level instead of shooting the photo from above.

Here are the results.

Before

After

Next Adam and I walked toward Buckingham Palace, and then on through Green Park.

After this, Adam had to go hand in an assignment. We took the tube back to Kings Cross and then parted ways. I walked down to the Waitrose supermarket near Russell Square to check it out. It's not a bad supermarket - a bit on the upscale side, but not too expensive for some items, and some good variety. This market is relatively close to both my school and the area where I might live if I choose to live on campus, so I'm sure I'll shop there sometimes. I bought some cheese and crackers for dinner, and also got some steak flavored potato chips which weren't too good. Then I made it back to the Barker's for a lovely tea time out in the garden. 

Now it's time for bed - I don't feel too tired yet so I will listen to some Chinese lessons, which will either teach me something or put me right to sleep. More tomorrow! 

London: Russell Square Campus

This morning I went to visit SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies - see link.) I had a chance to walk around quite a bit, and I also met with two professors and took a tour of the main SOAS building. The professors seem great, so I am looking forward to next year already! We talked a bit more about the structure of the program, and also my research interests. One of them is doing research about the organic food industry in China, and he had recently been in Yunnan Province doing research - he had some nice Yunnan tea that we drank as we talked.

And the school and neighborhood are nice too - it helped that it was such a nice day.

Here are some pictures:

This is one of the streets that leads up to SOAS.

The square next to the SOAS building has grassy patches where people were eating and studying. The SOAS building is in the right of this photo.

The back side of the SOAS building.

Motorcycles outside of the school.

This is Russell Square, which is right next to the campus. There was a class being taught on the grass.

I went back later during lunch and there were lots of people picnicking.

Here's another picture in Russell Square.

Finally, I took this picture of taxis parked near Russell Square.

London: Risotto and Sticky Toffee Pudding

It's Wednesday evening now, but this blog post will focus on the rest of Tuesday. 

I took a 2.5 hour nap, which felt very nice - though it was hard to wake up. Anna and I went for a walk after that, up to Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath, but once at the top it started to rain so we came back home. I helped Anna cook dinner - a risotto recipe from Jamie Oliver's cookbook.

Some of the ingredients out on the counter.

It is interesting to see where produce comes from in England. In the US, and especially California, most everything comes from California, Mexico, elsewhere in the Americas, and a bit of Asia. But for our dinner last night, the green beans came from Kenya, and the mint came from Israel. 

I took some pictures of the packaging.

Nancy and Chris came home and we all had dinner. 

My dinner looked lovely.

Since it was still light out when we were done, and the weather had cleared, we went for a walk in their neighborhood and into the park. We passed by the ponds in Hampstead Heath, which had mist rising up from them - it was dusk and the park looked lush and beautiful, with lots of flowers, green leaves and grass. I felt like Frodo walking through The Shire.

I didn't take pictures in the park because it was too dark, but I took this on the street just before we left the house for the walk.

On the way back, we stopped by the famous (to our family) Cafe Mozart - or perhaps it was the place next door (same owner), where we shared sticky toffee date pudding and a 'fruits of the forest' crumble. We had both with custard. I like custard more than ice cream. The sticky toffee pudding was really sweet - I preferred the crumble.

I managed to stay awake till 11 PM, which was a bit tricky, but paid off - I slept quite well and only woke up briefly during the night....and didn't get up until 8:30 this morning. After breakfast I headed out to explore SOAS and Central London.