London: Day 3

Day 3 in London marked an epic day. Not only of good food, but of great company! I met up with Alex, who has been studying abroad in Oxford since the fall semester so it was the first time that I have seen him in... too long! 

Alex knew even before we met up that this was going to be a day of indulgence in terms of food. And not too surprisingly, he was completely right. We headed off to Nopi, where we had a tapas-like fare of delicious food!

Alex got two delicious vegetarian options and I got two "carnivorous" options (one seafood and one meat)--

French beans, smoked wheat, tahini (Alex)

Roasted aubergines, black garlic, harissa, pine nuts (Alex)

I also gave in and ordered an apple, carrot, ginger freshly squeezed juice. I have to say, I was tempted to order from their very interesting cocktail menu, but I just couldn't get myself to pay 11 pounds for a cocktail for lunch... So I settled for this much healthier option and it was just a very nicely balanced juice.

Wild Sea Bass, smoked lobneh (?), preserved lemon (Me!)

Roast Rib-eye, baby leeks, pickled ginger, coriander and chili salsa (me!)

The restaurant served just straight-forward good food. It definitely had touches of creativity  (ie, the roast rib-eye pictured above with many components) but it was mainly just that they had really good ingredients and tried to highlight the ingredient for as much as possible.

Also, the chic exterior doesn't hurt either..

Then, we walked over to Covent Garden where we ventured into Le Pain Quotidien where I got English Breakfast tea and ginger cake (Delicious!) and Alex got a pot of Earl Grey and cheese cake. 

I have to say, the ambiance of the place was quite nice (the sun outside didn't hurt either) and I loved that they served tea in that big cup/bowl-thing.

This is when our appetite shines through. After finishing afternoon tea at Pain Quotidien, we decided that we have to try Hummingbird's because neither of us have had cupcakes from there. So, we make it a mission to walk over to Hummingbird's in Soho because I saw it when I ate at Princi a couple of days beforehand. 


Then, I got two cupcakes because I needed to try both of their classic cupcakes. I am usually not a red velvet fan, but the one from Hummingbird was quite good! I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. The other one, the Black Bottom cupcake, was too heavy for my taste. The cheesecake inside of the chocolate cupcake was just too much for me to handle...

Alex got the mint-chocolate cupcake that was a daily special and the carrot cake cupcake as well.

After a lot of touristy things and walking around all over the city, we ended up at Rasa, an Indian restaurant recommended to me by Jonathan. 

To be honest, we were so hungry that we would have thought that anything was delicious but it was ACTUALLY really good. I forget the name of the dish that I ordered but it was a type of fish curry... mmm my mouth is salivating at the thought of it right now.

London: Day 2

Day 2 was the first day where I was able to spend a full day with my dad in London. On top of doing all the tourist things, we made sure that we had good meals to look forward to.

For lunch, we headed over to Zuma. When my mother and I went to Hong Kong one winter break, we wanted to go to Zuma in Hong Kong but all the reservations were full and we couldn't go... So, this time, I made a reservation at Zuma right after booking tickets for London and so my dad and I got to experience it full on!

Since I have missed a. seafood and b. Asian food, I went ahead and ordered the sushi platter. The fish was obviously very fresh and the rice was perfectly cooked. With enough texture but not under-cooked either. It was also perfectly seasoned. My dad and I decided that it was one of the best sushi experiences we have had that are not in Japan or Korea.

My dad, a fan of lobster, ordered lobster with some fusion-y sauce and a grilled lemon. The lobster was good quality and the sauce on top was also quite interesting. But my dad was left hungry afterwards because this lobster did not have too much meat on it.. It was like a model lobster..

This salad that looks deceptively simple was actually QUITE delicious! The simple mixed greens, mushrooms, tomatoes and asparagus were tossed around in this delicious miso-based salad dressing that had the right amount of tartness and definitely some umami! (I still don't entirely get the whole umami thing but I think I felt it..)

Then, we got a scallops dish because a. we weren't full and b. I just love scallops. The tart assortment on top (I forget if it was caviar or a puree of a veggie.. I think a puree of a root vegetable..) was a great complement to the subtle sweet taste of the scallops.


After our luxurious lunch, we did even more touristy things like two champions and then as our afternoon tea break, we decided to go to County Hall Bakery. My friend who studied at King's College told me that I must go here to try their cake so I did!

The cake was so good that I did not have a chance to take a picture of it before my dad and I chomped it down. My dad is not a very big sweets person but he loved the cake and needless to say, it disappeared within seconds. This bakery is owned by a French woman and is very true to the French style of cakes and it was quite delicious. 

The cake that I had is the 3rd one from the right!


After doing even more touristy things like over-adrenalined tourists, we grabbed dinner with my cousin who goes to college in London and we ate at China Tang, a traditional chinese restaurant in the Dorchester hotel. We didn't get to take any pictures, unfortunately, because the lighting was pretty dim. And also because we were mindlessly stuffing our faces...


Needless to say, Day 3 in London was also filled with absolutely scrumptious meals! COMING SOON!

London: Day 1

One day when I was talking to my mother, she told me one of the best news I could have asked for. "Did you know that your dad might have a business trip to London in March?" As soon as his business trip was confirmed, I went onto Ryan Air, booked tickets and voila, I was in London for a week!

At this point in time, even though I absolutely adore Italian food (why else would I have chosen Italy as my study-abroad destination?), I was going slightly insane with the lack of Asian cuisine. I can do without Korean food for a semester IF there is Japanese and Chinese food available. Granted, I would LOVE to have Korean food from time to time, but if it doesn't happen then it won't be the end of the world. The problem with Bologna, however, is that there really aren't that many good options for Asian cuisine overall... And therefore, there was a sad Asian-food-deprived-me. 

Within Europe, I believe that London is the best place for me to get Asian food. (If I am wrong, do let me know.) So, before either my dad and I got there, I made all the reservations and all except one was ASIAN CUISINE.

First stop: Yauatcha. I have craved dim sum so badly and so even before my dad arrived, I met up with my friend Emily, who is studying abroad at UCL to meet up with my in the chic Soho neighborhood to grab dimsum!

We ended up getting a dimsum platter for two, which was not only reasonably priced but actually enough food for both of us! It also came with a pot of Jasmine tea! (mmmmm!)

I am not sure if I remember which corresponds to which image but the menu consisted of:
- Har gau
- Scallop shui mai
- Baked venison puff
- Chicken and prawn taro croquette
- Sweet potato mushroom mei-si roll
- Crystal dumpling wrap
- Prawn and beancurd cheung fun
- Spicy pork Szechuan wonton

And of course, the chic emblem on the outside. You can catch a glimpse of me in the reflection!

Seeing as we were in the middle of EVERYTHING, we decided to go to Princi, an Italian bakery place. A Sicilian barista made me a macchiato. When I heard him speaking in Italian, I asked him "Are you Italian?" in Italian. His response? "Sono Siciliano." (I am Sicilian). All right, so Sicilian barista!

And we decided to get two cakes to share:

Overall, the cakes weren't that phenomenal although they were quite solid. As to be expected, the coffee was indeed quite delicious. (Thank you Sicilian barista!)


But just the array of baked goods that were available at the place was quite remarkable and I almost felt up for the challenge to just go around trying different things!

After reuniting with my dad, we headed over to get some pub food with his fellow co-workers. It was just an average pub fare, so I didn't take any pictures but the good news is, I had a better experience with "average pub fare" (aka delicious fish and chips!) the second time I went to London so I will post about that latah!

Last day in Paris!

So... Sorry for the long wait guys... I really don't have much of an excuse for this long hiatus. I have been, however, traveling a bunch, eating a ton (surprise surprise) and in between travels, I have either been catching up on sleep or staring into space (really important step before saving the world) or out celebrating some sort of occasion!

ANYHOODLES, here is my chronicle of my last day in Paris! 

We ate lunch at a Japanese-fusion restaurant... but it wasn't my favorite joint so I am just going to skip on that one..

As an "afternoon snack" we ate at L'as du Fallafel. It was different from any other fallafel pocket that I have had. Things to note: the eggplant addition = DELICIOUS. The hot sauce was also a nice touch. I am not sure if it was my absolute favorite fallafel pocket of my life, but I really wouldn't mind eating this pocket from time to time!

Then, Sami and I continued on with our mission to find the best macaron in Paris. We went onto "Ladure'e." The store itself is quite a sight because it is quite ornate. The colors are just so pastel-y and show case-y. 


The macarons? 

For me at least, like the store, too pastel-y, show-case-y and not my type. Yes, it's quite a chic place. Yes, the colors of the macarons are BEAUTIFUL. But, the flavors were a bit flat and the texture was a bit off. It wasn't as crunchy on the outside and succulent on the inside as I wanted. Also, not nearly as creative combinations of flavors that were available at Pierre Herme. Our verdict? Slightly disappointed. (Sorry all the La Duree fans out there but 'tis just my humble opinion..)


Then, within a short span of 2 hours (...or less) we went onto Gerad Mulot. We were on a mission and we wanted to try them ALL. So, I chose 6 flavors to my liking. If I remember them correctly, there was one chocolate/hazelnut, litchi, yuzu, some nutty one, cassis... (the flavors are fading on me now..) General verdict? The consistency was quite solid. But it was just overly too sweet for my taste. Yes, I do have a general low tolerance for sweetness, but it just tasted too saccharine to me. Although I do have to say, Mulot has had quite an array of flavor-availability and although not as crazy creative as Herme, I was quite satisfied. Our verdict? Good but too saccharinely sweet.

To recap: Pierre Herme > Gerad Mulot > Ladure'e 


After running around frantically trying to taste all the best offerings of Paris (aka, all the macaron shops) we finally headed off to a Belle Epoque restaurant called "Le Grand Colbert," which also was coincidentally featured in the movie of "Something's Gotta Give." We thought it would be a great final hurrah restaurant to go to and we ended up having a great time.

The decor is, of course, stunning and we were lucky enough to be seated right next to the table where the film was filmed, so we even got to take this lovely photo below!

As the last hurrah, I thought it would be quite appropriate to get escargot. These babies were fat and succulent! So buttery and just perfection.

As an appetizer, Sami got frog legs.. I guess I didn't take a picture of it but she was quite adventurous with her food choices!


Then for the main course, she went for the scallops!

And I, on the other hand, went for a steak with pepper sauce, which also conveniently came with a side of fries! (What a PLEASANT surprise!)

One of the best part about this night was befriending an American couple that sat next to us during the meal, and also talking to a group of French people who sat down next to us in the middle of the meal. We all had a jolly old time, and the American couple actually gave us some dessert!

Not too shabby for a last night in Paris!