Food Fancies

During my time here, one of my biggest hopes was:

A) for the unfamiliar to become familiar - i.e. the seemingly complex tube that I now believe is the most efficient public transportation system of all the cities I've visited
and, conversely,
B) experiencing the familiar in an unfamiliar context - i.e....shopping? evidently I need a hobby as I'm having difficulty thinking of an actual activity. Let's fudge it and say it works - Oxford St. instead of Newbury for some after-work browsing.

Well, what better way to fulfill these hopes than through food?

First, the unfamiliar => familiar

I was never really a hot beverage person, now I hardly go a day without a nice cup-a tea.

Always regarded fish and chips as somewhat of a treat, now just common pub grub. And ya gotta love those mushy peas, yea joj?

Never really cared for scones - they were always too dry and crumbly, or too dense and bland. Now with the perfect texture, a proper balance of clotted cream and strawberry jam, served with tea, I can't get enough of these little guys.

Mmm Indian food, always loved it, but would only have it every so often. With all the ingredients now being miraculously cheap, I find myself preparing it quite regularly (one type of curry costs 9 pence!). I "splurge" and get the £1 jar, 60p naan, and cheap basmati rice - all this lasting me ~3 meals.

Now the familiar items: London-style.

Burgers. Sigh. Ok. Well. I much prefer American burgers. My hypothesis is that American burgers are generally fattier, perhaps lending themselves to be tastier (naturally, ha)? Or perhaps the UK has a different spicing norm in the construction of the patty? The texture of the meat also feels different. No clue what it is really. Either way, in the US I'm perfectly happy eating an absolutely plain burger so that I can taste the meat. Here, I need it to have some sort of added flavour (!) to truly enjoy it, such as this Chili burger pictured below, which was quite delicious.

It's comforting to know that some things don't really vary much at all  - case in point: pad see ewe and thai iced tea.

And of course, the infamous hot dog, or the "sausage in a baguette", as this one was so aptly advertised. Also don't enjoy this quite as much as home, the meat once again differs in ways I can't really put my tastebuds on. Condiment options were a bit odd - aside from the normal ketchup and mustard were mayo, bbq sauce, "brown sauce" (which tastes a bit like...more molasses-y bbq sauce? Some browsing tells me it's a bit like A1? merf), and chili sauce. A far cry from the beloved Chicago hot dog, but certainly not bad.

Looking forward going back and enjoying the home comforts: Portillos, deep dish spinach pizza, home-cooked Korean food. On that same token, I'm hoping some of the habits I've picked up here will persist, and there will certainly be plenty to miss: proper scones, Bulmers, muesli....oh, the life of a fatty.

Savoury Pies, Storm Troopers, and Clotted Cream

Ok, I lied. This post was supposed to be solely about food, but I changed my mind. Don't fret though, it's still rather food-centric (as are most of my activities).

Instead, an overview of a most lovely Saturday I had last week.

The morning began with a trip to Borough market, a food mecca situated right by London Bridge. Vendors with jams, cheese, breads, oils, meats, produce, and more - most giving out samples. Relegates my former sample-ridden Sam's Club experiences to mere child's play (no coke slushies in sight, however, so Sam's still gets a point). These pictures are, unfortunately, not very representative; I was too busy stuffing my piehole (quite literally - the adventure culminated in the consumption of a cheese/onion/potato pie) to take better photos.

With a belly full of pie, it was time for a waddle along the Thames, which is always chock-full of interesting sights.

 Finally made our way to the British Museum for proper Afternoon Tea.

Ohhh 8-year-old-Jina, how jealous you must be. The cups were filled with actual tea instead of water, the desserts included macarons instead of oreos. Also, clotted cream => my new best friend. Slathered that sucker all over my scones, topped with a generous helping of jam. It took us about 2 hours to make our way through everything, a ritual I certainly wouldn't mind on a weekly (daily?) basis. Food baby and I then headed back to the flat to enjoy a quiet evening in - all in all, it was the nicest thing xx

Greece lightning

A few notes on Greece: 

● Grecians are natural models 

● Stray dogs and cats are everywhere, particularly in Athens - the government does take care of them, though; most have collars with phone numbers you can call if it's looking particularly shabby. It's perfectly fine to pet them - obviously you should lick your hands afterward.

● The food is cheap but always delicious - gyros, mousaka, souvlaki, yogurt, feta, kebabs, spanikopita,tzatziki sauce, omnomnomnom...

● Even on a rainy day, never pass up the opportunity to dip into the Mediterranean. Nature provides plenty of coat hooks for your belongings.

● Mykonos is absolutely beautiful, even in the off-season

● Suisse Café in Mykonos is the most charming place. Georges and Giselle hand-make all of their cakes and desserts. The Greek Yoghurt with Honey and Nuts must be had 2 days in a row - the first to taste, the second to appreciate. Georges will also call 10 different places to try and secure a rental car for you. An added bonus? His amazing glasses.

  

Back in London, ready to continue exploring the crap outta this place.

procrastinating

Trapped in the flat, working on a paper. Would much rather have these:

 photos via pinterest

on another note, this journalist is either witty or oblivious...

by the by, happy World Nutella Day. Do celebrate :)

3 days, 4.3 waffles

Brussels, Belgium. Where water cannot be had for free and most places charge to use the toilet. Still, with chocolate shops offering samples upon entrance that soon add up to double digits of pieces eaten within an hour, fries dipped in andalouse sauce, street waffles candied and crunchy on the outside but soft and doughy on the inside, and beer that's literally cheaper than water - who can really complain?

Before I showcase the food, here are some sights:

 Mannekin Pis

 Atomium

 the Wiener bus: an opportunity for friends and I to showcase our immaturity, spawning jokes such as "Are we going to ride the Wiener?" and "Where does the Wiener terminate?"

 Came upon some neat graffiti:

and my namesake beer:

 We also spent a day in Bruges, the cutest. city. evar.

  and now, the food:

A fantastic first trip - looking forward to many more :)