Been busy for a really long time since coming back from London. Had 2 projects slapped onto my back, and coupled with the usual daily work and freelance stuff x4 kinds, felt physically drained. The 2 projects meant that any spare time was spent working on it; something always nagging at the back of my head.
I'm not done yet with those projects but I'm too tired to do anything that needs thinking. Just got back from meeting Timmy before he flies off to Denmark tomorrow. He's gone to bed right after the date, that shows how tiring our dates are hahaha. I've got a week more to the project deadline; once I'm done I'm free to go!
I'm supposed to upload the pics in tables but I just can't get the tables right and have given up hope on them. I will use them later in order not to put Tim's efforts to waste.
So here I wanna remember the wonderful food that I ate for free in London :D
My portfolio: English, Peruvian, Belgian, Middle Eastern, Turkish!
The buffet spread at our London Bridge hotel.
I would have loved this kinda breakfast on any ordinary day but somehow the mood and appetite wasn’t there that day (due to some problems). There was also cereal with nuts and dried fruit, not those Koko Krunch thingy that you get in the hotels here. There’s cold meat too, yogurt, pastries, toast and a wide variety of juices.
My typical English breakfast consisting of bacon, sausages, hash browns and eggs.
The sausages and bacon are yummy but after a while, they get yucky due to the sausage being very meaty and the bacon’s very salty.
Half roasted chicken in some Peruvian restaurant below our hotel.
It was very crispy and dry that the wing was beyond edibility. It is very black as you can see here and was as crisp as a biscuit.
The double scoop of ice-cream that was my lunch!
The tiramisu ice-cream was nice, the peach melba was a bit too sour for my liking. It’s good to have dessert for lunch!
Pret A Manger sandwich for dinner at Oxford Street.
Pret sandwiches are extremely popular. Londoners swear by them. To me, they seem like any other sandwich la =P An amusing thing is that there is a message on their serviettes saying that if their staff gives you more than 1 serviette, you are asked to report him to the manager. That’s how environmental conscious they are. Pret reminds me of Ach, my Greek coll who pronounced it so slang-y.
West Cornwall Pasty that was also recommended by my boss.
There are kiosks at the Tube and train stations. This was some chicken and vege pasty that was very yummy! I had this for dinner together with some wedges. Being greedy as usual and couldn’t finish them. I also tried their sausage roll for breakfast once and it was quite nice too. but I prefer sweet rather than savoury stuff =)
Battered haddock in Hoegaarden at Belgo, the Belgian restaurant in Covent Garden.
It was funny that this place, underground at some alley, was full of people. Guess good food goes around. And then there was an interesting waiter who belanja me mussels!
The waiter had those long locks that looked like a hippy. He asked if we wanted any mussels; they are the specialty. Coll is allergic to seafood and me don't want any. He asked if why, I said I don't like them. Have I even tried them, I had to admit no. suddenly he showed up with a bowl of them. No choice, I had to eat them la! Tasted just like oysters. They aren’t too bad, but can get yucky after a while. Just don't think so much. The waiter passed by with a wink later on, wonder what that meant. 
Me 'enjoying' my mussels!
Chicken kiev and hot choc at Angus Steak House
Since I don't eat much beef, I eat chicken la. It was something like chicken cordon bleu except that when you cut it open, there was olive oil I think.
Another lunch of sandwich, this time at Amano cafe also recommended by my boss.
I don't remember what sandwich it was, something with chicken I guess and I remember all the vegies falling out of it. See the lovely drink there? I ordered it cos it looked nice, but it was kaw. Guess we are all so accustomed to the diluted crap smoothies we get here, that everything in London is too kaw of fruity goodness. Heck, they serve real orange juice here, not cordial! Hahaha.. so not used to it.
Wild boar sausage
I ordered Londoner sausage, did it anyhow sounded like wild boar sausage? Got this at Borough market. Tasted ok, didn’t get any hint of wildness =) The one I had in Seremban with my dad when I was little was nice.
Pear and dunno-what-fruit-tart that we got from the Borough market as well.
I preferred the pear tart for the dunno-what-tart was too sour for me. I dislike anything with a tinge of sourness. On this day, I bought a choc raspberry cake too but it was sourish and I didn't enjoy it very much, was kinda mampat as well too.
Lipton ice tea samples.
Yeap, they were samples. Unlike here where they give out silly tiny cups of drinks, they gave out bottles of them there.
Tagine at some restaurant near Trafalgar Square.
My sole meal of rice throughout my stay in London. Not complaining also =)
Superb mango smoothie at a Brazillian restaurant in Camden
Totally pure, no added sugar, as naturally sweet as mangoes are.. gosh, superb and wanted to order another glass but afraid that it would exceed budget! See, even the colour is so natural.
Peri wings at that same Brazillian restaurant.
1 word: Gorgeous! Fat, succulent, juicy wings. I'd probably rate this the best thing I had in London!
Brazillian snack platter from that same restaurant.
After voting the wings the best in London, this was the worst of the things I ate. They look cute though. Maybe I just wasn't used to the taste. I don't even remember what they were. The round ones were salty dough balls, the crispy ones were fu-chok like things, the cone-shaped ones had weird fillings and the cekodok-like ones were fishy! The waiter ta pau-ed for me and due to yuck factor and full factor, sorry but I threw them all away :(
Seafood spaghetti at an Italian restaurant near London Eye
Dunno what made me order seafood spaghetti when I don't eat mussels. But I ate all but 1 or 2 nonetheless and the squid and the spaghetti were good. After a while, it got kinda salty though. Love the tender squid though.
1882 hot choc from that Italian restaurant, so nice eh?
I was on a as-much-hot-choc-as-you-can-drink mission but I tell you, this hot choc can kill you want. Actually almost all the hot chocs can kaw-fully kill you. Only the Cadbury one at the office was slurp! This 1881 came with a little choc at the side of the saucer, equally kaw. Chocolate no need money wan is it??
Fish and chips from Borough market
It was weird to see people standing by the road sides and eating fish and chips. This was one of the 2 better ones I had. I remember Ach wanted some of the fries when I brought the remaining fries back to the office. The fishy smell wafted out when I opened the box, but don't care la. I thought that it was strange that someone would ask for another's leftover fries. After a long time, I wanted to get rid of the fries; he wasn't eating anymore already but I wasn't sure if he wanted anymore. Finally, after many many hours, he asked in his Mr Bean way if he can throw it away. His expression was similar to mine, been wanting to get it out of sight. It was so funny that Carrie, who was supposedly deeply engrossed in her work, burst out laughing.
I had an eclair and a cheesecake on this same day too. Eating like there's no tomorrow right? So happy, I tell you!
Fish and chips bought from cheap shop nearby with Ach
Ach suggested a place where we can get cheap meals for about 3GBP. I got that fish and chips for 3.50GBP, inclusive of a coke and lots of fries! At that price, you can only get a sandwich usually. And it was nice too. These and the Borough market fish and chips are nice!
Bread and olives at another Italian restaurant
Quattro-something (staggioni?) pizza at the same Italian place
Great pizza, except that the pepperonis were a little spicy and I don't know what is that yellowish topping. Coll said it could be onions, they looked like them too. Onions as toppings on a pizza? And.. try finishing that pizza on your own. Pengsan. I think I downed all but 2 slices and the crusts for all, cos they were taking up too much stomach space..
As usual, we took out our cameras as soon as our food arrived. Then, I heard some gwai lo behind us saying 'Must be Japanese'. WTF! I'm not Japanese, you stupid noob!
Penne at the Southwark Cathedral cafe just below the office
A simple and nice dish that made me yearn for penne when I got back =)
Some berry-thingy also had at the Southwark Cathedral but on another day.
Roasted chicken at a steak house in Piccadilly
This stupid place employed Asian people that don't understand simple English. The order wasn't what I ordered, they don't know what is gravy nor sauce and they have a problem understanding that we want a receipt. And it was expensive too.
Ben and Jerry's! So I've gotten a chance to try them.
Char-grilled chicken at Southwark Cathedral.
Very ropey, must have been a super stubborn chicken.
English scones with cream and jam!
Just got to try them, but after doing so, I don't know what's the hype about them. Hard and tasteless =P
Fish and chips at some place near the office, opposite the London Bridge Experience
Bread and some dip at a Turkish restaurant near Tate Modern, not far from the office
Nice melon juice in a nice glass =) Also at that Turkish place
Wanted to order another bottle but afraid to exceed budget again!
Pide, Turkish pizza
It was nice, light and yummy with chicken bits on top. Taste nice and looked nice too!
Ah, this is my Cadbury hot choc that I make at the office almost daily =) Love it so much!
Raspberry and some other berries smoothie at Troubadour
I don't know why drinking this made me cough.. cough cough cough til coll also said it might be the smoothie. Not nice some more, sour and kinda kaw.
Bangers and mash at that Troubadour
The mash was nice! The sausages were nice too, until you get full by the half of the 2nd one. Basically everything gets yucky when you are full, and this ones are full of meat.. so so meaty. Kinda nice actually though I am more of a potato freak.
Strawberry shortcake and caramel something for lunch!
Another round of desserts for lunch. This time, it was at Nero somewhere near the office. These Neros are everywhere in London. Serving sandwiches and salads, I got bored already of them.
Kaw hot choc from Nero too, a result of another case of being greedy
Choc cake that I had for lunch, together with the peach melba ice-cream somewhere above.
Banana, duh.
Since that whatever money left of our final day's allowance was ours to keep, I only spent the coins on a banana at the airport :D At 30 pence, this banana is worth RM1.80 woo..
Meal on the flight home!
Just to say that the croissant was suprisingly nice, buttery and warm! And it was kinda good to have good ol nasi lemak again =)
I must say that the cheaper fish and chips are nicer than the expensive ones in the restaurants. Ach's 3.50GBP and the Borough market ones were nicer than Belgo's and the London Bridge Experience ones. Total number of fish and chips had there: 5 =) I know there are 5 but somehow there are only 4 up there.
I must say that the apple crown that I buy at the station on the way to work is yummy too. The pastry was oh-so-flaky and light and had icing on top. The apple filling was a little too sweet but just the pastry and that icing was good enough. I had that for many mornings until I told myself to try other things too!
Total costs: 343.59GBP. That's RM1999.69 worth of food in my stomach over 2 weeks, omg!!
The building. I like the brown cos it gives the old buildings kinda look. 
The lobby, the 1st sight that greeted us. There's that very large orange orbit that the receptionist was sitting in the middle :D 
Opposite that orbit counter looked like a Samsung showroom or something.
In the cafeteria, there is this lounge where we can sit and the lighting changes colours!
See, it changed to purple already. Truly good for having drinks, which is what they love doing best!
Huge bottles of juice at the cafe and at our water stations too. But I tell you, they are so freaking sour that the smell won't come off my tumbler til now!
MY FAVOURITE!
One of the meeting rooms, very naked. There are about 1 or 2 with walls if you are shy.
Cute little tea bags =) Only avail at the cafe on the LG.
These are all in the cafe. The cafe doesn't sell things actually, it's just where you go to sit and have your meals or hang out. There is a foosball table too. So homely!
Entrance and exit at the ground floor. You gotta touch your passcard and push the glass turntiles. I think they look nice and high-tech =P
The place where we can make drinks. Note that the mugs are all in company's colours! They look very pretty when you open the cabinet and staring back at you are mugs in yellow and orange :D
This is where you (get to) sit if you're a manager or probably some director. As you can see, they are very open here, you sit with the others if you are big or small. The table sticks out of the glass enclosure and there are curtains, so funny. And he sits in front of the toilet. Dunno whether it's a reward to be a big shot or not.
I like this the most! They are called 'bus stops'. Discussion rooms that we don't have to book and can use them anytime if they're not occupied. Gosh, those bulbs, they make me wanna have discussions so very often! And there are wheels underneath, so we could possibly push these bus stops somewhere though my boss said she has never seen anyone done so hahaha.
This was where I sat in my 2 weeks there. It's Nick's place actually and he let me sit there beside Ach. See, outside the window is the Thames!
The full view of my table. I like the open-ness although back home, I love my partitions. Somehow, the open-ness here was fun; it made it seem like a modern Ikea office. Check out the PCs, just hanging on a tiang and we can swivel them 360 round. Nice la!
I dunno why but I like this cute little stools very much. The lime green one was cuter. If you wanna go speak to someone, you just drag one of these and sit beside them.
If I move more to the front from my place, I see this! That ship is right beside my place actually. Ahh.. imagine such a view while you do your work everyday... 
There, right from my window! It's a replica of some war ship and it's open to tourists for an entrance fee.
