London: Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant & Portobello Market
Yay I'm back with London day 2! Honestly I have no creative ideas on what to put for my blog post. I mean, London day 2 just sounds so.....
Yay I'm back with London day 2! Honestly I have no creative ideas on what to put for my blog post. I mean, London day 2 just sounds so... meh. And blah. So I just decided to title it the so called "highlights" of the day. But actually, it's just a very brief blog on my side.. I'm sorry if it's misleading =p
And so, second day in London started with massive shopping early in the morning at Primark - a clothing retailer that sells comparatively cheap clothes in London. To be honest it is not THAT cheap. It just appears relatively cheaper cos firstly: everything else in London is expensive (think Topshop, Ms Selfridge, Warehouse, Ted Baker etc.) and secondly the exchange rate. 5£, 10£, 15£ all look so cheap right? But when you convert it back to SGD it's like S$10, S$20, S$30... not so cheap anymore huh? Haha.
It was crazy. With the above mindset of the 2 points I stated I spent like S$500 in Primark in 2 days... Gosh. Lol. But certain items were quite worth it lah e.g. faux leather boots and winter coats at 25£ each which is like $50 per item? Still quite reasonable in my opinion tho I must say Hong Kong sells the cheapest durable boots ever! I always stock up on at least 2 pairs when I'm there. Haha.
And so, second day in London started with massive shopping early in the morning at Primark - a clothing retailer that sells comparatively cheap clothes in London. To be honest it is not THAT cheap. It just appears relatively cheaper cos firstly: everything else in London is expensive (think Topshop, Ms Selfridge, Warehouse, Ted Baker etc.) and secondly the exchange rate. 5£, 10£, 15£ all look so cheap right? But when you convert it back to SGD it's like S$10, S$20, S$30... not so cheap anymore huh? Haha.
It was crazy. With the above mindset of the 2 points I stated I spent like S$500 in Primark in 2 days... Gosh. Lol. But certain items were quite worth it lah e.g. faux leather boots and winter coats at 25£ each which is like $50 per item? Still quite reasonable in my opinion tho I must say Hong Kong sells the cheapest durable boots ever! I always stock up on at least 2 pairs when I'm there. Haha.
Damage done by woggers in a span of 3 hours
Koped chocolate from the concierge from Swi and Char's hotel while waiting for Char to finish her big business upstairs haha. Cute ain't it - British chocolate!
After settling down all our shopping bags in Swi and Char's hotel room we went in search of Four Seasons restaurant - a famed Chinese restaurant which was supposedly located near their hotel. It is quite nondescript looking and after some difficulty and the help of google maps we finally managed to locate it! So hungry by then - exhausted all our energy on shopping & lugging the shopping back haha.
There was a small queue as we arrived and we had to wait about 15 minutes before we could get a table. It was bustling with lotsa tour groups who occupied big tables and everywhere was so cramped. Not the most comfortable dining experience but service was alright, and food was just slightly above average so yes, I would go back there again.
Piping hot corn soup - perfect for the cold weather. This was quite delish I gobbled everything up!
Pan-fried gyoza otherwise known as guo tie in Chinese
I forgot what they call this in Chinese but it's veggies with 3 kinds of eggs - century eggs, salted eggs and normal eggs. I had this at Pu Tien before and it was awesome. This was a tad disappointing however. Crystal Jade has this too!
Roast duck and roast pork. It's nice but a little too fatty for my liking.
After lunch, we headed in search of Portobello Market! Nope it's not a market that sells mushroom hahaha. I thought it was too =p
Waiting for the tube in an open air station and it was so cold!
Finding our way to the market
Found it!
Would you believe it - Wikipedia doesn't have a page on Portobello Market! Haha so I googled some websites...
Portobello Market in West London is one of the most famous street markets in the world. It is a popular destination for Londoners and tourists alike. Portobello Road goes straight through the heart of Notting Hill, the trendy area of London made famous by the film.
It was a really big market which sells everything from clothing to bags to shoes to antiques to kitchenware to knick-knacks and quirky stuff. Not to mention they have a produce and food section of the market as well, interspersed with shops and boutiques along the way.
We briefly browsed through the stalls without really buying cos we were actually looking for this!
The Hummingbird Bakery - well known for its American style baked good such as cupcakes, cakes, pies & brownies etc.
It was too crowded to try to get a seat inside so we each bought a cupcake to take away! And of course my top choice flavor for cupcakes would be the red velvet!
Love the cream cheese frosting - that must be the highlight of the whole cupcake. The cake itself is moist and the flavor is just nice. OMG I AM CRAVING FOR ONE RIGHT NAO. But at S$5 a pop, it's certainly not cheap. Even more ex than local shops like Twelve Cupcakes and Plain Vanilla. But really. This is really out of this world man.
I got them to pose in front of the sign above haha
The fruits and produce section of the market
After enough time spent at the market we decided to head to the Buckingham Palace next! Along the way we got distracted by multiple souvenir shops hahaha.
I really like The Beatles and their album cover of them crossing Abbey Road! (My old MacBook was named Abbey Road lol). But didn't buy this back cos actually it is quite useless. Haha
As we were approaching the Palace we spotted this limousine driving past and speculated if there was any royalty sitting inside haha
Buckingham Palace by night. Unfortunately, no changing of guards as it was winter and they only change once every 2 days during winter cos I think it is too cold! Heh
Photo koped from Swi's Facebook
Touristy shot x 1
It was too cold to be hanging around the Palace and it was turning dark very quickly so we decided to head to Harrods for some shopping before it closed!
Harrods was BIG and the layout was pretty confusing it is very easy for me to get lost inside haha. Managed to buy some Long Champs back as requested from my relatives. Cheaper than Singapore definitely but not as cheap as if you buy in Paris.
And that brings me to the end of day 2! :)
If you realize we didn't even have dinner cos the lunch was still in our tummies and shopping literally replaces dinner. Lol.
Some mobile snaps:
OTD for last Sunday - missypixie top x valleygirl jeans x missypixie enna loafers in gold! Necklace from Jipaban
Sunday lunch at Maison Ikkoku - we had French toast & French omelette which were both very good! The red velvet cake was acceptable. Gimme the Hummingbird Bakery red velvet cupcakes anytime!
This is funny. A comparison of C.O.T. eight years apart.
Bought a craftholic holder for my bedside table! So cute
And also a craftholic tissue holder. Now my bedside table is complete! Happy.
OTD for Wednesday - thevelvetdolls self ridge dollhouse top in sea green x missypixie tweed skirt in black! Have been looking for the LB Danica Tweed skirt to no avail so I decided to settle on this. First. While I continue to hunt. Maybe by then tweed no longer in fashion lol.
My typical weekday dinner at home. Mummy's home cooked food is the best! Coupled with Running Man :D
Channelling the 乡村 vibe with my OTD on Friday - topshop tank x river island floral skirt and also a hairband in my hair cos it's really getting out of hand and I don't know what to do with it! Urghhh probably time to visit Salon Vim again tho I was there barely a month ago. Short hair's really a hassle to maintain!
Brekkie for a rainy Saturday - Wholemeal bread toasted with nutella and banana slices. Have to try adding peanut butter next time!
And yes, my diarrhea is back to haunt me again. Visited the doc last night and he gave me another round of meds. And if it recurs again I will have to go for a stool test cos there might be parasites in my tummy/intestines >.< I dowannnnn
After this post I'm going back to nua in bed and enjoy this rainy weekend. Toodles and have a nice weekend y'all! :)
