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Saturday afternoon in London

Sunday 31 July 2011
Since it was such a lovely day on Saturday, I decided to join the hordes of tourists in London. I must have suffered temporary insanity when I jumped onto the train to London with Little L because there are literally thousands of young students from France, Italy and Spain who'd arrived en masse to the UK to study English. Some were only 9 years of age sent to stay with hospitable but slightly bewildered English host families who didn't realize they'd be getting kids this young. It's hard to miss them as they tend to congregate on the streets, in front of Harrods, and pretty much everywhere I turned. I'm not complaining as the UK needs an injection of cash. I battled the crowds just so that I could check if Bluebird on King's Rd has received a new shipment of Isabel Marant's autumn/winter collection. Pretty mad when a phone call should suffice.

Both myself and my mini me are foodies so there's no way we could walk down King's Rd, Chelsea without checking out the weekend market on the Duke of York square. There's an incredible array of delectable international cuisine on display. Every shopkeeper was offering little morsels of temptation to taste. I would've gladly spend £50 on food alone if I didn't have to worry about carrying them for the next 6 hours. It's not an easy feat lugging tons of shopping bags while chasing a 5 year old on her scooter.


baklava
I've yet to find a baklava that topped the ones I'd tasted in Hydra, Greece.


cupcakes
These are adorable but I'm all cupcaked out.


french cookies
I had a taste of their chocolate chip cookies but I have to say, the ones I'd baked, thanks to the recipe on Jo Pratt's book "In the mood for food" are tons better.



moroccan
I was very tempted to try these Moroccan bread with lamb tagine all wrapped up inside. I'll definitely give them a go on my next trip back to the market.



meringue
Nothing makes Little L happier than being surrounded by food.



sushi
I just HAD to take a photo of these Hello Kitty banner. Even I got sucked into the Hello Kitty hype. I wasn't too impressed by their sushi selection though.


tomatoes
I have a love-hate relationship with tomatoes. I detest tasteless soggy slices of tomatoes which can be found in most of the store bought sandwiches. However, there's nothing I love more than sweet and tangy cherry tomatoes sprinkled with a teeny bit of salt and then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.



The Vietnamese style laksa at Phat Phuc was scrumptious so this time round, I had pretty high expectations for their pho. To my disappointment, the prawn roll was pretty tasteless and the beef pho broth was salty. In addition, the slices of beef were rather tough and it was almost akin to chewing rawhide. Little L didn't seem to have any complaints and inhaled everything placed before her.


pho



I decided to pop into Chanel at Sloane St to check out their necklaces. I didn't have much luck the previous week and things weren't looking up this week either. There were throngs of Asian tourists milling around in the shop waiting to be served. The security lady was curt and couldn't answer a single question (how long is the wait?), stating that all she does was guard the door. Next up was Hermes which was a delightful experience after Chanel. I've had 3 friendly sales associates walking up to me asking if I require any assistance. I spied a Collier de Chien bracelet in fawn and palladium which I'm sure will be snapped up within a day. Other than a couple of Picotin, Marwari and Victoria bags, there wasn't anything that caught my eye.


hermes sloaneSt
I love the design of the Steve bag. It's a stunning bag albeit a very heavy one.


harrods
Only an ostentatious store like Harrods would have their own carriage and footmen (do correct me if I'm wrong). I'm not a fan of Harrods, a store with so many strange rules (backpacks must be carried by hand, no large bags etc etc) that it's more troublesome to enter the store. The building is made up of numerous windowless and claustrophobic rooms. Trying to find your way around is like figuring your way through a maze. However, I can't fault their customer service. I did a mad 10 minute dash through the beauty counters while hubby stood outside with Little L's scooter (NO SCOOTERS IN HARRODS, announced the vigilant security guard).


londonpurchases
The SA at the Chanel counter persuaded me to try Paradoxal, an iridescent purple varnish with a grey undertone instead of Vendetta, a deeper purple shade which apparently is more suited to winter. I tried it on as soon as I got home and was rather pleased with the color. I'd bought a Bobbi Brown pot rouge cream for cheeks and lips a few months back and it'd worked well during the colder months. My skin's naturally oily particularly in summer so it's back to powder blusher again. I was recommended Nectar, a pink coral blush this time and thought I'd give it a go. So far so good.....















7 comments:

  1. How fabulous. I don't know which makes me greener with envy at your fortune to live so close to London: the incredible arrange of tasty treats (okay, it would be this) or an Hermès boutique so close to hand. I agree about the Steve--it's beautiful, yet huge. At that price, perhaps that reaction is a good thing.

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  2. Can't wait to go! We might have to wait until the Olympics passes as airfare and hotels are booked. And the crowds. Yikes!

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  3. I loved this post. For a few minutes I felt like I was in London, in the markets, staring at the food. I can't wait till the boys are old enough so that I can bring them to London- they keep talking about those double decker buses :) What a fun day you guys had :)

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  4. AA, when I was living in NZ, the only time I could visit a H store was my yearly visit to Melbourne. We used to have a little counter that sold scarves for a few short years. I've always admired the Steve but I'd hate to think how much it weighs with my laptop in it!

    Lauraloo, Yikes! I forgot about the Olympics. I'm going to avoid London as much as I can during the Olympics. I'm sure everything is going to cost twice as much.

    Sharon, I love that we're just a short train ride from London. We get the best of two worlds. The slower paced life in our little town and then the cosmopolitan London when I get the urge to join the crowds.

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  5. That lamb tagine looks very tempting! I love this marketplace, and, also Partridges, which is right next to it.

    Great post!

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  6. Thank you for the tip, Mona. I'll definitely check out Partridges when I'm next in town.

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  7. This sounds like a very relaxing lazy day. If I ever make it to London I'll have to get your recommendations!

    http://www.stylish3.com/marylane

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