A Taste of London (3)

On the ground outside The Globe Theatre. (I thought it'd make a nice welcome mat message.)

It's finally time for some serious food blogging! I've actually tried doing this a few times since I’ve come to Galway, but I always bite off more than I can chew (no pun intended) and I can never finish the post. But this time I will – just watch me!

When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me that the French always say of British cooking, “If it’s hot, it’s beer; if it’s cold, it’s soup.” And since I usually take my mother’s proverbial pearls of wisdom as gospel, I’ve generally thought of British food as bland and unsavory. I didn't really have any great expectations about eating my way through London (and, as I’ve said before, eating is how I usually go about experiencing a new place). My first food experiences in London consisted of a Nature Valley granola bar when we got to the hostel after 10:00 Thursday night and then two pieces of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam for breakfast the next morning. I wouldn’t consider either of those experiences a reflection on British cooking (nothing was cooked) but they certainly weren't anything thrilling.

I didn’t become excited about eating in London until I started texting with Chloé and she said that when she had gone a few years back, she spent most of her time eating. She told me that she would start searching for fun-looking Thai and Indian restaurants near where I was staying. I had forgotten all about the mark Imperialism left on British cuisine, but as soon as she reminded me I became instantly eager to start dining. Our first meal was in a Mediterranean restaurant that we stumbled upon while en route to check in to our hotel. We passed several cafés and restaurants along one street, but we were all intrigued by the tantalizing smells and reasonable prices of the place called Nar. I didn’t think to take any pictures while we were there, but here is the restaurant website if you care to check it out. It’s located right by a Tube station, so every few minutes or so the meal was interrupted by the mild rattle and low rumble of a passing train. It sounded like rolling thunder, and reminded me of a Mediterranean version of The Rainforest Café, although less kitschy and fewer monkey screeches.

I don’t mean that as a criticism by any means. I thought it was amusing and it really didn’t deter from the overall ambience; more importantly though, it had no bearing whatsoever on the actual food, which was, by the way, delicious. Our entrées all came with appetizers, so I started with little lentil patties. I was expecting something akin to mini veggie burgers made with lentils, but it was more like three thumb-sized corkscrew patties of cold red lentils mixed with other vegetables, served with a salad with a mysterious dressing on the side (I really enjoyed it, but I could not for the life of me place this one underlying flavor to the dressing). It surprised me, but it was quite refreshing and definitely really tasty. I’d be curious to try making something like it when I get home. My main course was less of a surprise, but equally delicious: chicken cob shish, which consisted of pieces of incredibly tender chicken (JUST like butter...), vegetables, and perfectly cooked rice. By the time we finished our lovely, leisurely lunch (we stayed there for over an hour and a half), I was so full and so ready for a food coma.

Luckily, I wasn't so full that I couldn't properly enjoy dinner several hours later. Katie and I had made plans to meet one of Chloé's friends for dinner at 7:30. I had requested Indian food, so he took us to a place near Covent Garden called Moti Mahal. He said he hadn't been before, but that it was very highly-reviewed. They checked our coats when we got there, and since my camera was in my coat pocket, I again failed at taking any good photos of the interior or the meal itself. Luckily, they have a nice, flashy website with plenty of pictures that you can check out. It's a pretty posh-looking place, so I definitely recommend looking at some of the pictures. We sat in the downstairs dining room, in one of the booth tables:

The downstairs dining room where we ate (picture taken from their website)

The menu is designed like a travel log: the chef toured around different parts of India and brought dishes back from all the different areas. We started the meal with cocktails (the friend's suggestion!), and I went with something called Goa Fire. It was delightfully fruity but not too sweet, and it was a lovely rosy shade. The description on the menu read:

"Kettle One Vodka & Galliano L'Autentico Liqueur paired with fresh Strawberries, Strawberry purée & a hint of Chili & Lime

The wealth of Goa lies in its warm hearted people & the markets of treasures you can find. Being here really ignites a passion for this beautiful part of India."

While we were waiting for our food to come they brought us a salad plate for the table, but it was unlike most salads I've had in restaurants before. The plate had a knife, vials of garlic salt, oil, and vinegar, a lemon, and whole vegetables, including three radishes, a few lettuce leaves, some whole fresh herbs, a couple whole tomatoes, a whole onion, and a cucumber. My dining companions elected me to be the designated preparer, so I had to awkwardly chop everything right there at the table. It was an unusual setup, but still tasty with its freshness and lightness. 

It had taken me forever to actually decide what to order to follow the salad; the menu was long, and we got all caught up swapping stories about study abroad experiences and picking his brain for travel advice on London and other parts of Europe. Eventually though, I made up my mind. Katie, who by the way had never experienced Indian food before (or Mediterranean food, or really any kind of ethnic food for that matter - apparently they don't have any by where she lives in Cincinnati) went with Chicken Tikka Masala. I was proud of her for being willing to try all sorts of new food with me. We agreed that next she has to try Thai with me. He went with the scallops. I opted for a chicken dish from Punjab called Murghi Nazakat, which according to the menu was:

"A trio of chicken tikka, prepared with tantalizing variations of mint and basil, poppy seed and kashmiri chillies, cracked pepper and dill

The preparation of three different types of chicken tikka is an indicator that the utmost care, attention, and respect is being showered on one's guest. Inspired by a hearty meal prepared for me by a Dhaba Walla in Amritsar."

How could I say no to three different types of tantalizing chicken that indicate the utmost care, attention, and respect? 

One skewer of the Murghi Nazakat (picture taken from their website)

I certainly didn't end up with orderer's remorse (a common affliction for me) - it was again so tender and the different seasonings on each piece were wonderful. Our waiter was really attentive and told us when we ordered rice and naan with the entrées that he recommended we also get some dal, since two of the dishes were dry and we'd probably want something saucy to mop up the rice and naan. He suggested the Dal Makhani from Peshawar: 

"Black lentils slow cooked overnight on charcoal

Hailing from the North West Frontier, this black lentil speciality is slow cooked for several hours, on charcoal. Creamy and earthy, this dal is a delicious accompaniment to tandoori dishes"

And ohhh it was so delicious. So creamy and so rich and flavorful - more so than most dals I've tried. It was a fabulous suggestion. Almost two hours later, and I was again ridiculously full yet wonderfully satisfied. If I'm ever back in London (and I really hope to be one day), I would definitely go out of my way to return to this place.

By the time Katie and I met up with Jessie and Alissa at a pub in Covent Garden, I was still thinking I wouldn't ever need to eat again. But then they told us something that at least made me want to eat again, even if I didn't need to eat again. Before we left for London, I had looked online to see if they had any frozen yogurt places (remember, we found one when we were in Northern Ireland a few weeks ago and it made me so happy), and I saw several sites referring to some place called "Snog" (check out the website if you're

Alissa, Jessie, & Me outside of Snog. We were really happy.

curious). We all giggled at the name and hoped we might come across it while we were there. Well, while Katie and I were busy savoring some Indian food, Jessie and Alissa finished an early dinner and went for a walk... and they actually found Snog! As soon as they told us, I found my dessert stomach and we headed straight over. It was around 11:00pm at this point, so we were worried that it might have closed already. Well, they weren't. Thank goodness they're open until midnight every night!

Inside Snog

As soon as I got in, I knew I had found the British interpretation of a Pinkberry. It was a really hip-looking place and seemed really popular; they even had a line out the door for a while. You can't see too well in the picture, but the walls were covered with crazy drawings of giddy Seussical fruit figures and the ceiling was covered with a wave of individual hanging ball lights that changed colors and turned on and off in cool patterns.

But the best part - of course - was the FroYo. They had four flavors: Original (Plain), Blueberry, Apple Spice, and... wait for it... GREEN TEA! It tasted just like Pinkberry's Matcha flavor before they went and hurt my soul and put it in their flavor vault. Oh it was pure delight in a cup. I ordered mine with mangoes and raspberries (my usual Pinkberry toppings) and I savored it for as long as I could (until it started getting melty). I told my friends immediately that we would have to come back on Saturday, no matter what, since I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get any frozen yogurt for the rest of the semester once we returned to Galway. We did end up coming back the next night after we saw Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. I opted to go with the Green Tea again, but this time with fresh strawberries (the mangoes hadn't been entirely ripe):

It makes me happy just to look at the photo. I wish they'd open up something like it in Galway so I could have it for the next 3 months! 

When we finally got back to the hotel on Friday night, I was still giddy with food happiness. I told my friends we would have to try to eat as well the next day, too. Luckily, we did. We wandered around Trafalgar Square at lunchtime, looking for a pub that might serve us some good fish & chips - we figured we may as well try to get some while we were London, after all. We came across The Marquis Bar, which not only had delicious fish & chips (I think that might've actually been my first time having it), they also boasted being an old haunt of none other than Charles Dickens! It was definitely an awesome find, and I would definitely go back there with anyone. 

Outside The Marquis Bar, pointing to Charles Dickens's name on the plaque

After lunch, Katie and I explored the Globe Theater, so by the time we got back to pick up our show tickets, we only had about an hour to spare for dinner. We wandered around the outdoor shopping/markets in Covent Garden, which Chloé's friend recommended we do.

There were various street performers all over the place and plenty of outdoor dining that all smelled fantastic. We perused all of our options, but the thing that kept catching my eye and my nose was a little outdoor paella stand with two enormous paella pans full of deliciousness. We all got a bowl and sat on a bench out in the courtyard to enjoy. After I finished, I asked the guy who served me if I could take a picture so I could photo-document the eating experience for my sister, and he laughed and said as long as he got to be in the photo, too. So here he is:

After the Paella, we walked around the area some more until we came across a tiny little shop called Ben's Cookies. I remembered that Chloé's friend had told me that if I find the time, I definitely need to make a trip to Ben's Cookies, because it is totally worth it. He was so right again! It looks like a teeny hole in the wall; the store is just big enough for 2-3 customers to stand inside opposite the counter. The pillar in the photo looks like it's cutting it off, but the store ends right there, behind the pillar. It's only as wide as the three glass panels:

I split an Oatmeal Raisin cookie three-ways with Katie and Jessie, and then ordered two for myself: one Praline and Milk Chocolate, and one Milk Chocolate Chunk (which had JUST come out of the oven, so it was still gooey and melty and falling apart in my hands and my mouth). They were so delicious. If you're ever in London, do as he says: make time to go. It definitely was worth it. 

And now, I must finally wrap up my epic blogging about London. I'm sure there are more stories I could tell and more details I could share, but I'd say you probably have a pretty good idea by now of what my trip was like. As soon as I find some time again, I'll get to blogging about this past week (Rag Week, woo!) and then this upcoming weekend (IFSA Butler-sponsored weekend at an Adventure Center in Co. Galway, woo again!)... so you can look forward to that. 

Til next time!