Big Eats in the Little London Trip

     Being the foodie that we are, I've decided to chronicle our London adventure from the viewpoint of food. Here are the highlights.

Duck and Waffles     

First day in London, we were given a treat at "Duck and Waffles" by my colleague Junxiong.

View from the restuarant

The famous Duck and Waffles

Abeno Okonomayaki
After catching "Mathilda" at West End, we decided to pop into one of the "Japanese" restaurants on the way back. Little did we know that this little place has been voted one of the "must-eats" in London.

Prepared from raw ingrdients right in front of you

The finished product

Buckingham Palace Cafe

This cafe is located on the grounds of the palace itself. We decided to lunch here after the palace tour.

ice-cream made from milk from the Royal Farms

Burger and Lobster

How can we miss out on this joint? Needs no explanation.

Bourough Market
Largest oysters I've ever had.

Thomas Cafe - the only Burberry Cafe in the World

We stumbled into this "one in the world" Burberry cafe while window shopping at the Regeant Street flagship store. Their specialty? - Lobster of course!

Verdict? Not bad but I rather eat at "Burger and Lobster".

La Porte des Indes
The UK once seriously considered making curry their national dish. Needless to say we had to try the curry in London. Right opposite our hotel was this nondescript (or so we thought) Indian restaurant which looked quite decent. Imagine our surprise when we entered. There was space enough for a few large parties, complete with a man-made waterfall and lounge area. Once again we stumbled upon a gem. Apparently "La Porte des Indes" was a winner of several food accolades, by the look of the certificates lining the wall. Thankfully, it lived up to it's fame. The French-inspired Creole Indian cusine was one of the best we had on this trip.

 It was indeed an apt way to end our first London adventure with the baby.

London Adventures of a 3 month old Baby (and Parents)

      This year we celebrate 5 years of AIA's listing on the HK stock exchange with a gathering in London of producers from AIA markets around the world. The wifey decided she wanted to tag along. Moreover, she's not prepared to go anywhere without our newborn, Shiloh. So Shiloh has to come along as well. People said we were mad to bring a 3 month old baby all the way to London. Well, you'd never know if you never try. Here are the highlight's of our London adventure.

Strolling through HYDE PARK on the way to HARRODS at Knightbridge

      The little one seems to love the green outdoors. She looked around and was extremely well-behaved. The crankiness started only when we got to the shopping centre.

To BUCKINGHAM PALACE to visit the Queen

Pit stop at St James' Park while waiting for out turn to enter.

Visiting 7 storeys of toys at HAMSLEY

BOROUGH MARKET

 CRUISE down the River Thames

Coldest day of the trip: Shiloh all bundled up.

Rounding off the trip with antique shopping at PORTOBELLO MARKET

In the end there wasn't much antiques to be had. We ended up collecting stuff for Shiloh's Peter Rabbit themed nursery.

Special Mention: MATILDA the musical at West End

     Thanks to the mother-in-law, we had the privelege of a night out on our own, the wifey and I. What's a trip to London without experiencing a musical on West End? We didn't want to go for one that could be caught back in Singapore. So "Phantom of the Opera" was definitely out. Besides we've already caught it before. The wifey decided on "Mathilda", based on Roald Dahl's book by the same name. It turned out to be an excellent choice. I was very impressed with the thought that went into the set. How the mechanics for each scene worked hand-in-hand with one another is something to behold. However, I was blown away by the performance of the cast. The way the children danced, sang, and performed their hearts' out, deserved the standing ovation that they received. It is certainly a musical that I would highly recommend - a "must watch", trust me.

      In conclusion, it was an enjoyable trip. Bringing an infant on a long-distance vacation isn't as impossible as some people make it out to be. Thank God for His protection over all of us, especially the wifey and Shiloh.