
The second last trip I took in 2020 was in January where we spent a month in Europe. Mr Chef went to the South of France on a work trip with a truffle supplier and professional chefs for truffle hunting and I headed off to London to see old friends.
I followed him on a similar trip a couple of years ago and ate so many truffles that I had a stomachache – I know, tough life. Truffles, after all, is a funghi and too much of anything is not a good thing.
Well, this time I had other plans, I went to London to catch up with old friends and popped into a couple of clients’ offices for an opportunity to meet in person after freelancing for them for a while in the APAC office on global campaigns. It was brief but much warranted respite from speaking French all day in the countryside. Museums, bookstores and old friends – a beautiful recipe for gratefulness and joy.

The last time I was in London was probably six years ago, just before I got married. London is always a good idea. I love the energy, creativity and dynamism in the city. It has such a different vibe to the rest of Europe.
Needless to say, London was all about checking out food and art in the city over many catch ups.
Dishoom

A hearty Indian breakfast at Dishoom – a lovely spot with colonial vibes paying homage to the Irani cafés of Bombay. If I had more luggage space, I would have also picked up the cookbook. It’s always full, so make your reservations in advance or head there early. We went to the one at Kings Cross.

Lina Stores


King’s Cross has really cleaned up and it’s a gentrified hip spot with cool lifestyle concept stores along with beautiful Instagrammable cafés. Lina Stores could pass off as a Wes Anderson movie set with its pastel green furniture and interiors. I had a lovely bacon sandwich for breakfast and my friend tells me they make some of the best fresh pasta you should buy to-go.

Master Wei

We couldn’t go wrong with a recommendation from Fuchsia Dunlop, the prolific author and international food authority on Chinese cuisine. I was at the British museum before heading over for lunch with a friend who worked in the vicinity. This Shaanxi joint serves up delicious authentic Northern Chinese food – from the spicy chewy noodles to the meat buns 肉夹馍, spicy cold cucumber appetizers, everything was flawless. I would have gone back repeatedly if I had stayed longer.


This was a lovely suggestion from my food writer friend and cancer buddy Laura Price where we caught up over organic wines and delicious food. Silo London was the latest hotspot on foodies radar as the world’s first zero-waste restaurant. I highly recommend checking it out, it’s in a cool warehouse in Hackney with a really interesting wine list and a perfectly executed, conscious menu by chef Doug. Everything is zero-waste right down to the recycled tableware.

London is never short of interesting exhibitions and there are plenty of free activities. V&A, Natural History Museum, British Museum, Tate Modern, National Portraits Gallery are my must-visits every time I’m in London.





Greenwich



It was my first time out here to meet a friend and I checked out the Maritime Museum – which is awesome by the way, especially if you have children! The weather was miserable so I didn’t get up the hill to check out the famous Greenwich Mean Time zone at the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Finally, so much great organic local produce at the markets at such affordable prices.


