united kingdom
Before I start sharing my love for food and Borough Market, let me try (yet again) to clear something up - you may skip the next chunk of text if you just want to read about food.
The most common phrase friends and family members from Singapore say to me when I meet them in London or talk to them via text/skype is "You have been traveling a lot!" To which I sheepishly smile and say "Hahaha really? Just a little!" I don't really know how/what to feel or respond sometimes, after hearing it from different people, I just accepted it, and stopped feeling bad for so doing. I gave up denying that I travel too much or justifying why I travel, I gave up telling people how I afford it, because some people just assume my family is rich (NO I don't take money from my parents to travel).
Anyway, I think the main reason why people tell me this is because I keep blogging about my travel adventures, and sharing images on Instagram of the places i've been to around Europe, and I barely mention about my life in London (apart from the outfit photos). But this is because I don't know what to say about my life in London. When I'm in London, I go to school, sometimes I eat out, other times I binge watch american dramas, and most of the time I'm hooked on instagram, youtube and pinterest. Apart from dressing up to school - my way of dabbling in something creative so that part of my brain doesn't rot from all the intense science and engineering - there really isn't much I do that is worth sharing (in my opinion!)
Honestly, compared to other exchange students, I must say I don't travel as much. When you get 1 year to stay and live in Europe, you MUST travel. If not, it is a colossal waste of opportunities. My friends visited 35 cities in their half a year of exchange, I doubt i've gone to 25 thus far. So, I will be traveling MORE. Just because I can, it makes me happy, and I WANT TO. There are many many MANY more places I would love to visit, explore and document my experiences. You're most definitely welcome to join me and hear about them.
Now that that is out of the way. We can go back to talking about London. You might think travel and clothes are my weakness, but my true weakness is actually food. It may not seem like it, but it is. I HAVE to eat out when I'm in a different city. It's as if it is a crime when I don't. And I get very upset when I miss out a chance for good food. In the same way, I get very excited when I do eat good food, and one of the places in London with AWESOME FOOD is Borough Market!
I went to Borough Market with my family, in December. They loved it so much they wanted to go back the next day! My impression of (and experience back home with) markets are that they are crowded, rowdy, noisy and in general just all over the place. I expected Borough Market to be a typical open air, street markets with pushcart like stalls being set up side by side. But no! It was one of those partially covered, considerably neat (I mean they had a map - of course I got lost anyway, but when there is food all around, I don't mind getting lost), each stall was beautifully set up and decorated, and they had sections for different types of food. Not to mention, the market is HUGE. I wished i had a super huge stomach so I could sample all the different food there.
For the first 10 minutes, I didn't get anything because I was afraid i'd be full from eating it and "Something better would come along". Eventually, I saw a stall selling Egyptian food, and decided to try it. My mum and siblings were hesitant because we had no clue what Egyptian food tasted like. But it was so good we finished up that bowl almost immediately after taking this photo!
*I realised the image of the roast hog is pretty... explicit for people who are against eating meat/pork, sorry for that!
After trying several different meat options, we proceeded to walk around to the other side of the market with the help of the map. When we saw this stall selling Fresh Oysters, my brother and sister insisted the HAD to try it. After we bought 3 oysters (my mum doesn't like seafood), the queue got long. An older couple in front of us bought 8! This young man was just busting open those oysters like it was a piece of cake. I doubt it is as easy as he made it seem to be.
 |
| A we-love-oysters-and-this-is-awesome shot taken by my mummy and suggested by my sister. |
Those oysters were really fresh and just so much juicy goodness. I don't even fancy seafood that much (with the exception of chilli crab), and I thought the oysters were so good. Zara and Isaac went for seconds, obviously.
After having lunch and so much savoury food, there is no way we would leave out deserts! There were so many different sweet treats available to choose from, my sister went for cookies, my brother said oysters were a good enough desert, and my mum and I decided to try the Thai Style Coconut Pancakes.
I was expecting it to have a mild artificial coconut flavouring, like most coconut cakes and sweets, but no it was completely authentic! The texture of the pancake was thin and crispy, and the coconut centre was soft, jelly-like, and exploded when bit into. I would highly HIGHLY recommend trying this if anyone is planning to visit Borough Market in London.
I think this was my mum's favourite dish of all the different food items we tried.
Generally, eating out in London can be pretty expensive. So a good way to not break the bank, but still have nice interesting food, is by visiting markets such as Borough Market. I have yet to hear a disappointing story from anyone who has been to Borough Market. I think there are so many options that it is hard to not find anything that you like. From fresh fruits and vegetables, to meat and cheese. Even bottles of honey, biscuits, cookies, and of course various savoury food from around the world. Paella, thai curry, african food, you name it, it probably can be found there! Having a meal in a market is definitely a great way to have a variety of food in one location - something I dearly miss from Singapore.
Even though the food prices aren't too cheap, and the portions may not be big, it is still cheaper than eating out at a café of restaurant. Plus the atmosphere and the aroma of food is just heavenly! I am getting hungry just talking about this.
Borough Market
8 Southwalk Street, London SE1 1TL
Opening Hours
Monday - Thursday: 10am - 5pm
Friday: 10am - 6pm
Saturday: 8am - 5pm
What do you love most about food markets? Are there other markets in London I should visit? Suggestions please :)
Awesome-st Food in Borough Market
5 March 2015
Last weekend, I took advantage of some low priced
train tickets and took a solo trip to Oxford.
I wanted to get out of London, and just see
something new, go somewhere different, explore a new city, and so, I headed to
Oxford for some alone time. I've never been to a university town, so going to
one of the oldest university towns in England was pretty exciting.
The University of Oxford is home to the brightest people in the world. SO MANY famous politicians, writers, artist, engineers etc. studied there. It was home to many of the influential people in the world today. It was just exciting to be able to get a glimpse of where these people once lived and studied.
After stepping out of the train station at Oxford,
I was greeted with quiet streets, gorgeous old english architecture, and a row
of trees with yellow and red leaves - something I don't see too often in London
(don't know why, maybe I haven't been looking hard enough).
It is such a different atmosphere from London.
Quiet, no pushing around, but at the same time, very charming.
After roaming the streets for a little bit, and taking some pictures, it started to drizzle. So, I headed to a little cafe for some brunch, and to kill sometime before my free walking tour. It was a nice morning, unfortunately, the weather forecast said it would be raining the entire day, and it did.
The rest of the time I was there, it was raining,
HEAVILY.
After brunch, I went and joined a free walking tour
of Oxford University. There are several walking tours conducted
simultaneously everyday, it was so easy to join any one of them - no prior reservation is needed.
During the tour we learned a lot about the history of the
university and the city. The tour guide shared with us stories of famous people that
attended the university, how the University of Oxford was built; why different parts of
the university inherited the names they have today.
It was such an informative tour. In spite of the bad weather, I did really enjoy the tour.
During the tour, were suppose to visit the inside of oxford university to see the famous Bodleian Library with 11million books, and the beautiful Sheldonian Theatre. Unfortunately, that saturday was a graduation day for the university, and its compound was not open to the public (yes this meant that I did not get to see the famous harry potter-esque dining hall).
On the plus side, I got to see the interactions of the graduates
and their families. The graduates from the University of Oxford wore Black robes, and according to
the guide, their ceremony was conducted in Latin. Indeed a traditional school. I overheard 2 graduates talking about how they didn't understand anything in the ceremony.
It was nice so wonderful to see the pride in the eyes of the graduate's family members. Regardless of the number of "supporters" they had; their whole extended family, or just one friend, you could see the joy and pride they have for the graduates.
It was nice so wonderful to see the pride in the eyes of the graduate's family members. Regardless of the number of "supporters" they had; their whole extended family, or just one friend, you could see the joy and pride they have for the graduates.
Must be such a glorified thing to graduate from
arguably one the best universities in the world. I can only image how bright
the futures of these graduates are. People with greatness thrust upon them,
people who are meant to do great things. I cannot help but envy.
During the tour, I met 3 other international
students studying in Warwick, and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring
other parts of Oxford with them. I love meeting new people. Getting to meet people from all around the world is probably one of the
best perks of travelling solo. Its always nice to meet other students studying abroad just like me, but with such different
experiences.
Other interesting places in Oxford include the
covered market and its Bookstores.
The Covered Market sold all sorts of things, and
the most astonishing thing for me was that they sold pheasents and birds and
these dead animals were hung on hooks with their fur/feathers/everything all
attached! Im used to seeing roast duck being hung along chicken rice stalls,
and butchered pork in the markets in Singapore, but seeing the whole animal
dead on a hook, that was a first. It was pretty morbid. But the market sells other more normal things that are easier on the eyes as well.
Oxford has probably one of the largest bookstores
i've ever seen. The Blackwell Bookstore is HUGE. I can probably spend days
months and years in that bookstore and not be able to read 10% of the books. They
have all sorts of books from science and engineering to theatre, travel and
art. Such a wide variety, you can practically get any book you want.
Despite the rainy day in Oxford, I really enjoyed myself. Oxford is such
a beautiful city with so much history and culture.
Plus the people there are really nice. It was friendly and safe. Walking
alone after sunset doesn't seem as scary or dangerous. It was actually
fun.
It was a good time to clear my head. I had time to think about life.
Think about what it means to be successful. Reflect on what I want to do, where
I want my life to go.
No, I don’t really have any answers as of now, but that trip was a start.
A good time for reflection, a good wake up call, a motivation to have a plan
for my future. Being in a place that is home to so much talent and potential,
really got me to reflect about my choices, if I’ll ever be who I hope to be, if I have
potential in life, and if I have the
will to succeed.
I hope one day i'll be able to be successful. In whatever field it maybe. I maybe able to be proud of who I grow into.
If you happen to be in the UK, definitely take a day trip to Oxford. You will definitely love architecture and the soul of this little city.
I hope one day i'll be able to be successful. In whatever field it maybe. I maybe able to be proud of who I grow into.
If you happen to be in the UK, definitely take a day trip to Oxford. You will definitely love architecture and the soul of this little city.
A Day in Oxford, England
17 November 2014 Oxford, Oxford, UK
I've always had a thing for street art. Graffiti is just fascinating. Some people may think its vandalism/unsightly/destroys the facade of buildings. But i think to be able to produce something so macroscopic with just a spray can and a few colours, is art, is talent.
Unlike the streets of Paris, its not common to find graffiti on walls of buildings and street artist painting on floors in London.
While we were walking around Central London, Daryl said "I know of a place nearby called the Graffiti Tunnel." Imagine my excitement when I heard it. And of course, we made our way to the tunnel.
Outside the tunnel there were hipster kids having a photoshoot, whilst punk rock teenagers attempt to shoot a music video with the graffiti as their background.
We even got the privilege of observing someone spray paint, and another guy being more impressive with the use of markers!
They dont have prelimenary sketches, or outlines, they just start painting and drawing. Its incredible how these street artists have such a macroscopic perspective. Respectful indeed.
Photos taken on my iphone 4S of Graffiti Tunnel, London.
Street Art in London
19 October 2014 Leake Street, Lambeth, London SE1 7NN, UK
As students living on a budget, £2.20 to take the tube from South Kensington to Oxford Circus costs too much. So instead of taking the tube, we decided to take a nice little stroll across Hyde Park to get to Oxford Street to kill sometime before an international student mixer last week. 
The cool weather in London makes walking around really enjoyable. It was a nice having a slow late afternoon stroll through hyde park, watching ducks and swans bathe themselves and little children running around playing with bubbles and chasing pigeons.
I get it now why people say London is grey. Everything, including the sky just seems to be a little greyer over in London. Did not have much trouble with the weather initially when I first arrived last week, but as of late, its been getting a lot colder, windier, and raining a lot more. Nevertheless, I'm still enjoying the life here in London.
Also, living 5 mins away from school is always a good thing. Longer sleeping hours, I will not complain!
Walking out of Hyde Park, we saw the Marble Arch. Looked like a Minature Arc de Triomphe, though I'm not sure if it has the same significance to London as the Arc de Triomphe has to France. After passing the Marble Arch, we could finally say "Hello Oxford Street!"
Ending off with the typical bright red London double-decked bus that everyone knows about. Hope you enjoyed the pictures, I can't wait to visit more places in London (and perhaps - sooner than later - other parts of the UK as well!)
Stay tune for more visits/pictures taken from running around town!
From South Kensington to Oxford Circus
9 October 2014 Hyde Park, London
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