January '07

Borough Markets (again!) :D

We've given up on attempting to wake up in the morning ... and just attempt to get to Borough Market as soon as we get up (as long as we get there before 3pm, it's ok).

We made a bee-line for the Chorizo sandwich stand ... and once we'd finish devouring those (in less time than the time taken to queue for them) we headed straight to the another food stand that Muffin had his eye on on the way to the Chorizo sandwich stand ...

Let me introduce you to ...

Oh. My. Arteries!

Sorry about the really huge picture of the raclette but I think it's the only way that I can express how extremely tasty this simple dish is!

Never has a bunch of grilled potatos, gherkins, melted cheese (scraped off a huge block of cheese) with freshly ground peper and sea salt tasted sooooo gooooood.

If we find more tasty food at the markets, we'd have to forgo something else to make room for it ... Or maybe we could wake up earlier and eat slowly throughout the entire day? Hmm ...

**Snow!**

The first snow arrived early this morning! Naturally, we weren't awake to see it happenning ... and the inch of snow had mostly melted by the time we stepped out of the apartment. We did see cars covered with snow tho ... FUN!

The usual layer of clothing that I wear (Bonds skivvies that I had since high school, t-shirt, jumper, woolen coat, leg warmers) seemed to suffice ... *just*.

Incognito @ Jazz Cafe

I couldn't believe my eyes as I was randomly flipping through the events section of the newspaper ... and noticed that Incognito was playing at the Jazz Cafe in Camden (a mere 10 min or so walk from home)! I thought Incognito had disbanded! :B

So we wandered over to the Jazz Cafe ... and purchased two tickets from the box office at GBP25 each.

It was a chilly Monday night ... and we were one of the few early birds who'd arrived (there were folks there already, but they'd paid for dinner and show).

We bought a beer/cider to share (tasted horrid, too sweet!) and waited ...

Then the lights dimmed and the band descended upon the stage ...

Suddenly, I was transported back more than 15 years, back to my days in high school where Annums and I used to listen to Incognito and the Brand New Heavies day in and out ...

As usual, time passes too quickly when you're having fun ... the concert was over too soon (and I must've been having too much fun in the past 15 years!)

 

Steam boat night(s)

We made it to the Borough Markets with just enough time to buy some fresh salmon fillets (with skin), a bag of fresh small mussels ...

We noticed a long queue for Chorizo sandwiches, so we decided to join it. Half an hour later, we confirmed our assumption that if the queues are long, there must be something good at the end of it! :) The chargrilled chorizo rolls from Brindisa were FANTASTIC. Must go again next week!

There's a picture and better descriptions of this heavenly sausage sandwich here ...

Later that night, we made steamboat with the fresh seafood we bought ...

There were still plenty of food leftover for another steamboat the next night!

I made a roast!

A pork roast, to be exact.

Took about two hours in the oven -- but alas, the skin wasn't crackly enough. Maybe it was because I washed it ... and didn't bother drying it before putting it in the oven! Also, didn't have any sharp skewers to stab the skin with -- maybe next time!

We could only eat half of it ... it was just too much protein for one meal!

I made a apple and rhubarb crumble!

... from scratch!

I had to eat this for the whole week ...

First day back at work ... :(

We seem to be the only ones back at work. According to The Guardian, other people have taken two weeks off over the Christmas period . Also, the first Monday of February is the most popular day for a 'sickie' .

The 1+ week break we had was great! It was such a luxury to be able to bum around at home. I've even managed to update my blog with my entry on our travels to Hong Kong !

Happy New Year!

Went to Parliament Hill at Hampstead Heath to watch the fireworks at midnight. We got a really good view of the whole city from there. Didn't realise London was so flat!

As usual, my photos of the fireworks sucked, so I have nothing to post :B

We intended on waking up early to catch the start of the London Parade at 12:00pm ... Alas, we didn't get to Regent Street until about 1:30pm ...

I don't know if we missed anything exciting ... all we saw were marching bands, a few bored beauty queens on floats, and some clowns.

You can view the official media photos here

I got Muffin to take some photos, coz I wasn't tall enough to see past the top of people's heads ...