London eleven and twelve was boring. I did absolutely nothing other than sleep, eat and shop. We made it to Regent Street again but it was absolutely pouring on our last day in London so.. no fun. We spent most of the time looking for Primark because my cousin had wanted to go, but ended up hiding out in Banana Republic while waiting for my Uncle to finish toy shopping at Hamleys.
But Sunday was MUCH better, we made it to our Duck and Waffle reservation bright and early on Sunday and bellies stuffed and hearts content, made the drive over to Coventry! The undisputed best part of the whole trip. Why?
Best Chinese food in the world.
One of our relatives own a slew of restaurants all across Coventry and they practically have the monopoly on Chinese food because it's just so crazy delicious. One of their new projects is called Chi Bar, which is located right in the heart of Coventry. It's a quaint and modern take out/eat in place a la Green Tray for those of you who are from Kingston.
They make everything from Okonomiyaki to Dan-Dan Noodles and my favorite; Matcha bubbletea. If you happen to cruise by Coventry and are craving a Chinese/Japanese fix, you need to try this place. Facebook page is here. The reviews don't lie, I still dream about their dan dan noodle.
naomi.
By
Naomi
September 10, 2013
europe,
reviews,
travel
Everyone is probably getting really tired of all these vacation posts, I know, and it seems kind of pointless to still be blogging about something that happened two weeks ago but I want to finish what I started and continue on. And also so I can look back 10 years from now and remember how my trip went exactly since I have crazy short term memory.
When I said we planned this trip with the intention of it being a "live like the local" vacation rather than a "tourist spot" vacation, I meant it. We didn't go to the Big Ben, up the Tower Bridge, admire the view from the Shard, patiently wait at Buckingham Palace for a glimpse of the Queen, or even go to Harrods for afternoon tea. Nothing, nada.
I feel like I missed out a bit since.. how could you go to London without going to the Tower Bridge..So we cheated and hopped on a river cruise just so we could get a glimpse of everything in one go.
We bought a "red rover" pass which allowed us to ride the river cruise as many times as we would like! We ended up only using it twice, but we went up the River Thames and back.
But the river cruise was just a side-benefit, our main goal was to go Greenwich, just lie there on top of the hill and watch the clouds past us by.
It was the last stop of the route, so we all hopped off and eagerly ran to the National Maritime Museum, which I like to pass by on the way to the hills.
Trying to stick with our "live like a local" plan (which only half succeeded), we resisted the temptation and skipped the Royal Observatory.
There's something so peaceful and calm about Greenwich. I absolutely love being there mainly because the view at the top of the hill overlooking all of London gives you this sense of calm that is difficult to describe.
We didn't stay in Greenwich for long since it started to rain and it's no fun lying on the hill in the middle of a thunderstorm, so we beelined it over to the Borough Market for some much anticipated grilled cheese from Kappacasein.
And a paella to share.. washed down with Gingerbeer and Yoga Bunny Detox from Pret a Manger.
Yoga Bunny Detox is a fabulous name for a drink by the way.
And to follow, a proper meal at this italian restaurant tucked behind a store on Regent Street.
It's actually a whole street of fancy restaurants and bars, where people come to out to social and mingle, with ear-drum smashing music and sparkling lights. It definitely wasn't a family-friendly. Think Bond Street x Times Square x Mongkok
We took a little stroll after dinner to burn off (some) calories since we had a dessert and drinks reservation at midnight. Ended up in a Starbucks shop surfing the internet because you can never really escape Starbucks when you're looking to kill time.
Thoughts of canceling our reservation ran through our mind, but we eventually toughed it out till midnight and made it to our destination on time.
It's located on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower and everyone who goes is dressed to the nines. Perfectly fitted dresses and suits, freshly blown out hair and the shiniest shoes. You have to pass the greeter before you get to enter the elevator which whisks you up all the way to the top.
Thankfully we made reservations ahead of time and she had our names on a little clipboard and allowed us to enter. We felt a little out of place since we were still in the clothes we spent the day in, aka typical tourist wear. But that wasn't going to stop us.
The elevator ride was smooth and quick. A little part of me wanted to stay on and go again, but I'm pretty sure they have security watching the cameras for people who think like me.
Sushi Samba is located just one floor down and we thought about going too, but it gave off a bar-vibe and we just wanted a simple and calm family dessert night.
The dishes here were all made to share and they had a wider selection of actual food items than desserts, so we ordered about 16 plates and scrapped the dessert idea. I don't have too many pictures of the food since they were rapidly demolished the moment they arrived.
Apologies for the blurry pictures, the lighting was extremely low.
Crispy BBQ pig ears, which sounds disgusting, but I assure you they are delicious.
Scottish Scallop with apple, black truffle and lime.
Yellowfin Tuna with watermelon, basil and balsamic
Rosemary and Garlic Bread
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Fois Gras All Day Breakfast
Roasted Octopus
And of course, how can a restaurant that calls themselves Duck and Waffle not serve Duck and Waffle.
It comes with a crispy soft waffle, a perfectly cooked duck leg, topped with an egg which you're supposed to mix together and dip in this mindblowingly amazing maple syrup/mustard concoction. It sounds like a messy time but if there is only one thing you have from here it is this; and the Fois Gras all day breakfast. And to give you perspective on how good these two plates were, I don't even like fois gras and thought that the idea of duck and waffle sounded revolting and unappetizing.
At least until I tried it.
We liked it so much we even made reservations for Sunday brunch on the way out.
If there's one place you need to go in England, it's here. Absolutely delicious food, and a breathtaking view of London. An amazing way to end the night.
naomi