The Last Day Of 2009

On the flight home, I didn't want anything on the menu and requested for them to do a bowl of fishball noodles in soup for me. They did it nicely with kway teow and fresh vegetables. That soup stock was rather well done, I must say. Chicken stock was used, but hey, at least they didn't use instant seasoning. The dish was light on the salt. And they gave me sliced red chillies. Yummmz. Honestly, this is the one dish I think that's the best on their 'gourmet' menu. :p

There were plenty of empty seats in the plane. So I toddled down the aisle, plonked myself into one and stared out into the sky. There were stars in the black sky. I really like staring at them. On the ground, I don't get a chance to stare out into the night sky. I suppose we could have a picnic out in the open at night in the wilderness somewhere. But then, I'd need toilets at some point and be paranoid about bugs. Heh. Mid-air, there aren't these sort of distractions. Looking out into nothingness but twinkling stars is comforting somehow.

Of course as we entered into Asia, the stars receded. Dawn was breaking. So that lovely sunrise with all its brilliant colors was quite a visual feast too. Swirling clouds, magical jewel hues span the horizon as far as the cabin window allowed. Breathtaking.

I can't help but feel refreshed and inspired for the new year. It's another decade. If only I can hold on to this good feeling for a long while yet.

Oh and to you lovely people, have a wonderful 2010.

Homebound

At Heathrow Terminal 3, there is a bar that interests me very much. It's the Caviar House & Prunier Seafood Bar that's now right in front of the Chanel and Dior boutiques on either side.

When I travel, I've no interest in hanging out at airline lounges. Especially not when I'm due for a 12-hr flight. So at Heathrow T3 before my flight, I very much prefer to plonk myself at the bar and chill.

The reason for this interest- the Seafood Bar serves fantastic cubes of Norwegian salmon and importantly- the sparkling water from Speyside Glenlivet. Nicely chilled, the taste is crisp and oh-so-refreshing.

The bar sits in the middle of a bustling airport with hundreds of humans. They provide only counters and high chairs, not quite what you'd term as fine dining. But the food served is of a very good quality- if you like a cold snack, breakfast or lunch. No hot food here except for coffee. But it's oddly relaxing to tuck into the food and drinks amidst the din.

In addition to its frequently updated website, the humans manning Heathrow Airport's twitter are good. They provide the latest information on things happening at the terminals and (sometimes) Tube lines. So glad to know that our flight home isn't cancelled except for a delay in de-icing the Big Bird's wings.

The Paperbags

I'm most certainly not going to be laden with heavy items for the flight home except for those items I want. Everything else on the friends's shopping lists, books, groceries and heavy stuff have been shipped back.

Well, the content in the photo above does not consist of a bag. This particular paperbag contains clothes. I paid for them. But I didn't go out to buy it. Like I said, the wonders of an efficient concierge. I really have better things to do in London than to go shopping. I rather sit in a gallery and sketch or sit in a cafe with a book for 2 hours.

So the many Chanel and other paperbags in the room have been abandoned and their contents squashed into the suitcases. Very not glamorous. Don't care. It makes for easy travelling. Forget clothes and shoes. It's winter here, there's nothing very much to buy. Not even stilettos and certainly not Louboutins. A couple of Kurt Geiger ballet flats are about the only shoes I'm interested in. The thing is, I'm coming home with 10 new bags. W.T.F.

A trip's not complete with a nicely wrapped Chanel paperbag with its precious contents to take home huh?

Note how I utter the line with utmost sarcasm and self-mockery.

Restaurants: Tally For Dec

I've been eating only 2.5 meals a day in London. But both are such heavy heavy meals. Of course there is the tea in between. Luckily, there is all that walking and riding to compensate for the possible weight gain. Besides the quick meals (burgers!), sandwiches, tapas and dips, we've had fantabulous dinners in London. First rate chefs and kitchens, professional and excellent service, conversation and recommendations from the floor staff. Each dinner is a whole dining experience.

However, the restaurants we're fond of aren't the ones known for progressive dining. We like the ones which serve food just, properly cooked and presented. Modern European dining, so to speak. We're boring that way. I like how the portions are so perfectly balanced that I still have space for a starter and a dessert.

The one thing is, in many chic restaurants, there is a strict no-photography policy. It is understood that the restaurants' clientele are not comfortable in the presence of cameras and obvious photo-taking. The restaurants are also insistent on their creative copyrights when it comes to presentation of food. In this sort of ambience, it makes me feel uncomfortable to even bother whipping out the camera. It feels like this complete breach of etiquette and protocol.

We've been taken out to the dining rooms at the private clubs which had pretty good broth and solid food. I've intentionally avoided some of the known restaurants run by certain celebrity chefs because I didn't have a good experience last round and the friends have gave them a thumbs down as well. Some of the other exquisite restaurants we've had the pleasure to dine at (and again) are:

• Pied-à-Terre
• L'Autre Pied
• La Trompette
• The Glasshouse
• Chez Bruce
• The Gate
• The Hand & Flowers
• The Ledbury

It's such a lovely thing to dress up for dinners.

Museums & Galleries: Tally For Dec

Aside from visiting the usual suspects (Tate, National Gallery, British Museum, The Queen's Gallery, etc) which housed new exhibits, I've also made time to visit others that I didn't manage to get to in June.

• The Victoria and Albert Museum (All 3 of them)
• Horniman Museum & Gardens
• Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Pollocks Toy Museum
• The Hayward
• Transport Museum
• Guildhall Art Gallery
• Fashion and Textile Museum
• Dali Universe
• The Cartoon Museum
• The Jewish Museum
• Florence Nightingale Museum
• Serpentine Gallery
  

Quite a good count. Am very pleased.

One Last Cup Of Monmouth Coffee

I've not actually sat down at the outlet on Monmouth Street for coffee. It's always a grab and go. The booths are tiny and only seat about 12 at any one time. There's always this really long queue to sit down and have a cuppa. The average waiting time is about 25 minutes, unless you're really lucky to catch the cafe at an off-peak hour. As much time as I have in the world, I can't be bothered to wait, even if it's freaking cold outside.

But for this last cuppa, I'm determined to sit down. I will miss the flavors and aroma of Monmouth Coffee very very much. There is nothing like this in Singapore.

On this freeze-my-ass-off day, there were plenty plenty humans thronging the cafe. I wondered why. Perhaps it was because of the gloomy rain. So I waited in line for a seat and amused myself by the going-ons of coffee-making. For all that waiting, I was very tempted to order 2 cups of flat white. Sadly, I could only stomach one. Their coffee is strong!

Being Unfriendly To The Environment

These are just some of the bottles I had in the day at the cafes. Since the nights don't seem to encourage cameras, I didn't take any photos of those ordered at dinner.

But sparkling water is very very nice. Tasty water, I call it. Little trace of sodium and very very refreshing. There're so many options available in London that I'm completely spoilt for choice. When it's on the menu, I cannot resist ordering a bottle.

Please don't yell too loudly at me. :(

Paper Things

There are Paperchase, Foyles, museum shops and other bookshops that dot the city. I went crazy over the amazing selection of cards and postcards available. The taglines, the colors, design, etc. I like how cards nowadays have been left blank on the inside for us to write our own messages.

Notebooks are included in the mad shove into the shopping basket too. Not the moleskins, but rather the spiral notebooks. There're plenty of color options and selections for the really practical spiral notebooks that we use at work. Those are great perk-me-ups at the office.

Obviously I've been very deprived of pretty things.

Colorful Cakes

After passing by the colorful displays of Candy Cakes at all 3 outlets every other day, I have pop into one just to see what's the fuss all about.

There is also the Hummingbird Bakery, but it's American. Heee. So I shall veer away the same way I avoid Starbucks in London. I'm very suspicious of desserts that look really good- they usually don't taste like anything I'd imagined. Least of all, cupcakes and macarons. Not easy to get good ones.

I sat on a little stool in the store and had a slice of cake and a shake. I just wanted to get out of the cold streets and get some warmth. I don't have a sweet tooth, so ummmm.....I find them a little too sweet. Don't want to eat all that cream/icing thingy. The marshmellows are nice!

But yes, the confectionery looks really really good. If I'd gotten cakes like that for my 18th or 21st birthday party, I'd so feel like a princess.