Ready for some Peri-Peri?

Nando's
324 Upper Street
Islington, London N1 2XQ (other locations available)
http://www.nandos.co.uk/

Happy birthday to me!  DJKung's cousin brought us out to Angel, a lively neighborhood with lots of gastropubs, restaurants and shops.  Nando's is her fave spot at the moment, with tasty bbq chicken and lots of zingy peri-peri sauce.  It was certainly the spot for a lot of young 'uns out with their buddies. 

DJKung studying the menu.  Basically when they call you for your table, you first place and pay for your order at the counter.  They bring your food to your table when it is ready. 

Spicy cashew nuts and marinated olives.

Workin' the grill. 

Free mince pie ...

There was a sink in the middle of the restaurant... I guess they really expect you to get down and dirty with the chickens!

Olives and some pinot grigio to start off the meal.

So the main draw here at Nando's is their barbequed chicken.  The chickens are marinated in their own spice mix and grilled fresh to order.  You can also customize your level of spice depending on the degree of heat you want.  The chicken comes out quite savory and flavorful.

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Chicken and chips, with a side of yellow rice. 

A trio of peri-peri sauces.  The peri-peri sauces are kinda like chimichurri sauce, although they are a bit heavier on the vinegar.  The hot sauce went very nicely with my sandwich.

Haloumi sandwich.  Haloumi is kinda like a firmer version of farmer's cheese.  This came with some chili jam and red cabbage.  It was ok, but it seemed that the meat items were much tastier. 

The Rake

The Rake

14a WInchester Walk

London SE1 9AG

www.utobeer.co.uk

After an hour or two spent gawking arond Borough Market, we stopped for a pint at The Rake before heading to Tate Modern. 

The Rake looked more like a little bar as opposed to your traditional English pub. Their outdoor seating abuts Borough Market, so I am sure that it gets quite busy here during the summer months.  DJKung and I were completely unfamiliar with the beers on tap, so we did a little taste test of a couple of their brews.  You gotta hand it to them, the brews we tried (mine was an IPA) were well balanced, smooth and refreshing.

The walls were autographed by some folks from various breweries.  The Rake carries a few Californian brews that we recognized. 

Yum yum yum... I wish we had time to sample a few more brews... The Rake has dozens and dozens of beers from all over.

Since we were en route to the Tate Modern, this was a cool little spot to chill out and take a break from all the sightseeing.  Cheers!

Fish and chips at Fish!

Fish!

Borough Market, London

Fish! has a proper and shiny restaurant right in Borough Market, where you can sit and savor a nice glass of wine as your fish is being prepared.  Fish! also has a take-away stand next to it that specializes in fish and chips.  Of course, we won't be having a real London holiday without this staple, so we joined the queue.

Blackboard menu.  DJKung ordered the cod. 

Scrummy yunmy fried fish.

I was taking a photo of these pretty wooden utensils, when the person behind the counter asked if we could take his picture. 

The cod we got was quite a hefty slice, superfresh and fried perfectly.  It was really yummy.  We fell into conversation with a nice lady who offered to share us her mashed peas to go with our chips.  The peas added a sweet and starchy touch. 

Fish!'s fare was a nice twist on your typical greasy newspaper-wrapped fish and chips.  Definitely have it with a generous shake of the salt and malt vinegar. mmmm-mmmm!

Breads, Beer and Bunnies at Borough Market (London)

Borough Market

8 Southwark Street

London SE1 1TL

www.boroughmarket.co.uk

Borough Market is just all sorts of awesome. As part of our excursion to the South Bank area, this was our first stop. We took a bus to London Bridge station, and from there, simply followed the crowds to Borough Market. 

There are plenty of very gorgeous pictures you can take around here. The market is partly under a bridge, amidst plenty of winding cobblestone streets.  The market is quite the destination for both locals and tourists alike for fresh produce and all sorts of goodies.   Small restraurants and wine bars dot the area too, great for hanging out.  It was simply a feast of the senses.  We highly recommend coming here on an empty stomach and eating your way through!

That curry sure looks good!

Loads of fresh fish.

I love the heavily textured leaves (kale?) against the smooth papery contours of the garlic. 

Look at those huge fluffy meringues on the left!

DJKung wanted to warm up with a bit of chai.  Unfortunately, the tea here was rather bland with very little spice.

Bread puddings and muffins.

CHEEEEESE!!! and sausage!  Londoners sure have it lucky!  There were a bunch of stalls that had soft cheeses, country cheeses, big wheels of cheese, and various French cheeses. 

Here's another shot of those fluffy meringues.  And fruit tarts too.

Fresh shucked oysters, from local sources.

Pies and pasties.

Frrresh meats here!  Since the holidays were coming about, fresh game (especially pheasant) was quite popular.

Various brews.

Look at these gorgeous mushrooms!  I liked how they had a bunch of wild mushrooms available.

Breads.

Preem Restaurant (London)

Preem Restaurant

Brick Lane, London

After enjoying the festivities at Winter Wonderland, we took a short bus ride to King's Cross station and walked towards Brick Lane.  Brick Lane is the famous row of Indian/Pakistani restaurants here in London, and reputedly serves the best of these cuisines outside India/Pakistan.  Nearby is also a weekend market that specializes in Asian food, which is also a destination in itself. 

The night we went was certainly busy, with the streets and restaurants buzzing with people.  DJKung's cousin, who was with us that night, took us to Preem.

Crispy papadums in the foreground. 

Sauces for the papads.  Clockwise from top left: sweet sauce (tamarind based?), a harsh chili sauce, a light yoghurt-based sauce, and onion slices.

Veggie samosas with salad.  The sauces went well with the samosas too.

For our mains, we ordered family-style and got a veggie curry dish, chicken biryani, lamb curry and lemon rice. 

Everything was pretty good, but I must confess to a personal bias towards the joints we have back home in NJ.  I find that the curries are richer and more flavorful back home.  Then again, it's too soon to tell, since we've only tried one restaurant out of the dozens here.  Now that Brick Lane is on our radar, it is definitely a must-revisit destination for us.

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park (London)

WInter Wonderland at Hyde Park, London

It's certainly shaping up to be a very jolly Christmas here across the pond.  Winter Wonderland is a German-style Christmas market, definitely with something for everyone.  Admission is free and there are loads of sights to take in.  

At the foreground of this picture were a number of stalls selling Christmas decorations and crafts.  Not pictured, but slightly beyond the entrance was a mechanical singing moose and artificial snow flakes by Santa's workshop.  It was a very festive atmosphere, with couples, groups and families milling about and enjoying the sights.

DJKung getting a couple of cups of mulled (spiced) wine, which they make in the large copper kettles in the background.  Seriously, this stuff is quite potent and heats up your innards so quickly.  They serve them in these clay cups, which you redeem later on for a quid each. And of course, they have German beers too.

Of course, you have your gingerbread cookies...

... games galore...

... and spooky rides too (I'm actually not sure what the connection these scary rides with the holidays).  This is a pirate-themed ride. To tell you the truth, hardly anyone was seen going into these rides at the time.

Steroid pretzels (they look yummy, don't they!)

This is the typical offering for one of the concessions.  Sausage, sausage, and sausage.

DJKung tried one of the brats.  "No," he said, "not quite a Nathan's or a Hebrew National... it's rather gamy, but in a good way."

Fried potatoes in a giant skillet.

Cakes and pastries.

Taking a break. I think the doggie wanted a wurst too.

The British Museum (London)

The British Museum

Great Russel Street

London WC1B 3DG

The British Museum.  Yup, the name says it all...what's special about this museum is that it epitomizes the whole British esthetic --- the fads and trends, the eccentricities and oddities, the ideals and aspirations  of the past couple hundred years or so.  So you get gorgeous examples of artifacts (they have the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone), but also some weird stuff like stuffed mermaids and a creepy number of Egyptian mummies.

Tiles with stag and doggies, France, 1200-1300.

Seriously, this museum is massive and you'd need a few visits to take it all in.  It's in a very gorgeous, old space.  We had a whirlwind two-hour tour and it of the little we saw, it was a lot to take in.  Donations, of course, are welcome here.  This is on our must-revisit places next time we go back.

View of the Great Court from the second floor.