Bengal Cuisine

I've lived next to Brick Lane now for about 8 months and I love it, everything is just so close, and there's always good food. Brick Lane is known for Indian and Bengali cuisine. I've only ever eaten at two restaurants on Brick Lane, Cinnamon, and Bengal Cuisine. Bengal Cuisine also does take away, and you can order their food online, and by now the staff there recognizes me and my friend Daniella. Its really funny, they call us the "American girls". 

Anyway, for dinner out, with a nice clean white table cloth and very pleasant staff its worth the price. Unfortunately Brick Lane restaurants have the tendency to charge you for every tiny thing you get. You're charged 50 pence for Papadums and 50 pence for the assorted sauce tray that comes with them. But the main dishes are about 7 pounds each, so it makes up for the mini extra costs. You can also ask for free tap water.

The food is brought out to you on a little rolling table, like the ones you see in movies when they bring you room service. They always remember who ordered what, and they place everything close enough to you, but also giving you a large plate to mix all the food on. I really like this because it makes everyone try each other's food, and its a good way to try new things without having to eat a whole dish of something you might not like. Also, they always always figure out some discount to do which I think is really generous of them. If you order food to go they give you a free wine bottle, its really cute. 

Here's their website: http://www.bengalcuisine.net/

Amathus

On the 5th of May before going to Islington we stopped in Soho for a tequila tasting at Amathus. Amathus is a wine shop with several small stores around London, at their Soho store they have enough space to set up a bunch of tables in the middle/back of the shop. On the biggest table at the rear of the shop there were a few employees making margheritas in tiny little shot glasses. They later handed out these glasses to everyone in the store, if you weren't holding anything they gave you one. 

There was also a woman that makes her own queso, which in her case is a specific type of cheese, a younger version of queso manchego. It was really refreshing and taste-y, a really good contrast to the alcohol. She also had a chili spread if you wanted to add more flavour to the cheese. 

The smallest table, closest to the entrance was serving tequila. There are 3 main different types of tequila. White tequila, which is the youngest just taken from the plant, reposado tequila which is slightly aged tequila (reposado means rested) and anejo tequila which is the most aged and darkest tequila. Out of all these tequilas I liked the white one the best because its got the freshest and lightest taste where as the darkest tequila is very similar to whiskey. 

Overall, I really like the musical atmosphere because they had a mariachi band playing and everyone was incredibly happy and friendly. I was really tempted to buy one of their t-shirts that said "tequila is never enough" but they didn't have any left in my size. Maybe I'll have better luck next year. 

Here's their website: http://www.amathusdrinks.com/

All Star (Bowling)

I recently went to the All Star bowling alley on Brick Lane. You have to push through a really heavy door and walk through a restaurant but when you get to the bowling area its really nice. You can tell everyone is having fun the second you walk through the door. 

The inside of the bowling alley is styled very old school American, and everything seems out of a movie. The metal bar that collects the bowling pins says "eat, drink, bowl" on it. And there are several other cute details. Their drink menu is very elaborate, so you can spend half an hour just choosing your drink. 

My friend Emily was the best in our round, but everyone had at least one round where we didn't get any pins down. The bowling balls are all really heavy, so if you don't remember how hard bowling was when you were a kid you're in for a surprise. 

One other thing I love about bowling is that everyone is wearing the weird bowling shoes, therefore you all have a sort of sense of belonging with your group of friends. It costs 8.95 per person to play one game, and I recommend you reserve before going there because there aren't many lanes. 

This is their website: http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/

Drunken Monkey

On Tuesday, after going bowling with a couple of friends three of us decided we wanted to do something else. We've walked past this restaurant called "The Drunken Monkey" so many times, but from the outside it looks so black, and gives you a feeling of unease. However, they do have a light up sign that says "DIM SUM ALL DAY" which is very inviting for me. I've not been able to eat good Chinese food around London without going all the way to Leicester Square, so I was quite happy to find this place.

I only ordered four king prawn dumplings, which I have to say were really amazing. We asked for tap water, and they came out with a huge jug of tap water with ice and lemon, which we were really grateful for because that way we didn't have to pester the staff for a refill. The menu is written on your "table cloth" that is handed to you when you tell them that you'd like to eat. Then a waiter comes by, takes one of the table cloths and writes down what you wish to order, circling the few items. The food didn't arrive all at the same time, one of my friends was done with one of her orders before everything else got brought to the table. Luckily we weren't dying of starvation because they offer prawn crackers as a free appetizer.

Sadly, I didn't really like the service, because I had also ordered beef dumplings and they didn't tell me they had run out, and some how they brought vegetarian spring rolls to our table as well. This confusion made me a bit unhappy, and therefore I had to be the bitch that asked them to take the service charge off the bill. Hopefully next time I go there it will be better. 

Here's a link to their webpage: http://www.thedrunkenmonkey.co.uk/

Albion

 If you want to go out for incredible brunch in east London go to the Albion in Shoreditch. Its an organic food shop specializing in breakfast food. You have to walk through the shop section to get to the seated brunch area.

Everything is white and beautiful with several rustic details. The edges of the tables have a cute metal trim, and you can look into the kitchen from the floor. Its nice to see the chefs cooking your eggs, and you can what other dishes they are preparing for inspiration for the next time you go there to eat.

I ate eggs and bacon on toast and orange juice. Their orange juice was the best one I've tasted so far in London. And they offer you the choice of white or brown bread for your toast, which i really liked. My friend Kristin got a museli dish and she asked for cinnamon as well and the staff didn't make a fuss about it unlike  in many other places.

You may need to wait a while before you're seated in the weekend but its worth it. Here's their webpage:http://www.albioncaff.co.uk/

Shoreditch Vintage Fair

On Saturday 27th of April in the Shoreditch Town Hall there was a vintage fair. It was really well set up, each seller had a little stand where their clothes were set up, and most of them had a rack with clothes of cheaper prices, such as a 10 pounds or 5 pounds rack. If you liked something you were able to take it downstairs to the huge bathrooms and try it on. I only bought one top, but its really cute, its jeans and polka dotted with white spots. There were mostly stands with women's wear, but there were  a few with men's wear as well as a few accessory stalls.

The hall in which the event took place was beautiful, it was an old concert hall, where the people of Shoreditch would go to see theatre productions and such. 

One thing I really enjoyed was how friendly everyone was, they were all willing to help you out, and several of the vendors gave me their cards. I'm looking forward to going by their stores sometime soon. 

The entrance charge for the fair is 2 pounds, and I didn't really mind paying those 2 pounds because they use that money to set up the next vintage fair. I think the event occurs every month on the last Saturday of the month. Here's their webpage: http://www.thevintagefair.com/

Butchery Bingo

Every Monday the Shoreditch butchery has a bingo night. There's a 2 pound entry fee if you don't book a table. I recommend you go in a group its more fun that way.

A man with a beautiful purple wig, wearing a neon green leotard and sequins platform boots hands you the bingo cards and explains how we'll be playing the game. He also lets you know that there will be swearing and sexual language throughout the games. He's very charismatic and his banter is one of the highlights of the night.

If someone on your team gets a bingo,you all scream "bingo" and someone heads over to the podium. If your numbers are all right then you win prizes and a round of shots for your table. The full game of bingo is played 3 times throughout the night, giving you 9 chances to win something.

We first won cocopops, then a mixed CD, a notebook, and finally a glee board game. In total we won 6 rounds if free shots too. It was insane.

The interior of the place is so cool and edgy, its as thought they converted a location into this tribal theme but leaving etched art in the walls too.

I can't wait to go back another Monday!

Here's the venue's website: shoreditchbutchery.co.uk

Broadway Market

In Hackney, near London Fields every Saturday there is a market called Broadway market.

You can buy clothes, food to eat on the spot and food to take home. 

There are stands with traditional French cheese, different types of organic olive oil stands, salami stands and fresh juice stands. One of the best things is that you get a sort of sense of community between you, the traders and the people in the crowd.

I have gone there two Saturdays in a row, the first time buying cheese and hams, the second time I bought a playsuit and organic olive oil. In the summer you can go to London Fields and sit in the park while enjoying your food. There are two coffee stands who make incredible freshly brewed coffee for a reasonable price unlike the chain coffee shops.

Overall I was really happy to be there, and nothing is too expensive, it's more price-y than your local Tesco but its worth it for the quality and difference in flavour. I can't wait to cook with my olive oil.

Welcome to Wonderland

On Friday the 19th of April I had a great day. I went to The Breakfast Club for lunch, then The Love Shake for a milkshake, and in the evening I went with my two friends Daniella and Kristin to paint pottery at this super cute pottery place in Hackney. 

The place is called Wonderland Ceramics and its decorated with an Alice in Wonderland theme. There are images on the walls that are from the book and the tables are painted red for the queen of hearts. The best thing about it is that there are so many different pieces that you can paint so if you don't want to paint the same boring old plate then you can paint a garden gnome or cuff links or even a cute box to keep your things.

Each item you paint costs a different price depending on its size, my plate was 11 pounds but there were a few items for cheaper around 7 pounds but also a bit more expensive pieces for about 18 pounds. I think the price is worth it cause it covers all the paint costs and the firing too, especially cause in the end you don't just leave with something practical you leave with a memory of a time in your life. Usually people bring their children to paint but one of the joys of painting is that anyone of any age can do it.

Its run by a French woman, and she glazes and fires all the pieces you paint. Last night was set up as a "late night painting" session, so we got there at 7 and painted until about 9 when the store closed. With pottery painting it takes so much longer than you think because you have to double coat everything you paint so that the colour stands out more. In about a week's time we're going to go back and pick up our pieces and see if they turned out ok. I'm really excited to go back. 

The ceramics studio's site is: wonderlandceramics.com

Lichtenstein

On Tuesday the 16th I went to the Tate modern to see Lichtenstein's work. I really enjoyed it. I played a game with myself to see where there were flaws in his patterns and designs. It was nice that they divided the rooms by the different movements in his work. 

There was a room for landscapes and another on "art about art" which had pieces done in styles similar to other artists of his time. The exhibition took about an hour and a half to walk through. Some of the rooms were too small to see the works well especially because his pieces are all extremely large, so I didn't get to feel the full power of many of the pieces. 

His style was very repetitive and after seeing a few displays the interest of the viewer was a bit lost. I think his work would be shown well integrated with other artists of his time. The exhibit costs 12.20 pounds for students and about 15 for others. I don't know yet if I want to become a Tate member or not.

Below there's a picture of me with pop art make-up on based on Roy Lichtenstein's work.

Asos, Internet Phenomenon

I've become a huge online shopper over the past few months. Its really bad for me because I've become a frequent buyer so they email me almost everyday, and I always find something I like. Generally I only order from places that have free shipping because I like only purchasing a few cheap items. My two favourite English stores are inlovewithfashion.com and asos.com , both have a variety of products and they reflect on my style.
Asos actually means "as seen on screen". I'd like to think that since their a company with only an online market that their clothes are comfortable and they are true to size. My only problem with Asos is that they run out if my size really quickly. At inlovewithfashion both the s/m and the m/l fit me so its not hard to find what I like. Overall I should probably stop shopping since I already have a lot of clothes but its my addiction.

David Bowie Is...

On Tuesday I went to the Victoria and Albert museum to see the new David Bowie exhibit. It was really interesting, the displays were somewhat interactive and some of the displays had screens that changed over time.

The exhibition was sponsored by Gucci and Sennheiser. Sennheiser supplied audio devices for each visitor, the music or audio track would change depending on where you were standing in the gallery and which display you were looking at. Some of the tracks were just David Bowie's songs whereas others has clips of him speaking at interviews.

The collaboration with Gucci allowed there to be several displays showing the clothes he wore on stage when being his different alter egos. There were clothes from each of his tours. The Alexander McQueen union jack coat and the first outfits he wore as Major Tom, and Aladdin Sane. Each of Bowie's characters showed a different part of who he was and is. My favourite segment of the exhibit was the explanation Bowie gave on why he made an album in Berlin and what Berlin meant to him. He focused on the fact that Berlin made him lose himself and find himself at the same time. Having been to Berlin before I understood what he meant, especially because of all the historical context in the city.

I really recommend you go see it. It does cost 9 pounds for students and 14 for people without a student card but its worth it. He was just such an influential person, especially in the fashion and music world, it would be a shame to miss out.