LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Exciting Rooftop

Hello Lovely Readers and WELCOME BACK to my weekly “Hello London” blog! Last week has been a lovely week of discovering new places in and around London.

As promised this blog will contain some exciting rooftop places to visit (because it is SUMMER), a museum (sniffing some CULTURE) and lots more just for you to explore in this city. Sit back, relax and enjoy this week's list of what to do in London, especially if you got some dinner dates planned this summer.

These are the places we explored last week:

This one is quite splendid if you like sushi, Japanese cuisine and a panoramic view of the city!  (3 for 1, that is always a good deal!) It is located at the Heron Tower on the 38th and 39th floor.  I would recommend to make a reservation before you go, so you don’t have to wait in a queue.  The prices in this restaurant are elevated, so check the link to their website to see the menu and prices. The terrace here is truly amazing with their skyline of London.  Definitely worth a go. Excellent location for some great Instagram pictures and also great to impress your date, family or friends.

(Check my Instagram for the video of the elevator)

 

This is a small roof top terrace located in Angel. A great place to sit in the sun and enjoy your summer cocktails. They also have homemade burgers from the grill. (Unfortunately, I didn’t try them this time, but as a burger lover I definitely will). The view here is not so spectacular as the Sushi Samba, but there is quite a relax and intimate atmosphere at the Castle rooftop terrace.

 

This restaurant is becoming super popular in London. I knew about this via Instagram, but you will see it everywhere in town! Not super expensive (YEAH) and there are just around six simple Italian (sourdough) pizza on the menu. I tried the number 6, TOMATO, CURED ORGANIC CHORIZO (Dry & semi-dry) & MOZZARELLA. Very spicy, a bit heavy in the end, but overall a good Italian pizza. If you want to try an excellent Italian pizza you have to go to Pizza East in Shore ditch.

 

This is world’s largest museum of decorative art and design. A great museum where you can find lots of items from around the world. Definitely need a few visits to see everything. It is admission free, with that said for some exhibitions you will have to pay.  In the summer, it can be a bit warm inside. Not to worry,  they have a court yard where you can sit on the grass and enjoy the sun with some fresh drinks.

The places that I will mention down under, are places I already visit last year. Nevertheless, these are great places for dinner dates, family dinners or catching up with friends.

This place has one of the best Italian pizza in town. This place is always busy so I would recommend to make a reservation otherwise you will be placed near the pizza ovens, where it can be very hot. (you don't want to be sweaty)

They don’t serve typical Greek food, but Greek food with a twist. A bit expensive, but a nice place and area to go out to.

A great place for a nice casual dinner date with homemade burger. Love this place, the burgers are not so expensive and really DELICIOUS! Also, possible to take away. This one you will find a lot in the city.

This Lebanese canteen is very delicious if you like some hot or cold mezze, lamb from the grill, hummus and enjoy the middle eastern cuisine. A perfect spot for catching up with friends or a dinner date, because it is delicious and affordable.

This place is not super fancy, but the food is delicious and very cheap. (Not a real recommendation for a first date, but if you like the Chinese cuisine it’s a good place to eat with a friend before you go to the cinema or after you went out in the city. Of course, only if you are near Leicester square, this is a great place to just grab a bite.

  • Kimchee 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6EA

 

If you want to eat some high quality Korean food, this is the place to be. Especially the meat from the charcoal grill is delicious. Nicely decorated restaurant, so if you like Asian cuisine this is a great place to visit with your dinner date.

  • Dinerama 19 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3EJ

Great place to try some street food with friends. The only thing I didn’t like is the loud music. Makes it difficult to hear and listen to each other, other than this great place..  Great place to meet up with friends and try some street food. Drinks are a bit expensive.

So, we made it! We’re finally at the end of this week’s list. (Yoehoe!) Let me know if you tried one of these places and what you think about it in the comments below.

See you soon!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Borough Market

Hello Lovely Readers and WELCOME BACK to my weekly “Hello London” blog! (Sorry, I didn’t post a “Hello London” blog last week, due to not being in London but abroad to my hometown) This time I will show you again some must see places to visit in this beautiful city.

Last week we did enjoy the weather and we had a relaxed week (meaning less adventures) But there are still some nice things I wanted to share with you that we did on this blog!

These are the places we explored last week:

Finally, we went to this market. It was on my list for a year. Unfortunately, it was on the news this year, but a good thing is that this didn’t stop people from still going and explore the city and this market after such a huge tragedy. My heart goes to the people that were hurt on that day in anyway. ♥

Nevertheless, this is definitely a recommendation if you like fresh food or something special. You can find a lot of ingredients and food from different countries. A lot of nice things from Italy, Spain, wines & beer, fresh meat, fresh fish and many more!

We went home with some nice Italian cheeses (always a good idea), meat that I haven’t tried before (boar and kangaroo) and some MEAD, an alcoholic beverage made of fermented honey with water. The Scamorza  cheese you have to try (if you like when your cheese has a smoked taste… yummy)

And don’t miss out on the “Fresh Oysters!” bar… you probably will hear these guys from far… because they scout “Fresh Oysters” like every two minutes. (You just can’t miss them ha-ha)

Of course, the Shard  is just around the corner (what a surprise!) The Shard is still on my “go-to” list.

With this hot weather, it is really nice to go to a park in the evening and feel the summer breeze… I like the gardens here. They look like Italian gardens with beautiful flowers and fountains. A big plus; it is for FREE! And one of the nicest things to do in the summer… At least I think… is to stroll around in the park.

After the park on our way home… I saw this place and I had to try this, because I am a huge lover of spring rolls and Vietnamese food. It’s also possible to take away, so I did. It’s not so expensive, but very delicious. At least the spring rolls I had, they are called the summer rolls. Definitely going back to this place. If you like Vietnamese food, go check out this place!

 

This is a nice place to have drinks with friends. You can sit outside or in the cafe / bar. They have all kinds of drinks. I have to say the food is not so great. It is like real bar food, so a bit too fried (at least the fried stuff we ate there were over fried) But it’s all okay if you just want to eat to balance it out with the alcohol. (I know… we all do that, sometimes we need food to not feel so drunk after a few beers and cocktails)

 

If you would like to see one of the new shows on television, go get yourself a ticket to be in the audience. I have to say I tried it once, got a ticket but then I found out it was overbooked when I arrived. They would send me another ticket for the next day, but I never received it. So even if you have a ticket doesn’t mean you will get the possibility to see the show. Unless you have a priority ticket. Check the website or their Facebook page to see what shows are available to see. I would try for morning tickets because I got unlucky with my afternoon ticket. In the morning, there is more change people will not show up than in the afternoon. So that means you got more chance to actually see the show. (mmm… maybe I will try again and let you know in another blog)

This is it for now. Go explore the city. Next “Hello London” blog will be about summer rooftop places, museums and other stuff I need to explore yet.

See you soon!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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FOOD CORNER

Hello Food | Frutti di Mare (Seafood Spaghetti)

Hi Lovely Readers, this is a new week, therefor time for a new blog. Last week I haven’t been in London so this will be a blog about (also one of my favourite things) … FOOD!!!  This time I cooked a simple pasta with seafood. It was a bit improvised but surprisingly delicious.

Let’s call it “Frutti di Mare” (Seafood Spaghetti) because that is just what this is.

What you will need to make this;
  • Canned tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Garlic (big pieces)
  • Maggi (1x cube)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Oregano
  • Chili
  • Seafood (boiled)
  • Spaghetti
How to make the sauce;

Chop the onions in tiny pieces. Put them in the frying pan with olive oil. When the onions are a bit fried or caramelised then you can bring the tomatoes to the pan. The rest of the herbs you can put as you like. Let it cook so all flavours come together.

So, make the sauce first without the seafood then when everything is ready mix the sauce, spaghetti and seafood together. It will take approximately about 20 min to make. EASY, RIGHT?!

Tip;

The best is to use fresh seafood from the market. This time I made it with frozen seafood from the supermarket. But I’ve you what to impress someone… go for fresh seafood! and ofcourse some great white wine like Pinot Grigio.

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Cultural Spots

Hello Lovely Readers and WELCOME BACK to my weekly “Hello London” blog! This time I will show you some cultural spots to visit in the city and where to go for a summer party (We went to a GARDEN PARTY!).

This week I have been visiting some gallery’s and a museum that I’ve never heard before but quite enjoy visiting. (Thanks to a friend)

These are the places we explored last week:

• The White Cube, 144-152 Bermondsey St, London, Southwark

There are different exhibitions that you can visit admission free. It is a contemporary art gallery. The space in this art gallery is amazing! The exhibitions we saw were the works of Larry Bell “Smoke On The Bottom” and the works from a German artist (I think). I think in this gallery there are continuous new exhibitions to see, so check there website or just go and be surprised which exhibition you will get to see. I liked the exhibition from Larry Bell better than the other one  as you can see on the pictures below. This exhibition has already ended on the 18th  of June.

• Fashion and Textile museum, 83 Bermondsey St. London, Southwark

Here we have been seeing the exhibition; The World of Anna Sui. Showing 100 looks from the designer archive. This museum is not admission free. A ticket to this exhibition is £ 9,-. This museum is solely dedicated to showing visitors developments in contemporary fashion. What I liked about this exhibition is that in every exhibition room, you can smell the perfume of this particularly designer,  Anna Sui, sprayed all over the room.

(I am in love with this jacket and many more items i saw)

These two cultural spots are located in the Borough of Southwark. This is a nice Borough with small streets that reminds me a bit of the Netherlands. There are a lot of pubs, bars or restaurants located in this street. ( That are also looking very cute from the outside)

• Fuckoffee, 163-167 Bermondsey St. London, Southwark

A small cafe where you can have a drink, something to eat and work on your laptop if you need to. The prices are not so high in this place and they have a lot of sweets that you can choose from. Also very cosy atmosphere and super friendly staff.

• Cocoon at studio 338, 338 Boord St, London, Greenwich

In the summer they have nice garden party’s. I found this particularly event via Instagram. We went to the COCOON party last weekend and it was great. Nice relaxed atmosphere, not a big venue, wonderful sunny weather, a lot of Londoners and a great place to meet people from around the city. Find tickets via Resident Advisor. This venue is a bit outside the centre, but easy to find with the tube or bus.

See you soon with more things to explore in this amazing city.

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja