This week in my world…
… I discovered what happens when your popcorn bag doesn’t blow a little vent hole in the end…
Morning light.
Reintroducing myself to a couple of old friends.
I followed the recipe on the package. The recipe was shit. Luckily, the interwebs had a decent fix for it!
Sweet potato hash, frico egg. My favorite breakfast.
Pointe shoes, flat shoes.
I can never say no to banh bèo.
Also, nem nuong. Yum.
Mooncake! This week, with an egg. Son’s favorite.
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After breakfast at The Table Cafe, we wandered to the nearby Borough Market.
We found a cool wall.
And just when we thought we were lost on this dreary, drizzly morning…
Hello there, Borough Market.
We arrived around 10am, early enough that there were no crowds, and many of the vendors were just barely setting up shop.
Quaintest field trip ever?
All my life, I had wondered what Turkish delight tastes like. (Thank you, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.) In the US, it’s not exactly a common dessert – in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it here. So of course, without one moment of hesitation, when I saw an entire Turkish delight shop at Borough Market, I had to buy some.
From there, we continued to wander throughout the market.
Practically every medieval-era fantasy book out there has an instance where the hero or heroine stops to grab a hot meat pie from a vendor, on their way to somewhere important.
(It should come as no surprise that much of my worldly knowledge comes from being a voracious fantasy reader. 😀 )
And again, this is another one of those things that you just don’t really see all that often in the US. I had certainly never tried one before.
On a cold, dreary, rainy day… a piping hot bison pie really hits the spot.
After wandering through the entire indoor section of Borough Market…
We went out the back, and discovered there’s an outdoor section to the market too!
Egg tarts – possibly Son’s biggest weakness.
(Hey, look… more pies! Of course I had to go check it out.)
“Hold on, I gotta check the map… how do we get back?”
We took the Northern line from London Bridge station to Bank station; then the District line to South Kensington, and walked back to the hotel.
Immediately upon our return to the hotel… we got into the goodies.
Our first time trying Turkish delight certainly was delightful.
(Clockwise from top: fig and walnut, carrot, pistachio, and rose-flavored Turkish delights.)
The pastéis de nata (egg tarts) from Borough Market were absolutely divine.
We regretted not getting two!
By then, our jet-lagged selves were completely tuckered out. Several hours of sweet, Turkish delight-flavored dreams ensued… and then we were off to more adventures in London!
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This week in my world…
It’s mooncake season!!! … and this year, we splurged on the good stuff. ($7+ for a mooncake? SO WORTH IT THESE ARE AMAZING.)
Lunchtime ballet.
An attempt at savory oatmeal. Not bad… but not really my thing.
We’ve become addicted to canh chua cá (Vietnamese sour fish soup), but the place we love is about an hour away. So you know what that means… time to learn how to make it ourselves! This was the first attempt… not perfect, but getting there! Guess I’ll just have to make it a few more times… (oh DARN…)
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Our first morning in London was a sharp contrast to the weather we had arrived to the aftenoon before. Dreary, chilly, and pouring rain, it was a day more suited to staying inside wrapped in a blanket with a hot drink and a good book. But we only had two days to explore London before we were off to the next city in our whirlwind trip, so off into the rain we went.
The London train system is wonderfully easy to get around. We were each able to pay £9 for an all-day ticket, and go wherever in London we liked.
For our first stop, we took the District line from South Kensington station (which is the one right next to the Ampersand Hotel) to Blackfriar station.
From there, we braved the elements and made our way across one of the many bridges… only to look across the way and realize there was a covered walking bridge that connected the station we had been in to the other side of the River Thames.
Oops.
Once we made it across the river, we wandered through an art school and a garden before finding our way to our goal.
The Table Cafe.
Son discovered this cute little cafe while searching online for places to eat (this was such a last-minute, whirlwind trip, we did minimal research beforehand).
Yes, we both look like wet dogs. We were soaked.
It was filled with young professionals grabbing breakfast with friends or coworkers before work.
Son’s typically a savory breakfast kind of person, and “The Stack” caught his eye.
Layers of bagels, beans, chorizo, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce.
His breakfast was tasty, but mine was better – the best pancake I have ever had (fried until the edges were crispy!), with perfectly-cooked bacon, and caramelized bananas.
The Table Cafe… do go visit if you’re ever in London, and definitely get the pancakes!
The Table Cafe
83 Southwark Street
London, SE1 0HX
This week in my world…
I’m rarely up early enough, but I always love catching the sunrise when I happen to be awake at the time.
Pump. Up the jam.
I’m a sucker for bánh bèo.
Every Vietnamese restaurant seems to have a different variation on hủ tiếu… and they’re all SO SO GOOD.
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