Quintessentially English

Cornish pasties. South Molton Street. Selfridges. Sunday roast. Oxford Circus. Park Lane. Covent Garden. M&S. Underground. Harrod's. Bayswater duck rice. Treacle tart. Ale pie. Camden Lock. Fish & chips. Tiffin. Caranaby Street. Tuck boxes. South Kensington. Dodgy. Hyde Park. Queensgate. Queensway. The Queen. Kingly Court. Portobello Market. Anise drops. Notting Hill. National Rail. Buttery flapjacks. Oyster card. Afternoon tea. 97. Clotted cream. Wicked. Bayswater. Waterloo. The Thames. WH Smith. Waitrose. Cheers love! Quid. Pound. Pence. Bond Street. Claridge's. Patisserie Valerie. Soho. Ladurée. Fortnum & Mason. Wagamama. Crisps. Topshop. Bangers & mash. Chips. Mews. Sainsbury's. Victoria & Albert Museum. Boots. Wotsits. London Eye. Piccadilly. NatWest. Jubilee line. Beano comics.

Words I haven't used since 2004. And they all came back to me last week in London.


Day 1:

Shopping at Selfridges, Topshop, H&M, etc.


Dinner at the wrong duck rice place...


We thought we were at Gold Mine (where the chef who used to work at Four Seasons currently is) only to discover 3 days later when we went back for seconds that we had the wrong restaurant! Regardless I had crispy duck at Queensway 4 times last week


Quintessentially girlie: masking in the hotel before our night out


With Bliss' Lighten Up mask on


I swear we don't usually do this. Swear on my shoes. ALL of them


Shortly after we left a club to celebrate a friend's bday, we made our way to Milk & Honey

...and so the night ended

Day 2:

English breakfast at a bar. No fussy mimosas or eggs benedict. Just iced cider and hearty meat dishes


Suen and her Sunday roast complete with Yorkshire pudding and mint sauce


My English breakfast. I remember the toasts and tomatoes used to be drenched in oil. This plate was fairly healthy though. Ahem


Covent Garden



Softy at Covent Garden



Paul Patisserie for macaroon research


Shoe shopping (for Suen mostly)


This was when we discovered she had lost her credit card


Colorful walls at Covent Garden. Hidden within is a lingerie store that made GBP200 on a corset that day


Suen calling about her CC



From credit card to Candy Cakes



This place was so adorable I couldn't resist getting a cake. The concept is simple. Muffins glazed with candy-like frosting at a royal icing consistency, decorated with candy. I had high expectations only to discover that it was...


...not-so-candy like. Ech. The lady at the cute lil' French store next door told me they were moist and yummy, but they just ended up being disappointingly dry and artificial. For GBP4 I could get better cakes at M&S. Still it was a cute store, so much kudos for that


Afternoon tea at Claridge's


Scones, sticky clotted cream and strawberry jam


Loved the Tiffany-like tea set and cutlery



I was horrid in these shots looking like I was (as Suen said) "scared" or terrified. So this ended up being the best shot despite how I looked like Humpty Dumpty. Shortly after was Indian food from the east eaten from boxes at the Metropolitan Hotel, while Suen worked

More to come once this jet lag passes.