Kylie makes Vietnamese rolls~

The ingredients:

The rolls~

They are so good and so healthy... I must have eaten half a dozen of them...

 

A tiny bitesize one... Ohhh I'm so full...

LSO St Luke's

An old church converted into a studio for smaller scale performances and talks. I went to LSO St Luke's for a free piano masterclass. A sweet little place with a small garden... I learnt so much in the masterclass. I would probably have to pay hundreds back in Singapore to hear/watch something of this standard.


How to get there: Ten minutes walk from Old Street station. Look out for the tall clock tower in the first picture above.

Love UK

On the rail back home from Waterloo, the anouncement from the train conductor went "It has come to our notice that there has been a rise of beggars in our trains. We do not want them here. Please DO NOT give them money... I repeat.. There has been a rise of beggars in our trains. We do not want them here. Please DO NOT give them money... And... YOU ALL HAVE TICKETS, HAVEN'T YOU?"

Some people in the cabin gave a resounding "YES" while the rest probably answered in their heads. Many laughed. (imagine if everyone in the whole train went "YES~")

A minute later, "I am walking down the train now... Ooohhh, some of you look soooo scared..."

When he came into our cabin... "All happy and smiling, cant wait to get home~ I wish I can too..."

And the next moment, the guy sitting behind me stuck his head out and vomitted right beside my face."

Welcome to London~

You haven't been to London till you have watched a LSO concert...

I went to watch the rehearsal and concert by London Symphony Orchestra today. I was completely blown off. I watched numerous concerts by the SSO and thought they were really really good. But, LSO is top-notch.

On top of that, they have a really interesting resident conductor, Valery Gergiev. Watching him conduct is like putting the music onto a canvas. He transferred so much information with just two arms. I am ashamed to say, but I have to admit, it took me quite a long time during the rehearsal to figure out what he was trying to convey in each micro-action.

However, once I got it, I felt like I am part of the orchestra. It's a really strange feeling. 

I enjoyed myself a lot and I can go on all day with the descriptions, but it is time for some photos~

Barbican centre



I couldn't help but take a photo of the toilet. Each cubicle has its own sink, mirror and paper towels. Turn the tap on and off with a sensor. I must say this is way smarter than Esplanade's hand sensor tap. I am not biased. Plain truth.

How to get there: Barbican Station followed by 5 mins walk

Stupid Circle Line~ I was almost late for the concert because of it. I boarded the train thinking that I will be early but I was so wrong. It kept stopping in between stations and we were told that there was a "jam".

"We should be moving off in a few minutes. There is a Metropolitan line in front of us and we are currently second in the queue." I thought I only hear this when I am in a plane, not in a tube. Ok, I should stop complaining and just get used to it.

When I got off the tube, I ran and ran. My heart was beating so hard, it hurts. Bad idea to run in the freezing cold, especially when the concert started late, which is shocking. All along I thought concerts in London start on time. Oh well...

A long eventful day...

Dinner with the Middle Millers~

Good friends, Good food...

Yum Yum Yum... Broccoli, garlic and cheese Nachos...



 

Wrap-it-yourself chicken burritos... So delicious...

Million thanks to head chef, Margaret~ Marvellous recipe...

Ikea Wembley - Home away from home

I decided to check out Ikea Wembley to try to relive the memories in Ikea Tampines back in Singapore. Apparently, I have a very interesting boyfriend who is totally crazy about Ikea. Not surprisingly, Ikea Tampines became our frequent dating venue. (Think meatballs.)

Well, I cant say it is the most romantic place on earth, but yet it is the simplest things we did in Ikea that I always remember. (Think getting a real cheap deal on the last set of double bed frame.)

Ikea makes you feel so at home because the layout is always the same, no matter where you are. You take an escalator into the showrooms, walk through the different sections, take the stairs down to pick up your items, check-out, then Ikea HotDog buns... So familiar, it is as if you are at home.

Ikea Wembley is very very big. So big that there is a banner saying 'Entrance' just in case you were wondering where the entrance is. It has a huge open-air carpark and another huge multi-storey carpark. But, as usual, one can always take the free Ikea bus. Familiar again?

How to get there: Take the free Ikea Shuttle Bus from Stonebridge Park Station.

London underground - you need it, yet you hate it...

It's old, it lacks ventilation, it's cramped. Worse yet, engineering works take place every weekend...

Yet it's an absolute necessity.

There you have it, the London underground...

One thing to remember when boarding a very packed tube. Watch out for your head. Looking at the way the doors are cleverly designed, having your body inside the tube, doesnt necessarily mean your head is in...

That said, the newer Overground trains are rather impressive. (think Singapore, Japan, Taiwan trains...)

Satori once more

Happy Birthday in advance to Eve~ Not-spicy-at-all Spicy Ramen at Satori Bentalls, Kingston

Saga's dinner

Saga invited me over to eat her curry chilli chicken (I don't know how else I should call it). Well, technically speaking, I just appeared in her kitchen, expecting hot chocolate, but ended up eating this delicious meal, so-called dinner, at midnight...

It was so good, I was tempted to finish the last mouthful. But she said it was supposed to last one week...

Thanks babe, for the meal... Looking forward to more yummy food from you.. (:

Tower of London

 As promised, I present to you, Tower of London~

How to get there: Tower Hill underground station

Tower of London should actually be called Towers of London because there are actually many towers inside.

I would presume the highlight for every visitor would be the crown jewels inside the tower on the left (above). I don't know if I had too high expectations, but I was rather disappointed. I was expecting a sea of jewels blinding my eyes. It didn't seem to be the case. We followed round and round watching videos, reading information, looking at swords. It was only towards the end that we finally saw some jewels. Of course, they were marvellous. But too few to feel the 'shiok-ness' or satisfaction, in proper English.

To represent of the pillows which cushioned the falling heads after the sword swifts down...

The toilet - a hole with a slope beneath sending ur waste sliding down and maybe landing on the ground with a loud 'thud' (or 'squish'?) ok, I am getting too explicit. But please don't relieve yourself there; it is really just for show.



 

The armour really does protect important parts as well. Ok, I shan't be describing too much again.

If you have the time and money, I do highly recommend a trip to Tower of London~

More photos on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=560796&id=882325547&l=a266a5f8c6

Surprise~

Just when I thought life couldn't get any tougher, Kylie knocked on my door with a tiny orange and white egg...

I thought Kinder Surprise was out-of-stock. I was looking for it high and low when I was back in Singapore.

Anyway, Yay~ I now own a monkey which flings a cyan banana skin... and Kylie has the same toy but with an orange banana instead.

Good exercise trying to pick up the banana skin after flinging it around. And yummy chocolate~~

Thank you Kylie... (:

Happy Birthday Kylie~

Celebrate Kylie's birthday the Chinese way! Eat!

The soup was really yummy!

Green pak choy, cabbage, naruto, tofu, beansprouts, mushrooms

Pork

Udon!

Birthday girl!

Mushroom! Part of one pathetic mushroom...

Tucking in!

All stuffed up! She is so cute in this photo. I just can't stop laughing!

Friends forever~

Time for ice cream! Eat it off the tub!

Yums! It can't get any better than this!

Thanks Kylie for the wonderful night!

The wan-ton song

Wan-ton hot, Wan-ton cold...

Wan-ton in the pot, nine days old...

Some like it boiled...

Some like it fried...

...Some like it in the pot, nine days old...

(adapted from Pease Pudding Hot)

Cheesy, but it was my student Theerun's favourite song... I miss all my students... Everyone of you~

And yes, I handmade and cooked the delicious wan-tons...

Victoria and Albert Museum and a whole lot of fun~

How to get there: South Kensington Underground, turn right upon exit and follow the signs in the subway

I went there to visit the exhibition on Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the ballet russes. Entrance to the museum is free, but I believe it costs 6pounds to get into the exhibition. I went there with my school, so it was free.

I found the exhibition really interesting as it really sets the context of the music at that time (eg: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring) and how the other art forms (dance, art, design) were all integrated together. Most importantly, it was a topic I didn't explore before. Now, the exhibition seems to ignite an interest to read up more in this area.

After the exhibition, I went to Leicester Square. It's my fourth time to Chinatown and guess what, I still did not manage to find See Woo. But I insist that I should know and memorise the route. And so I did. I bought 5kg of rice. I am so proud of myself to carry it plus loads of other things back home.

Meanwhile, I passed by a funfair.

Look at all those gigantic bears~ How I wish some guy will win one for me... (:

Me to You bears~ So so so so tempted to get one...


So tired from all that heavy groceries, but it was definitely an enriching day in 'Enrichment Week'.