Hungry In London

I’ve been going to London so long I’ve stopped counting. Nowadays, I go for one special reason, London’s a smorgasbord of pleasures.   Pubs and Plays, just to name two.  But, between pints and the theater, I cram in museums, bookstores, shopping, and an upscale bar or two.  Man cannot live by beer alone, although goodness knows I’ve tried, so I seek out some wonderful restaurants.  Wonderful, I said, not top hat and evening gown elegant, or pricy enough to melt your plastic.

There’s a fabulous array of restaurants, ethnic and otherwise, spread throughout this magnificent city.  A couple of decades ago, I would have been among the culinary mourners.  English food?  Blah and bland.  These days, the choices make me drool, while my heart beats like a snare drum.

Indian cuisine has always been in Soho, but now those fragrant flavors flow into every artery of the city.  In Kensington I found one of the best, Light of India, a permanent stop of mine.

 

A lovely Indian appetizer with fragrant sauces

At Light of India, even the table settings are sooooo tasteful!

Rogan Josh at the Light of India

Then there’s Chinatown!  Right behind Leicester Square.  Several blocks of Chinese restaurants race you from one end of China to the other, from steaming dim sum, to the sweet and sour Cantonese, to Beijing duck, and taste bud punishing, spices from Sichuan Province. Don’t know which one to choose?  Try Leang’s Legend and sample it all!

Leang's Sweet and Sour Pork

By the way, anyone enlighten you about the eight major regions of Chinese cuisine?  Aren’t you glad I asked!

My favorite fast food is doner kabab, a Turkish dish of shaved meats, which the Greeks call Gyro.  On the corner of Leicester Square, there’s a fabulous doner spot, Fiori.  Turkish?  Yeah, kinda.  Fiori also serves pizza and all the waitresses are drop dead gorgeous and from eastern Europe, but the food is as authentically fragrant and tasty as any I had in Ankara.

There’s also Japanese, Peruvian, Vietnamese, and dozens of others.  And don’t neglect the gastro pubs that serve everything from Thai to aged steaks.

If you’re as addicted as I am to Japanese ramin, then Kanada-Ya is your kind of place.  Steaming noodles in wonderfully filling miso broth is perfect for a London lunch on a chilly day.  Located in several parts of the city.  Expect to wait in line.  Yep, it’s that good!

Ramin at Kanada-Ya

And if you want the best of gastro pubs, try The Churchill Arms in Notting Hill for Thai, The Queens Arms in Kensington for pub food with a French flair and The Porcupine near Leicester Square, for pure English pub fare fit for a king.

Roast Chicken with Yorkshire Pudding at The Porcupine

http://stroudallover.blogspot.it/2013/11/the-queens-arms-quintessential-gastro.html

Can’t make up your mind and want a taste of everything?  Try the wonderfully expansive Boroughs Market (Closed Sundays).  Don’t you dare miss this one!

And, let's not forget breakfast at my favorite spot, Café Forum!

The Full English

If you go hungry in London, have yourself checked for tapeworms and scold yourself for your lack of imagination!

The National Portrait Gallery London - More Than A Museum

Leicester (pronounced Lester) Square:  the heart of cultural London

The National Portrait Gallery just steps away from Leicester

                                                   The National Portrait Gallery – London

You might call Leicester Square the epicenter of cultural London.  Sure, there are bunches more museums scattered throughout the city, but even the world famous British Museum is within walking distance, although I’d probably take the tube.

Discount ticket offices are right in the square and theaters are scattered on every side. Even Covent Garden is almost as close from Leicester tube as it is from the Covent Garden tube.  Trafalgar Square is right down the street, as is the world famous church, St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Admiral Lord Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square - Just down the street from Leicester Square

But, let’s get back to museums:  The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The Transport Museum, The British Optical Association Museum, and even The Cartoon Museum.  The list goes on for pages

Sorry folks.  Ya just can’t do ‘em all in one afternoon, or one lifetime.  Gotta pick and choose.  This time I chose The National Portrait Gallery.  Why?  Never been there, but I knew I’d be impressed and inspired.  There’s so much more to a museum experience than just staring at pictures.

To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, when asked what he did for inspiration, the great writer said, ‘I go look at a few canvases.’ I know what he meant.  There’s a commonality in all forms of art.  Art connects us as humans, whether it’s ballet, pottery, or cake decorating.

So, off I trotted to The N.P.G. to reconnect.  What I found amazed me, as art museums often do.  Did you know that Bob Dylan does portraits?  I didn’t.  Impressive.  How about a high tech portrait that changes colors?

portrait of zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-born architect of the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre, by Michael Craig-Martin

And how about the spacing, lighting, color, and display of art works?  Fascinating. Comes in handy when you decorate your home.  Clutter annoys us.  Space, indirect light, and temperate colors soothe.

Bob Dylan's black and white portraits.  Note the contrasting neutral walls and ceiling and the indirect lighting.

More space and shadows and indirect light.

Art is also a study in history and I don’t necessarily mean ‘art history.’  Portraits reflect, not only famous faces, but dress, hair styles, that offer a glimpse into the soul.  Stern and domineering, or friendly and approachable?  A portrait piques my curiosity.  Makes me want to know more about people, their lives, and times.  The labels beside the paintings offer tidbits of information.  Slowly, the pieces start to mean something.  I find myself pondering and grabbing books.

Mary Queen of Scots by Nicholas Hilliard

William Shakespheare, attributed to John Taylor, circa 1600

Early English Kings

Sir Winston Churchill 1916, when he was 42 years old, by Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen

Even if you don’t particularly care for art in general, or portraits in particular, take a break from pubbing and the theater to give The National Portrait Gallery an hour of your time.  Hey, you’re in Leicester Square, the London home to all things cultural!

Room to sit, time to ponder and read.

But, enough is enough.  Time to pull another pint.