Rain, sun and more rain!

The magnificent St Pancras Renaissance Hotel (will open in March)

I have decided to change the format and writing style of this blog, instead of writing whenever I feel like it, I will write a weekly summary of my week in town, hopefully, it's interesting enough since I don't have a 9 to 5 job (who does anyway? It's more like 8 to 8 for most people these days!).

There was so much rain last week which was quite depressing, luckily, there was one day of sunshine and I happened to be pottering about in town, so the day turned out to be quite pleasant. Of course, this fab weather didn't last and the miserable weather returned again just in time for the weekend.

Last weekend, I joined a walking group and went to Epping Forest, embarrassingly, I did not know its located beforehand, so was quite surprised by the short distance from London. Although it did not rain on the day, the ground was very muddy and we all ended up with mud allover our bottoms! However, it was still nice to be in nature and to socialise in a very different kind of setting.


Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge (built for Henry VIII in 1543)





Epping forest


Exhibitions

Gilbert and George:Urethra Postcard Art@ White Cube Gallery
I managed to see the exhibition before it ended. From a distance, the two rooms full of touristy postcards and telephone booth flyers (collected over 12 years) looked like beautiful graphic works; on closer inspection, each frame turned out to be 12 repetitive images laid out to form a rectangle with an extra one in the centre. Perhaps not as ground-breaking as their previous exhibitions but the humour and nostalgic factors were there. My post exhibition questions are: Will we still see working phone booths in 10 years' time? Or will they just end up being London's 'tourist attractions'? Or will they be reinvented to serve other functions? I guess we will have to wait and see.




Urethra Postcard Art at White Cube in Green Park

Coated: Above and below the surface of painting @ The Crypt Gallery
I have walked past this place so many times and the statues have always fascinated me but I never knew how to get into the gallery! If I have to choose the spookiest gallery in London, this will definitely be on the top of my list! I could feel the chill as I walked down the stairs, although the exhibition itself was interesting, I was more captivated by the gallery space and its ambience. To think that this was a 19th century burial ground and war shelters during the two World Wars made this gallery more unique and rather creepy...








The Crypt Gallery


Sheela Gowda: Therein & besides @ Rivington Place, Shoreditch (until 12th March)
I like this interesting buidling and gallery space in Shoreditch. Gowda's sculptures work well in this space and looks great from the outside too.



Sheela Gowda @ Rivington Place


Picasso to Julie Mehretu: Modern drawings from the British Museum collecrion/ Images and sacred texts: Buddhism across Asia @ British Musuem. The two free exhibitions are worth seeing but I ended up spending most of my time in Sir Percival David's room full of exquisite Chinese porcelain. His collection is huge and simply eye-opening, some of the work is even finer than the museum pieces that I have seen in China! I have been to the British Museum countless of times but there are always something new to discover each time, it's just an incredible place!

Chinese porcelain @ British Museum


V & A Late - Archive Live
My friend and I decided to go for tapas on a Friday evening followed by a visit to the V & A. This monthly event is always very popular, so not surprisingly, the place was packed when we arrived.
I think these late openings of museums are great, there are less kids, less tourists and has a more relaxing vibe. Besides the V & A, Barbican, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts also have regular late night events. Personally, I think it's a much better way to spend Thursday or Friday evenings than drinking in packed pubs and bars!


V & A at night


Talks

The Royal Institute of Great Britain, Mayfair
I have never even heard of this place before! I attended an evening talk at this charity institution and was really quite impressed by it. The museum in the basement is about science and is open until 9pm, there is also a cafe, a cool-looking restaurant and bar called Time and Space.



Royal Institute of Great Britain

Glug: Things to make and do @ Cargo, Shoreditch
I can't say that I am a fan of Glug, but I was interested in the talks especially knowing that Creative Review was involved. The night was a mix-bag, waiting outside in line was not cool, having to wait 1.5 hr before the talks was not cool, having to stand during the talks was really not cool but the worst part was when people fought and almost trampled on each other to grab a free poster... that was simply scary! However, the talks were pretty interesting and the free food/ drink voucher was a nice touch, though the chaos and bad organization did put me off going to their events in the future.



'Scary' graffiti opposite Cargo in Shoreditch


Cafes

Ginger and white, Hampstead
Ginger and white is a small cafe in Hampstead, serving good coffees, simple meals and cakes, produce are sourced mostly from within the UK. There is a communal table, sofas and window seating, it's relaxing and the prices are not bad for the area.




Ginger and white


Drink shop & do, Kings Cross
I have wanted to come to this funky and kitsch shop/ cafe in Kings Cross for a while but never managed to do so until last week. I think the owners have done wonders to this space especially in the middle of the rather gloomy and uninspiring Kings Cross. It's bright, airy, colourful, unpretentious and chilled. The menu is quite basic but the prices are cheap and the service is friendly. There is also cocktail list, so it might be nice to come here in the evenings or attend one of their crafts workshops.






Drink shop & do

Bánh mì Bay, Holborn
This one-year old Vietnamese cafe/restaurant was surprisingly busy on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The decor here has a 'spring' feel, probably because of the soft colour scheme. Although I was tempted to try their Bánh mì, the depressing weather has made me opt for the crab bánh canh (rice flour noodles) instead. The taste of the broth was not bad but I couldn't really taste much of the crab. The Vietnamese coffee was not bad, though a bit too sweet for my liking. It's not bad for a quick lunch but I would probably go to Bea's of Bloomsbury next time if I am in the area.



Vietnamese coffee @ Banh Mi Bay


Shopping

Lamb's Conduit Street - This is a rather interesting street because it has some cool independent shops and has a village vibe to it. There are shops like Dark room (concept/ lifestyle), Folk (fashion), Kennards (deli/ grocers) and the of course, The People's Supermarket.

I shopped for first time at The People's Supermarket and I found their vegetables cheaper and fresher than the big supermarkets. Although their food selection is not huge, I did find some interesting items and surprisingly spent less than £10 for some substantial shopping! Although I am not a member, I am supportive of independent stores, so I will definitely shop here again in the future.


The People's Supermarket


Dark room - cool concept store


The 'cute' Lamb pub on Lamb's Conduit Street


Architecture in Bloomsbury

I like the Bloomsbury area in Central London partly because there are many historical architecture, squares and hidden gems. I started my walk from Kings Cross, passing Euston Square, UCL, SOAS and eventually ended up in British Museum. It was a very pleasant walk, helped by the sunshine... amazingly, even the buildings look much better when the sun is out!


UCL main building


Waterstones book shop on Gower Street


Church of Christ the King


Senate House


Victoria House


Lovely balcony


Russell Square Hotel


Other interesting sights:



The coolest bookshop I have ever seen!


Protest in town


A Mongolian yurt in the SOAS campus

Exploring East London (Broadway market)

Regent's Canal

Since Borough market has become a tourist destination in the last few years, it has put me off going there in the weekends... I was there with a friend a few weeks ago and it was so packed that I couldn't even get to the stalls! Although I visit my local farmers market weekly, I am also interested in food markets in other parts of London. In the past, I have visited Brixton market (very colourful & exotic), Ridley Road market in Dalston (amazingly cheap but a bit chaotic), Shepherd's bush market (I haven't been there recently but it's huge and great for upholstery products, it's much cheaper than John Lewis!) and Whitechapel market (cheap but they sell in bulk, so it's great if you live in the area).

Since its relaunch in 2004, Broadway market has become more and more popular, partly due to the rise of young professionals, artists and designers living in Dalston and Hackney over the past few years. Now it is officially 'THE' trendiest market in London, luckily, there is no tube station nearby, so it still hasn't been invaded by tourists yet (unlike Spitalfields market nearby)! However, it is still very busy because it only opens on Saturdays, so it's best to come early.


Market stalls

The best way to get there is by bus, or alternatively on foot or even by boat... since the market is by the Regent's Canal, it probably would be quite nice to walk along the canal from Islington in warmer weather. The market is not huge, but it's interesting enough to spend one or two hours here. There's enough street food to keep your stomache busy here, the most popular ones are the Vietnamese stall Bánhmì11 which sell pho and banh mi, the cupcake stall by Violet Cupcake, the coffee stall by Chimpson & Sons and a fresh oysters stall. But the best thing about the market is that apart from the market stalls, there are also interesting and independent shops, delis and cafes along the street. One of the most famous one is F.Cooke, a traditional pie and mash shop which has been around since the 1930s. If you want to try jellied eels, then this is the place... although I like eating Unagi/ Japanese grilled eels, I am still a bit hesitant about jellied eels, for the mean time, I think I will just go for their cherry pies!


Pie & mash at F.Cooke

Chimpson & sons is a coffee wholesaler but they also have a small cafe here. The atmosphere here is relaxed but it can get quite busy and there's usually a long wait for the coffee... However, the coffee (not latte or cappuccino) itself is good, quite strong but not acidic, definitely much better than the average cafes or chained coffee shops in London.


Chimpson & sons cafe

There are quite a few book stores here including vintage bookstores which is always quite encouraging to see. But if you like art and design, then Artwords is an interesting place to visit because it has many unusual design books and magazines here. Not far from the bookstore (off the market street) is Hub, an independent fashion store housed inside an unique looking building.


Hub

Yinka Shonibare’s space (or Guest Projects) on Andrew's Road (opp. the Canal) is an interesting gallery space exhibiting contemporary work by different artistic discipline (dance, visual arts, music). The current project is 'Physical Centre', originated from Brooklyn, New York, features emerging artists whose work include videos, photography and sculptures.

Although I keep mentioning that I don't like trendy places, I quite like the atmosphere of Broadway market (probably because there is still a 'local' feel to it), I just hope that it will not become the next Borough market... fingers crossed!