oh yeah… london…

So I went to London on Sunday to see Fredrik’s band play. The show was fantastic. There were a few disappointments in my journey but for the most part, it was pretty good. May have something to do with being able to hang out with Fredrik.

I had planned to have dinner at Asakusa, a Japanese restaurant by the venue that served traditional and REAL Japanese food but they were closed on Sundays. I was actually surprised by the amount of shops closed on Sundays in London.

I ended up walking 1.2 MILES to Ikura for dinner. Their food was good but I was still disappointed because it was just a run of the mill Japanese restaurant. I was most disappointed because Ikura was a recommendation on Chow as an izakaya. I wanted izakaya food. I wanted chicken skins on a skewer and fish heads!

On the plane over to London, I made a list of things I wanted to eat while in London. The list included fish and chips, full English breakfast and fried chicken. I managed to eat it all despite my short visit (Fredrik and I flew home on Monday morning).

I got fish and chips from Crown Fish & Chips which wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but the fish was definitely fresh. Read my review at Tasty Fish & Chips.

After the show, I got some spicy fried chicken wings, chips and Ribena. Just the right kind of food for after a concert.

We had about 3 hours of waiting at Heathrow before our flight so we got breakfast at The Bridge Bar and Eating House. They apparently renovated the place since I was last there. I think I prefer the old cozy British pub atmosphere. Perhaps the next time they renovate it again, they’d name the place The Bridge Bar and Food Shack.

I got the Classic Full English Breakfast, 2 fried eggs, bacon, 1/2 tomato, mushroom and sausage. I forgot to take a picture of it before I started eating. Unfortunately it was only AFTER eating that we saw that the cafe across from the waiting hall that had baked beans in their breakfast. Perhaps that’s where I’ll get my full English breakfast next time in Heathrow.

Ever since Hong Kong, I’ve decided that I would buy food to bring on the plane. This is even more important when flying with SAS because they don’t even give complimentary nuts/pretzels and drink. I got myself a delicious Peking duck wrap from EAT. It could’ve gone without the mayo. It made me wish I had found out about it sooner. I could’ve eaten at least 4 of them while I was in London.

I’m hoping that Fredrik and I can go to London in the near future for a proper vacation. If I had a few more days to spend in England, I would’ve liked to add Jamaican food, a couple more helpings of fish and chips and Chinese food from Chinatown to my list.

mmm fish and chips

There’s a girl living in Nova Scotia that I’ve been “conversing” with on Twitter. She writes about fish and chips at Tasty Fish & Chips.

I too am a big fan of fish and chips. The proper kind. Not the breaded kind you get in many places here in Sweden. Perhaps I can go on a fish and chips tour in Stockholm to find the best fish and chips establishment. I know for sure that I’m gonna try to get myself a helping of it this Sunday in London.

Well I’m gonna start contributing to Tasty Fish & Chips. Hopefully my writing will not disappoint.

trying to find a balance

The wee break is over and Fredrik is packing to go back on tour. It’s going to be a short one and I’ll be meeting up with him in London to see the band play with dude from Apocalyptica.

I’ve found it kind of hard to do school work while Fredrik’s at home. I need to come up with a plan of sorts. Can’t spend all my time dilly dallying with Fredrik when I should be studying.

norway… full of norwegians

I met this guy who told me that Beijing was full of Chinese people when I asked him what he thought of Beijing.

So I’m home again. The flat is kinda dusty and full of dirty laundry. The plan is to do some tidying and laundry. Today and tomorrow are both blank days, I’m hoping to get some stuff accomplished around home.

Oslo was nice. The show was a bit packed. It was a sold out show.

The food in Oslo was good. Fredrik and I wanted some fish/seafood but the restaurant we were heading to was closed. We settled for the place next door. Still got fish/seafood. That was pretty nice. Think I’ll try to make the creamy mussel pasta sometime in the future.

Took the train down to Göteborg. Passed a few fjords on the way.

I got really drunk in Göteborg. Fredrik booked us into this super nice hotel. I loved the decor. He picked it ’cause he knew I’d love it.

My favourite was the wallpaper.

Show in Göteborg was pretty good too.

For some reason I find that Göteborg has more of a stylish feel than Stockholm. Perhaps I just haven’t wandered around in some of the more stylish parts of Stockholm. Or it has to do with the size of Göteborg. It’s a smaller city and things are more condensed and concentrated.

Took the train back yesterday. There was an old lady sitting across from me that kept changing her seat. At first I wondered if it was me but after the 3rd time she changed seats, I left it at her.

I should probably get the day going. Don’t want to dilly dally in front of the computer all day. Not to mention I’m at that point that I’m starting to feel like I’m covered in dust and cat hair.

oslo… city of whale and norwegians

Heading to Oslo today. Going to meet up with Fredrik. They’re playing a sold out show there tonight. That should be plenty of fun.

Oslo is one of my favourite cities. Although now when I really think about it, it’s just another city. It is rather lovely though. With the mountains and the water. It’s actually in a fjord. I thought their brightly painted houses were quite nice. I wanted to live in a brightly painted house. I used to think that Oslo was the place I’d like to move to. Now… it doesn’t matter so much.

do you speak cat?

Ull was meowing at me and I don’t speak cat. Sometimes he does that. He’s a rather vocal cat. Sometimes it’s cute. Sometimes it’s just frustrating ’cause I have no idea what he wants.

Feeling kind of strange today. Had a few bouts of grumpy and anxiety at work. I’m guessing it’s just a clashing of the autumn blues and PMS. Maybe I’ll feel better tomorrow after hanging out with Fredrik in Oslo.

Just gonna take it easy for the rest of the day with the cats.

meat in Hong Kong

This is actually a pretty common scene in a Hong Kong market. If you grew up with it, you wouldn’t think twice about buying meat from this stand. If you didn’t grow up with it, then it might be a bit scary. Especially if you consider that the man in the apron is standing on the sidewalk.

If you look through the “curtain of meat” there is a topless man. Dude is selling meat without a shirt.

Fredrik was a bit freaked out at first. Not totally ok with it but he does understand that’s how how things are in Hong Kong. But I will admit that I cannot imagine him buying meat from a stand like that in his life time.

all about the good eats

I kid you not when I say that Hong Kong has some seriously good food. Fredrik and I ate till our bellies hurt and then we ate some more. Surprisingly we didn’t gain any weight. We actually lost weight. Probably from all the walking and the heat.

currently 11:39 in Hong Kong

But we’re not in Hong Kong anymore. We’re back home amongst our kitties and the clock reads 5:40 am.

It was a great trip, despite being sick as a dog in Malaysia. Loads of pictures to upload and much to write about.

The flight home from Hong Kong was not the best for my tonsils and sinuses. I was supposed to go do a written exam when we got back but I started feeling like I was on a boat again. So I’ve postponed that.

Now we’re waiting for our leftover pizzas to get warmed up again. There is no food in the flat.

so much awesome

We’ve all heard the usual airport food complaint. It’s crap and it costs an arm and a leg. Here at the HK airport they have REAL food at regular costs. What a novel idea!!
I’m gonna keep this short ’cause I really hate blogging via the iPhone. Prefer using a real keyboard. But we’re heading to Langkawi in Malaysia. Making a stop in Singapore on the way back. Fredrik says that Singapore airlines is supposed to be the best. We’ll have to see.
I miss the kitties. We’ve been going into every pet store in the city. Got them a toy helicopter to play with from temple street. That should cheer them up.