DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Columbia Road Flower Market

A ten-minute walk from Bricklane will take you to the Columbia Road Flower Market which opens on Sundays from 8am–2pm. But it's actually OK if you are there at 2pm...in fact it's better 'cos the flowers and potted plants are being sold at a discount as the stall owners prepare to pack up.

I think it's more of the locals who patronise the market. The market isn't that centrally located and it's unlikely that tourists would want to make their way here just to see this little lane when they are too busy going to London Bridge, Westminister, Trafalgar Square etc.

And while you're pushing your way through the crowd along Columbia Road, look out for a cafe called Treacle for its very lovely cupcakes or "fairy cakes" as they are called on the their website. I like the big cupcakes (above) better compared to the tiny ones (below). Tiny ones only tease but don't satisfy!

Cupcakes must really be becoming the next big thing. Check out this article in the New York Times.

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But if you don't want something as fancy as the Treacle, pop into The Flea-Pit, a rather run-down cafe, but full of character and retro-looking furniture and crockery. It is a good place to rest your legs as it's casual and relaxed and has a great sense of fun about it.

After looking at the flowers, we went to have Vietnamese food at an eatery called Song Que. I didn't eat as I had a lot to eat at lunch but the food that my friends ordered looked really good. But I had a beverage I really miss – soy bean milk! The food's also cheap, by London's standards anyway. After eating we headed to the art studios along Cremer Street, Shoreditch, where some of the artists had opened their studios for an open house to the public. At one studio, visitors were allowed to paint on a palate which has seen better years. Nonetheless, it was fun and the orange face you see was drawn by the very talented Keith. The rest of us just scrawled colour.

One thing I really like about London is that there is so much creativity around. It seems to seep and vibrate from every pore of the city. The fashion and shopping's great and you can just about find any type of clothes you like. The markets and bazaars are filled with budding designers who peddle their uniquely designed clothes and fashion accessories. Design and lifestyle shops are filled with creatively designed homeware like lights, cushions, crockery, furniture etc.

For musical and theatre buffs, London is like the Mecca of theatre. I must admit I've been really bad about doing my pilgrimage to the theatres even though I'm currently staying right smack in the heart of the theatre district. I've yet to watch a musical. But hey, I need to put food in my stomach first and a roof over my head before I can think of paying homage to the theatre gods more regularly. I think they'll be understanding and merciful. But I did catch Shakespeare's A Mid-Summer's Night Dream at the Open-Air Theatre at Regent's Park on Thursday Night. More about that in another post.