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

Contactable Again

Got my phone fixed - I brought it to one of the dodgy stores along Oxford Street run by Indian Ah Bengs which offer "Mobile Unlocking" services, mobile repair servies and sell fake mobile phone covers. I'm now £50 poorer 'cos of that expensive step I took. Broke the LCD screen. The new screen's colour resolution is not as good as my original Nokia's but oh well, at least my data and everything are still intact. But the screen costs more than what I had paid for the phone back in Singapore!

Why do such things always happen when I'm bordering on the poverty line??? Damn Murphy's Law.

Uncontactable

This morning i accidentally stepped on my phone while I had it lying on the floor while charging and it's now dead! :(((((((

Argh - i have to try and get it fixed or get a new one. But i think there's no hope of resurrecting it...it looks bad. So to all out there who might need to contact me by phone, just email me if anything. I'm going to try and get a new phone by today or tomorrow or over the weekend.

I don't know why i always get myself into such freak accidents. Argh. Feeling heartbroken and totally handicapped by the no-phone situation!!!

I Heart London Public Transport

YEAH RIGHT!

You'd never believe how arduous a journey it was to get home last night from dragonboat practice. I live in the west of London but practice is in the east in Zone 3 at the London Regatta Centre. I already think it's a trudge in itself without having it to be compounded by this:

First I have to take the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) from Royal Albert to West Ferry. At West Ferry, I alight and get another DLR train to Bank. Then I have to walk a million miles from the DLR platform to the Central line platform at Bank to take to Oxford Circus. At Oxford Circus, I change from the Central to Bakerloo line and walk another million miles to get to the Bakerloo platform. It takes forever to change lines. It's like walking through some labyrinth.

OK, so I get on the train. Then it suddenly terminates at Paddington 'cos apparently some idiot was walking along the tracks between Kilburn Park and Queen's Park station!!! So basically the Bakerloo line was suspended because of some crazy person.

I was like ""£^"*&£###$^&^£"*!!!! So I had to get off at Paddington and find another means of getting back. Thankfully Bus No.6 goes to where I am. BUT this No. 6 that I took didn't go all the way to Queen's Park. So it stopped somewhere and I had to get off again, cross the street and wait for ANOTHER Bus. No. 6 to come along! I got home only at 11.40pm when it could have been about 45min or a whole hour earlier!

And this morning, trains couldn't stop at Oxford Circus (where I usually alight) 'cos of some fire brigade investigation! Great.

Welcome to London.

Time Poverty Is In Vogue!

I'm currently reading some chick lit. It's a book called Sushi for Beginners by the author Marian Keyes. It accompanies me on my train journeys to and from work, when my mind can't handle anything serious. And I paid £2 for it - it came free with a magazine, and the only reason I bought the brainless women's magazine was because I thought it was a good deal to get a magazine and a book for £2. That's me - Miss Bargain Hunter.

Anyways, one of the protagonists is this high-flying career woman and there was this paragraph in the book which said that Time Poverty, like the next Prada or Louis Vuitton bag, seems to be the in thing to have these days. It's directly proportional to how popular and important you are. It's ironic considering the meaning of the word "poverty".

You know, like people have no time to meet up with their friends because they're (a) travelling for work (b) going for some party (3) going for some pilates or yoga class (4) having some business appointment etcetc. So to meet up with them, you'll have to look at at least five different dates to fix an appointment. And even when an appointment is fixed, it's acceptable to cancel at the last minute, giving the reason that work or something life-threatening - like an appointment with one's hairdresser who's about to go on leave for 3 weeks - has taken you away from the appointment.

I mean, it's so true, isn't it? So many people these days are like that. There is no longer the spontaniety of just calling up a friend and say, "hey, do you want to meet for acuppa/dinner/movie later?" These days, you have to "book" people weeks or months in advance. Their appointment books are always full and their schedules are fixed months in advance.

So the equation of the day is: Time Poverty = kPopularity and/or Importance (where k is a variable constant)

Weather Blues

Now I can finally understand why the English like talking about the weather. OK, it’s a gross generalisation, but it’s true that the topic of weather comes up quite often in conversation, I think just ‘cos people are hoping desperately for some good weather! Days in London are SO dreary. It’s been just grey skies and rainy and just downright depressing. Can’t even go to the parks and sit around or go for walk or hikes. I don’t know how people live here!!!

I don’t know what I’m going to do over the weekend. Probably check out some free stuff going on or something.

Borough Market

I LOVE Borough Market! I just want to eat everything there. It's a farmers' market, but an upmarket one. The food sold there isn't cheap. Lots of gourmet cheeses, cakes, meats, chocolate, biscuits, pies, etc. It's a foodie's paradise. The photos will speak for themselves. You can't leave London without visiting it!

Delicious cakes

And more sinful cakes at another stall

Chocolate truffles

A mountain of brownies

Breads, muffins, and tarts

Cheeses

Eat your veggies!

My favourites - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries!

Fancy sodium chloride

Jams and honey

A wide variety of vinegar infused with different flavours

Turkish delights

Going nuts over nuts

Update

So after having fun in Spain, I’m back to the daily grind of work. At first I wasn’t looking forward to it, but now that I’ve started, I’m actually enjoying it. I guess I’m enjoying it mainly because it gives me something to do, and it gives me a taste of working life in London. Also, I get to meet new people and, more importantly, be around people.

I’ve come to realise that although I’m not the kind of person who’s the life of the party, I enjoy being around people for the most part. Although of course, me-time is also important. However, I’ve been getting too much me-time since coming to London and it’s starting to get depressing. In Singapore I had a good social life, but now I have zero. Close to zero anyway. Except for occasional meet-ups with Joe and Keith who very kindly include me in activities when they can, I’m alone pretty much the rest of the time. I guess it doesn’t help that I’m not the most outgoing person in the world!

So I’m glad that the job is letting me be around people at least on weekdays. And my colleagues are really nice. Now I don’t even look forward to weekends ‘cos that would mean being all alone. Oh, the trials and tribulations of moving to a whole new place all by oneself!

Anyhow, it’s particularly difficult to have a social life when you don’t have much money. That’s the reality of it! Also, it takes time to get to know people. Anyway, I guess I’m not really here to live long-term nor to sink roots. My main aim is to travel and see new things and often you just have to do it on your own. I’m getting used to being alone pretty much all the time. Yes, it does get very lonely, but I don’t think I have much of a choice!

I guess one could go to bars and pubs with friends to hang out and meet other people, but I’m hopeless in such settings. I’m really like a fish out of water in these watering holes. I still feel awkward in those situations where people just stand around and drink. The only kind of “water” thing I’m totally at home with is anything that involves paddling. And I’m quite hopeless when it comes to making new friends. It takes me awhile to warm up to people and I’m pretty quiet for the most part. People probably think I’m a super boring and super dull person.

The job itself is nothing very new to me. I’m doing pretty much what I was doing back in Singapore, just a more specialised area of being a production editor. Previously I was involved in both development and production editing. I’ve dived into the thick of things and I have enough work to keep me going. Even though the work is not totally new, I’m still learning new things about how things are done in the UK, the company protocol is different, the markets are different etc.

I’ve noticed that people in London often pack or make their own lunch because it’s cheaper to do so. Otherwise, the most common thing that people buy for lunch is a sandwich. Or perhaps a salad. Sandwiches are by far the most popular. I’ve eaten countless sandwiches since I got here – the number of sandwiches I’ve eaten so far has very much exceeded the number I eat in Singapore in a year! It gets really boring after awhile…nothing like the variety of food available in Singapore. You wonder why these people have no desire to get away from the traditional sandwich, salad and baguette. Really miss the hawker fare back home.

Londoners are also always in a rush. Although statistics seem to point otherwise, I feel that London is more stifling and crowded than Singapore. Maybe this is because the streets in London are narrower. The underground subway system, fondly referred to as the “Tube” by Londoners, is awful. It’s stuffy and dirty and you’re packed like sardines in rush hour. The buses are a lot better, but just that it’s slow due to the heavy traffic. It’s no help that the roads in London are very narrow, allowing for two lanes max. Wherever possible, I’ll walk as it’s probably faster. Walking is the best way to see London I think. You can discover alleys and streets full of character that way.

Even though London is a very exciting, culturally and historically rich city where there’s always something to do, I don’t think it’ll ever capture me like Sydney does. I really miss the sea and there just seems to be fewer outdoor activities available in London. And the weather’s just so crappy that all you want to do is hole up at home or maybe hang out in the museum. You see, while I do like arts and culture, there’s only so much time I can stand being in museums. I’d much rather be outdoors doing some sport where I can be in the sunshine and in touch with nature.

But one thing I really love about London is its literary scene and the availability of cheap books. I LOVE the second-hand book shops here. You can get books in very decent condition from £1! Just the other day, I bought a brand-new hardback book from a bookshop along Charing Cross Road for £2.50!

I’ve also shifted out of my friends’ flat and now I’m staying in Queen’s Park, an area in the west of London. It sounds posh, but it’s not. Like setting up home, I had to buy bedsheets, towels, etc. Had to pay £100 to the previous occupant of my room for the bed, wardrobe, drawers etc. The room’s tiny and it faces a main road, so it’s really noisy. I’d have to be really tired to be able to block all the traffic noise out of my head and fall asleep!

Anyway, last Saturday morning I went outrigger canoeing. The club that I contacted is probably the only club in UK which does OC. They have two OC6s, some OC2s and some OC1s. I went in the OC6, sitting at seat 5 just in front of the coach. Their canoes are stored at the University of London Boathouse at Chiswick and they paddle along the Thames River.

It was nice to be paddling again but it’s not really much fun OC-ing on flat water. I’d rather be dragonboating then…at least it’s a sport that’s meant for flatwater. OC-ing along the Thames River is super dull. But OK, at least it was a good break from the crowds of Central London. It’s already getting to me and driving me insane. As we paddled, I saw many ducks, swans and other birds. My favourite sighting was a mother duck swimming across the river with her brood of four ducklings following behind. They were such a cute sight!

I’ll check out a dragonboat club first and then decide which one I want to join. I’d like to join one of the clubs ‘cos at least it’s something for me to do. Plus it’s something I enjoy.

Anyway, it's 6.30pm now and I should get out of the office. I'm the only one left! The weird thing is that this 35-hour work week concept is so foreign to me. Like it seems un-godly to leave at 4.30pm and this is really like normal working hours for me back in Singapore! Anyway, I usually stay back to catch up on emails and blog.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Moroccan Market

When the tour guide led us into the market in the Casbah, I was thrilled! It's where the locals shop for their groceries and it was really interesting to see all the local food.

Local women selling bread that's one of their staples. Bread is usually served at every Moroccan meal.

Another one of their staples, olives! It's like olives galore. Too bad I'm not a big fan.

Poultry for sale!

The vegetables were so fresh!

Moroccans

Three girls sitting in front of the entrance of a mosque in Tanger, Morocco. I like the expressions on their faces. There were many children running around in the narrow lanes of the old town called the Casbah. Most people living there were living in very poor conditions. The buildings were really old and not well maintained, but there was a lot of character in these old streets. Lots to explore...like a real labyrinth. You'll come across small bakeries, grocery stores, tailors, pottery shops, etc.

The poorer families still had to take water from a public tap! It's been so long since I travelled to a country which has people still doing this.

Morocco definitely deserves a whole trip in itself to explore the country. Just a day-trip to Tanger only scrapes the top of the iceberg.

I went on a day-tour which was filled with Americans. A few Americans is fine. But a busload full of them is too hard to take! But I wouldn't recommend doing it without a tour anyhow. Seriously, the Casbah is a labyrinth. There weren't any street signs at all. Without a local guide, you'll be sure to lose your way!

Cadiz Cathedral

Went up the Torre de Poniente (a tower) and got a fantastic view of Cadiz, the Spanish coastal city where Christopher Columbus sailed off in search of the Americas. The famous cathedral in the city has a lovely yellow dome and faces the gorgeous Atlantic Ocean.

Churros

Yummy churros! Should have put this picture with this entry. It also tastes nice when dipped in sugar! It's Spanish comfort food!

Also want to add that I won't be blogging a lot from now on, not because I don't want to, but because I have limited access to the Internet. I don't have Internet access at the place I'm staying now so I have to stay back in the office after work hours to do personal emails and stuff. I always end up being one of the last few to leave the office. Technically I can leave at 4.30pm. They work a 35-hour work week in the UK...quite relaxed! I'm like the sad chick who doesn't have a social life so would rather spend her time in the office on the net. Oh well.

All-Day Breakfasts

You've gotta hand it to the Spanish – I just had to stifle a giggle when I saw the sign "Breakfast 9.30 – 20.00". By 20.00 I'm already ready for dinner! Although of course one of the hardest thing about holidaying in Spain is having to readjust my stomach clock. Dinner only starts at 9pm earliest! At 12mn there are still people queuing up to eat at the restaurants!

Gibraltar

I had originally wanted to go to Granada or Sevilla on a day-tour from Torremolinos, but because I was trying to book it at the last minute there were no places left. So I settled for Gibraltar instead. Not the most exciting place and the British supposedly like to go there to shop as it's tax-free. The little bit of land is also something that the British wrestled from the Spanish in 1713 and the place has remained British territory ever since. It is a naval base for the Royal Navy.

Anyway, the place is really small and not very exciting. Apart from some history about how it came into British hands, there's really not much to see there.

This passage is taken from Wikipedia.

"The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, also known as the King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Mosque or the Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is a mosque at Europa Point, at the southern tip of Gibraltar. The building was a gift from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and took two years to build at a cost of around five million pounds. It was officially inaugurated on 8 August 1997. Around seven per cent of Gibraltar's population are Muslims; a total of approximately 2,000 people. The mosque complex also contains a school, library, and lecture hall."

Saw a group of riders on Harley-Davidsons...they were from the Netherlands. I was to see many other groups of riders in the other parts of Spain I visited. They were mostly from other EU countries like Germany and I even saw one from Latvia.

At the southern tip of Gibraltar, you are able to see the mountains of Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.

In this picture, the land on the left you see is Morocco and on the right, Spain.

This street is called "Main Street" and is the shopping district in Gibraltar. The streets in Gibraltar are very narrow. Another famous thing in Gibraltar are the Barbary Macaques, more commonly known as apes. But these wild monkeys are so used to humans that they are so audacious. My bus driver cum tour guide even took a bottle of mineral water and just held it up for two monkeys to drink. I have no special liking for monkeys so I wasn't particularly excited. And tourists are such idiots. There were so many signs telling them not to feed the monkeys but they still gave them food and nuts.

Personally I didn't even think the shops were that good and I really can't see why the British like to shop there. So overall, not a very memorable trip and not something I would recommend.

Chocolate Caliente

My favourite beverage in Spain was Chocolate Caliente [pronounced Cho-co-la-tay Kah-li-arn-tay] aka Hot Chocolate in English. I found this deliciously sinful version at a cafe just outside the hostal I was staying at in Torremolinos. That's probably the only good thing there! Like molten lava, this one was so thick and viscous that the waitress took so long to pour all of it. Haha. This one was freshly made from one of those espresso machines. The Chocolate Caliente from ready-made packets served by some cafes pale in comparison to the freshly brewed ones. Chocolate Caliente is usually taken at breakfast and is best eaten with freshly fried churros, the Spanish version of youtiao. It's pure comfort food!

Charming Mijas

View of the houses in the village from the village centre.

View of the Mediterranean Sea from the village centre.

Donkey taxis taking a rest from the heat.

Plants and flowers being sold at the central plaza.

We were happily going to drink from it just for the fun of it until an old man told us "NO". Then we looked at the sign again and discovered someone had scraped off the "NO"! (see photo below) The old man was like our guardian angel! And to think this was just outside a church.

The damaged sign.

The little lane lined prettily with potted green plants. This old lady is making her way home after buying groceries.

Another flight of stairs lined with plants. Notice also the very intricately designed tiles at the side which add colour and interest to its surroundings. I really love all the cast-iron railings and balconies that all the old Spanish homes have.

A very interesting adornment for the top of the front door. Wonder who waters the plants there.

A map made up of tiles fashioned into the wall. The craftsmen in Spain are fantastic at making all these gorgeous tiles and piecing them together to make street signs, shop signs, maps etc.

Ceramic signs – most of the signs in the old town of the Spanish cities I went were made out of ceramic tiles. All fine works of art they are!

The balconies of many homes were also overflowing with potted plants, adding only beauty to what it is already a very beautiful place.

Colour Coordinated

I love it when people pay attention to detail when it comes to colour aesthetics. The people in this apartment building in Mijas are certainly very agreeable on colour scheme!

Recycle & Reuse

I was walking around a neighbourhood in a mountain village called Mijas and came across this brilliant alternative use for fused lightbulbs. Don't you just love it? :p

Mijas is a 1-hour bus ride away from Torremolinos. It costs 1.20 Euros for a single trip. I definitely recommend it as it's a very quaint village away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists milling around the beaches. As it's on elevated ground, it's also much cooler up there, so remember to bring a jacket!

Back from Spain

Back from Spain! The later part of the trip turned out to be a lot better and I had a really good time in Tarifa. Took two day-trips out of Tarifa. Went to Tanger (the 5th largest city in Morocco and only a 35min ferry ride away) and to Cadiz, a city which is a 2-hour bus ride away.

Now that the fun is over, I'll be starting on a temp job on Wednesday. This is going to be a two-month stint. After which, I guess I'll travel again. Will need to think where now to avoid any last minute booboos!

Anyway, photos to follow in the next couple of days. To start, here are three I took in Torremolinos. The only three I took actually, 'cos there weren't many things worth photographing. I really hated that place. Was a real shithole. It didn't help that the hostal I stayed in wasn't very nice...the room didn't have its own bathroom and there wasn't enough hot water in the shower. I was miserable. Was almost tempted to fly back to London earlier!

This is one of the streets in Torremolinos that leads down to the beach. It's lined with touristy shops and cafes which sell mostly British food. I swear there wasn't even one restaurant serving tapas. Every single one was selling fish & chips, roast chicken, and pizza etc. Like I came to Spain to eat all that crap???

A very festive looking Sangria I had in Torremolinos. The only I had in Spain actually. I turn red SO fast when I drink alcohol that it's really embarrassing. So i try to avoid drinking when I'm out...will only drink in the confines of a home and with close friends!

Grilled sardines are apparently a specialty of southern Spanish food. It's just lightly salted and grilled over charcoal. I must say this was good!