My extraordinarily ordinary life!
On the 12th of May I received a tweet!
The tweet said that I had been selected to win a goody bag from Carnaby Street and Sister. And what a goody bag it was!
This was the photo that won me my the fabulous goody bag!
Thank you Carnaby Street! Y’all know how to give a birthday girl a good time!
Dr Jose Rizal is the Philippine national hero. He was an opthalmologist by profession. Although he wasn’t directly involved with the actual rebellion against the Spanish colonial goverment, he was a member of the Filipino propaganda movement. He wrote Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, two novels which are credited to have inspired the rebellion against Spain.
Rizal was well-traveled and well-educated. He studied in Madrid, in Paris, and in Heidelberg in Germany. He was a polyglot and a polymath. I remember my early years in school, from Grades 1 to 3, we studied Jose Rizal’s life. We learned about his parents, Francisco and Teodora, his siblings, Paciano, and his nine sisters, Saturnina, Trinidad, Maria, Lucia, Josefa, Concepcion, Narcisa, Soledad and Olympia. One of the stories from our little Jose Rizal books that I distinctly remember was an anecdote about how devastated Rizal felt when his little sister Concha (Concepcion) died when she was only three years old.
When I moved to England, one of my friends told me about a blue plaque that bore Jose Rizal’s name. The Blue Plaque scheme is run by the English Heritage, honouring the notable men and women of the world who lived in London by placing a blue plaque on the houses or buildings which they lived in or worked in whilst they were in London. I didn’t know about this. I knew that Jose Rizal had memorials in other countries, but I didn’t know about the blue plaque in London.
It was something I had to find. I was Filipino and proud of my country. I get all choked up seeing the Philippine flag flying and ruffling in the wind whilst hanging outside the Philippine Embassy on Suffolk Place! I found out that Jose Rizal lived in the very posh area of Primrose Hill! After getting the exact address, I did the only thing a proud Filipino would do, find the actual plaque! I dragged Alan with me as I tried to find 37 Chalcot Crescent. Before we found Rizal’s plaque, we discovered that the house he lived in was just around the corner from Sylvia Plath’s old house!
I didn’t want to do the cheesy thing of posing right next to the blue plaque but, oh my goodness, was I so proud to see the words “Dr Jose Rizal, 1861 – 1896, writer and national hero of the Philippines, lived here.” He apparently lived here in 1888 as a lodger. His rent was £2! I’m sure that wasn’t exactly cheap then!
I only wish I’d seen this with my parents when we were traipsing around Camden, after our visit to the Jewish Museum. I’m sure they would have beamed with pride, too, that this young, talented man from the Philippines, who lodged at 37 Chalcot Crescent, was recognised by English Heritage as a person of note.
Pinoy pride!
I am a lover of cinnamon. Cinnamon bun, cinnamon cake, cinnamon rolls…you name it, if it has cinnamon I will want to try it!
The year I moved to England, Alan told me about this little tucked away coffee place called the Nordic Bakery that made really good cinnamon buns. It was in Golden Square in Soho and being a non-native, when we went to pay a visit to it, it seemed to take forever to get to it (of course I’ve completely changed my mind now because I know that everything – well, mostly everything – in London is within walking distance of each other!). When we got there, the place was packed and very busy and we ordered a cinnamon bun. They packed it for us, and we took it back to the flat. I had it and was a tiny bit disappointed. It was nice – but to me, it was nothing to write home about.
I have, however, kept an open mind. I liked the vibe of Nordic Bakery while I was there (it was probably not even 5 minutes) but the blue and dark wood interiors were indelibly stamped in my mind. Every time we chanced upon Golden Square, I looked at Nordic Bakery and wanted to go in, sit down, have a coffee and a pastry (or four!).
Then just this month, I had the opportunity to enjoy the Nordic Bakery twice in 2 weekends. Everything was delicious! Even the cinnamon bun which I thought was disappointing the first time I had it. Everything was really good because, for me, a recalcitrant diabetic with a sweet tooth, everything sweet is to be taken in moderation, and the goodies on offer were not toothache-inducingly sweet!
With a lovely chocolate sprinkled cup of cappuccino (I loved their coffee but will probably try one with an extra shot of espresso next time)
I enjoyed their deliciously spiced lingonberry bun. There was a lovely aroma of cardamom that went really well with the sweet-tartness of the lingonberry jam that was generously spread over the top of the very light cake.
Yesterday, I had a selection of pastries: the savoury but deliciously creamy potato Karelian pie
followed by the yummy apple Tosca bun (it looked like it was going to be so sweet but it wasn’t! It was lovely and light and the apple flavour came through each beautiful bite!)
and I had the classic cinnamon bun to finish. The cinnmon bun is one of Nordic Bakery’s best selling products. By the time we had finished our coffee and cakes the once full basket on the counter was empty! This isn’t your typical doughy cinnamon roll. The layers are thin and light and oh-so-cinnamony. The outer layers are also thin but almost crispy that they crackle when you slice or bit into them. It has certainly redeemed itself! It goes way too well with a hot cup of coffee!
I was so intrigued by the Tosca bun that I had to buy the cookbook. It is filled with the wonderful recipes of all the Nordic Bakery favourites. It’s not going to stop me from eating at the Nordic Bakery but it will certainly tide me over until my next visit!
My first Nordic Bakery cookbook bake is the Tosca cake. It was so easy to make! Am so excited to have coffee this afternoon (it’s a bit sad, isn’t it?)! Join me for a slice?
You need to visit the Nordic Bakery if you’re in London. It’s a really nice place to have coffee and something sweet or something savoury. The staff are helpful and are ever so patient when you have questions about the food on offer. The service is quick and I love how everything is served in pretty plates, trays and mugs of varying shades of blue. I’ve yet to try the rye bread sandwiches but they look so delicious and I intend to try one when I pay my next visit. They have a branch in the Golden Square in Soho. Apart from the Soho branch, they have one on New Cavendish Street and on Dorset Street, both in Marylebone.
I love dimsum. Particularly siu mai. I’ve always thought that if dimsum was the universe, siu mai (and it’s numerous varieties) was the point of the big bang. Where everything started. But that’s my opinion. I’m sure Chinese cuisine historians have differing opinions.
I miss the Philippines and it’s numerous siu mai kiosks dotted around. If you wanted siu mai, there would be some small kiosk that you could go to to satisfy the craving. It’s not so available here in the UK. While Chinese takeaway is a favourite and every town, no matter how small, will have a Chinese takeaway establishment, not all the takeaways have dimsum. The closest thing to dimsum is wanton soup, which is, thankfully, available on all the Chinese takeaway menus where I live. Small favours, and am very thankful for them!
I am a huge fan of the dimsum trolley service. Ladies going around the restaurant, pushing steaming trolleys filled with tiny bamboo steam baskets filled with unknown goodies. I love the excitement of finding out what the trolley is carrying: siu mai, dumplings, hakaw, beef balls, char siu pork in puff pastry, spring rolls, crab dumplings, crispy prawn balls, turnip cakes and the occasional lotus wrapped sticky rice parcel. I’ve since started mourning the loss of 2 restaurants that did trolley service really well. There was a restaurant that I only remember as CCK in Chinatown. It stopped its trolley service, then turned into an all-you-can-eat then closed down. Then came New World. It was dimsum perfection — for a while. The service and the quality of food has since declined and it’s been 2 years since I’ve been. People have suggested going to Royal China either in Bayswater or Baker Street but I haven’t had the time to. Since New World, I’ve only ever gone to dimsum restaurants that serve you dimsum after you order them.
We went to the newly opened Ping Pong brance in Westfield Stratford yesterday. The only word that comes to mind is horrible. They didn’t have prawn or pork siu mai (which, in my opinion, is the backbone of dimsum choices), the dimsum was bland and oversteamed. When the steaming baskets came to the table, you uncovered a gelatinous mess! Everything needed a bit of flavour because everything was basically globs of nothing. Even the soy and the chilli oil and sauce were bland. For all the colour and styling in the restaurant space everything faded into the beigeness of the food. And never again am I coming back to a Ping Pong branch. It didn’t live up to the hype. And it was all style and no substance.
Yellywelly 