Even though my clothes still fit, I’m quite sure I’m putting on weight after more than a month in England.

I keep telling myself to eat less, maybe skip a few meals here and there, but eating out is too fun.

Eating in is also fun. Groceries are amazing here. There is an unbelievable variety of delicious pre-cooked snacks and meals you can find at the supermarket.

And Piers keeps restocking the breads, muffins, crumpets and bagels in his kitchen as if there’s an army staying in his apartment. He says I can diet after I go back to Singapore.

And there’s Bovril and marmalade and cream and strawberry champagne jam. And eggs and bacon and ham.

It’s virtually impossible to skip any meals with so much food tempting me at home.

 

Bacon and egg bagel.

 

English sausages and asparagus baked with garlic and butter.

 

Oh, and there’s an Asian supermarket nearby where I can get supplies of my favourite instant noodles!

Well, I’m not in the habit of taking photos of my food at home, so most of my food photos are from restaurants, so that’s what I’m sharing today!

 

Italian food

I’ve eaten at quite a few Italian restaurants so far. The pastas have been disappointing because maybe the English palate is more bland than I’m used to. Even though they all look really delicious, I’ve had to re-flavour them with crazy amounts of salt and pepper before I found them edible.

 

Linguine vongole.

 

Basil and olive oil and something, can’t remember.

 

Mexican bolognese.

 

Apricot stuffed chicken with creamy linguine and olives.

 

The pizzas and starters are a bit better, although I haven’t found anything that I must go back to have again. I still do enjoy dining at Italian restaurants though, even with the disappointing pastas, because they’re mostly very warm and cosy, either in a romantic or family way.

Well, sometimes too cosy. They tend to pack tables very closely to maximise space so, if you wanted to, you could eavesdrop on conversations.

 

Sauteed garlic mushrooms.

 

Garlic bread.

 

Some pizza.

 

Garlic king prawns.

 

Pepperoni pizza.

 

Nando’s

Nando’s in England is as good as Nando’s in Singapore. Well, the liver is a bit more cooked here (I prefer our mashy ones) but the sauce is just as awesome if not better. The chicken is about the same. I love it!

 

Chicken liver with Portuguese bread.

 

Nando’s peri peri chicken.

 

Fusion Japanese

I haven’t been to a proper Japanese restaurant. Went to this fusion chain called Wagamama. Let’s just say… if you’re Asian, you probably won’t like it. Quite nice to go there for drinks and light bites (which are decent), but the main courses are a bit sad. They look sad and they taste funny.

 

Rice with some kind of stir fry chicken drowned in weird tasting sauce.

 

Chilli ramen.

 

Salt and pepper squid.

 

Baked (I think) dumplings.

 

Steak and wine

I really enjoy having steak and wine in England, although it’s usually quite expensive. We went to this nice French restaurant called The Guildhall Tavern. Looks cosy and and classy at the same time. And the bill for two people was £71 (S$146) before tips.

It was really nice but my steak was a bit overcooked.

 

 

 

 

Yummy scallops.

 

French onion soup.

 

Ribeye steak.

 

Rack of lamb.

 

Vegetables.

 

Clotted cream ice cream.

 

There’s a restaurant very near Piers’ apartment called Alcatraz Brasserie, a few minutes’ walk away, which has a steak promotion every Thursday. £28 (S$57) for two steaks and a bottle or wine. That’s really cheap. From what I’ve seen so far, it would cost almost twice that at any other steak restaurant.

But then we ordered starters and dessert and the bill ended up more than £40, lol. It was good, though. The wine was a bit dodgy, tasted cheap to me, but then I don’t know much about wines. The steak was quite decent for the price.

What I really liked was the ambience. Part of the restaurant has glass walls so you can see outside while you dine. Okay, so the view isn’t too exciting, just roads and buildings, but it’s very beautiful when it’s dark and the place lit by candlelight.

Oh, and the chicken liver! Mmm.

 

 

 

Chicken liver.

 

Steak with fries.

 

Wow, that’s all the space I have for today. I will be in England for another month, so I guess there will be a Part 3 coming up!