Since mine and JB's Hong Kong and Taiwan maxi break never materialised in February and then again in May we decided to have the Asian experience right here in London Town. I have always wondered what possesses me to eat rainbow cheese toasties and candy floss shaped into various different animals in foreign countries when I wouldn't go to those type of places in London even though they do exist.
August 2020 - What a perfect time to be a tourist in your own city as the place is like a ghost town. There are no tourists, no queues, no hoards of tour groups following an umbrella and thanks to Rishi Sunak there is 50% off with his eat out to help out scheme. Me being the helpful soul that I am we chose to do our adventure on a Monday.
We also allowed PA to join us on our adventure under the proviso that he would not judge us on the amount we would eat. (He gave it his best shot to keep up with us).
First stop on our itinerary was Oseyo Supermarket to give us the feeling that we were back in Asia. Oseyo has all sorts of Korean, Chinese and Japanese goods including drinks in Pokemon and Hello Kitty cans, K-Pop memorabilia and groceries that are cheaper than most Chinese supermarkets in London.
As we had not had breakfast yet we stopped off at the Chinatown Bakery and each got something different. The pineapple buns are just as good as the ones I had in Hong Kong and were still warm from the oven and so cheap.
As the entire day could not just be about food we had to add in some activities. One thing I love to do in Asia is to get photos done in a sticker booth. Unfortunately there are not that many places in London where this is possible but there is a machine in the M and M shop so while we were there we explored the "four floors of fun" and also went into the Lego shop. We were the only childless people in both shops.
Feeling a bit peckish we headed to the Japan centre for some Takoyaki. These are delicious battered octopus balls which we first tried in Kyoto, Japan. A quick google had told me the best place to have them in London was at the Japan Centre. They were pretty good but they were chilled rather than hot which we were not expecting. We also had some Inari sushi to share which were amazing.
Now it was time for a sweet treat, so we headed over to Covent Garden. Before any trip I always follow all the foodie sites on Instagram of that country. Naturally I had done the same for London. I searched for things like "prettiest food in London", "Unusual things to eat in London" etc.
I had been following "Milk Train" for quite a while and their pretty unicorn ice creams with candy floss often popped up on my feed so I had to try this.
I can't remember what flavour the ice cream was supposed to be but it kind of tasted like nothingness with small sprinkles of extra hard nothingness on top. But hey, I had to get it at least for the photo opportunity. It was along the lines of "the fridge taste" (see Korean Blog). Also, to make matters worse they had made my ice cream and I was about to pay and I queried my 50% off and was told they were not part of the deal. Ultimate fail!!
So I paid over £5 for my photo and a taste of what was along the lines of a bad Mr Whippy with cheerios on top.
Now it was time for another savoury treat! My research had told me the best place for bao was at Bun house on Lisle street. When we turned up we remembered actually going there one drunken night after a bottomless prosecco brunch a few years back. These little morsels of delicious fluffiness did not disappoint. The boy got beef, JB got vegetarian and I got the duck egg squirty custard.
So now we needed to kill some time between food breaks so what better way to do that than have a nice cold glass of rosé at an outside table in covent garden watching the world go by. Except it wasn't in a glass but a hideous plastic cup that cost an arm and a leg for the pleasure.
Time for more activities. For the full on Asian experience we had to go to an amusement parlour. These are few and far between in China town but we managed to find the Las Vegas Arcade in Soho and the wine helped with the coordination on the dance games. We spent £10 feeding our coins into machines trying to fish for tacky soft toys and playing games that we didn't understand. But hey, what fun we had!
I know it seems like we have been eating all day but technically all these things were just snacks and we hadn't really had a proper lunch.
We headed to Misato which my research had told me was the best place for cheap and cheerful canteen style Japanese food in Chinatown. It was 4.30pm by now but the sign on the door said it wasn't opening until 5pm. We pulled up a chair and a pint at Waxy's little sister opposite and watched the queue begin to form from about 4.45pm.
We headed over just after five and it was bustling full of locals and visitors. It was cheap and cheerful and made even cheaper by our 50% off, thank you very much Rishi. Me and Janette had the Chicken Udon and PA had the bento box. Grand total came to about £16. It was absolutely delicious and a great place to people watch.
Still room for a quick treat at "Bake" which is next door. I used to love these little Fish when I lived in Korea. These ones were filled with custard.
We now needed to head to Newport Court where all the Instagrammable places are located. But how could we possibly eat anything more you might ask? We tried to walk around a bit to work up a bit more of an appetite. Who knew there was Paddington Bear with a peanut butter sandwich sitting right in the middle of Leicester Square.
So, to Newport Court. I always remembered this little side street off Charing Cross Road up to China town as being full of dodgy sex shops, tacky souvenirs, incense and I love China Town TShirts and key rings. Not anymore, it is now the place to go if you are A) a fan of bubble tea, B) a fan of sweet sickly treats or C) aged 13. I was neither of these but I wanted to pretend I was in Asia and a few photos wouldn't go astray as well.
We had to get a mermaid ice cream from Taiyakiya. I had hoped it wasn't as bad as the unicorn debacle but it was looking suspiciously like it would. I chose the green tea flavour which was better than the white nothingness of Milk Train but the mermaids tail tasted of hard nothingness and nearly broke a tooth. The fish kind of tasted as sad as it looked, and can I also just say, why is there a fish tail and a mermaid tail?? Just asking!!
However, in contrast, The Bilog at Mamasons was amazing. This was a pandesal milk bun filled with a purple yam ice cream dusted with a sugar coating and lightly toasted.
Can I just say as a little disclaimer here to the gluttony, that throughout the day we shared most things.
So now we couldn't possibly eat anything more so it was time for a few beverages. We headed back to Soho. With all this food malarkey we had to rack up a few more steps. I love what they have done in Soho because of Covid. All the streets are closed off to traffic and the tables and chairs are out in the road. You could almost feel like you were in a foreign country. It was after 9pm and we had polished of two bottles of French Sauvignon Blanc and it was time to call it a day.
But wait!! We havn't technically had dinner had we? Also, there was still one place on my list that we hadn't been to. As we were supposed to go to Taiwan on the Asia trip this time I had searched for the best Taiwanese food in China Town and had come up with "Leong's Legend" on Gerrard Street.
Now, normally the places along here in my opinion are for end of the night drunken shenanigans and I don't think I have eaten in any of these places since I was about 25. But, here we were and I guess you could call it "end of the night drunken shenanigans" although not quite 25 anymore. I think a lot of these places have upped their game in recent years and the scores on the doors seem okay. My pork bao was soft and fluffy from the limited memory I have from the night. The beef noodles tasted great at the time but at home in bed all I could think about was the grease. This could also have been a mixture of mermaid tails and unicorn candy floss and purple ice cream, and not to forget the wine all mixing together.
Thank you JB and PA and not to forget Rishi Sumak for the great Asian Adventure Staycation at home in Londons China town.
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