1. Emirates provides VEGAN DESSERTS!! I had a great raspberry muffin AND a chocolate mousse cake on my flights, both of which were really good.
Actually, all of my vegan meals were really good on the flight. I was expecting rubbish alternatives, but my food often looked better than everyone else's. Emirates is great.
2. The moon is upside down.
3. Visit Mildred's.
In Soho, my brother and sister-in-law took me here on my first night out. Most of the menu is vegan, and there are gluten-free and wheat-free options as well. Everything on their menu is labelled, with many meals offering a vegan option, providing omnivores with something they will be happy with. And its super cheap too - I think this is the case for most food in England, but the mains were around 10 pounds each, and desserts around 6 pounds!
They offer fresh juice (I enjoyed a beetroot, orange and ginger juice) as well as smoothies, beer, wine, etc. The three of us all ordered the same main: Mixed mushroom, porcini and ale pie served with fries and mushy peas.
This was fantastic and if you're taking an omnivore who insists they only love meat, this vegan dish will more than satisfy. My grandfather would have loved it (and he is definitely an omnivore..)
My sister-in-law mentioned saving room for dessert and my mouth dropped. There was a full dessert menu, with 5 of the 8 dishes vegan. N-o w-a-y. I had spent 3 days in Melbourne before travelling to England and spent an entire night searching for a vegan dessert to no avail. This was heaven in a handbag! ;)
Aside:
A major regret in my life is not making Chocolate Banoffee Tart before I was told I was dairy intolerant.
(About a month before I found out about my intolerances I came across this recipe for chocolate banoffee tart and couldn't get it off my mind - it was going to be the next sweet thing I baked. I was too busy to get around to it. Then I found out about my allergies. This is a major regret in my life.)
The second dish on this dessert menu was vegan Banoffee Tart. I cannot express the excitement I felt when I saw this. All three of us ordered the same again and it came out and my expression was like a little girl given the keys to fairy-land. I don't like to take photographs of my food in restaurants but this pie made me itch to do so. Sorry folks, you'll have to go and see for yourself.
This pie was creamy, crunchy, sweet, rich, chocolatey, banana-ry.. everything a girl could dream of. My sister-in-law asked me what I thought and stopped herself. She said the look on my face said it all. I was in culinary heaven. The gods had answered my prayers.
Visit Mildred's. Now.
4. Coffee is cheap. A tall Starbucks black coffee is £1.50. That's $2.30 AUD!! Two days ago I was paying a minimum of $3.50!
5. The tube is easy. But it stinks. It's loud, cramped, smelly, dirty, but really fast, efficient and easy to figure out.
6. In Australia, we are so blessed to have so much space. In London, when you think you've seen a big house, you realise it's been divided probably more than once. There are very few backyards.
7. When crossing the road find a group of people and cross with them. If your crossing is empty (rare) walk to the next block to avoid death ;)
8. People will know you are a tourist if you take photos of the rubbish bags piled beside the steps of people's flats. I am a tourist.
9. Phone cameras come in handy to disguise point 8. Conveniently I have a great phone camera.
10. People will also know you are a tourist if you smile all the time. I smile at people's voices. I smile at the buildings. I smile at the Tube. I smile at the trees. I smile at the buses. I smile at... you get the picture. Londoners don't smile. This one I don't think I'll change.
11. (An extra one)
Everyone in London is tired. At home, I am the only one with dark rings around my eyes most days.. In London my eyes look good enough to model glasses! You notice this on the Tube in particular. Every single person looks exhausted at every time of the day.
The second dish on this dessert menu was vegan Banoffee Tart. I cannot express the excitement I felt when I saw this. All three of us ordered the same again and it came out and my expression was like a little girl given the keys to fairy-land. I don't like to take photographs of my food in restaurants but this pie made me itch to do so. Sorry folks, you'll have to go and see for yourself.
This pie was creamy, crunchy, sweet, rich, chocolatey, banana-ry.. everything a girl could dream of. My sister-in-law asked me what I thought and stopped herself. She said the look on my face said it all. I was in culinary heaven. The gods had answered my prayers.
Visit Mildred's. Now.
4. Coffee is cheap. A tall Starbucks black coffee is £1.50. That's $2.30 AUD!! Two days ago I was paying a minimum of $3.50!
5. The tube is easy. But it stinks. It's loud, cramped, smelly, dirty, but really fast, efficient and easy to figure out.
6. In Australia, we are so blessed to have so much space. In London, when you think you've seen a big house, you realise it's been divided probably more than once. There are very few backyards.
7. When crossing the road find a group of people and cross with them. If your crossing is empty (rare) walk to the next block to avoid death ;)
8. People will know you are a tourist if you take photos of the rubbish bags piled beside the steps of people's flats. I am a tourist.
9. Phone cameras come in handy to disguise point 8. Conveniently I have a great phone camera.
10. People will also know you are a tourist if you smile all the time. I smile at people's voices. I smile at the buildings. I smile at the Tube. I smile at the trees. I smile at the buses. I smile at... you get the picture. Londoners don't smile. This one I don't think I'll change.
11. (An extra one)
Everyone in London is tired. At home, I am the only one with dark rings around my eyes most days.. In London my eyes look good enough to model glasses! You notice this on the Tube in particular. Every single person looks exhausted at every time of the day.
