Epping Forest – The “Trip” Before Christmas

On January 31, 2021 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Birthday to my Blog!! How many years has it been now? 9 years? A lack of posts in the past couple of years, but let’s wait and see. Hoping to get back into the food scenes again

Lockdown 2.0 is over, and now were into Lockdown 3.0 – we’re currently 4 weeks into this lockdown, numbers are going down, but it’s not enough for the shops to be opened or for public services to fully open. Lockdown 2.0 and 3.0 was month apart… Doesn’t this show you and us, how rubbish our government is at the moment?

At the end of Lockdown 2.0, I thought it was ok to go out and exercise with Miss Money. I think it was time that I took another hiking trip – but on the outskirts of London (forgot to mention that I’m now learning Korean on the weekends, so my time is taken up by online classes and binge watching K-dramas, and doing my homework if I’m not doing anything else. Might as well start learning it now before it’s too late!). My manager started a walking club chat group last year and it looks like we’ve been given an optional 30 minutes of our working day to go out and do some walking. Heheheheh. As I’ve not been doing much walking each day, this trip made up for the time I’ve been working at home…

Miss Money and I decided to go up to the North of London and into Epping Forest on one Saturday when I was free from studying. I’m amazed with how this forest exists on the outskirts of London and surrounding traffic… Here’s a few pictures of our day…

I stopped taking pictures as soon as it was starting to get dark, it was actually getting scary, and I started getting wild thoughts of someone going to kill us and bury us in the forest. And then at one point when it became completely dark, it felt like I was going to be in the Blair Witch Project or something like that… Always start hiking when the sun rises and way before the sun sets…

33,000 steps later, muddy shoes, and almost frightened that we would never get out of Epping Forest after sundown, we went to My Old Place in Liverpool Street. I was craving for these foods – aubergine in brown sauce and sweet & sour pork. Northern Chinese food has hit a spot in my heart. ^_^ My legs were aching by then, couldn’t move anymore. Should have bought some painkillers with me!!

Now that was the end of 2020. Fingers crossed we can all go travelling again in 2021!! I need to go out and travel. I don’t even mind going out in the world and working in another country with my remote access!!

Hoping for more new posts. ^_^

Kanaloa Bar with Mr Games and co.

On December 1, 2018February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Before the Christmas ads, here’s some odd posts from the middle of the year.

Mr Games turned 1 year older this year (as we all have – the majority!). He decided to have his party a the Kanaloa Bar with is all the way near Blackfriars Bridge… He made us walk there, and he lied and said it will only take us 20 minutes to walk! It was almost a 40 minute walk from Elephant and Castle… The person I felt sorry for was Mr Sensible who did the whole shabang and dressed up as a dragon or was it Barney? LOL!

Most dressed up, and some of us just had some video game t-shirts on (I thank Uniqlo this summer for adding a PAC-MAN t-shirt into their collections!)

You must bring some sort of ID before entering the club…

The bar is a Hawaiian theme place, and I think Mr Games had pre-ordered some of the food and drinks…

A very fruity and alcoholic punch…

I didn’t do much of the dancing. I’m a lazy geek. But the group had a lot of fun in their costumes!

Well I stayed till the end. I think it’s the end of the road with clubbing for me… I felt my age in that club!

Mr Games, please choose something modest next year!! 😅

Address: Hill House, Wine Office Court, 18 Shoe Lane, London EC4A 3BQ
Telephone: 020 7842 0620

Website: https://www.kanaloaclub.com/london-bar

London China Town Update (April / May 2018)

On May 6, 2018February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Ok, so I took these pictures over two weeks ago, and a few pics last week. It’s been around a year and a half now since the market was closed down.

This is what China Town looks like now from where the pagoda used to be – The China Town Market building… There’s many empty shops at the moment. Might be more restaurants than cute stores, but we’ll see! I think they’re all likely to open this year.

I wonder if a new pagoda will be built here. It still hasn’t been finalised yet.

I think these ornaments are going to be added somewhere.

Unfortunately, they’ve been used as bins… These are not bins people!! Looking at them, they look more like flower pots… 😒

Just in case you’re missing the Chinese cute stores, there are a couple on Rupert Street but probably don’t sell all those kawaii things that the old market used to sell… They are worth having a look into though!

Will update as soon when there’s some more new developments!!

British Museum – Hokusai: Beyond The Great Waves (and Walworth Festival)

On September 16, 2017February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Everything is Japanese themed for me this summer!

My Japanese teacher mentioned about this exhibition, Hokusai: Beyond The Great Waves, at the British Museum this summer just gone. So I booked a ticket in advance. When I looked at the bookings again, the tickets were all sold out fairly quickly!

The day I went was a wet day, and there was already a huge queue to enter the museum. I feared that I would miss my timing to go into the exhibition… But thankfully as I had a ticket, I was able to skip the massive queue.

As I was there about half-an-hour to 45 minutes early, I couldn’t go into the exhibition early, so I went around the museum…

A piece from Da Vinci… ^_^

Korean household…

Chinese pottery…

Well, it was time to enter, unfortunately there was a long queue just to read and go through Hokusai’s artworks! He did a lot in his lifetime!!!

Since I couldn’t take any pictures, I decided to purchase the postcards, and give you a glimpse of the famouse artworks of Hokusai… the artist who drew and painted those famous waves! I never believed that the world of manga art existed for so many years either…

If you want to know about Hokusai’s life in 2 minutes (and if you understand Japanese), here’s a cartoon… Unfortunately there’s no subs. But it’s funny even if you don’t understand!

The exhibition has now finished… but look out for more Japanese exhibitions!

Address: Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG

***

The Walworth Festival happened to be on the same day I went to the museum… I actually didn’t know this was happening… just stumbled upon it as I was heading to Argos! LOL!! ^_^

There were only a few stalls of interest, but apparently there were some dancing acts….

Capital Ring Walk – Sections 14 and 15

On July 16, 2017February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’m freeeee! No more intense Japanese studying for a bit until some new exam comes up. 🤣 Still a few months behind from blogging but will try my best to catch up!

For Londoners wanting a walk why not try out the Capital Ring Walk which is basically a path designed for Londoners to walk through the Travel Zone 3 and 4 area.

Ms LüFù suggested we should try this walk, so before Easter time, Miss Money, Ms LüFù and I went for Walk 14 and 15, which starts from Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park, and then from Beckton to Woolwich Arsenal.

I met Miss Money first at Stratford then we took the Overground to Hackney Wick to meet up with Ms LüFù.

At Hackney Wick Station, the first thing you would be interested in are the hilarious political posts of street art. My favourite stuff. The things that wouldn’t be able to see on TV.

Once you’ve gone through the street art you’ll see these signs.

Keep an eye out for them when you do this walk as they will (kind of) guide you through the trail.

Some of the walk signs are not where you think they will be, so read your guide! In the distance in the Olympic Stadium, so head towards it.

Go along this bank, just be weary there are runners and cyclists who take this route.

When you get here. Head to your right. You’ll see a sign for a boat bus but we weren’t sure if it exists.

So which way do you go? I can’t remember, but if you can find the stadium from here you’re on the right track!

Ta-da! The Olympic Stadium!

We went off track a little bit, and had a look at some art pieces on display.

After this part you might get lost trying to find The Greenaway. We headed on a downwards pathway, but we weren’t sure whether to go straight or turn right, so we headed back to where there’s a coffee shop near the art displays and asked someone who gave some clear instructions… We needed to head straight from the downwards pathway. Then find the main street.

Found the main street, turned left, then we walked straight, crossed the road and found The Greenway.

Did you know this walk actually follows a sewage line? That’s why at The Greenway you’ll see an old sewage building. You’ll see some airvents on the ground and that’s just relieve the carbon monoxide that builds up from our body waste.

Along the walk you will see some bits and pieces… Just don’t walk too far to the end of The Greenway as you’ll reach the motorway (which happened to us). 😅

We had to walk through a residential area. We should have walked down some stairs when we saw a play area on our right hand side.

But we did find our way back into the walk!

This was the last leg of Walk 14. We stopped and had a short lunch. My legs were almost aching. 😣

It was too early to go back home so we decided to take the route Walk 15 of the Capital Ring Walk.

So Walk 15 starts from Beckton District Park.

We ended up in a community centre for a pee stop. 😆😆😆

We ended up at the entrance of University of East London. There is security, so not sure if there’s a closing and opening times of this area.

Take a left… And just keep walking along the bank!

You might get confused with this sign!

Anyway we wanted along the bankside but it’s tide came in…

At this junction you might get stuck but in fact before you reach this part there’s a gate around the corner where you can push a button to go through.

Ms LüFù had taken this part of the walk before but we kind of went through another street to get back to our main route.

We got to another park…

And finally found the last leg to the ferry that goes across from Woolwich Foot Tunnel to Woolwich Arsenal. There’s actually no foot crossing between both ends of the river.

The boat ride is completely free but be prepared to wait.

A pigeon came along the ride.

This was the end of our journey before returning back home.

Our journey took us around 5 hours, and about 12 kms of walking! Exhausted! 😥

All I wanted was a big drink of juice and water. 😌😌😌

If you do decide to take this walk, bring water, snacks and wear comfortable walking shoes/ trainers. 😄

Walk 14: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/hackney-wick-to-beckton-district-park

Walk 15: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/beckton-district-park-to-woolwich

Website: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/capital-ring

Bubblewrap Waffle – London China Town

On May 22, 2017February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

What to do on your week off (at the end of March)? Eat ice cream and Chinese style waffles is one answer. 😅

Bubblewrap is based on the Hong Kong style egg waffles but with added ice cream, sauce and toppings. For some reason it’s gained a lot of popularity. Reason: Not known. Constantly long queues too.

I tried to get there as early as possible but there was already a queue! There was only 10 minutes left till opening time… And I already had to wait. 😮 If you notice before queuing, there’s a sign of where the two hour wait starts from. SIGH. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait two hours!!

Just before opening, I was given a leaflet with the menu.

At this point I was nearing the front after 15 to 20 minutes.

Getting close!

Almost there!

And finally I got in! I texted Miss Money during my queuing time as it was nearing her lunch break. Tried to get her to come out from work early but I think her boss is quite strict with time. 🙄 Anyway, she asked me to get her one, the matcha tea one, unfortunately they had run out of that flavour. Oh well, sorry Miss Money.

Anyway. I ordered two (Miss Money thought it was only one wrap per person to order, uh no).

After 45 to 50 minutes of waiting, I got my two Bubblewraps. An incredibly long time…

Miss Money and her co-workers got the strawberry one, and I had the chocolate one. 😋

To be honest, it wasn’t very exciting, just taking the pictures of the food was more exciting than eating it. 😅 My chocolate flavoured egg waffle tasted normal with a tiny hint of chocolate. Found it a little hard to eat just scooping out the ice cream and picking at the egg waffles. Miss Money and one of her co-workers weren’t very excited. Weren’t pleased with the pricing too. They said to me, that the bakery opposite sold Japanese taiyaki and green tea ice cream for £2 or £3 something, and had a similar taste to the egg waffle… Oh dear.

So a total cost of £12.98… Not worth the wait methinks.

My geeky rating: 3.5/5

Address: 24 Wardour Street, London W1D 6 Qj

Tel: 0207 734 4535

Website: www.bubblewrapwaffle.com

Surrey Docks City Farm

On May 21, 2017February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Not really having enough time to blog so much, so I’ve decided to re-download the app and blog away… 😅 You might get to see more smileys too. Whoopee!

Miss Pinky was in desperate need of a babysitter as her normal one was taking a day off! 😅 So I agreed, told Miss Vegan and Mrs Sweets to man the workload whilst I become a godmother for the day. 😆

After a morning of Peppa Pig (thought I could manage a whole day of it, but that will never happen), quick breakfast and super godmother quick dressing, I took Baby B to Surrey Docks Farm… I can’t believe Miss Pinky and Mr Picky have never taken her there. Half an hour away from their home.

Baby B and I took the bus 381… But she fell asleep half way through the journey! 😮 No don’t fall asleep Baby B! 😥

Got off at Downtown Road, and I asked a lady for directions. Baby B was still asleep…

So in the meantime, I took pictures for Miss Pinky to see the that her daughter fell asleep in the pram and was still sleeping as I walked around.

By this point I took a seat on a broken bench, looking at Baby B and see if she would awake. Nope. No signs of waking up.

Just as we were leaving, past some Chinese tourists/ business people… and then an old Chinese couple with their grandchild who were trying to make conversation with me in Mandarin… Tried to explain that Baby B wasn’t mine by my god child. Lol. They thought I was a nanny… In the end they got it! I think talking to this Chinese grandparents had awakened Baby B, so I was super excited and did the whole trip around the farm again… 😌

Baby B seemed super happy, even gave her some massive super snack of cherry tomatoes, she was happy… The only mishap which scared me the most was when she fell done the wooden stairs because she didn’t hold onto the sides. Baby B gave me a big heart attack, but she didn’t cry, didn’t scream in pain… Amazed at her strength at containing herself. But I found out later from Miss Pinky that she does this a few times when she walks down the stairs. Anyway, had to go up the stairs and then walk down them again with Baby B, but had to go back up and take the pram down afterwards. 😣

Apart from the one mishap, we had a good time running around. 😊

Address: Rotherhithe St, London SE16 5ET
Tel: 020 7231 1010

Buses: C10 and 381 (get off at Downtown Road, it’s on the left hand side when you get off)

Website: http://www.surreydocksfarm.org.uk/

Yamato @ The Peacock Theatre

On May 10, 2017February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

A short post.

I booked a seat to see Yamato the Japanese drummers the day after going to Brighton… I thought I would be really tired, but managed to survive the next day to watch these peeps.

It’s my first time going to the Peacock Theatre. I’ve always wanted to go there so when I saw a friend post a picture of these Japanese drums at this theatre, I thought I must go and see them too!

Start of the show…

This was at the end of the show… It was AMAZING! It was like having a music lesson all over again but in a theatre. ^_^ Lots of drumming skills, some singing, and these guys and girls really pulled off a great performance!!

Hope to see these peeps again in the future!!

Tonkotsu Ramen Restaurant – London Blackfriars

On October 30, 2016February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Well I was supposed to blog a lot this month… buuuut I ended up being so busy at the end of this month, so I didn’t have time to do anything. Saturday over. Sunday I’m back in action, although I had to do some spring cleaning… More spring cleaning to go.

On one of my Pokémon Go walkabouts (I really wanted to evolve my Margikarp ASAP) I decided I wanted to try this place Tonkotsu. I’ve tried waiting for Miss Pinky to tag along but she’s never had the time or remembered to go and find it. 😦 So a geeky decision was made to go and try it since I was in the Thames area. If you see Wagamama then you’re almost there, Tonkotsu is in the next street.

It seemed like a very quiet Sunday and I think it was past the lunchtime rush hour. There were already a few customers there but looked like they were almost done.

I made a final decision on the food I wanted. I also ordered half a pint of Kirin beer, they don’t sell Asahi. Oh well. Prefer the sweet beer anyway.

Woooow at this chicken karaage. They looked kind of plain, but in actual fact it really tasted nice! I think they used chicken thigh. It was nice and juicy on the inside… I could have ate loads of these. I made a soy sauce and chilli oil dip. Wished they had some Japanese mayo to go with it. ^_^ Nice crunchy outer layer and juicy chicken worked really well here. Defo recommend this!!!

I had the Tonkotsu ramen and also ordered some extra chashu (I was completely hungry after the 3 hour walk I had!). This was awesome. Different creamy texture to the other ramen places. The soup is on the salty side but has that same aftertaste you get from all the ramen stores. Can’t explain what that aftertaste is. The chasu was very enjoyable. They are thickly cut not like some places where they give you a very very thin slice. I couldn’t bite through it though and had to eat each slice in whole. ¬_¬””.

I actually enjoyed it! Think I would go here again if anywhere else was busy for a bowl of ramen. Too bad I didn’t finish the soup but I had my beer and more walking to get on with. ^_^

My afternoon meal… tried to make that chicken karaage last for a long time…

Gochisosama deshita! ^_^

Total came to £21.80. Worth it for the soup!

My geeky rating: 5/5

Good points:
– Polite service
– Loved the thick cut chashu slice
– Soup is creamy and actually ok
– Enjoyed the chicken a lot!!!!

Bad points:
– Nothing that I can think of… only the choice of beer! Where’s the Asahi?!

Website: http://www.tonkotsu.co.uk/page/home

Here’s some pictures from my walk…

I rarely walk on the north side of the Thames. It was quite magnificent to see The Shard reflecting the clouds and blue skies. Very pretty indeed!

A guy playing the trumpet in Southbank… ^_^

There were a bunch of rollerbladers. Not sure what was happening that day!

Back to work tomorrow… A whole day of going in between places… It’s going to be another exhausting week… :p

I hope you’ve all turned back your clocks… I think the time change has made me exhausted. Back to sleep I go. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Holland Park – Kyoto Garden

On August 30, 2016February 3, 2019 By Bao Bao QiuIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

If I weren’t told about there being many Bulbasaurs in Holland Park (which is a few bus stops away from Hyde Park), I don’t think I would have noticed that there are beautiful gardens there.

Mr B, who I have mentioned in this blog before (can’t remember what about, but he’s lurking in my blog), had informed me to go and hunt some Pokémon in Holland Park, in which I did during this summer Bank Holiday Monday. Guess I needed to burn more fat off from the BBQ earlier in the weekend.

I walked around and around the place and noticed that there were so many people playing Pokémon Go. The game is not dead yet! Those who aren’t playing are just lazy or too busy to go out to hunt… I’ve seen parents play with their children on bus rides and in parks. Hah!

Well, I got to Kyoto Garden. Didn’t know this existed! Oh my! Such a terrible Londoner…

And I saw this… woah… where did this spring from? How long has it been here? Think I might pop into this garden once in a while.

The koi fish are so big… it just reminded me of the time Miss Pinky and I went to the Palace in Tokyo…
By the way, Miss Pinky and family were supposed to meet me later on this day, but never showed up because of Baby B’s future childcare issues! 😦