London 2010 – Regina Chow

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Mandarin Kitchen at Queensway, London

August 11, 2010 by Regina Chow 2 Comments

Mandarin Kitchen was one restaurant in London that we just couldn’t miss. Located at Queensway, alongside other Chinese restaurants such as Royal China (my favourite dim sum place in Singapore hails from London!), Mandarin Kitchen is always crowded and reservations are definitely recommended.

Here’s the address:

Mandarin Kitchen

14-16 Queensway, London W2 3RX, United Kingdom 020 7727 9012

We ordered the house specialty lobster noodles. The juicy and succulent lobster meat was cooked to golden perfection and absolutely divine to the palate. The description alone is enough to make me salivate!

We also shared a plate of crispy Peking duck with pancake to share. The servings at Mandarin Kitchen are very generous and the gluttons in us simply could not resist the lure of crispy duck with sweet sauce. We wolfed down the entire plate of duck like ravenous scavengers.

Ever heard of the saying that women have a separate compartment in their stomachs for dessert? Well, I am not ashamed to admit that this has always been the case for me. Boy was I glad that I didn’t miss out on the toffee bananas!

Toffee bananas are essentially fried banana fritters deliciously coated with a thick layer of toffee, akin to the westernized version of our local favourite, goreng pisang! Trust me, the moment you sink your teeth into this delectable dessert, you would be left begging for more. I almost ordered another serving! Yes, it was that addictive!

I would definitely return to Mandarin Kitchen the next time I’m in London. The food is reasonably priced and finger-licking good. Thanks HP for treating me to such a wonderful meal!

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Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards, Buckingham Palace and The Botanist

August 9, 2010 by Regina Chow No Comments

We didn’t have time to venture out of London for sightseeing, but we did have pockets of time to do a teeny weeny bit of sightseeing in London itself.

Trafalgar Square is one of the most famous squares in the UK, hence it is a popular venue for political demonstrations and national celebrations such as the annual New Year’s Eve party. The key landmark of Trafalgar Square is the Nelson Column behind us in the first picture, a monument that was built in memory of Admiral Nelson’s death during the Battle of Trafalgar. The Battle of Trafalgar, a battle against the Spanish and French navy fleets during the Napoleonic wars, marked the most successful British victory during this period, thus Trafalgar Square was named after it in commemoration of the battle.

We also passed by the horse guards parade en route to Buckingham Palace, which is located in the city of Westminster. It was already close to evening by the time we got there, so we missed the changing of guards ceremony which was scheduled to take place at 11.30a.m!

Thereafter, we decided to reward ourselves with a sumptuous meal at The Botanist, touted as one of the best restaurants in London. I loved the ambiance, but I didn’t think very much of the food unfortunately. I much prefer the food at Mandarin Kitchen, which I will blog about very soon. 😉

Meanwhile, here’s wishing Singapore a Happy 45th National Day!! Live our dreams, fly our flag!

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Hyde Park

August 7, 2010 by Regina Chow No Comments

At 350 acres, Hyde Park is not only the most famous Royal Park in London, it is also easily one of the largest. Long before it was opened to the public, Hyde Park belonged to the monks of Westminster Abbey and was then subsequently purchased by Henry XIII to be used as his private hunting ground. The park was only opened to the public in 1637 after Charles I took over the reign.

Since then, Hyde Park has taken on a totally different identity. It is now a venue for national celebrations and global events such as the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games. Of course, families and friends still gather here on weekends for picnics!

We took a stroll through the park on an early Sunday morning, unfazed by the scorching heat. In fact, I remember joking that we would probably need to do IPL to get rid of pigmentation after the trip. For the uninitiated, IPL refers to Intense Pulse Light, a laser skin treatment, not Invisible Panty Line (a certain significant other thought the acronym stands for this!!LOL).

Just look at these gorgeous blooms! I was so dazzled by the vast expanse of green meadows and diverse selection of flora and fauna. Nowhere in the depths of our botanical gardens can you find such beautiful flowers.

As the weather was nothing short of fabulous that day, we spotted several bikini-clad visitors sunbathing in the open along our way. Deck chairs in cheery white and green stripes were also made available to visitors who want to get that healthy tan.

And finally, here’s my favourite shot of the park.

Enjoy the long weekend babes! Happy National Day!!

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Catching up in London

July 21, 2010 by Regina Chow 6 Comments

It has been eons since I last caught up with Sheryl, my JC classmate, but she hasn’t changed one bit! I was so glad we finally got to meet again after all these years because not only do we share the same birthday, we share many other similar traits as well.

I’m guessing the easiest way to tell us apart is by the number of shopping bags we each have. No prizes for guessing who has more. 😛

Hint: The one who has more shopping bags just had a plate of grass for breakfast.

She’s still as sweet as ever, always lovingly referring to me as the evil twin when I am obviously the good one, though I have to admit (albeit rather grudgingly) that this is also a case of the pot (i.e. me) calling the kettle black.

We had lunch in a quaint little french restaurant at Covent Garden, followed by crazy shopping!

That day alone, we covered Oxford Street, Bond Street, Covent Garden and Harrods…how amazing is that?

As you can tell from the photos, the weather in London was exceptional while we were there. It was sunny yet breezy, totally unlike the typical gloomy weather that Londoners are so used to. Needless to say, that was probably the key reason why the streets were jam packed with people! The only time when the streets were empty was when the world cup matches were on!

Mandarin Kitchen at Queensway, London

Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards, Buckingham Palace and The Botanist

Hyde Park

Catching up in London

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