Brixton Market

Hi Guys!


I visited a very special place last week which I found absolutely authentic. I already told you a bit about the colourful Brixton last time (The Prince), but without describing its great Market (here is the official website http://www.brixtonmarket.net/).

Apart from being very affordable, you can find there all kinds of exotic products you won't find anywhere else like yam, plantains and many many other special ingredients.

Lucky us, it was a sunny sunday which made it even more pleasant to wander around, listenning to the loud reggae music coming out of some shop.

And there are perticularly 2 things that I really enjoyed... Food! Yes I know! I keep talking about food, but Hey! This is how you know that a place is great!


So, First, I had the chance to enjoy genuine rotis from Guyana!! Where the Hell is Guyana you wonder? Well, it is a tiny country (the red one on the map below) near Surinam (ex Dutch Guyana), French Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela at the north of South America.

Best map I could find on google!

I am telling you: you can travel the cheapest way in Brixton :). Guyana used to be an English Colony and British brought there African people, but also people from India. Hence the Roti that is originally from India.

To talk about the roti in itself, it is between a naan and a crepe and you eat it with a side dish: it can be chicken with sauce, curry potatoes etc... And I can tell you that the mamas that were cooking the rotis were doing it the good way as my roti tasted like heaven! Besides, another great thing about the roti is that you eat it with your hands: no fork, nothing... Not practical, but exhilarating!

The second thing that was really worth is the covered market nearby named 'Brixton Village'.You can still find fresh products there, but in addition, there are lots of little restaurants and other small shops. And, if I were to recommand one, that would certainly be 'La Cabaña' a columbian restaurant family restaurant where I went 2 weeks ago: service is perfect, coffee is extremely fresh and the dishes are cheap and very good!

  Try the 'bandeja paisa' for 9 pounds:

Hope you'll enjoy it there!!!

Columbia Road's Flower Market

Hey little chickens!

I wanted to make a post about the great flower market of Columbia Road (East London).

In the guides, you will see that it closes around 12'00 PM, but I went twice at 12'30 PM and could see that it closes after 2'00PM. Anyway, even if this market is probably better during summer, I can tell you that it is worth it nowadays too!

As I said earlier, it takes places in Columbia Road which is not so far from the beginning of the more famous Brick Lane. To me, this is THE thing you have to do on a sunday morning (ok, 12'00PM is not anymore the morning...But maybe it is on Sundays!): The road is super busy with people selling all sorts of flowers and trees - don't expect baobabs and exotic stuffs giving the season..Oh wait, you do have some exotic flower over there. The atmosphere is warm despite of the perfidious wind, flower sellers are shouting, people bump -gently- into each other, you have small fashion boutiques that run alongside the road, and of course you have restaurants!

Let me show you what it's like:

Some people actually buy flowers there (no wayyyy!), i mean, really big bouquets. I never tried to buy a nice bouquet as I wouldn't know where to put them at home; besides, I like to wander in the neighbourhood afterwards... But I really like to see happy people faces with their huge bunch of flowers. It's silly but I can understand how nice it is to buy flowers just for the sake of it!

After this very touching thought I would like to share a very special place where you absolutely have to go when you are finished looking at green stuff. Indeed, at the end of the flower market, you will find a little snack owned by a super cool guy who sells portions of Veg Samosas and falafel! So tasty! Take the chilli sauce: the mix is absolutely delicious and just perfect to wait until the brunch (my brunches are late). Seriously, you can tell these apetizers are homemade. Bravo Maestro (or is it his wife?)! Here is the foto of the guy who made my day :

Apparently, the guy is famous - So he said. He was interviewed for a local newspaper! I can understand why!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it rains!

What a perfect post for a rainy day!

I suffered the loss of my dear ally this morning. Anyway, even if I do mourn my late umbrella, I think I should get a new one - question of life and death here…

‘Dear Fairy, I’d like a big funky umbrella like the 25togo Design one which is probably too expensive for me.’

Here, people have these huge umbrellas that have a diameter of 2 meters. They are ready to fight! But in Paris even if it rains as much as in London – the wind is far less perfidious though – we just have these 3 euros umbrellas - they die during the first month of winter.

Anyway, here is my the object of my dreams (well just today because it rains)

Useful to tickle your mates when it rains!

Or to cross the road safely!

Anyway, today, even without an umbrella, I made it through the rain!

My Covent Garden Soups

Hi all!

It's been a little bit more than one month that I arrived in London, and a great deal of my conection with English culture is at work.

I must say that several things are so different from France! At the beginning, I was thrilled, but, after one month, well, I think that working here is not better; just different.

'But, for God's Sake! What is the damn connection with the Covent Garden Soups???' All right, all right, I am going to tell ya! Actually, the link is brutal and is one of the huge differences between England (or the United States) and France when it comes to corporate culture.

For my very first day at work, I had to eat all ALONE in front of my computer and I thought that this was crazy! And it is all the most crazy that, at first appearance, colleagues are extremely friendly between each other here (Or is it that they are particularly cold in France?).

So you'd expect to have a nice cool welcoming lunch to have the time to EXCHANGE and socialize... Errr... No no.. In your dreams kiddo! You see the Tesco? You go there, grab a sandwich or whatever, and come back to your seat in order to quickly eat it in front of your screen (even if it's your first day and that bloody IT is not able to make your professional mailbox work). This is the best way to die soon of indigestion my friends...

I freaked out! In France, lunches were the highlight of the day, The Break, the moment where you could release the pressure, 1h30 (yeaaaaah, I love my job) of joy, gossips and -very- bad jokes. I had to do something about this situation! That's how I began to do it. Buy Covent Garden Soups... Below, my trusty allies:

Actually, if you don't eat something good, you die during the afternoon. Of course you could buy a Mc D, grab a sandwich at Starbucks (I do, once in a while), or at Prêt à Manger (I don't like sandwiches there though... Stop with the Mayo/Pesto, guys! Not tasty), but it would be expensive and not satiating enough.

These soups -only 98p at Morrisons- are not expensive, not like cream (I hate soups that taste like cream and not real vegetables), and the serving (600g I think) is quite honest. My favourites? The ones with lentils. But Vegetable Winter is quite good too.

I think that you got that I am still not used to this whole eating-at-work-in-front-of-your-computer thing... I don't think I will someday, even with free Covent Garden soups. Of course, the compensation is that you get to leave work much earlier, like at 6'00PM, which is really cool. But I'd easily give this up for a real lunch where you can socialize because, I am personally more efficient after a real break. Even if I do feel relaxed while waiting for the micro-wave to heat up my soup... Yep, I try to be positive!

Tomorrow, I'll spice up my lunch and will try a new CGS flavour! Woohoo, it's gonna be wild!

Street Art - Far East

This will be a rather short post because there is nothing in particular to write about street art: it is just meant to be seen! So just enjoy!

Great collages!

Quite cool this one

 That's all chickens!

Hi All,

here is the Poster above 2 weeks after... Found it interesting enough to show it to you!

2011 Chinese New Year

Hi all!

I was really enthusiastic about Chinese New year but I must say I was a bit deceived about the event. I've done it in Paris and I can say that even if it was not as well organized, at least you'd get to see a bit of the dancing dragon ( I really fancy these bouncing and dancing dragons!)

In a way, I think that here in London, Chinese New year is 'victim' of its own success. Which is good and means that the communication was well done. But I guess that the whole overcrowded stuff is not my cup of tea. Some people did seem to have some fun eating chinese noodles and playing with the bangers though (I almost bought some to throw them at the crowd in order to actually see a dancing dragon).

But all in all, if I were offered the possibility to live again this moment, well, I would decline!

Here are some pics to show you how busy Chinatown was:

Can you see it? The dragon?

Aaaargh!!!

And to finish off I had to show you the object of my frustration:

Chinese dragon on the Catwalk

 Oh, by the way, did you know that this year was the year of the Rabbit? 'Mouhahaha!' You might think? Not at all, given the Rabbit personality traits:

'Although generally calm, gentle and loving, Rabbit people can be very ambitious and intuitively know how to get ahead in the world.

They are good listeners, kind and sweet by nature, and are therefore often sought out as popular and trusted friends. Generally noted for their physical beauty, Rabbits like to surround themselves with beautiful things. They have a good eye for art, design and fashion, and are usually at the top of anyone's Best Dressed list.'

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Prince - South we go!

Hi All!

Last night I went South and I discovered the perfect place to go with friends on a Saturday night, as long as you want to chill and hear good – and I mean great – mixed music from the Beatles, to S.I.A., Michael Jackson (of course), other black music goodies, and a piece of Snatch BO (which is amazing)!

 

The place is in Brixton (end of the Victoria line, the light blue one) which is a neighborhood you gotta know! I’ll do another post about the massive Caribbean market they have on Saturday which is part of the area’s charms; but, in a nutshell, Brixton is our Parisian Strasboug-Saint-Denis… What I mean is that you will find all sorts of explosive colorful vibes there. The area used to be not so secure some years ago, and you could see dealers selling their stuff at the Tube’s entry. But now, it is more and more popular.

Black Community is very present and it’s just amazing to wander and be able to find food you’ll never find anywhere else, listen to this massive R&B out of this butcher shop (that was extra-ordinary!), see these women in their traditional dresses… It is so worth it.

When it comes to the Prince, it is known for hosting live bands, DJ’s etc… So I decided to go there. Inside, the design is quite eclectic (brick wall, crystal chandeliers, wallpaper like your grandmother’s and a disco ball!!!) but the ensemble works together and is welcoming and warm. Above all, you can see that the bar is popular and feel that it has a soul: young, old, friends, couples… Everybody is there; and because there are huge table, people are not afraid to share their space with random persons, which is cool. Just have a look at the bar:

When it comes to the food, well, it is not the big highlight, but being honest: you don’t go to The Prince to eat organic. Just order a good burger! They make one (£ 7.50) with their Piri Piri spicy grilled chicken + guacamole (er...still looking for it) + too many French fries, which is very decent with a pint! 

Just to finish and so that you can feel more or less the bar's vibe, here is a small video, enjoy!