Quick Update

Patrick UK Life

Saturday saw me use a Floatworks voucher that my sister gave me, entitling me to the one hour experience of floating in a pool of water. It’s a surreal experience and I’m glad that I didn’t suffer from the nausea that I know a few other people who’ve been had. Instead I noticed that my mind wandered all over the place, and I really don’t like stuffy closed spaces. You step into a pod of warm salty water, so salty in fact that by the end of it, you can feel some of the salt crystalised and need a shower to get it most of it off. I’m not sure if I’d go back although I’m glad I’d tried one out.

I also went out to Chiswick, or at least tried to, after a long attempt at riding a number of buses to arrive at a dinner that Stacey and Wes had organised with Gerrod and Kristy. I had a wonderful evening with them despite turning up almost an hour late, indulging in a fat and extremely tasty dover sole and hanging around with them at the Roebuck until closing time.

I attempted to pack for Canada only to realise that I hadn’t received some of the necessary paperwork I needed for my work permit. Almost panicking, I rushed into the office to gleefully find them sitting by the rest of the mail pile. Phew. In a way, I’ve been glad that this weekend has been slightly cold, dreary and rainy as I feel like I won’t be missing too much (just yet) when I leave.

I finished the weekend off with a brunch at the Blue Elephant that impressed me more when I first entered although I did leave extremely well satisfied.

Tomorrow I head off to Calgary for three months where I’m going to help out with a project for a while. I’m looking forward getting back to project delivery where I can refocus the lessons I’ve learned the last few months and apply them in my coaching and development interests.

Imli

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

I’d read a little bit about Imli in a few places and, for the most part, appeared to be a pretty good place to eat so we went along to this modern ‘tapas’ take on Indian cuisine. The restaurant isn’t massive, located in the heart of Soho and it looks extremely modern and clean. The menu is simple and split into the different types of meats and a separate section for vegetarian and other side dishes. They serve all of the curries with rice on the side. It was the first time that we’d all come here so the waiter first explained how the menu worked and the recommend of two to three dishes each, or the alternative of a set menu that sounded a bit more thali-like and less shareable.

We tried a huge variety of different dishes between the four of us, following the waiters advice. They served it in about three rounds, giving us some time to clear out the table although the end result still looked like a bomb had hit it. Next time, I wouldn’t follow the waiter’s advice, instead sticking to one or two dishes between everyone and then perhaps ordering more at the end if you’re still full. The combination between different types of dishes, lots of rice accompaniments (as part of the tapas plate) meant that the sheer volume of food defeated us. In one way, it’s not bad for money although we ended up wasting some of ours since we followed the waiter’s advice.

One huge disappointment and shocker for this restaurant is their policy with their “bottled” water. In a way, we’re partly to blame as we missed the not very obvious hints. We should have picked up on the first tip when they said that they don’t have sparkling water, and then then seen the second when they brought out their tiny “Imli” branded glass bottles with the rubber stoppers you push backwards. At £1.95 for, what looked like, a 400mL bottle of filtered water we were stunned when we received our bill four bottles later. The worst thing is that they didn’t even warn us about it when we hesitated at the first one.

I really wanted to like this place. The food is reasonably priced, fairly tasty and presented in a comfortable atmosphere to share with friends. I’m still left with a very bitter taste, one from the recommendation of ordering far too much food, and the second not being warned about the bottled water that I definitely don’t think is worth the price.

Details: Imli
Found at: 167-169 Wardour Street, Soho, London, W1F 8WR
Highlights: Small plates of Indian food perfect for sharing with a number of friends
Room for improvement: £1.95 for water you bottle yourself? Pfff.
The Kua Rating: 6 out of 10

Sound of Music

Patrick Entertainment, Theatre, UK Life

Of all the musicals I’ve seen, I must rate the latest one showing at the Palladium as the best. Everything from the cast, the costumes, the full orchestra, set designs and succinctness add to its wonderful performance. Lasting about two and half hours including the intermission, I’m surprised that it still managed to fit in all the songs that I could remember (and then some).

For something that’s so widely known, it’s very hard not to compare it to the movie. The performers don’t really look the same, although they still put on the same amazing performance. I’m also glad that they cut scenes that repeat a number of songs, turning the four hour epic I seem to remember the movie taking into something a little bit more manageable on a school night. The original movie is amazing in its own way, and this stage production takes it to the same level in a slightly different way.

The scenes changes probably amazed me the most, with the basic stage transformed into the alps, outside gardens, and the abbey through a combination of floating stages, circular platforms and lots of props dropping from the ceiling. It all occurred so seamlessly that they were hardly noticeable.

TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10

Gods of Carnage

Patrick Entertainment, Theatre, UK Life

Gods of CarnageA new comedy act recently opened on the West End starring Ralph Fiennes and I was lucky enough to score a preview ticket on this Saturday just gone. As expected, it was a full house and so the laughter filled the entire theatre. The play, best described as a bit of a black comedy involves four actors and actresses on a very simple set and focused around the story of their children getting into a fight and all the craziness that ensues to resolve it.

Based on some of the topics covered and the amount of swearing, the writer obviously wrote this script relatively recently and at least seems to have some French origins although it also includes plenty of the classic understated British humour, focused on many suggestive hints and plenty of sarcastic comments.

We had perfectly centred seats that was close enough to see some of the very visual and physical parts of the comedy theatre without being too close to be covered by it (you have to go and see it to know what I mean). I’d highly recommend any people who have a sense of humour (or at least appreciate comedy) to go and see this if you’re seeing any West End show.

Spitalfields Taste Festival

Patrick Food, UK Life

After having dinner with Marc and Amanda last week, I noticed Spitalfields had a Taste festival this weekend. Less of a farmer’s market and more of a food festival with lots of samplers, Spitalfields appeared much busier than it normally is on a Saturday with a number of new stalls bolstering the handful of the normal ones just outside where Giraffe and Canteen sit.

Cooks on Stilts

A few street entertainers including a number of chefs on stilts, another juggling chef, kept the audience mildly amused by walking the small kids surrounding the small petting zoo. As I mentioned previously the food focused on selling sample wares from local restaurants. Everything appeared there from fresh scallops, mushroom risotto, ox heart burgers (of course provided by St John’s restaurant), and plenty of stalls to keep everyone happy. They even had a number of places offering free New Zealand lager and best of all, an organic cider place that proved perfect protection against the chills of the cold spring winds.

Scallops

I’d definitely go back to Taste next year, although I hope they put the central stage somewhere other than in the middle of the crowd where it effectively blocks all pedestrian traffic whenever a show is on.

The Crush

Patrick Travel, UK Life

I’ve been especially lucky in my two and a half years in London that my commute always seemed to be outside of peak hours, or at least, I could travel during peak hours on alternatives other than the tube. This means I’ve been able to walk to wherever my client or office is, or I’d be travelling much earlier/later than the majority of London.

The last week has seen me brave the central line at peak times. I’m a big fan of the central line – it tends to be fast, frequent and have the least number of delays (which is easy compared to the district or circle lines I used to depend on). Its other major advantage (often duel playing as a disadvantage) is that, like its name, the line cuts straight through the middle of London. It spans all the way out west, through the west end, continuing on to the city and further east. Combine this with its speed and you can literally fly through London, that is, if you can get on.

I’ve learned that if I catch the central line any time between 5:30pm and 6:30pm, it’s best to know what side you want to get off, and stay close to the exit. When people get on and off at places like Oxford Circus and Holborn, people don’t really hesitate to fill any space they can see, or even simply think there is. Others may shuffle at some point to free some breathing space, though it’s guaranteed to be packed. To be honest, it feels extremely claustrophobic and I find it difficult to remain perfectly polite when you’re trying to exit without stepping on anyone’s toes, or bumping into anyone else’s body.

Of course, this is all a part of living in a big city like London and I knew it was bound to happen. At least I haven’t had the experience of the entire tube station shutting down because of the sheer number of commuters overwhelming the station capacity.

The London Aquarium

Patrick UK Life

Last week I took advantage of the Oyster card 2-for-1 entry into the London Aquarium. I’ve been past the area plenty of times before and thought it’s about time to make a day out of it. With the two of us, entry is just under £7, a reasonable fare for entry into a decent underwater world as far as London goes. Compared to the aquariums I’ve visited in Australia and Singapore, I’d have to say that London disappoints.

Perhaps I found the crowds too pushy. Most especially were a number of foreign couples who didn’t even have kids trying to squirm their way in front of a tank for photos I could tell just wouldn’t work out. Surprisingly I found those who had kids appeared the most placid, wildly aware of the chaos the tiny make.

London Aquarium

They have a decent number of collections, especially a large tank holding a number of sharks and a huge assortment of fish. The aquarium also has a display showing mangroves, and the best part, a touching pool where curious stingray swim towards the number of arms reaching out to pat their scaly backs.

Would I recommend this place to visitors? I probably wouldn’t unless they’ve never been to an aquarium before. It’s not bad to do if you’re running out of things to do in London (is that even possible?) though I think there is much better places to go to first.

Dragon Castle

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

Elephant and Castle isn’t exactly well known for its thriving Chinese community and so Dragon Castle is a great surprise for those craving Chinese food on the south side of the river. You enter the restaurant through one of two doors alongside a towering red gate fronted by two standard Chinese lions only to enter a small foyer entrance. Compared to the other restaurants found in Chinatown, I thought this place looked much larger in space.

Dragon Castle

Given the large spaces, I thought the waiters and waitresses would push carts around though it turns out I was wrong. Instead, you walk down a large and grandiose path placed alongside the wall of the stretched out room and then shown to one of the tables clustered next to each other on the other, ordering from a small menu.

The attendants really earn their service in this place. Unlike many other dim sum places, our pot of tea always remained piping hot, constantly filled without any requests. The little parcels arrived at a steady pace without the sudden overcrowding other places give you and they quickly whisk the dishes away as soon as you’re completely done and, most importantly, not when you’re almost done with your chopsticks still picking up the food.

Dim Sum

The food is excellent value and the quality reasonable though I wouldn’t claim it’s the best that I’ve had. The dim sum menu isn’t as overwhelming as many other places, instead keeping to a core set of favourable dim sum favourites. We also managed to order a main dish that remained off the dim sum menu and they seemed happy to oblige.

Details: Dragon Castle
Found at: 100 Walworth Road, SE17 1JL, London
Highlights: Decent quality dim sum at extremely reasonable prices in the place you’d least expect it.
Room for improvement: Would be a much better experience if they used carts to wheel food around for a more authentic experience.
The Kua Rating: 7.5 out of 10