come out, come out, wherever you are

The London Zoo

I went to the London Zoo (http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/) this week.. after much anticipation, I can say I was actually a little disappointed.

National Rail does 2 for 1 offers, but make sure you actually have the voucher, they won't budge on this! THANK YOU to the random man who happened to have an extra voucher. Come to think of it, why would a random man (no children) have extra zoo vouchers. Animal lover? Let's hope so.

The animals were mostly away on 'holiday', which was a little annoying, entrance at £19.50 per person should ensure non-holidaying animals. Majority of the reptiles were not in their little glass habitats, which actually really doesn't bother me too much.

I am a huge monkey fan, and there really weren't any. The penguins were away at Whipsnade Zoo, which didn't help because I wasn't at Whipsnade (but clearly I should have been).

It was mid afternoon so most of the animals were napping (saw some tiger behind and a lion briefly made an appearance) but other than that I can honestly say it was a pretty boring zoo.

However that said, it is in a gorgeous area in Reagent's Park and if not paying full price, should definitely be checked out. The soft serve was pretty damn good.

And do make the short trek to Primrose Hill for a great view of the city. It's a mission to walk up there, but on a gorgeous clear day, worth the blood, sweat, and tear to get up there. And make sure you do a little Rocky victory dance!

Cookie for one

I had a great afternoon last week - while I was waiting for some friends to finish at a conference, I walked around Holborn, enjoying the sun, and settled at Costa coffee on Upper Street (Angel). As is a complete faux pas to sit in a coffee shop and not order, and as I wasn't hungry or really thirsty, I ordered a jam cookie and a glass water.

It was great, I had all I needed to pass the time. Food, water, phone and a Murakami novel. Sometimes it's the little things that make a great time.

Posh Indian Restaurants: To eat or not to eat?

My dad recently came to town, and as usual (as is most of our travels) this trip was centered around food.

My dad think himself to be a food connoisseur, and following in daddy's footsteps, so do I. Although the similarities end there. He will only eat at Indian restaurants, and one's that serve 'fine dining' - according to him. I'm not a huge fan in paying lots of money for food that I grew up eating and now can somewhat manage to make on my own - but if he doesn't mind paying for it, I don't mind eating it.

Veeraswamy

http://www.veeraswamy.com/

Branded as the U.K.'s oldest Indian eatery, I have to say I was slightly disappointed this time. The menu changed slightly; the vegetarian options were withered down to 3 choices from a previous larger variety. Albeit that the majority of sides are vegetarian, it gives the effect that if wanting to eat vegetarian you are only good enough for the side portions.

We each had a thali - an assortment of foods that come on one plate - but had to order naan separately. £9 for a basket which is a little ridiculous, but when in Rome..(or India in this case..). Dessert was gulab jamin and vanilla ice cream, a sad departure from what we had last year - deep fried straws filled with gajar halwa with a side of chocolate dipping sauce. Alas, £128 later I was full but not happy. This is a yearly tradition dad and I do, so hopefully next year the menu changes again, and we are happy eaters once again.

I do have to say that the service was impeccable, amazing staff, really polite and friendly. Highlight of dinner was the basil and tomato soup for starters, brought separately and effortlessly poured into already set soup bowls. A really elegant touch. Also amazing was the rose and lychee lemonade, could have done with some more rose water, but otherwise an amazing combination.