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Taste of Delicious Chinese food in London

Taste of Delicious Chinese food in London

Chinese food is one of the most popular ethnic foods in London, and there is a great selection of restaurants if you know where to go. We highlight some of the best.

Hunan in Pimlico Road, Belgravia is definitely one of the top Chinese restaurants in London.  From the moment you walk in, you are made to feel special.  Expect lots of questions from the staff – how spicy do you like your food? Are you very hungry? Is there anything you prefer or cannot eat? They are really keen to personalize your visit – and provide just the food you want.  Make your choice from the menu and then sit back and prepare for a feast.  Your food will arrive in steady waves, starting with small helpings and building up to steadily bigger ones.  If you are a die hard foodaholic, you must go for accommodation Earls Court London to book your stay and taste various Chinese cuisines.

Also worth considering is Royal China in Baker Street.  Although a big restaurant, it has an intimate atmosphere and is well known for its Dim Sum made daily by specialist chefs.  Service is quick and very efficient.

Prefer something more trendy? Then the Duck & Rice in Berwick Street, Soho may be your ideal location.  A combination of restaurant and pub, it is well known for its trendy approach to Chinese food.  Typical offerings include venison puffs, chicken in black bean sauce, Jasmin smoked pork ribs and Lobster Cantonese. This is a good place to come if you want a beer with your meal.  All around the walls are large copper tanks containing freshly brewed beer.  They even do a good line in beer cocktails for diners wanting to try something a little different.  

Anyone who likes hot, spicy food should head for Barshu in Frith Street, Soho.  Cusine here is based on Sichuan styles and is definitely hot.  The restaurant is renowned for its fiery, numbing flavors and you will certainly need lots of tea to counteract the heat.   Pretty carved screens and red lanterns add a lovely touch of color to the décor.  Stay at Mowbray Court Hotel Kensington to visit various food sites in London

Not far away are two other very good Chinese restaurants.  Four Seasons has been established on Gerrard Street for over two decades and is a specialist in meat dishes.  Roasted meats form a key part of the menu, with particular emphasis on siew yoke (crispy belly pork), barbequed pork and crispy duck.  The menu is massive, covering 20 pages so is guaranteed to provide something to please every diner.  

The Near Jen Café in Newport Place is perfect if you want tea and snack.  It serves a wide range of teas from Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as countless varieties of dumplings.  It is quite fun to watch the dumplings being made and filled with meat or vegetables before your eyes by the on-site chefs.  

Royal China in Baker Street specializes in dim sum and offers a vast range of fillings and styles.  Each dim sum is made daily by specialist chefs, and service is very quick so you do not have to wait long for your meal.

Annual London Marathon 2018

 London Marathon 2018

Thousands of runners take to the London streets every spring, for this is the annual London Marathon.  There is a great atmosphere as massive crowds gather along the route to cheer the participants on.  

Take your places early if you want to be at the finishing point outside Buckingham Palace.  It takes just 2 hours for the top runners to finish the course, while the remainder of the runners trickles in throughout the day.  Top runners taking part this year include the legendary Sir Mo Farah, Kenensia Bekele, and Eliud Kipchoge.  This place is close proximity to Mowbray Court Hotel London. This event is going to take place on Sunday, 22 April 2018.

Demand for places in the London Marathon is high.  This year over 253,000 people applied for the 40,000 spaces available.  Many take part in a bid to raise money for their chosen charities, often participating in fancy dress. In previous years, costumes have included superheroes, animals, a giant Shoe, cartoon characters and a London Bus!  There was also a ‘gorilla’ who crawled the entire length of the course in aid of the Gorilla Organisation.  He was the final runner to complete the Marathon in 2017 as the journey took him 6 days, and raised £23,900 for his chosen charity.

It is a lot of fun, and the atmosphere is really friendly as everyone wants the runners to succeed.  Money is raised along the route for the year’s official charity. This year, it is the Teenage Cancer Trust.  Watch carefully as the runners pass by, as you can spot numerous celebrities. Well known runners in previous years have included Princess Beatrice, chef Gordon Ramsey, and TV personality Chris Evans.  To be a part of this event you must search for hotels in London Earls Court to book your stay.

So where do you go to see the runners?  The London Marathon always starts in Greenwich Park. The route then passes eastwards through Blackheath, then doubles back into London via Bermondsey.  The runners cross the River Thames at Tower Bridge. They then head eastwards again into Docklands, traveling around the edge of the Isle of Dogs before running back into the city of London, passing the Tower of London en route to Buckingham Palace.  It is definitely a grueling run, which challenges not just the running ability of participants but their stamina as well.

Pancake Day Races in London

Pancake Day Races in London

A touch of craziness hits London streets on Pancake Day, held this year on Tuesday 13 February.  This is the scene of lively, amusing pancake races where not all pancakes manage to make it to the finishing line.    

Teams, often wearing fancy dress, run along a set course tossing pancakes in frying pans.  These are not small pancakes.  Every pancake is large enough to match the bottom of a frying pan.

Several races are held around London

At Westminster Tower Gardens near the Houses of Parliament teams from the House of Lords, House of Commons and members of the Press who work there battle it out across several races. It is free to watch and is always very popular.

Head for the Guildhall Yard near St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London for another lively race. These are Livery Races when teams from three livery companies (Poulterers representing eggs, Fruiterers lemons and Cutlers the forks needed to eat pancakes) as well as the Mansion House, Guildhall and Old Bailey have a fun event.  It all begins with a lot of pomp and ceremony with many competitors wearing their full regalia as members of livery companies while others wear fancy dress. The winning team is given a commemorative frying pan. This place isn’t too far away from Mowbray Court Hotel.

Further east again is the public races at the Old Truman Brewery in Spitalfields, East London.  Anyone can take part, as long as they pay the required donation to charity.  Many participants wear fancy dress, the more extreme the better.  They run their race along uneven cobbled streets which makes their task of tossing pancakes and successfully catching them even harder!

Pancake Day is an annual festival, held every year.  The date changes each time due to the fact that Easter is a moveable festival.  Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday as it is often known is held exactly 47 days before Easter. It is always on a Tuesday in February or early March.  If you wish to be a part of this event, book your  accommodation in Kensington London.

This tradition began over a thousand years ago. It has its origins in the custom of medieval Christians to fast during the weeks before Easter. This period is known as Lent.  Shrove Tuesday is the day immediately before Lent begins and was when people went to church and were ‘shrived’ (forgiven) their sins.  Throughout Lent, various foods had to be avoided. This included eggs and fat so the custom began to have a big feast using up those items on Shrove Tuesday.  Pancakes were the obvious answer.

Nowadays, pancakes are popular all year round and you can enjoy them in countless restaurants and cafes across London such as My Old Dutch in Holborn or Crème de la Crepe in Covent Garden.  The range is extensive with both savory and sweet pancakes available.

Roman London Artifacts

Roman London Artifacts

London is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its origins go back to Roman times, over two thousand years ago.  An ideal crossing point of the River Thames, the Square Mile that is now the City of London was the regarded as the perfect site for a port.  It was a busy and thriving city.  

Much of that Roman city has been destroyed over the centuries, and replaced with successive layers of buildings bearing witness to the area’s importance in trade and commerce.  Until Victorian times, there was only one bridge across the river – London Bridge, located in the same place as the original Roman structure.

Head for the Museum of London near St Paul’s Cathedral to discover the story of Roman London, and just where many of the important Roman buildings would have been situated.  Also on display are countless Roman artifacts discovered over the years. Book your stay at Mowbray Court Hotel to visit this place and explore more about the past history.

Not far away on Wallbrook, near the Bank of England, the remains of one of those original Roman buildings can now be seen.  It is situated underneath the newly opened Bloomberg European headquarters.  This is the London Mithraeum, a rare and unusual temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras.

The Mithraeum was originally discovered in the aftermath of the Second World War.  Having been removed from the site for many years, it has now been returned to exactly the same spot on which it was originally built by worshippers many centuries ago.  Visitors are welcome to explore the Mithraeum, and entry is free of charge. It is easy to return to your accommodation in Kensington from anywhere in the city.  

It would have been a really large temple.  Although only the remains of the building now exist, columns of light create a 4D image showing just how big and tall it would have been.  Adding to the sense of atmosphere and history, voices chanting rituals to Mithras emerge out of the hazy darkness.  

Don’t forget to take a look inside the display cases containing artifacts found by archaeologists recently working on the site. In addition to lots of Roman jewellery, pottery and glassware, there are two very significant tablets. These tablets are the first ever examples of handwriting to be found anywhere in the country.  Both date back to the first century AD. One tablet is an IOU dealing with money lending, while the other contains the first reference to Londinum, the name by which the Romans knew the city of London.  While visiting the historical sites, staying at hotels in London Earls Court might be great choice for you.

Look too at the walls as you go down the stairs to the Mithraeum which is situated on the original Roman level where it was originally built.  The stairs begin in modern day London, but as you descend you travel through the different layers of London history – World War Two, Victorians, Georgians, The Great Fire, Tudors, The Plague, Medieval, Viking and Saxon before eventually reaching Roman soil.

London’s top January Sales

LONDON JANUARY SALES

As the New Year dawns, London’s stores become a mecca for bargain hunters. This is sale time – a traditional period when almost all stores in the city offer massive bargains as they try to clear out old stock.  Discounts can be very significant – up to 50 or 60% in some cases.

The sales start almost immediately after Christmas.  It is worth checking the websites of major stores like Harrods and Selfridges to find exactly exactly when their sales will start.  Queues can be very long on the opening day, as people are keen not to miss any bargains.  It is advisable to book your stay at hotels near Earls Court Tube.

Harrods has long been the most visited store in the January sales.  It has even been known for people to sleep out on the pavement the night before the sale starts, just to make sure that they are first in line when the doors open.  Even if they do not sleep out all night, many people begin queuing as early as 4am in the morning ready to wait up to five hours in the queue for entry.  This is definitely the place to come if you want bargains in fashion, jewellery or housewares but such is the range of merchandise sold instore, that you can find bargains in virtually every department.

Oxford Street with stores like John Lewis, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams is another bargain hunters paradise. By far the easiest way to check out all the bargain on offer is to start at one end of the street and steadily work your way along to the far end. If you want fashion then start at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street which is minutes away from Mowbray Court Hotel . If you prefer technology, then start at the Tottenham Court Road end as this is where many stores focusing on gadgetry can be found.

Regent Street, Bond Street, Piccadilly and throughout Mayfair, you can find top name stores like Burberry, Fortnum & Mason, Hamleys, Penhaligons, Mappin & Webb and Liberty . Over 75 international flagship stores have bases on Regent Street alone, ensuring that bargain hunters can definitely find something very special on offer.

If you are searching for books, then take a look at what stores like Waterstones and Foyles have on offer. Their clearance areas can often reveal some fantastic books perfect for reading or for use as gifts to take home.

Don’t forget too the small independent stores around Covent Garden and Seven Dials. Many of these will also be holding sales at some point during January, enabling you to find something really unusual and different at great prices.

The London’s Largest Light Festival is Back!

London’s Light Festival

Cold, dreary winter nights become fun, light filled entertainment during London’s second Lumiere festival.  Taking place between 18th and 21st January, Lumiere is the biggest arts festival to take place anywhere in the city.

Thousands of people are expected to attend this free entertainment, and if you are planning to come to London for the festival it is wise to make your preparations early!  This is colour, light and spectacle on a grand scale.  Flying bodies, giant elephants and colour changing benches were among the most popular features of the first festival – so what can be expected this time?

The answer is simple – it is going to be bigger, better and more spectacular than ever before.  Over 40 artists from all over the world are taking part, creating incredible light installations turning London’s iconic architecture into a totally new environment.  It is not far from from Mowbray Court Hotel.

Just imagine a house in South Audley Street where fluorescent blue tubes crawl up the walls and over the intricate brickwork or glittering, sparkling lights roll and splinter within a soundscape at Kings Cross.  The quiet stonework of Westminster Abbey comes alive in a painted jewel like tones, highlighting every statue, nook and cranny on the walls.  Busy Leicester Square takes on a mysterious atmosphere as nocturnal creatures emerge within a luminous secret garden while the brutal concrete architecture of the National Theatre suddenly becomes a blazing, liquefying beacon.

Lumiere 2018 involves a massive area of London, stretching from Kings Cross to the South Bank, Victoria to Covent Garden.  Much of the West End is involved including Piccadilly, Mayfair, Carnaby Street, Seven Dials and Regent Street. Maps can be downloaded at www.visitlondon.com/lumiere/programme/map.

It is wise to try and plan your visits to Lumiere as it is almost impossible to visit every location in one night. Although the installations blaze with colour for around six hours, many involve watching or taking part for long periods.  Sometimes you need to sit and reflect, or watch an entire programme from start to finish in order to truly appreciate the installation.  Yet others are interactive, and involve a lot of fun as you touch or move objects to create something new.  Often, it becomes hard to drag yourself away to move on to the next delight!

Tourists, visitors and locals throng the streets during Lumiere caught up by the enthralling spectacles and sheer, undiluted fun.  Dress up warm with comfortable shoes, and be prepared to have a really great time exploring London’s streets and parks.  To avoid last time rush, it is advisable to book your stay in advance at hotels near Earls Court Tube.

 

Christmas Shopping Paradise: London

Christmas Shopping Paradise: London

Visiting London for some Christmas shopping? Then you have certainly made the right choice.  The range of shops is enormous and there are some fantastic shopping areas.

If  you are at Mowbray Court Hotel then you should visit Oxford Street. Oxford Street with its well known high street names and top department stores like John Lewis and Selfridges is always a popular destination.  Classic brands such as Burberry, Cartier and Aspreys can be found on the adjacent Regent Street and Bond Street while Piccadilly is the home of Fortnum and Mason, grocers to the Queen and a perfect place to find fantastic teas, coffees and biscuits.  

Knightsbridge is, of course, dominated by Harrods. This world famous department store has one of the most extensive retail offers possible.  This where you can find anything from toys for your pets, exquisite food and drink to cosmetics, perfumes, clothes, ceramics and much more.  

Seeking toys? Then Hamleys on Regent Street will have the answer. With seven floors of childhood dreams, Hamleys has every possible type of toy from computer games to traditional teddy bears.  If Lego is your preference, don’t forget to visit the Lego Store on Leicester Square. This is the world’s largest Lego Store stocking the entire Lego range as well as being fun to visit. How about sitting in a full size London Underground carriage made out of Lego bricks beside a model of William Shakespeare? Look out too for the 6.5 metre high model of Big Ben complete with working clock and chimes.

Seven Dials and Covent Garden are a great place to find unusual items from artisans and designers.  The old covered market building in the centre of Covent Garden houses lots of fantastic little shops, as do the adjacent streets.  Try looking in Orc’s Nest for unusual board games, Les Mereides market for jewelry, Coco de Mer for lingerie or Neal’s Yard for an impressive range of fine British cheeses.

Book a stay at budget hotels Kensington and head over to Chancery Lane for the London Silver Vaults. Hidden behind a massive door is a staircase leading down to an incredible collection of dealers in fine silver objects.  Many are family businesses that have been trading here for generations selling gift items, jewellery, prestigious cutlery, vases, candlesticks and epergnes.  Both antique and contemporary items are sold here. 

Not far away at Holborn is Hatton Garden, the centre of London’s jewellery industry.  Countless little shops are hidden in the side streets selling and designing exquisite bespoke jewellery, just as they have done for centuries.

While choosing accommodation in Kensington London the Christmas shopping can definitely be fun in London – the only problem is choosing the perfect items because there is just so much choice!

A Complete Guide to Celebrate Christmas in London

Christmas in London

Spending Christmas in London?  Then you can look forward to a lot of festive fun and entertainment. 

All the main shopping areas such as Regent Street, Oxford Street, Kensington, The Strand, and Covent Garden are always beautifully decorated with festive lights.  A massive Christmas tree adorned with long strings of twinkling lights is placed in Trafalgar Square. This tree is a gift from Norway. It is sent every year in recognition of the help and support given to Norway during the Second World War.  Alternatively, you can go for accommodation near Earls Court London and have a great time exploring more.

Head for South Bank, Hyde Park, Leicester Square, Portobello Road or Greenwich for some really wonderful Christmas markets.  Each market contains numerous chalets selling beautiful decorations, gifts, food and drinks.  Entertainment is often provided too in the form of bands, music, and street performers.  At Hyde Park for example there is also a fairground and a Giant Observation Wheel revolving 200 feet into the air providing stunning views across London. 

Ice skating is another fun activity over the Christmas period.  Numerous outdoor rinks are set up throughout London.  Some of the most spectacular are sited outside the Natural History Museum, in the courtyard of Somerset House, and in the moat of the Tower of London.  Hyde Park’s Christmas market includes access to the largest outdoor ice rink in the UK which is situated around the Victorian bandstand. 

Read also: Discovering the Urban Gem: Paddington Square London

Public sessions are held at all the rinks often late into the night, and skates can be hired. If you are near to hotels in London Earls Court, you should visit the Victorian bandstand  Some of the ice rinks also incorporate special sessions by professional skaters where you can watch performances.  At Hyde Park, for example, there are regular shows of Cinderella on Ice performed by championship skaters.

More entertainment can be enjoyed in the West End theatres where special festive productions of favorite ballets like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty are staged. The Nutcracker is very much a feature of a British Christmas, with its tale of a Christmas party, a fight between the Nutcracker and the evil Mouse King followed by a journey to the Kingdom of Sweets. 

Also essential to any British Christmas are performances of A Christmas Carol, Dickens ever-popular story showing how Scrooge learned the real meaning of Christmas from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Christmas in England would not be Christmas without the pantomime.  These are comic versions of traditional fairy stories. This year Dick Whittington is being staged at the London Palladium.

Dick Whittington is very much a London story about a boy and his cat who come to London to make their fortune, initially deterred and start to go home before being told by the bells to ‘turn again’, and after various adventures marry the girl he loves and become the Lord Mayor of London.

Expect calls from the audience of ‘he’s behind you’ whenever the bad guy comes on stage, and a pantomime dame wearing the most extravagant, over-the-top, dresses. Oh – and the dame is usually a man dressed as a woman. In addition, choosing the Mowbray Court Hotel in Kensington London will multiply your enjoyment.

As the festive season comes to an end, head to Trafalgar Square for New Year Celebrations which include fireworks displays along the Thames.

Changing the Guard – Ceremonial Event

changing the guard

Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace is one of the most popular of all ceremonies to watch in London.  It doesn’t cost anything and is extremely colorful and lively.  This is a ceremony that has taken place for many decades, marking the end of a period of duty for one group, and the start of duty for another.

The ceremony always attracts large crowds, so it is best to be there well ahead of time in order to find a good viewing position. There are no tickets, it is a matter of first come, first served.  It starts at eleven o’clock promptly, but it is best to get there at least half an hour beforehand. 

The event takes place in the big courtyard in front of Buckingham Palace which is not far from Mowbray Court Hotel in London.  Spectators are not allowed into the courtyard, you have to watch from the pavement in front of the Palace just beyond the gates.  The ceremony takes place every day between April and July, then on alternate days for the rest of the year.

Dressed in scarlet tunics and tall bearskin helmets, the guards are always drawn from the ranks of one of the five regiments of Foot Guards.  They can be seen marching up towards the Palace from their barracks, before conducting a detailed drill within the courtyard.  Officers bark out commands and the accompanying military band plays a variety of music. They even play ‘Happy Birthday to You’ when it is the Queen’s birthday.  The ceremony takes around 45 minutes.  

Read Also: How to Experience Hampton Court Palace Festival 2024? All you need to know

Take a look at the flag flying above Buckingham Palace. This will tell you whether the Queen is in residence or not.  If she is there, then the Royal Standard is flown.  If she is away, then the Union Flag (sometimes described as the Union Jack) is flown.

Another colorful changeover ceremony is held in the Horse Guards Parade. This is located in Whitehall, on the far side of St James Park.  People prefer to stay at cheap hotels near Earls Court to attend this ceremony.

The full ceremony takes place at 11.00 every weekday and at 10 am on Sundays, with individual mounted sentries changing every hour.  This is another very dramatic ceremony.  The Life Guards are mounted cavalry and when on guard duty, sit on horseback with their swords drawn.  On their heads are heavy-plumed helmets.  They remain unmoving for their hour of duty, and even the horses hardly move a muscle.

 

Football Heaven!

Football Heaven

Football is one of the most popular games worldwide, and London is very much a centre of the game.  This is where you can explore the legendary Wembley Stadium, home of the FA Cup, as well as top clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Games played at these clubs are frequently broadcast worldwide, attracting millions of viewers.  It is not surprising that when in London, many visitors are keen to see these grounds for themselves.  Tickets for home matches may be available, but you need to check dates and availability on line; likewise booking for tours of the various stadiums.

Going behind the scenes at football stadiums offers an extremely memorable opportunity and some brilliant photos.  At Wembley, you can not only go pitchside beside the hallowed turf, but handle a replica of the FA Cup.  You can stand in the England changing room, go through the players tunnel and go into the managers box. 

Two of the key London clubs are both situated in North London and accessible by tube from Hotels near Earls CourtArsenal’s stadium is the third largest in the country, and is claimed to be the most technologically advanced in the world.  You can take a Legends tour led by a former Arsenal player, who can give you lots of insights into what it was like to play at the stadium. Alternatively, you can opt for a self guided audio tour which contains anecdotes from players like Jack Wilshere and Robin Van Persie.  Whichever tour you choose while residing at Mowbray Court Hotel, you are guaranteed a wonderful experience and opportunities to see key places like the dugouts, the director’s box and the press lounge. 

Two miles away at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur welcome visitors to their stadium. Knowledgeable guides take you behind the scenes and provide lots of fascinating trivia and insights into the operation of the stadium, and what it is like to play at this legendary site.

Moving southwards to Chelsea, you can explore Chelsea Football Club’s fantastic site at Stamford Bridge.  This has been home to the club for over a hundred years, and its museum shows how the club has grown from a local side to a football powerhouse known around the world.  It’s museum is the largest football museum in London and is well worth seeing. There are lots of hands on activities and videos of famous games to watch.  The museum can be visited on its own, or as part of an hour long tour of the stadium.

Also in South West London is another fantastic stadium tour, that of Fulham Football Club at Craven Cottage.  The lour lasts over an hour, and takes you into some of the most memorable areas of the club such as the home team changing room, TV studio and the players tunnel.