A fond foodie's London guide to my personal favorite's in London.
Chinatown in London is full of great ways to try cuisines from different parts of Asia. The must try's in my opinion include dumplings at Jen's Cafe, the Chinese crepe with a filling of your choice at any of the smaller vendors or a pork bao at Bao. If these quick bites don't fill you up. Head over to C&R for some Malaysian food, Viet Guy for Vietnamese or a traditional Hot Pot. Chinatown does not have a shortage of dessert options The Golden Gate Bakery or Chinatown Bakery have a wide variety of pastry sweet and savory which you can pack for later. My personal favorites are the red bean moon-cakes and BBQ pork buns. These bakeries also have Instagram worthy desserts like Tataki which are fish shaped waffles filled with ice cream. Another personal favorite is the Ube ice cream/ ensaymada at Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream. The options at Chinatown and had me going back once a week and I still have a lot of places left to try.
London is known for it's afternoon street markets. In between work I always looked forward to walking to a nearby food market and buy lunch. The options had me confused every time but it was rare that I was disappointed. My personal favorite however, was Leather Lane (although my colleagues did prefer Exmouth Market). Leather Lane had over a 100 stalls and filled up an entire street. Name the cuisine and you would find it at Leather Lane, from a Philly Cheese-steak sandwich for the cheat day to healthy all you can eat salads (4 pounds).
London is a food haven with food available from any corner of the world. You can have an extravagant meal in Michelin star restaurant or at a street market. But let me assure you not every place will fulfill your high food standards. From the 6 months I lived in London I managed to visit and explore a few places. These are in my opinion some places you shouldn't miss out on.
The popular Borough Market although touristy has a charm that an person visiting London must not miss. My personal favorite is a butcher stall that has a delicious venison burger. You can head over to the fishmonger and get some fresh oysters or sea urchin. The salted beef sandwiches with mustard is another popular spot at the market. If you're looking for something healthy the market has multiple stalls that have healthy juices to vegan/gluten free food stalls. The Cheese stall has a range of cheeses and also serve a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches. Next, head-over to Padella for some cheesy melt in your mouth fresh pasta.
Living on internship salary had me visiting budget places but London had as that many swanky restaurants. For anyone looking to try new experiences 'Dans Le Noir' is a concept restaurant where you eat in the dark, there's a set menu for you to try but you can't see the food which allows the taste-buds to do all the work. Another option is Sushi Samba at Heron Tower to eat sushi with a beautiful view of London, the ideal date spot in London. If you want to experience good food but without spending as much Dishoom at Shoreditch is a great spot to try Indian food and trust me it's as close to home-cooked Indian food as you would find in London.
The meat lovers can dig into some good steak and fries at Flat Iron at a mere £10 or head over to Patty & Bun for a good beef burger. Brixton a hip part of London has Pop Brixton that has multiple stalls that have a range of eats from juicy burgers to a mean pizza slice. It's the ideal place to grab a beer and listen to some music to enjoy a good night with friends and wind down.
London is a place for unique experiences the city has multiple secret bars/pubs spread around which is a definite must-try. 'Mayor of Scaredycat Town' hidden behind Shoreditch's Breakfast Club is all hidden behind a fridge door. Let your server for the night choose your drink and enjoy the quirky ambiance. Queen of Hoxton a popular rooftop bar in London allows you to drink dance and enjoy a view of London, I call that the perfect package for a night out.
London has no shortage of food or cuisines, the above list is just a few of my favorites from the six months that I spent in London. The list could go on forever. London is the city of dreams so if you do visit don't hold back and walk around the beautiful city and let the experiences teach you.
