a life less ordinary

London has been a whirlwind of fun and I'm back here in Dundee again. Perhaps I could have stayed longer had I chosen not to indulge as much but I definitely needed a good break.

We started the trip with a meal at Koya, a Japanese joint specialising in udon in Soho. It was good udon, but not great unfortunately. And that's that. This was followed by the musical 'We will rock you' - definitely worth watching. It's fun and lively and who doesn't know the Queen songs?

The next morning was breakfast at the Wolseley. I find that breakfast is something that can never get that special. I don't know why but I thought maybe the Wolseley would change my mind considering all the reviews I read about it. Well... the food was good I suppose. But the service completely ruined my dining experience. One thing people know about me is that I love tea. Absolutely adore tea. Will probably drink any kind of tea (proper tea, not that herbal fruity junk). And I returned the tea saying that was NOT earl grey. Instead of taking it back to the kitchen to check, the waitress insulted me by saying 'Oh these are made from tea leaves, maybe that's why it doesn't taste like earl grey to you.' I started going off at her and asked her to taste it herself! That's how mad I was. Never drank the foul thing. Not enough bergamot or tea leaves even and the water in London tastes atrocious because of the amount of chlorine in it. Definitely not fit for brewing tea. So if you're having tea, it needs to be good and strong, or get mineral water. CONCLUSION: Do not go to the Wolseley. I think the waitress was sent to serve another corner of the restaurant and no one apologised for the mistake.

KOBA: A Korean restaurant also located in Soho. Amazing. Nothing but amazing. The food was good and authentic, the service too was impeccable. We seemed to have some communication problems with the waiter which sent us into peals of laughter rather than frustrate us. So it was all good.

Monday was going to be my day. Afternoon tea at the Berkeley followed by the musical 'Love Never Dies'. When we arrived, they took us to our table with my name on it. How quaint. And the sweets and pastries were so well done! I have to admit that there was a bit too much sugar but then it's the look of the tea that takes your breath away more than anything. There was this lavender cream thing which I just couldn't stomach though. A bit like drinking hand soap or something but service was excellent and the food otherwise was great! They even insist that you take home the little desserts that you've not been able to stomach!

PRET A PORTEA AT THE BERKELEY: 4.5 stars out of 5. Definitely a fun experience. I just can't wait to go to the next one when the new spring/summer collection comes out.

I'd been aching to watch 'Love never dies' for ages but it had mixed reviews. Still, that wasn't going to stop me because it was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. My sister didn't seem to enjoy it that much. But I think it still had some excellent songs and you couldn't fault the Phantom's and Christine's singing voices. Absolutely beautiful. The only thing is that the storyline was just well.. not quite right. Or even, not quite there. So.. if you're a musical buff and you've seen the other great shows, then go watch this. It's worth watching but I'm not sure I'd go a second time. Think I'd buy the soundtrack though!

Tuesday was shopping day. We took a train to the shopping outlet at Bicester and went mad. I blame my sister for awakening the sleeping giant. I was never much of a shopper and didn't budget much for actual shopping because I knew I wouldn't really spend on these things. I came back with a Burberry coat, Ugg boats, a Mulberry pouch and a huge hole in my purse. I think we'd have stayed longer if we hadn't run out of money, so definitely make a trip to Bicester if you're flush!

We were still aching for another meal at Koba but didn't have time and went straight to our next musical 'Wicked'. I'd heard really good reviews and it was really good in fact. I think I'm still a more intense person and lean towards the Phantom and Les Mis sort of shows, but Wicked is still worth watching again.

Wednesday was our last day in London so we saved the best for last. Or so we thought. I took Jo to Marco Pierre White's King's Road Steakhouse and Grill. Great ambience and very lovely decor but the food was just disappointing. The pork belly was a good starter which made things look very promising, but the steak was charred unfortunately. The creme brulee, which I'd long been craving for, was covered with this impenetrable layer of over-caramelised sugar. I felt utterly disappointed with this meal. A waste of stomach space in fact.

And to save the best for last was our michelin star experience. Which definitely is worth a post of its own. Heh.