London… my birthday (take two)
What would a birthday be if you couldn’t celebrate it as many times with as many people as you wanted. So naturally I headed down to London for a cheeky weekend and congregated with the lads, Ish and Keck, who was kind enough to fly over from Berlin. Having missed my first “compulsory” seminar of semester, I arrived in London on Friday morning, after almost having missed my train and needing to run to the station thanks to the incompetent privatisation of Manchester’s bus system. Seriously what is the point of six different providers all trying to stop at the same point at the same time?
Anyway, the first port of call once I arrived, naturally, was to check into Casa de Ish and then hit up the shops for a self birthday present (the best kind of birthday present). I finally decided on the greatest pair of black leather trainers known to mankind. So much so that every time I don the magic get-up I find myself shielding people away. But that is neither here nor there.
Keck arrived later that evening and we hit up the local Chinese on Hoxton Square, where Ish joined us post-training drinks. Then we kicked it to Medicine Bar which was pretty good, but the live band suffered from unfavourable acoustics and a PA system fit for some awful karaoke. More importantly, we met some local London fillies, but they turned out to be liabilities and we opted for home time via a delightful visit to the hot dog vendor.
Saturday dawned and evidence of a hangover was barely noticeable. Great success! We headed to the local food market and partook of some interesting jerk chicken, while Keck opted to indulge his much publicised preference for crepes. This was followed by a trek to the Tate Modern where we enjoyed the view across the Thames complemented by a decent latte. Time was running short, so we headed home and quickly back out for dinner in Covent Garden at The Neal Street Restaurant. It was damn fine Italian food. We started with some seasonal porcini mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella and scallops with fennel to share and I followed with a magnificent quail stuffed with black truffle, while Ish opted for a juicy Angus steak and Keck for the hand-cut tagliolini with truffle. This was all rounded off nicely with a cheese platter accompanied by port.
After filling our bellies to bursting point we were ready to hit the town (again). We sauntered around Soho and what appeared to be a pseudo red light district until deciding that heading back to Hoxton was the go. We hit up Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen until we were kicked out (due to closing time, not misbehaviour) and then headed to 333 Mother, which was crap and cost £10 entry to add insult to injury. As a consolation we did see some freaks which I took the liberty of quietly berating under my breath. The night ended with a hilarious debrief back at Ish’s before we all crashed.
Sunday saw us head to Spitalfield’s market and the greasy Indonesian noodles were just exactly what my stomach needed after chewing through a lot of gin and tonic the previous evening. Then we checked out the cuisine and couture the market had to offer and retired for a coffee and cake before Keck and I had to depart for our respective “homes”. All in all, a classic weekend and a memorable birthday celebration… good food, good drink and good mates. Does one need anything else in life? Oh, that’s right, a new pair of shoes.
What would a birthday be if you couldn’t celebrate it as many times with as many people as you wanted. So naturally I headed down to London for a cheeky weekend and congregated with the lads, Ish and Keck, who was kind enough to fly over from Berlin. Having missed my first “compulsory” seminar of semester, I arrived in London on Friday morning, after almost having missed my train and needing to run to the station thanks to the incompetent privatisation of Manchester’s bus system. Seriously what is the point of six different providers all trying to stop at the same point at the same time?
Anyway, the first port of call once I arrived, naturally, was to check into Casa de Ish and then hit up the shops for a self birthday present (the best kind of birthday present). I finally decided on the greatest pair of black leather trainers known to mankind. So much so that every time I don the magic get-up I find myself shielding people away. But that is neither here nor there.
Keck arrived later that evening and we hit up the local Chinese on Hoxton Square, where Ish joined us post-training drinks. Then we kicked it to Medicine Bar which was pretty good, but the live band suffered from unfavourable acoustics and a PA system fit for some awful karaoke. More importantly, we met some local London fillies, but they turned out to be liabilities and we opted for home time via a delightful visit to the hot dog vendor.
Saturday dawned and evidence of a hangover was barely noticeable. Great success! We headed to the local food market and partook of some interesting jerk chicken, while Keck opted to indulge his much publicised preference for crepes. This was followed by a trek to the Tate Modern where we enjoyed the view across the Thames complemented by a decent latte. Time was running short, so we headed home and quickly back out for dinner in Covent Garden at The Neal Street Restaurant. It was damn fine Italian food. We started with some seasonal porcini mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella and scallops with fennel to share and I followed with a magnificent quail stuffed with black truffle, while Ish opted for a juicy Angus steak and Keck for the hand-cut tagliolini with truffle. This was all rounded off nicely with a cheese platter accompanied by port.
After filling our bellies to bursting point we were ready to hit the town (again). We sauntered around Soho and what appeared to be a pseudo red light district until deciding that heading back to Hoxton was the go. We hit up Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen until we were kicked out (due to closing time, not misbehaviour) and then headed to 333 Mother, which was crap and cost £10 entry to add insult to injury. As a consolation we did see some freaks which I took the liberty of quietly berating under my breath. The night ended with a hilarious debrief back at Ish’s before we all crashed.
Sunday saw us head to Spitalfield’s market and the greasy Indonesian noodles were just exactly what my stomach needed after chewing through a lot of gin and tonic the previous evening. Then we checked out the cuisine and couture the market had to offer and retired for a coffee and cake before Keck and I had to depart for our respective “homes”. All in all, a classic weekend and a memorable birthday celebration… good food, good drink and good mates. Does one need anything else in life? Oh, that’s right, a new pair of shoes.
posted by Aaron McGovern at 11:32 PM
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