Posted by The last few weeks in London have been pretty good. I haven’t left the capital and I’ve enjoyed relaxing on the weekends, walking around town, seeing the hustle and bustle of the people.
Britain is largely a study in change. There is a strong sense of “being British” but with the influxes of immigrants, that sense is changing. It is not not simply WASPish anymore. Curry, a rather unsuitable term to describe the variety of Desi cooking, is considered part of the national cuisine in a country famous the world over for being infamous in terms of spiced/fine cuisine.
The area where I live – Kilburn Park/Maida Vale/Marble Arch is a very Middle Eastern-centric area. But right beside it in Warwick Ave is Little Venice. I love weekends in this areabecause there are tons of little street markets where you can get vegetable and produce on the cheap.
There are tons of small grocery stores and while I don’t buy meat there (because I’ve found the quality of some halal stores to be rather lacking), I can get desi spices and vegetables very easily. I even tried cooking karela though that didn’t work out too well for some reason. The next night I made spaghetti.
Going out in London has gotten somewhat easier than when I first started though I’ve never gotten a crew here to hang wif outside of work. There’s an ebb and flow, a riddim (not rhythm) to the joints that I frequent. Iz a little tribal almost (shout-out to Nigeria!) but I can somewhat blend in some nights.
