HAMBURG ON TOUR IN LONDON

Last weekend, the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane was made a lot more fun and colourful because..

I was there!

Haha but more importantly, I was there to attend Hamburg On Tour, which was in its second year running in London. Hamburg On Tour is a FREE festival showcasing local products from Hamburg including food, drinks, music.. and even a few Hamburgers loitering around.

(Wondering about Hamburgers and Hamburg? My last post explains it.)

It felt especially nice for me to be there after having visited Hamburg for the first time earlier in August! I felt like I knew everything about the city, although obviously I didn't.

But in my mind I felt proud for knowing, for example, that inflatable arm floats were invented in Hamburg.

STREET ART & SAILORS

I don't know how many exactly were flown in for the event, but there were a good number of big sailor figurines - a symbol of Hamburg as a port city and its maritime history - scattered around and outside the Truman Brewery, stretching out to Dray Walk too!

The sailors all had their own names - as seen on their hats! In the photo above I am flanked by Jan and Simon. They had extra-small hips and extra-large feet.

There was also a fun yellow mural specially commissioned to advertise the free festival, and signs on the ground to direct people to it.

HANGING OUT IN THE SUN

We were so so lucky with the weather! The sun shone bright and proud on both the Saturday and Sunday when the event took place. Either that or it simply loves Hamburg ;)

 The festival extended into a little open space at the back where people could lounge around or enjoy a game of foosball or VR cycling. I tried the cycling and it didn't work out well - the seat was too high/my legs were too short. Also, when it was my turn the sensor was misplaced so I ended up cycling sideways through the 'countryside' the whole way!

I also tried the free currywurst samples being given out at the bar and that worked out better.

FREE FOOD & THINGS

I think a lot of people were attracted by the free food being served at Hamburg On Tour. I was one of them.

They served three different 'main meal' options and there was also the most refreshingly delicious dessert of red fruits/jam in a cup topped with smooth vanilla cream. That was my favourite.

There was labskaus (second photo), which is a traditional dish from Hamburg consisting of a beetroot mash, pickles, onions, herring, and bits of beef. Oh and an egg. I loved everything about this dish except the herring, which was cooked! I think herring tastes better raw.

Around the venue there was also free coffee. This obviously attracted a lot of coffee addicts. I was not one of them. Coffee makes me feel sick. There were regular gin and beer tastings throughout the day, samples of high-quality chocolate, and.. organic tea/juices.

Since I also do not drink tea and am not a fan of chocolate, the gin was my favourite free thing to taste. It was very good gin!

There was also a cute Hamburg merchandise table, where you could take something home in exchange for a donation in an amount of your choice. 

LIVE MUSIC & THE BEATLES

Of COURSE, the festival had to have a Beatles feature. The Beatles having had their crucial beginnings in Hamburg was clearly something that the city was very proud of.

Stefanie Hempel has been running her infamous Beatles Tour in Hamburg for something like decades?? I can't remember exactly, but it must have been something like 17 years! A true Beatles enthusiast.

She entertained us with a few live performances of a variety of Beatles classics throughout the day. My favourite part was when they moved the couch out onto the street to sing for the crowds outside. 

So much fun!

^This was the best photo I got of Willy Man.. an over-enthusiastic stranger who kept jumping in to join the hip hop dance performance group (from Hamburg) doing their thing on the street!

 

HAMBURG ON TOUR IN COLOUR

Being able to experience the event with fellow blogger Janet Newenham made it all the more fun! I'd been wanting to meet her for a while and it was a lucky coincidence that we were covering the same event.

It was nice to see so many people so excited about one not-so-little city. I thought it was a great event that gave people a glimpse of Hamburg lifestyle.. and not just because of the free food.

I loved the art they put on the walls outside.. made using coloured tape!

If you're curious about what's fun in Hamburg.. click on the post below :)

Related Post

• Best Restaurants in Lahore For First-Time Visitors

*This post was created in collaboration with Hamburg On Tour

The post Hamburg On Tour in London 2018 appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Yeah right! London is so fantastically awesome that almost eight years later, here I still am. It didn’t happen overnight, but after all this time I’ve come to realise that ‘damn, I love this place!’

It seems not everyone is a fan of London.. and yeahhhhh I admit, there was a period when I wasn’t too fond of it either. From the stories I’ve heard from my many fellow immigrants (haha), most start out hating it!

BUT. Here are the three big things I LOVE about the city I now call home. This is the stuff I blab on about – very animatedly and very loudly – whenever I get asked why I live here

London has no nearby sandy beaches, but we have some of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL parks and green spaces! A multitude of them too, despite the city being so dense with concrete.

In the summer, I pretty much live on the grass. Some of my friends in Europe think it’s silly to wear a bikini at the park. But do Londoners care? Nope! We need all the sunshine that we can get and if the sun’s blasting then.. all plans cancelled; we’re having a picnic. And when you find long grass to lay on, your bed (and life) is made.

^I like my picnics colourful. Photo taken in leafy Richmond, where there are plenty of picnic spots by the river.

Being ever-so-fortunately born in the summertime, my birthdays in London are also celebrated with a big picnic at the park.
Photos above taken at Hyde Park in 2013 😉

Speaking of Hyde Park, there is this AMAZING UMBRELLA/WATERFALL TREE that you can climb all the way to the top. I love it and always make a stop whenever I’m there skateboarding as it’s near the Serpentine lake, where a lot of people skate ‘cos it’s flat and wide.

Anyway, the tree. Enter the curtain of leaves and it’s like a maze of old twisted, warty branches going upwards.. like something out of The Enchanted Wood! It’s magic. The view from the top of course is delicious. You can see my friend Luis poking out in this pic:

^And this is what the tree’s like during the cold season..  just.. bare branches. Haha! And squirrels! I LOVE the squirrels of London.. some of them are so bold and have no qualms about walking all over you like a mat and trying to steal your food. I really enjoy that.

Of course, I enjoy other things outdoors as well..

..Like playing with my ukulele on a tree. This was at Regents Park.

Sometimes I sing, too. Or fly a giant kite with friends. Or.. swim in the Thames and get sick subsequently. Do not go swimming in the Thames.

^Playtime with the lovely Emma. Last winter we spent an afternoon at Hampstead Heath. It’s my favourite natural space, after Regents Park/Primrose Hill as they’re my local ones (local bias, right?).

When the leaves fall, the Heath is a feast for all your senses. The ground is thick and the air rich with the smell of fallen leaves. Crispy leaves! Ohhh how I would love to be rolled around on that crunchy bed of autumnness.. like a sausage being tossed around in a pan of sizzling chopped garlic. But without the heat. Or the oil. Sorry I’m so weird.. let me get back on topic..

No doubt maximum park enjoyment is during the summer.. when there are loads of festivals, and other events/pop-ups going on.
For example, Rekorderlig built a Swedish summer house in Victoria Park once, and it was superb:

You could get food and cider served by cute boys dressed in shorts and suspenders 😀

Other than these huge parks, there are also smaller, more intimate places to enjoy some greenery. E.g. the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, nestled between the two Dalston overground stations. In their garden they have soil beds for local residents to plant food! There is a kind of hippie, chilled-out vibe to it. And if I remember correctly there was a quirky old rocking horse at the back, too.

^The wooden pavilion is sometimes used for creative workshops, food markets, or kids’ programmes. I’ve created some rad crayon art there myself..

There’s always stuff to do in London’s bazillion open areas, even during the freezing winter. There are the obvious Christmas markets and fairs. Then there are the less touristy activities too, like climbing up to Parliament Hill (at Hampstead Heath) to set off fireworks on Guy Fawkes’ Night (SO MUCH FUN), or trekking south-west to Syon Park to see the Enchanted Woodland (SO MANY LIGHTS). The low temperatures don’t stop people from swimming in the icy park lakes, either!

As for the summer.. hmm, this could take ages. Let’s skip to Thing #2.

This is the beauty of London.  There is SO MUCH COLOUR in its inhabitants. You’re free to express yourself creatively no matter how ridiculous it may look or sound and I LOVE THAT. The variety of characters you can find here is immense.. The whole world is here! Whatever language you speak, you’re quite sure to find someone else who speaks it. Whatever weird, obscure activity it is that you enjoy doing, you’ll find a club for it. YOU CAN BE WHOEVER YOU WANT. 

Most importantly, freedom of expression yields… crazy people. My favourite kind of people. Why do I love being in a city full of crazy people?
Because..

I can walk into a theatre and meet a bunch of smurfs:

^And get photobombed by a ‘normal‘.

I can wear this hideous, freaky, big-nosed mask that I got from Venice (it’s actually part of a plague doctor’s costume worn in centuries’ past), and prance around Piccadilly Circus at night like a mad tourist:

I even managed to get my caricature drawn!

We also went into a busy McDonald’s to see if we could successfully feed each other fries through the gaps in our beaks. It was not a success.

^The real tourists loved us 🙂

I can get on the tube wearing my fox onesie:

^No one gives a shit!

I can have a picnic with a bag over my head (and walk around the park chasing strangers with it on – I have a video somewhere) and have fruits as my guests, but hey it was my birthday:

I did have human guests too but they weren’t quite as exciting as the fruits.

And then there’s this scary clown putting down his newspaper to have a conversation with a cyclist passing by:

^Oh and me traipsing around Oxford Street with a guitar and balloons tied to my bag.

You can find restaurant menus like this:

^And end up in places where they teach you how to crochet… a sperm.

Now THIS is how you ‘Boris Bike’:

Oh I love that mask. It still sits in my desk drawer now. I do like Boris (for those unaware, he’s our Mayor) – he seems to enjoy getting involved with the community and isn’t afraid of looking silly. I don’t have enough knowledge about politics so I can’t say much more than that..

>>

But YES, being surrounded by so much creative energy, openness, an eccentricity in London has helped shape who I am today. I can be ME! I can be as silly as I like. Strangeness is mostly embraced here. I could start a one-person dance party on my street with no music wearing only my underwear and it’s fine. I could pull out a potato from my handbag and have a dance with it next to a street jazz performer – I have, in fact, done this (video is also somewhere..).

This freedom of expression was particularly instrumental in my personal development. I grew up in Malaysia, where society was a lot less accepting and less.. exposed. I felt rather limited there. Being in London OPENED UP THE WORLD TO ME.. It was like.. the drug of life (does that even make sense?).

Onto Thing #3!

When there are so many wild/crazy/creative people.. there will be special occasions for us all to be crazy together, OBVIOUSLY.

My favourite?  LONDON SANTACON!
When else can you have a Christmas dance party on the streets, dressed as Santa, with thousands of other people also dressed as Santa?

Just look at these weirdos! I love them:

You can read about my first Santacon experience here.

My second favourite? WORLD ZOMBIE DAY!
It’s pretty much the same as Santacon, except you dress up as zombies instead, and the music is less cheerful..

Some of the costumes you see on the day are freakin’ AMAZING. I really need to up my game next year, man..

^What a beautiful bunch of dead mimes!

The kind of things you can see at an East London club on Halloween weekend:

^A super cool bloodied fox. And then there’s me, with two My Little Ponies and.. a box of Pocky. Haha!

There are SO. MANY. EVENTS. There’s a day for you to ride the tube with no pants. Race people while flipping pancakes (next month!). Run 5k in an inflatable sumo suit. Get your dance on at a silent disco festival. Cycle naked. Go to the Science Museum to be a cockroach. You can even smash stuff up for fun. 

And here, play with a insane amount of coloured powder at one of London’s Holi Festivals (there seem to be a few now – Google will disclose details):

^THAT was so much fun..

In Sweden and other Nordic countries, they celebrate the crayfish harvest season by throwing a Crayfish Party. So why not have one in London too, right? I went to a Swedish Crayfish Party last year organised by Ocado and it was hilarious!

Basically, everyone gathers to eat mountains of crayfish together. Along with other stuff, like a delicious selection of herring, salmon, cinnamon buns, and Swedish candy. Washed down with cider. And schnapps. You also have to wear crayfish hats and bibs, and sing some funny Swedish songs!

Life in London to me has been extremely enriching. There is an endless amount of learning and experiences available. So many different cultures and people to EMBRACE! Oh and the diversity of food that that comes with..  we really are spoilt for choice. If I had to narrow down London’s best quality to one word, it would be OPTIONS.

THANK YOU LONDON for being such a fantastic playground and classroom. I have grown so much while living a such a vibrant, full life. So obviously, you’re my favourite city 🙂

The post Three Things I FREAKIN’ LOVE about London appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

It’s really a very simple song.. “complete with bird sounds and wind effect”

This was the first full song that I learnt to play! I don’t think of myself as a great singer at all.. but I do enjoy it and I guess for the most part, I don’t care how I sound. Which is why.. this video.. is here….

The grass was SO GREEN I wanted to EAT IT. Sometimes I get really tempted and put a few blades near my mouth. But mostly I just put my face really close to the grass and smell it. It’s so good. I love grass!

The scarf I’m sitting on is vintage.

MY WEEKEND

I spent the weekend getting super messy (read: messed up) at the London Holi One Colour Festival. It was a giant heap of FUN. At one point, my entire face/neck was blue and people called me an alien. Or Oompa Loompa.

Besides that, I’ve been enjoying the company of my friends and ‘doing nothing’. Reena introduced me to this new Netflix series called ‘Orange is the New Black‘, which is about a mid-thirties woman who surrenders herself to jail for a decade-old crime she committed with a a drug-dealing lesbian lover. I’m hooked! It’s been MONTHS since I sat in front of a screen and watched something that’s not YouTube.

NEED MORE HOURS

If I had more hours to spend in a day, I’d be finished with other shows I started (but never had the time to complete) – Revenge, 2 Broke Girls, Modern Family, etc. Maybe even play some GAMES! I used to enjoy my Nintendo DS (sorry baby I haven’t the time now) and Little Big Planet or Guitar Hero (I LOVE THIS) on the PS3.

When I was at uni, there was a period when I’d get through a few hours a week playing fun computer/pc games with my male flatmates. If you click the link you’ll be able to see what’s new these days.. There’s gonna be a new Sims coming soon! Back then I played with stuff like ‘World of Warcraft’ or ‘Counter Strike’.. totally geeky (and kinda embarrassing). A friend recently told me that he’s been hooked on some new title called ‘Darksiders 2’. I googled it and all I saw were pics of an angry-looking horse..

Though.. if I REALLY did have extra hours in a day.. I reckon I’d be a pro at electric guitar, have learnt a new language proficiently, and will have properly manicured nails (not these horrible chipped things I currently have growing wild on my fingertips). The most likely scenario though, I hope, would be that I’d have so much more time to dwell and plot and plan that I’d be travelling even more frequently.

Hmm, y’know what, I loved Orange is the New Black so much that I think I’m gonna have to MAKE TIME to watch it. I’m also gonna try out some games from the app store (iPhone). Hello less sleep and puffy eyes!

Please do tell if you have any recommendations for TV shows or games n stuff. Other than Spongebob. Cos I already have that (obviously).

The post Hyde Park Singin’ appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

On a sunny day, all the colours – from the canal boats and kitschy decorations – come to LIFE. I am in love with it. Do you sometimes feel like you can SMELL colours? I think we’re all capable of experiencing colour in every sense..

Here are photos from April, when I introduced the walk to one of my best friends in town, Reena.

At the start of the walk, there are rows of parked canal boats.. I think some people actually live in them. I’m not entirely sure. But outside on the sidewalk you’ll see an assortment of items.. benches, chairs, tables, lamps, flowerpots, etc.

^Just chillin’ out under my blinged-out tree with my laptop and wellies, yknow.. normal

^You must never forget to notice the little details!

^Sometimes you’ll see people picnicking or reading or napping atop their boats..

I picked this set of photos to blog about because, despite it having been sunny and VERY HOT in London over the last 30+ days, it was a bit on the chilly side yesterday and for the first time in AGES, I had to wear a cardigan. I don’t mind the occasional thin jumper or scarf (I have a quite-large collection of scarves.. mostly lightweight or silk or vintage ones).

I was thinking the birdie scarf by Hobbs would be a nice one to add to my collection.. from afar it looks like little stars against a night sky, and then as you go closer, you can start to see that they’re actually tiny yellow birds. I like it.

ANYWAY..

^Patrick Star and my musical toy from Porto

^We stopped by my favourite picnic bench along the way and had some.. fruits.

Did I tell you that I LOVE fruits? I know.. kinda lame but I do. We sat there for a good while listening to Jack Johnson, looking through my kaleidoscope, and laughing at nothing.

If you know me well then you’ll know what I was REALLY doing..

^I really do love Reena! We were born in the same year, only a couple of weeks apart.

^Approaching Camden

CAMDEN MARKET / PEOPLESPACE

At the lip of Camden Market, we stumbled upon this totally hippie set-up called Peoplespace.. a sort of market/community. There were people sat on the ground, singing/playing guitar on the boat, and homemade cakes and biscuits for sale (for v cheap I might add!).

Everyone was enjoying the sunshine.. enjoying BEING there. It was just amazing.

There was a lot of handmade art to be seen and bought too.

And a lot of LOVE 🙂

^Above is my favourite place to sit down with some stall-bought food from Camden Market..

By the water, under a big tree, with lots of happy people. Isn’t it great?

As it happens, the forecast tomorrow is set to be 31 degrees Centigrade and I’ll be heading to Camden Beach with some friends. No doubt I’ll be walking out in my bikini and sunscreen + beach towel in tow 😉

PS – do you like the smell of sunscreen? my favourite is Coppertone as it reminds me of swimming training when I was growing up (I trained as a competitive swimmer) x

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I kinda miss wearing a light jacket. Or maybe this is my inner voice telling me how much I miss the Copenhagen-bought parka that I lost in Rotterdam. But this could be an opportunity to get a new, less-expensive one.. it’ll be handy for when I go to Wilderness Festival in two weeks! Was looking at this selection of parkas (by New Look) – I like the jade green elephant print one.. what do you think? If it were neon it would already be in my wardrobe.. obviously

It was so tempting to WASTE my money on these Beano toys and candy.. they had so much crap that I’d LOVE to stuff my picnic bag with!!! But I practised self-restraint and simply eyed them..

You could go into ‘Dennis’ tree house’ and doodle on the walls.. Admittedly I was too lazy. And if I did go in I’d just end up drawing rude body parts all over and get kicked out or something.

People doing art and craft! It looked so boring yet relaxing.. hehe.

Many of my friends got very amused by this..  I just saw the floor decal and couldn’t resist. What ELSE is it for, right??

Trying to get some of the London skyline in.. I miss my pink hair (that I had for 5-6 weeks – it’s a faded ash purple now).

If you’re familiar with London’s South Bank, you’ll know that there was a big petition to try to save the iconic little skate park that’s been there for years. To find out more, click here. I almost ALWAYS spend at least a few minutes watching the talented skateboarders/bmx bikers doing their tricks there whenever I’m in the area. I hope it gets to stay!

It’s my birthday today so I’m off to celebrate in the sun now.. !

Follow my daily adventures on twitter, instagram, and/or facebook!

The post OUTFIT – London Southbank & Beanotown appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Wore this outfit to Regent’s Park. I brought my sticker-infested ukulele along and wrapped up some PB&J sandwiches (did I tell you I’m addicted). I played two songs there 😀

That was after I found THIS TREE.. it’s like the best tree ever. It had loads of branches, and all very climbable (I checked with Google, that is a real word ok). You must be able to swim though, cos it’s quite near the water and you may fall in.

I wish I could take the tree home and decorate it with balloons, tinsel, lights, stickers, and some baby red pandas.

I walked up and down the biggest lowest branch several times. Tried to swing off one of the higher ones and hurt my hands.. *note to self – next time bring GLOVES*

This was to show you the colours in my hair and how they actually MATCH my jumper.
But it turned out to be a pic of my face looking DUMB cos it was so sunny and bright, hence I couldn’t open my eyes properly!

Sigh.. I miss my clothes.

It’s a real bummer I lost all that stuff, especially all my MAKEUP. But as my mom says, at least *I* wasn’t stolen. I’m still here and healthy and intact. And happy.

I try to take what happened as a reminder to not place too much importance on material items. I am a lucky person! I mean look.. I can see, smell, hear, and taste. I can walk and talk and sing and dance. I can feel the cold of the snow and the heat of the sun. I have food and friends and family. So really, as long as I have my iPhone (kidding!), I’m fully equipped to be the best that I can be.

The post OUTFIT – The Beautiful Tree at Regent’s Park appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

We had a glamourous lunch of Maccas on the sidewalk as a means of sustenance for the rest of the afternoon.

We had initially wanted to Boris Bike it (for non-Londonders, this is the city’s cycle hire scheme) to the park, but we were stupid enough to think that the Boris Bike rails extended into Zone 4… so that was THAT.

In the end, it was the trusty 65 bus that took us to the green green grass just by Nightingale Lane. Well, us minus Alby anyway, who trailed the bus with his trademark blue bike.

It really was a spectacular day.. especially by London’s standards. Haha.

The air was cold though.. about 5 degrees (centigrade).

Whilst the rest were busy setting up and pumping air into the kite frame, I took the liberty of having a go on Alby’s bicycle. His very HIGH bicycle. I don’t know WHAT made me think that my legs were long enough, cos within 10 seconds I had banged my crotch on the bar twice..  I ended up cycling it standing up.

The kite is up!

Also, now I know why I’ll never really get into kitesurfing. Just SETTING UP that thing is SO much work. After pumping up the kite, you still gotta untangle the millions of strings that connect the harness to the kite. Then lay it all out. Have someone hold the kite while you wait in the harness. Make sure you’re facing the right direction in relation to the wind, and time it correctly so that the kite can take flight when it’s released.

At one point, we would be getting everything ready and JUST as we were about to go, the wind direction would CHANGE, as if to spite us. This repeated like a vicious cycle for about 4 – 5 times. It’s good exercise, though.

Jeremy was getting a kite-flying lesson from Alby that day, so he was very excited.

VERY excited ;p

In this photo you can see Jeremy holding the kite, waiting for the right moment to release it, a.k.a. when Alby shouts the order at him.

Controlling the kite is tough work! You really gotta know how each movement of your arms affects the way the kite behaves.

We were lucky it was windy enough that day for the kite to stay in the air for a while.. although I was mostly watching. And being yelled at to get out of the way….. :p

Jeremy, Izan, Me, Alby

Hmmm *refrains from comment*

All photos in this post were taken using my iPhone 5. I took a few hilarious Vine clips as well (find me @smallcrazy) but I haven’t figured out a neat way to share it in a post yet.. boo 🙁

A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

We stayed till sunset. And it was a magnificent, golden orange sunset.

I couldn’t help but take a two million photos as the group walked ahead of me towards and along the river in a quest for… food.

Jeremy brought along his classic Penny skateboard.. I’ve always wanted to get a skateboard for myself, even though I haven’t actually skateboarded before. But I’m confident I’ll pick it up easily.. and after seeing Jeremy cruise along on it so effortlessly and awesomely, I’m really wanting to buy myself a hot pink Penny! Maybe for the summer…

I love London. Do you? <3

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I was on the way to Baker Street to meet a friend for lunch, when a bazillion snowflakes started pouring out of the sky. I was SO impatient to finish lunch and RUN to the park.. and then when I got there, I realised.. that I had left the memory card for my camera at home. In a moment of snow-insanity, I darted off back to the main road to buy a new one.

Here are a selection of photos taken that afternoon:

I wore two pairs of woolly tights, and two layers of UNIQLO Heattech tops under my jumper.

I’ve been wearing the SAME THINGS every snowy winter it’s so boring.. zzz :p

It was such a challenge to use my camera that day. Everything kept getting wet and my lens kept fogging up. But I’m so glad I went to get that memory card because Regent’s Park was a picture of magic that day! Like something out of a fantasy world. The boating lake was partly frozen on the surface. The resident birds hung out on the ice, or otherwise slipped and slid around fighting for food whenever someone threw any towards them. I bet they wish they had ice skates!

I braved taking my coat off for a photo.. it wasn’t too bad. I think I was HOT from the excitement of snow that day.

The white parts of my jumper is angora wool and is super soft to touch. There are also some teeny pearls lining the design but.. I’m sure some have fallen off by now : /

The post London Snow 2013 – Regent’s Park (Part 1) appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

I spent the night before wrapping a few presents.

I take pride in wrapping presents.. I like to think of them as boxes of happiness! This year, I included bits of candy, Christmas confetti, stickers, and tissue paper into each box.
I used glue instead of tape on the wrapping paper so it looks neater, too.. erm..

Finished result!

The first Christmas card I receive each year is usually from KC, a close friend of mine who lives in Melbourne. He always makes the effort to find out my current address and sends out cards way in advance!

I made eggnog using the Waitrose American Eggnog recipe, with bourbon.

As I’m not exactly the domestic goddess and don’t spend much time in the kitchen (I’m always out >.<) .. I had to go and buy a hand whisk. And god damn it was hard work mixing everything with that primitive, non-electrical object!

The eggnog turned out great 🙂

Just the day before, I was talking to my Portuguese friend Luis, who was telling me how he was celebrating Christmas in Porto. Ok fine, I was asking about what kind of festive food they ate there.. and he mentioned leite creme, which is a Portuguese milk custard not unlike French crème brûlée. Except that it’s meant to be much easier to make.. so I did, using this recipe.

The pic above is of the filling I was preparing for hoddeok, a Korean pancake dessert that I had recently discovered. Recipe here. I used chopped hazelnuts instead of peanuts.

The end result!

I also made a Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows. It’s traditionally a Thanksgiving dish, but I thought it would be great with the Christmas turkey. I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe and it was really fantastic! My favourite part was opening each parcel of baked sweet potato and scooping out the juicy flesh to use for the next step.

All the sweet potato mash is then mixed with lemon juice and cinnamon before being baked in the oven with a layer of marshmallows on top, which melt to form a cover that looks like dinosaur skin.

The last thing on my menu was Nigella’s infamous ‘Chocohotopots‘, which I first had a taste of when Joyce made it last year. They were sooooo good. I prepared the batter and kept it in a container to bake at Linda’s house (where the dinner was being held) so it could be served hot/fresh.

I was really pleased with how the sweet potato casserole came out.. it was so sweet and juicy and went great with the turkey. The portion I made was too much so I got to keep the rest, and oh my it tasted EVEN better after a day or two in the fridge!

The leite creme turned out fab.. I didn’t have a kitchen torch (of course I wouldn’t have).. so it was a bit of a pain trying to caramelise the demerara sugar on top. I had to use the broiler.

The ramekins I got were rather large and so they didn’t fill up completely.. but they were soooo delish with the brandy pouring cream.

Winter candle and decorative xmas stars c/o The White Company. I brought them from home to jazz up Linda’s living room a little. And make it smell nicer. The candle is an infusion of cinnamon, clove, and fresh orange. It makes you want to drink the air.. if you get what I mean.

Linda, Joyce, Me, Su

With Jayna & Neena too

Some of the Christmas presents on the floor.

Linda got me a DIY bubble machine thing.. I haven’t had the time to put it together yet but I’m definitely looking forward to it OF COURSE.

Eggnog was served after all the presents were opened.

The BEST present I got this Christmas came from Jayna. She made a little photo book of our Iceland trip! It was super cool. I miss Iceland.

Other presents I got include Urbanears headphones from Marina (she’s the sweetest), a Betty Boop ashtray, a super cool mood calendar, a knit-your-own-panda-mittens kit, and some yummy things from The Body Shop.

Yes, I know it’s nearly 3 weeks since Christmas! I’ve been so busy with.. life in general I simply didn’t have time to document it. My very close friend from Melbourne is visiting at the moment and we’ve recently just come back from a fantastic trip to Venice. I can’t wait to write about THAT!

x

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I thought this Santa was rather freaky.. (ie My kinda Santa.. haha)

Some sort of haunted house.. I bet it’s not even really scary. Hehe.

Someone in the group chickened out of ice skating in the end because of the condition of the ice that night.. but the rest of us carried on. UNfortunately, the ice wasn’t kept very well by the management and it was completely waterlogged. At some parts of the rink, the water was up to about 4 inches deep!

I skated SO CAREFULLY (ie slowly, like a snail) as I warned myself I would NOT fall on the wet, slobbery ice..

In the end, we only stayed for about 20 minutes at most before giving up and heading for the mulled wine and food instead..

…at the Bavarian Beerhouse. This reminded me of Oktoberfest the year before! Prost!

You could order mulled wine with a shot of rum, bourbon, or ..whiskey (my memory might not be 100% correct here) for something between £4-5.

Reena and I had a few and we ended up dancing up a storm.. or rather.. dancing like morons (what’s new!)

Paul & Steven

Steven used to live with me in Euston/King’s Cross; that’s how we met. We’ve both now escaped.. haha, I say escape because there was a third person in the flat whom we both just didn’t get along with ;p

They also sold 1L beers a la Oktoberfest.. for £9.

I won’t say too much about the rest of the night as it’s rather embarrassing but the conclusion is I HAD A REALLY GREAT TIME!!

Winter Wonderland is open at Hyde Park until 6 January 2013.

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