That artificial food colouring isn’t really approved here in the European Union (cause it may kill you slowly or something), therefore when making a rainbow cake one has to make do with natural food colouring which isn’t as vibrant. However I do believe it remains impressive and was delicious all the same. I’m very proud to have given my entire Friday to making it!
I approach the drinks and treats desk at my local film theatre and ask for a large coke and a medium popcorn. The baseball hat wearing clerk nods and then grunts at me, “Salted or Sweet?”
As a reflex I ask for salted popcorn and make my way to the screen. I sunk into my seat and tasted my popcorn. Indeed it was salted but I could sense that this popcorn lived next door to a sweet popcorn and because of this there were sweet undertones to my salted variety.
I miss popcorn that’s popped in coconut oil, slathered in butter and laced with cholesterol. I guess there’s a market here in London for sweet popcorn but I will never be able to get my head around it. It’s something I will never agree upon – at this point in time the Irish cinema experience is leaps and bounds ahead of the British one.
From the Tate Website:
Banner places recently decommissioned fighter planes in the incongruous setting of the Duveen Galleries. For Banner these objects represent the ‘opposite of language’, used when communication fails. In bringing body and machine into close proximity she explores the tension between the intellectual perception of the fighter plane and physical experience of the object. The suspended Sea Harrier transforms machine into captive bird, the markings tattooing its surface evoking its namesake the Harrier Hawk. A Jaguar lies belly up on the floor, its posture suggestive of a submissive animal. Stripped and polished, its surface functions as a shifting mirror, exposing the audience to its own reactions. Harrier and Jaguar remain ambiguous objects implying both captured beast and fallen trophy.
I’m off to Hogwarts!
This week I received my exam results, and thankfully passed all with flying colours. It is such a relief to finally finally have it all done and set in stone, since now I can really push forward with the job hunt now that I am confident in my results and they reflect what a good little worker I am, but I digress. To celebrate I was brought to Ping Pong to try dim sum. From Wikipedia:
Dim sum is the Cantonese term for a type of Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate.
Before we ate we got some drinks to clink and toast with, I was recommended the lychee and rose martini. I have had bad luck with cocktails in London recently. Many of my choices turn out not to be as good as I expected, (it’s hard to find a good mojito) or they are so strong I am left without taste buds by the end of the glass. However the magical martini I got was absolutely delicious. It was sweet but organically sweet, meaning that its ingredients are naturally sweet and not a result of lots of syrup or sugar. The result is a cocktail that is refreshing and delicious. I saved most of mine to enjoy after the meal as a kind of liquid dessert.
When it came time to eat we spent time mulling over the menu and selecting a variety of dishes, each of which comes with 2-5 portions. For example the spring roll dishes come with three rolls, and the rice dishes come with two parcels. Since this is a kind of meal you share, it would be easier to make sure everyone gets the same amount of food if you knew how portions there are per dish. However this is only a small complaint and probably stems from the fact I have three brothers.
The experience as whole was just lots of fun and I think that any sort of dim sum restaurant is a fun place to go with a few close friends. In my home we have a rule at the dinner table, stretch or starve. Dim sum I feel is best enjoyed with a couple of mates who are all reaching around a table, trying new types of food and having a good time. PIng Pong is certainly the place to go if you want a great dim sum experience.
The restaurant was large and spacious, modern yet keeping traditional accents that don’t let you worry that you’re not getting an authentic experience. The staff were friendly and the food came out quickly. I’m already planning my next visit where I will definitely get the same martini but lots of new and different dishes because that’s half of the fun!
I’m nowhere near being able to afford a Louis Vuitton bag or case, but their new “experience” store on New Bond Street is worth a wander is not just for the large amount of vintage chests as well as some lovely art by Takashi Murakami. The store itself is full of colour and glamour, if you’ve got the money to spend there, then good for you. Otherwise it is one of the best places to window shop in London.
The above picture shows one of the shop windows that has animals made out of vuitton bags in display cases – very impressive
