sushi in london

it had been over four months since we had last tasted japanese food, teresa's favourite. in toronto, there are japanese restaurants everywhere, albeit mostly owned and run by either chinese or korean families. but the quality is usually decent and the prices reasonable.

in london, you can get sushi easily enough, as it's quite popular here. but unlike toronto, the quality is suspect and the prices most definitely unreasonable. the big, quick-service takeaway chains (notably wasabi and itsu) do sell pre-packed sushi. and by sushi, we really mean maki and nigiri. one thing we'll give the brits is that, due to the popularity of sushi, most know the difference between nigiri/maki/sashimi and will often reference the more specific term instead of the generic catch-all of 'sushi'. i'm not sure the same capability exists in the average canadian.

you can also find pre-made sushi sets at ubiquitous pret, which is more known for its fresh sandwiches. even the big grocery stores sell sushi sets, designed to capitalise on the office lunch rush.

you can also find sushi at some pan-asian eateries, like hare&tortoise. we suppose the benefit of this is if you go with company that doesn't particularly like the idea of raw fish, they can happily munch on some black bean beef chow mein instead.

then there are the numerous japanese restaurants. but do not be fooled: japanese does not necessarily equal sushi. japanese food in london is much more sophisticated and can be broken down into different cuisine sub-types. some are ramen specialists. others are really izakayas (japanese pubs). there's even a restaurant near leicester square that specialises in okonomiyaki (japanese pancakes). so if it's sushi you're after, make sure the place actually sells sushi.

needless to say, it seemed a daunting task to sort through all of this and find a place that does sushi, does it well and won't charge you a small fiefdom to eat it. for teresa's birthday, we finally decided to test the waters. after some research, we discovered a place that was reputedly run and approved by japanese people, and reasonably priced. it was a little far, being out in ealing common (that's zone 3!), but we decided it was worth the trip to find out if this was the real deal.

sushi hiro definitely lived up to the hype. we're not the most sophisticated of diners and would likely be happy with mediocre quality, but to our simple palates, the fish here was excellent! when you walk through the doors, you are greeted by the wait staff all chiming 'irasshaimase' in unison, which is a good sign. the waitresses are clearly japanese and at one point, caspian thought it might be more fun to try to communicate in broken japanese than in broken english. we ordered a chirashi-don and a nigiri/sashimi platter. and the selection was very impressive, even including toro (fatty tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), and hotategai (scallop). we topped off our meal with extra orders of toro, hamachi and uni. all were fresh and very tasty.

while it wasn't the cheapest place to get sushi, the value was superb. the chirashi-don cost £12. in toronto terms, that's quite pricey. but keep in mind that, in toronto, chirashi rarely (if ever) comes with toro and hamachi). you're more likely to get maguro and that relatively tasteless tai stuff. sushi hiro definitely satisfied the long outstanding craving for sushi, and did so in style. of course, in so doing, it whet our appetites for more.

our next foray took place the night immediately following. we had tasted quality and now we were simply gunning for quantity. enter hi sushi, which is all-you-can-eat (AYCE) japanese. there are a few located around town, but the closest one is on frith street in soho, near the shaftesbury theatre. £14.80 gets you the AYCE deal, which is a little deceptive. first of all, there's a one-hour time limit. so it really should be all-you-can-eat-in-one-hour. second, the AYCE menu is divided into two sections, hot and cold. of the hot menu items, you can only order up to 8, and only once per sitting. it's only the cold items that are AYCE. and by cold items, we really mean salmon in a few variations (sashimi, nigiri, maki, spicy salmon maki, salmon and avocado maki). which was fine by us, because we quite like salmon.

we now know where to go to satiate our sushi cravings when they do come up. there are probably better places out there, in terms of quality. of course, we're also quite sure that those establishments are much much more expensive. for our money, sushi hiro and hi sushi will do just fine.

wicked

for teresa's birthday, we decided to do another one of those london things - the west end show. the west end is essentially london's version of broadway, and it's where all the musicals are running. there are a bazillion to choose from, from small to major production, old and new. the funny thing is, the west end really isn't all that west. it's more like in the middle. and not all the theatres are in the same area; there are a few scattered further out.

based on the recommendation of a couple friends, we decided to go see 'wicked,' the untold story of the witches of oz. historically, we've never really been musical (as in show) type people. teresa's seen the lion king in toronto. caspian saw stomp ages ago (does that even count as a musical?). and the extent of all our recent activity involving musicals has occurred largely/solely on cruise ships in the caribbean.

trade secret: there are many ways to get tickets to wicked. you can buy them online from a number of ticket resellers. you can go to a physical ticket booth that specialises in selling tickets to shows(there are many around london, most of them in leicester square). while these routes will allow you to get tickets for cheap (as low as £17), you get what you pay for. we were going to go this route until we discovered the best option. every day, the box office at the theatre itself will release about 24 tickets for the front row for only £20 apiece. and by front row, we mean front row: you-a little space to walk in front of you-orchestra pit-stage. the tickets are released at 10am every day.

alas, by the time we started queuing, there were already a number of people in line. apparently 5 min before 10am isn't early enough, but we're sure quarter to 10 would suffice to get you tickets. by the time we got there, there was only 1 day ticket left (what are we going to do with one ticket?). so we had to get other tickets since we were pretty much set on going that day. but the benefit of being at the box office is that they can tell you exactly what the seats are like, and even get you some deals. we scored tickets that were valued at £60 for only £30 - half off ain't bad.

the show itself was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the experience immensely. our seats were great, located second row in from the balcony. the box office lady told us that we'd be close enough 'to see the actors' faces' (we guess this is important to theatre-goers?) and, sure enough, see their faces we could. the songs were energetic and fun. the vocals were excellent (at no point were we scared that the big bold notes would not be hit - not so when watching x-factor). the story was clever. and the ending was satisfying (we wouldn't want to spoil it for those of you who have yet to see it).

if you have the time when you stop in london, we highly recommend catching a show, any show really. if you're a big fan of musicals, and are highly critical, then maybe you won't be quite as awed by wicked as we were. but sometimes ignorance actually can be bliss.

paris – epilogue

Something that struck us while we were in Paris was the poor. It’s something that we hadn’t noticed as much in London, although since returning we have been more aware.

In Paris, it seemed people weren’t afraid to ask you for money. In particular, there seemed to be more gypsies (technically, the Romani people), who are quite pushy in their attempts. We also saw people rummaging through public rubbish bins looking for food to eat. All while we're indulging in French cuisine.

It was an important reminder for us. In a lot of ways, our little adventure can be self-indulgent. Yes, we want to challenge our faith and grow in our knowledge of God. But there is also the aspect of traveling and seeing different places. Perhaps it was God’s clever way of putting our trip in perspective and reminding us of how much He has blessed us in terms of worldly wealth. But worldly wealth, namely holding onto it for ourselves, has very little bearing on eternity.

A heart for the poor is something that we felt when we were still in Toronto. In retrospect, it is something that we had lost since arriving in London. After a humble reminder in Paris, it’s something we’re keen to regain.

paris – part iv

Monday marked our last day in Paris. While we had enjoyed our time, all the walking and standing (waiting for the Tour de France) had also thoroughly tired us out. We’re reminded of why we avoided a European honeymoon and are quite pleased that we did. We had already covered a lot of ground (literally), and had at least stopped by almost everything on our ‘Paris for tourists’ list. In retrospect, it really isn’t that much – Paris is a wonderful city and there is so much more to it than just the Eiffel tower. It’s a city that would be really fun to live in. Don’t worry, though – we’ll be sticking with London. The French would never give us visas anyway.

But back to Monday. We decided to keep the schedule light and not get too ambitious. Our first stop was up in the Pigalle area. Pigalle is a fascinating area in that it is quite seedy. Sex shops and clubs brazenly flaunt their wares with their bright, flashy neon signs – even at 10:30 in the morning. But just to the north lies the charming neighbourhood of Montmartre, with its somewhat windy, cobbled streets. You may be wondering why we ventured to Pigalle, then, if it is so unsavoury. We went because our inner romantics wanted to visit the fabled Moulin Rouge.

As is our custom when ‘visiting’ landmarks, we didn’t exactly go in to watch a show. With the entry fare at a cool €100 per person for dinner and a show, we decided we weren’t that interested in what was beyond the doors. A cabaret is not something we’re quite sure we’d enjoy either. The entrance had displays that told of the origin and history of the club. We found out that the likes of Sinatra and Piaf had graced its stage, and royalty from several countries its audience. Yes, there is actually a windmill over the entrance.

From there we (slowly) strolled through the streets of Montmartre to reach the funiculaire that would take us to the top of the hill. We considered, albeit briefly, taking the stairs, but decided to experience riding up in (lazy) style. Our t+ tickets for the metro worked for the funiculaire too, making it quite convenient. At the top of the hill of Montmartre, the highest point in the city of Paris, sits the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. Sacré-Coeur is a cathedral built in the late 19th century. Its construction was funded by donations from French Catholics in penitence for the Franco-Prussian war. We thought that was quite interesting. In the Bible, people built altars out of praise and temples out of a desire to worship God. Here was a church that was built out of contrition. Would we do that today? Would we feel so moved by our past actions to build a church? Would we even acknowledge wrongdoing in today’s laissez-faire, post-modern society where anything goes?

The view from Montmartre was spectacular. You can see the endless sprawl of Paris and be reminded of the incredible density of the city. We took our time walking down from the hill, savouring the view (and the sunny weather). The rest of our day was spent wandering about different patisseries in search of more goodies before we left. If you go to Paris for nothing more than eating pastries, it’s still well more than worth it in our estimation.

The beauty of Paris is how convenient it was to get there from London. We’ll hopefully be able to return one day. But until then, there are many more places to visit.

À bientôt!

paris - part III

our third day in paris took us to the fabled champs-elysées. we hopped on a metro and were off to our destination. coming out of the metro station, we were greeted by the arc de triomphe, which sits at one end of the long, wide avenue (place de la concorde is at the other end).

on this day, there were no cars (not even fancy ones) allowed on the road. the road was thoroughly barricaded off on both the sides and the end. you see, this day we were to witness the finale of the tour de france.

we were there sufficiently early to be right at the barricades (the equivalent of front row seats), but it was still 10:30 in the morning and the riders weren't scheduled to arrive until 4:30 or so. as keen as we were, we weren't too keen on waiting 6 hours. instead, we took the opportunity to stroll down the street and explore the shops that lined it.

the champs-elysées is paris' most famous avenue, known for its shopping. it wasn't quite as we expected it, but it was still very nice. on this day, we had to contend with the many stands that were set up to sell tour de france merchandise, which maybe took a little away from the mystique. because of the barricades, we ended up strolling down one side and back before proceeding down the other side.

we went inside the peugeot store, which featured some concept cars for tourists to gawk at. we were more interested in the other branded stuff. at the william ashley sale in toronto, we had noticed some kitchenware designed by peugeot but never realised they had enough to fill a store! they even had pens, notebooks, ties and cufflinks. we also wandered into a massive sephora, the french beauty retailer. did you know that sephora is owned by LV? we didn't either!

we into more stores on the other (south) side of the street. for one, the LV flagship store is on this commercial stretch, although we weren't bold enough to go in. the toyota store featured a car mounted on the wall. the renault store had a massive tv that was showing the hungarian grand prix. a mass of middle aged men crammed into the store to watch all the action and cheered for...whatever there is to cheer about when watching f1 (it's a mystery to us). they also had an f1 simulation, but the queue was long enough to deter us from waiting.

our favourite store had to be ladurée, another of the top french patisseries. another friend had advised us that ladurée had the best macarons in paris. we bought the mini macarons this time and they were so colourful and cute! we also loved the packaging, which was very classic, but elegant. so the verdict? pierre hermé or ladurée? well, we're sure a case could be made for either and it probably comes down to personal preference. our vote is for ladurée. pierre hermé was good, but the ganache-quality filling was so rich it made our heads hurt a little. the filling at ladurée was quality as well, but the fruit filling in particular was quite tasty.

now on to the main event: the tour de france. after lunch, we assumed our position along the barricades. by this point, people had filled up every free spot right against the barricades so we picked a spot that gave us essentially 'second-row' seats. and then we waited. and waited. and waited some more. lucky for us, the weather was very nice and we even got a bit of a tan (to top up the tans we picked up in greece and wimbledon).

at about 3pm, there was some sign of life, and everyone bolted up in eager anticipation. it ended up being the sponsors' parade. while a fringe activity at best in north america, cycling is massively popular in europe. of course, that means it's also big money for corporate sponsors who want a piece of the media exposure. the parade gave each sponsor a share of the spotlight. some were quite demure, with only a convoy of a few branded cars honking their horns (lame). others were a bit more inventive, like vittel, the official water sponsor of the tour, who had people spraying crowds with water hoses. (they lucked out with the weather too; we doubt it would have had the same effect if it was raining)

the parade finished and, finally, after all that waiting, the real action was about to begin. we were tipped off by the helicopters flying overhead, filming the riders as they approached us. excitement rippled through the crowd that had been waiting for hours.

if you're ever going to watch the tour de france, either plan to watch multiple stages on your journey or watch in paris. only watch a single, non-paris stage if you're going to be content with waiting hours for a (super) quick glance at the riders. it may be a little better on a mountain stage where they'll slow down for the climb, but otherwise, they blow by you and are gone. we'd always known they ride fast, but we were still stunned by how fast they actually were, a literal blur of multi-colour clad riders.

the benefit of watching in paris is that the course actually takes the peloton on eight laps of the champs-elysées, meaning you get to see the riders sixteen times (one on each side). it's also kind of an interesting study on european sporting culture. i'm not sure you'd find that many sports fans in north america that would be willing to wait a whole day for but a moment's viewing. still, it was worth it, to be able to witness one of the world's great sporting events live. it was too bad lance didn't win yet another title, but he put finished in a respectable place (3rd overall).

once the race was over, the crowd disbanded, leaving the street in droves. we were thoroughly tired from standing most of the day and just wanted to find a place to sit and eat. unfortunately, a lot of shops and restaurants seemed to be closed on sundays. we finally settled on a restaurant for dinner, where we checked off a couple of more items on our list of classic French foods: escargots and crème brûlée. delightful!

after dinner, we were full and tired so we just headed back to the hotel for some rest.

paris, france - part deux

cue music (the french accordian stuff).

the next day we set our sights high. real high. as you can no doubt guess, our next destination was the fabled and iconic tour eiffel. so we hopped onto the métro and off we went.

tangent: we wanted to comment on the paris métro. more than an extensive network that takes you just about anywhere you'd want to go, the métro system oozes character. the trains themselves vary from rickety cars reminescent of the older ttc models (you know, the yellowy orange ones) to newer slicker versions with electronically lit route maps. it all depends on which line you're traveling on. without any hyperbole, most of the tunnels that made up our main line, the M4, were covered in graffiti. it made for an interesting ride because now you had more than just transit ads to look at. the stations themselves were very nice for the most part (except for saint sulpice for some reason). some were trimmed with riveted metal, while saint germain had a distinct art gallery feel (complete with display cases). upon reflection, we suppose toronto subway stations can be quite interesting too. it's just that we never really appreciated them much until we learned to appreciate the transit systems of other cities.

we arrived at bir-hakeim station and, along with the rest of the people on the métro, we got off to be greeted by not the eiffel tower. we had to walk about 10 minutes, cleared some really tall trees and buildings to even see it. kinda anti-climatic. when we saw it the night before, teresa had commented on how small the eiffel tower seemed. it was decidedly bigger up close and personal.

on the way there, we were passed by a trio of soldiers, stern-looking young men wielding automatic rifles. our sentiments were a blend of reassurance that someone was on the lookout and mild alarm over what (or who) they might be on the lookout for. it was pretty awesome (or at least cas thought so).

when we finally reached the base, we were disappointed by the insanely long queue. but we suppose it was to be expected. it is the tour eiffel after all. on a saturday. luckily for us, we learned of two ways to bypass the lines, thanks to our handy guidebook (thank you again, london public library system).

the first way is to dine at the jules verne restaurant on the second level. we don't really recommend this unless you have lots of excess money burning holes in your pockets (if you do, give us a call. j/k). that's what it'll take at the posh eatery, if the €85 menu is any indication - and that's just for lunch! the dinner menu will set you back a cool €200. of course, you could also order à la carte, with dishes like lobster (€95 alone) and frogs legs on offer.

on the opposite end of the financial spectrum, the cheaper way to circumvent the line is to simply take the stairs. it'll still cost €4.50 and you can only get to the second level (it costs €10.50 - and at least an hour wait - for tickets to the top tier), but it sure beats waiting. our feet were hurting a little from all the walking we had done the previous day, but the prospect of ascending paris' landmark spurred us on. and you never know when the next opportunity might come again. besides, we had already climbed up the cn tower by stairs, so might as well keep the theme going.

when you climb the cn tower, you're encased by the concrete prison of the stairwell shaft. the tour eiffel, by contrast, is completely open, with only the heavy metal lattice and some thin metal mesh separating you from a pretty nasty fall. the air is much fresher, but you're also exposed to the wind. and there are these little holes in the metal steps. if you're even remotely scared of heights, the €200 menu might not seem so bad halfway between the first and second levels. but tough it out because the view from the top is amazing! because the tower is almost at the centre of the city, there's lots to see at each of the 360 degrees.

after we'd soaked in enough of the bird's eye view of paris, we had to get down. the pain in our feet had only increased from all the stair climbing so we tried to find an alternative means of returning to the ground. salvation came in the form of a scammed ride on a descending elevator and soon we were back on terra firma.

we slowly strolled through the parc du champs de mars, stopped to take some pictures, and found a little café for some dejeuner and rest. after lunch, we took a walk down la rive gauche, passed the hotel des invalides and crossed the pont alexandre III (which has massive statues of stone angels wielding golden swords). we walked between the grand palais and the petit palais to reach the fabled champs-elysées and the place de la concorde, with its 3,300 year old egyptian obelisk.

along the way, we stopped at a bakery. the bakeries alone are reason enough to love paris. they're everywhere and oh so good. it's amazing french people aren't either comatose from eating everything in sight, bankrupt from buying everything on display, or both. baguettes are so fresh that they're still warm when they're handed over the counter and they make the most sumptuous crackling sound when you tear a piece off. they were so good, we ended up eating 3 during our four-day trip. the pastry is peerless (in our journeys so far, at any rate), so whether you're munching on a pain au chocolat or a butter or almond croissant, the texture and flavour is to die for!

this topic will inevitably bring us to macarons. not to be confused with macaroons as we know them in north america, macarons are delectable little treats that resemble fancy oreos. of course, the biscuits are of almond meringue, the filling is a rich ganache, and they come in myriad flavours and colours. among the travel tips we were given was to visit a store called pierre hermé that reputedly had the best macarons in paris. the queue out the door to the end of the street was a good sign that this reputation was going to be backed up. and it was indeed. the macarons were very rich - both in cost and in flavour. as a note, never try to eat more than a couple in one sitting.

from there we meandered over to the musee d'orsay, but it was too late to be worth paying the entrance fee. we crossed back over to the right bank in search of a suitable venue for dinner. our quest took us through the royal palace gardens, with its whimsical square trees, and les halles, the site where the paris central market used to be held. not too far from there, we finally ended up at our destination: au pied du cochon.

those of you who have heard our foie gras poutine story will recognise the name as being the same as the restaurant in montreal where we ate during our weekend getaway a scant four (or five) years ago. although there is no affiliation that we know of, it's somewhat of an institution in paris as well, the restaurant being open 24/7. its claim of having never closed its doors in 60 years is quite impressive when you consider that the restaurant has been open longer than both our cumulative lifetimes.

we started off with a platter of raw oysters (we had oysters in montreal too) and a bowl of onion soup. for mains, teresa had a duck confit and caspian decided to give steak tartare another go (this time it came prepared). we've never really looked for it in earnest in toronto, but it can't be anywhere near as common as it is in paris. we're sure not that many places in london serve it either and those that do will charge a handsome sum for the privilege. the meal was capped off by a moelleux au chocolat, which is just a fancy french name for a molten lava chocolate cake. as a nice little surprise, they also gave us some pig-shaped meringues. again, we discovered we had a tendency to eat much earlier than the locals and found ourselves leaving as the restaurant started to fill up (always a good sign).

our evening walk this time took us to the home of the paris opera, an impressive looking building that we're sure is every bit as grandiose as the opera itself. thoroughly satisfied after enjoying a delicious meal and watching the sun cast its setting rays over the gold-gilt statuettes, we hopped back on the métro and headed back to our hotel for some more well-deserved rest. it was going to be another big day tomorrow...

to be continued...

paris, france - part deux (preview)