The Tower of London

We went to the Tower of London on Sunday and lucky enough that we had one free ticket because we traveled by train so we can get a 2 for 1 offer,Hurray! I don't think many people know about this offer. The admission fee to the Tower of London was £17 per adult but that doesn't stop people queuing to get tickets.There were long queues as usual, finally we got our tickets and we entered the gate, walked around the area then we queued up to get inside the building to see the crown jewels. It was a very very long queues and when the moment came we went on the escalator 5 times to see the crown jewels! I couldn't take my eyes of the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, it is magnificent! I also liked the design of a small diamond crown of Queen Victoria, absolutely splendid! It was really worth it and I am honoured to be able to see the greatest collection of Crown jewels - The symbols of the British monarchy.




Afterward we went to the White Tower and walked around the area, I saw about 3 or 4ravens as well. Later on we visited the Tower Bridge exhibition because we also had a 2 for 1 offer ticket, then we walked to the other side of the River Thames before we caught a tube back to Euston.


The House of Parliament and the Clock Tower

Three Days in London

My hubby drove me to London on the 19th of last month, it was Friday and the traffic was as dreadful as the weather, we got stuck in the traffic because of an accident plus school holidays had started and lots of people were going on holiday just like us. It took about 5 hours till we arrived at Hamel Hemstead where we stayed. We were quite exhausted anyway we had a lovely dinner in the restaurant nearby. It was the best fish and chips I have ever had! It was my gourmet heaven,affordable and reasonably priced.

We began our trip to London on Saturday, it was my first trip to London and I was so excited! We traveled by train from Hamel Hempstead to Euston and when we arriveed at Euston station I felt the dynamic, hectic lifestyle and diversity, it was somehow different from Manchester in my opinion. I couldn't wait to explore London and the first place we visited was St's Pual Cathedral. The admission fee is not cheap but it is worth it and it was a once in a lifetime experience. When I stepped inside the building I can not find words to explain the interior decoration, it is beyond magnificence, genuinely impressive. We went up to the top of the dome and there were long queues but when we reached the viewpoint, it was breathtaking! Fortunately the sky was clear so we could see London from above. Oh! it was fantastic!! I think I fell in love with London.






After visiting St's Paul Cathedral, we went to the Tower of London but it was quite late when we arrived so we decided to walk around the area instead, I took loads of pictures of the Tower Bridge before we went on a cruise tour. Then we arrived at the dock near the House of Parliament area and there I was, stood in front of the Clock Tower which is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. After that we walked toward Trafalgar Square, we walked past Downing Street, the Queen's household cavalry then arrived at Trafalgar Square. I took a lot of pictures but I did't have enough time to play with the camera setting and the weather was cloudy and I am disappointed with the results. Anyway, I enjoyed the day so that's all matter to me.




Ps. To be continued

Bill Bailey Live tour in Manchester

Bill Bailey had performed in The Palace Theater in Manchester last Firday. Me and my hubby went to see his Live tour for the first time. I can actually say that it was my first experience to see Live stand up comedy and I was so excited. I booked the ticket for two and our seats were at Grand tier A row. Literally speaking my seat was quite far away from the comedian, and it was almost like watching the act from a bird's eye view point. The seats were occupied by the audiences, once I was inside the building I was thrilled by the size of the hall which is quite small as well as the decoration. The act started at 8 pm and finished at 10 pm but I wanted more! Hahaha! Bill Bailey began the jokes about Britney Spears that she blundered " Hello, London!"(while performing in Manchester). Well, apparently someone forgot to tell her where she was! (This is my joke by the way.)

I must admit that I absolutely enjoyed his performance, it was sensationally brillant,superb jokes and what a talented musician he is! I persume that he can play any instruments. Gosh! He is so cool!!!! Love the joke about 30 seconds sunshine and it was so true because I am actually act like that whenever the sun stick its head out of the clouds. Another memorable act is the short film at the end of the show it was absolutely hilarious. Genius Bill! Can't wait to see more of your acts!

Last night dinner

Last night I made an Indian Chinese dish which is called Chicken Manchuria, it was my first attempt and it turned out amazingly delicious, haha, it was worth trying something different because it took me quite a long time to prepare all the ingredients but it was fun since I like experimenting with flavour combinations. Honestly I'm not an expert in any areas of cooking and as I always say I usually "wing it", it is my way of learning or to learn from my experience. It is either hit or miss and hoping that the result would be good. The best part of cooking for me is when I photograph what I have cooked, I can see my improvements as well as the effort. It unquestionably put a smile on my face whenever I receive a compliment. I'm absolutely over the moon to see my hubby enjoy my food. After all I didn't realize that cooking with passion is something I can do.


The second dish I made last night was japanese rice roll or sushi roll, I actually did it my way because I had no idea what it should taste like and I have never tried authentic Japanese food before but that wasn't a problem for me. The problem was I didn't know how to roll it properly, my first roll was far too big,haha,and the second roll was ok, I guess. Well, let's the pictures explain itself.

Tonight's Dinner!

Soy sauce glazed chicken thighs

Ingredients

Chicken thighs
Copped garlic
Chopped ginger
Chopped corriander
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon soysauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
Olive oil/Peanut oil

Methods

- Boil chicken thighs to make sure they're cooked then shallow fry in a wok till golden brown, set aside. Add chopped garlic and ginger into the wok and fry till brown then add brown sugar, soy sauce, Chinese rice wine and pour a cup of water then bring it to the boil, add chicken into the sauce then reduce the heat to gentle simmer. Cover the wok and cook till the sauce is reduced and thickened and glazed the chicken thighs after that you can garnish with chopped corriander. Bon Appetit!



I bought a new cookbook a few days ago and I tried one of the Chinese recipes from the book which is soy sauce glazed chicken thighs and I served that with mashed potatoes and carrots. It was really really delicious, I absolutely love it! Oh, I also made butternut squash soup for a starter, I didn't like it at all because it's too sweet for me but my hubby likes the soup so it was worth the effort.

Spring has sprung!

I have been looking forward to spring for so long and it's finally arrived! I feel as if I have been in hibernation mode during the winter. Now the weather has improved, it's getting warmer but it's still unpredictable anyway today's weather was quite nice and it was not windy(Thanks to God, I hate windy weather.)so I went to Heaton park for a walk. I took pictures of cherry blossoms and daffordils although some flowers have not fully sprung yet but it is still nice. I hope the weather will stay warm and sunny like this as long as possible. Although I can not expect too much but I will make the most of it anyway. Right, it is time to show some pictures. Here we go!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recently I have been trying to cook something different, something that I have never cooked before. It's quite challenging, isn't it? Last week I made Chicken Tikka Masala, it was my first attempt to cook Indian food. I think my culinary skills has improved a lot since I started surfing internet for new recipes and I like experimenting with new ingredients or what I usually say to myself is"wing it"! Hahaha, anyway I hope that experiences will take me to the next level, for now I'll keep trying to be a master chef in my own kitchen. LOL

Let's get cracking! Here is my recipe!

Ingredients
chicken, boned and skinned
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp gram masala
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp crushed ginger
5 cardamon pods
cinnamon stick
chopped onions
chopped tomato or tomato puree
olive oil, salt, coconut milk

Method
1. Heat a saucepan to medium heat then add olive oil, put in cardamon pods and cinnamon stick. Stir once, add chopped onions cook till brown then add crushed garlic and ginger.
2. Mix all the spices together and add into the saucepan and stir for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomato or tomato puree, pour in water to simmer it for 10 mins. Season with salt and taste.
3. Add chicken and coconut milk to thicken the sauce, bring it to the boil for 5 mins then simmer gently for 10 mins or till cooked.

There you go! Chicken Tikka Masala served with baked potatoes. Triumphant!