London – huge, historic, and very hip. Majestic museums and theatres, cutting-edge art and music scenes, and world-class restaurants.
In our ongoing quest to present an insider’s view of great destinations around the world, we asked Kang Leong, London-based food blogger, photographer and writer, to share his favourites.
WHERE TO STAY
Best hotel
Andaz Hotel
The Andaz is situated in the heart of the City of London. A slice of old world luxury, the building dates back to 1884 when it was known as the Great Eastern Hotel. It shares its bricks with neighbouring Liverpool Street Station.
Inside, guests are greeted with a decidedly modern touch of extravagance. Free-wheeling receptionists glide around the glistering marble floors with touch-screen tablet computers, rather than being anchored to an old-fashioned reception desk.
There are 5 restaurants inside the hotel. The most impressive is 1901 – featuring fresh British produce – in a room with ceilings that seem to touch the heavens. It is the pinnacle of grandeur.
40 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 7QN
www.london.liverpoolstreet.andaz.hyatt.com
WHERE TO EAT
Best breakfast
Providores and Tapa Room
The Marylebone village is unofficially recognised as a foodie village. On the weekends, masses queue up for breakfast at Providores and Tapa Room, a Spanish fusion restaurant and café spread across two floors.
Breakfast consists of an eclectic range of wholesome choices, including sourdough bread with marmite and manuka honey, grilled sardines, sweetcorn and blueberry fritters and one of my favourites – mushroom, parmesan and jamon on toast – a flamed intense glory. They also feature a version of Turkish eggs – a recipe borrowed from Changa restaurant in Instanbul – poached eggs, Greek yoghurt and hot chilli butter.
109 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RX
www.theprovidores.co.uk
Best sausage rolls
Ginger Pig
If you are after something decidedly British, you must give the Ginger Pig sausage roll a try. This is perhaps an unconventional recommendation for cooked food, since Ginger Pig are primarily butchers. Proudly British, their farms in Yorkshire raise sheep, poultry and nationally acclaimed longhorn cattle, which are supplied to many of the capital’s top restaurants. Their giant sausage rolls are £3 each. The pastry is buttery and dense, while the stuffing is intensely seasoned, chunky and spewing with juices. You won’t find better anywhere.
Borough Market, London SE1 1TL
www.thegingerpig.co.uk
Best dinner
Eastside Inn
Bjorn van de Horst once ran the kitchens of La Noisette — a one-time Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Together with his wife Justine, they have opened their own restaurant in Farringdon. The restaurant serves progressive French bistro-style food, and their menus feature more complex offerings, such as lobster, cèpes and foie gras. Bjorn has unique talents for creating complimentary flavours, delivering French food with an understated flair. Highly recommended.
40 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY
www.esilondon.com
Best for steak
Goodman Steakhouse
Goodman is a Russian-owned steakhouse conveniently located near Oxford Circus — the major shopping area in London. One of the few restaurants in London that boasts a Josper grill, which imparts a distinct charcoal smokiness to the steaks. Its major attraction lies in the sheer choice of meat on offer, including Scotch, O’Shea’s Irish beef, English longhorn, New Zealand Wagyu and Nebraska prime USDA beef. Steak sizes can be specially cut to order. If you love great steak, Goodman is a winner.
26 Maddox Street, London W1S 1HQ
www.goodmanrestaurants.com
Best for sushi
Sushi Hiro
This is my favourite sushi bar of all time. The restaurant is near Ealing Common Station, and its modest space probably only caters to approximately 30 covers. The only hot food they serve is miso soup and green tea. Fish is fresh, especially their o-toro and surprisingly affordable at £2.60 per nigiri. I love Japanese food, and if there is only one sushi bar I’d recommend, this is the one.
1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Rd, London W5 3LD
Best for fish
J Sheekey
J Sheekey is part of Le Caprice Holdings and part of a galaxy of luxury restaurants. Its roots dates back to the late 1800s, and it has been serving fish from the same site ever since. Adjoining the modest wood-laden and charming restaurant is a regal all-brass oyster bar. On my visit, I was completely satisfied with my Cornish pollock with mussels and fennel, finished with a hearty cream drizzle.
28-31 Saint Martin’s Court London WC2N 4AL
www.j-sheekey.co.uk
Best tea room
Le Salon Bar
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is a two Michelin-stared restaurant that serves perfect haute cuisine, but in a more casual setting. Perhaps most interesting about this restaurant is its hidden lounge on the third floor that serves afternoon tea. Chic velvet red leather sofas and black drapes complete its magnificent design. Afternoon tea is priced at £14 per person and includes your choice of tea as well as a two-tier stand featuring a choice of savoury and sweet finger food, including la gougères au persil, mandelines and coconut biscuits.
13-15 West Street, London WC2H 9NE
www.joel-robuchon.com
Best coffee
Tapped and Packed
There is surging demand for good coffee in London. Thanks to this trend, there are now a number of quality independent cafés springing up around town. The latest to join the ranks are Tapped and Packed, based in Fitzrovia. Their coffee includes a number of artisanal roasts, which change according to what their suppliers can get. Some speciality brews include Columbian Toliam, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Brazilian Minas Gerais. Best of all, coffee connoisseurs can choose a preferred brewing method, including filtering, cafetière or by siphoning.
26 Rathbone Place,Fitzrovia,London W1T1JD
www.tappedandpacked.co.uk
WHAT TO DO & SEE
Best music
Ronnie Scotts
Ronnie Scotts are one of the oldest jazz clubs in London, having opened in 1959. It is a popular destination for jazz lovers, and has played host to a number or popular musicians. It is the quintessential jazz lounge, with plush red leather booths that line the walls, as well as smaller round tables closer to the music. Dimly lit, a reticent ambiance and a cracking house band.
47 Frith Street, Soho London W1D 4HT
www.ronniescotts.co.uk
Best museums
Victoria and Albert Museum
The V&A is a museum of culture, art and design. Its permanent collections span from fashion, to architecture, to items from Asia and the Middle East. Additionally, glassware, ceramics and metalwork are featured. The museum holds collections of British and European oil paintings and it is one of the few major London museums to hold a Photography Collection. Fans of street photography will appreciate significant pieces, such as the work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia from his acclaimed The Hollywood Series.
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
www.vam.ac.uk
Best gallery
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is free and offers exhibition space for curated international modern art exhibitions. Based in glamorous King’s Road, the Duke of York HQ features 70,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as a lovely gallery mess. New exhibitions are launched every so often. In the past, there have been group exhibitions of modern art from China, New art from the Middle East and Abstract America. In 2010, they are exhibiting Indian art.
98 Sloane Street, Kensington, London SW1X 9
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk
Best parks & gardens
Kew Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew is one of the largest and most diverse botanical gardens in London. The 121-hectare site is located in Richmond and features large-scale and imposing botanical glasshouses. It was founded as an exotic garden by Lord Capel of Tewksbury in the 18th century, adding several landmarks of interest — including a Chinese pagoda — over its 300-year history. Now that spring has arrived, it is the perfect time to visit Kew Gardens, particularly to see the beds of roses in bloom, as well as to take a tree-top tour around the gardens. The gardens celebrated its 250th anniversary last year.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AB
www.kew.org
WHERE TO SHOP
Best bookstore
Photographers’ Gallery
The Photographers’ Gallery is spread over three floors. The ground floor exhibits some of the most progressive photographic works today, though their bookstore is a real gem in the city. Stocks a number of bespoke publications, as well as a large selection of photo-books from renowned art photographers that can be difficult find. You can read at the sit-down café, which is also a meeting place for impromptu photographic presentations and workshops.
16 – 18 Ramillies Street London W1F 7LW
www.photonet.org.uk
Best for kids
Hamleys of London
The 5 floors at the famous Hamleys Regent Street store probably does host “the finest toys in the world,” as their motto suggests. Shop windows are colourfully decorated with elaborate, ever-changing displays that reflect the latest trends, and there isn’t anything you won’t be able to find for the little ones at Hamleys. They sell everything for kids, from soft toys to board games and action figures, to science sets and craft sets. Children’s toy heaven, as well as for the inner child in you.
188-196 Regent Street London W1B 5BT
www.hamleys.com
Best food market
Borough Market
Borough Market is a regular tourist magnet, a must visit for the gastronomically enlightened. It is one of the largest food markets in the capital, market traders insist. They’re renowned for the artisanal nature of their produce and and as international importers and purveyors of British produce. You will also find a number of lovely traders serving barbeque burgers, fresh oysters, great coffee and some of the best grilled cheese sandwiches.
8 Southwark Street SE1 1TL
www.boroughmarket.org.uk
Best wine cellar / wine bar / wine shop
The Sampler
This quirky wine merchant based in North London offers a twist on the concept of try-before-you-buy. The store has installed sampling machines, which allow prospective customers to try small sips of wines before committing to purchase. The store offers a pre-paid card against which guests can buy small sips of what they want to try. At any one time, 80 bottles of wine are on offer to try. Suitable if you are looking for impromptu wine-tasting sessions.
266 Upper Street London N1 2UQ
www.thesampler.co.uk
Best ice cream
Oddono’s
Finally, we are all hoping for a searing hot summer and will be cooling off with dollops of the finest Italian gelato available to Londoners. The ice cream shop started in 2004 by Christian Oddono in Bute street, South Kensington, is now enjoying a good reputation amongst ice cream lovers, having been inspired by his grandmother’s home-made delights in Italy. All ice cream is made on site in their Bute Street shop on a daily basis, and their ice creams carry the distinctive frozen custard characteristic associated with the very best gelatos. To date, they have produced 130 varieties, including basil, cinnamon and cognac, though my favourites are pistachio and Fior di Latte.
14 Bute Street, London SW7 3EX
www.oddonos.com
BEST KEPT SECRET
Best romantic secret
Luca Music Covent Garden
There are a number of great street musicians who regularly perform for free at the open air piazza at Covent Garden. However, a crowd favourite is Luka. He sets up his amp and guitar every Friday night at 10 p.m., and serenades the cold nights with warming medleys of popular hit songs. Luca hails from Pisa in Italy. He regularly remixes English pop songs with his charming acoustic style and sings partly in Italian. If you are after a romantically impromptu late night session in the City, keep an eye out for Luca.
12 Floral Street London WC2E 9DH
www.lucamusic.co.uk
Kang Leong
Kang Leong has spent the last eight years obsessively collecting restaurant experiences around London. Also an occasional freelance photographer, his work have been published by National Geographic Traveller magazine and by Zeit Online. You might catch him photographing his meals while eating out in London. He updates his popular restaurant blog thrice a week at www.londoneater.com. Kang’s blog was recently recognised by The Times in their weekly ‘Best of the Blogs’ column.
