VACATION!

I SOOO DESPERATELY NEED ONE ASAP. HOW ABOUT YOU? THIS WHOLE GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN IS JUST DAMN DEPRESSING. YEN IS CURRENTLY BLOGGING ABOUT THE G20 MEETING RIGHT NOW AND THE PROTESTS ALONGSIDE IT. PEOPLE ARE JUST ANGRY. ANGRY. ANGRY. EVERYONE SHOULD JUST TAKE A VACATION. BUT I GUESS THATS THE WHOLE POINT. NOT EVERYONE CAN IN THIS ECONOMIC CLIMATE.

FORTUNATELY YEN AND I ARE LUCKILY ENOUGH TO DO SO. WE'RE GOING TO ISTANBUL NEXT WEDNESDAY! I CAN'T WAIT. WE WILL SURELY HAVE PICTURES UP SOON AFTER WE GET BACK. ANYONE WANT ANYTHING? I'LL TRY TO EAT A KEBAB FOR YOU.

THEN WE HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY VISITING US SOON THEREAFTER TOO. CHARLIE WILL BE IN TOWN IN A FEW WEEKS. SO FAR, WE'RE PLANNING ON AMSTERDAM, PARIS, AND MADRID.

AHHH. VACATIONS... ARE YOU GOING ANYWHERE SOON??? IF NOT, GO TO EUROPE AND WE'LL MEET YOU SOMEWHERE!

G20 Summit in London

Obama flew in last night to London for the first time since his presidency for the G20 Summit, the largest gathering of the world top leaders since after World War 2, in hopes of agreeing to an economic stimulus plan that would ultimately end this depressing climate.

Protesting from various groups ranging from churches, students, retirees, anti-war coalition, and climate camps were expected, but the hype over the aggression that might happen amongst bankers, made us weary of going to work, particularly since the London Underground had been a target for terrorists before - funny how I was never worried about this stuff in New York! As we went home last night, we noticed shop fronts boarding up their windows!

Michael and I found our way to work today anyway - we couldn't miss the action! That's what being here is all about! We had to dress down though, as to not be mistaken for bankers as we do work in an area with a high concentration of banks, where the protesters were looking to march.

11 AM rolled around before we heard some noise outside. Anxious to have an excuse to not work, we looked out the window and this was all we saw...


... it lasted for about 2 minutes. Disappointed, we went back to work. 30 minutes later, we heard more noise, except this time, it was louder! Happy it wasn't the end, we looked outside and heard loud drums and people, but it sounded more like a parade then a march - there wasn't even a rhythmic chant! We waited hopefully for a fight to break out or some profanity to be yelled... any sort of action would do, but nothing! The 2nd group of protestors lasted for about 3 minutes. It was so lame. I've seen better protesting in Portland on SW 2nd Ave. I am all about free speech but I really wonder if these people know what they're protesting about?

So that was the end of that. The only other semi-exciting thing that happened was on our way home that evening, the road to our tube stop was blocked and our station was closed, so we had to take an alternative route, which just meant more walking, so really, it wasn't even that exciting. I really hope these world leaders come up with a resolution for all this trouble!

Portobello Road

We had already been to Portobello Road during our first "visit" to London (though I'm not sure if that time was considered a "visit" for me since that visit became a semi-permanent move :) but we decided to check it out once more... as non-tourists this time. We even attempted to take a picture in the exact spot we did nearly 11 months ago... not much success, but if you look really hard, you might be able to tell!

In addition to it being the home for emerging designers, it's also supposedly known for being the world's biggest antiques market (I don't remember seeing many antiques, but I did notice the food stands - check out the paella and the crab puffs :) !

And as we were in Nottinghill, paparazzi mistook Michael for Hugh Grant ;) LOL

Princi

Considering all the amazing places Michael and I eat at, the pictures we've taken thus far (or lack thereof) really don't do them any justice! Yea, so who cares if you're sitting in a dim a$$ 5-star restaurant and your flash goes off once, twice, three times like you've never seen a white plate with a slab a fish and foam on it before?

I would like to think that I'm somewhat of a decent photographer... actually, no no, scratch that - photo enthusiast is the more appropriate term (since the definition of "photographer" is someone who takes pictures professionally and everyone knows I'm not a professional anything :) but my point-and-shoot Canon Powershot is becoming a hinderance on the quality of my picture taking! Especially when I know Michael has a super-zoom-super-performance camera just sitting there gathering dust on his bedside table! He's too lazy to carry it around and I find it too intimidating to use myself, until I get proper instructions i.e. lessons!!! I've decided (I need) to take photography lessons (you must know I take lessons for everything... golf lessons, skiing lessons, stretching lessons... I'm convinced I need snowboarding and tennis lessons, even though I've practiced both for years)!.. I hate to admit it, but I am what you'd call a Jack of all trades, master of none :P

Those last 2 paragraphs, all to prepare you for another below-par picture of Alan Yau's collaboration with Milanese baker, Rocco Princi, which some have coined as the "Armani of bread." We had been wanting to check it out, but while strolling through Soho last weekend, happily sauntered into it (without initially realizing what it was) to find that in addition to pastries, they also serve other Italian delectables such as pizza, pasta, and prosecco. We were too full from lunch to try more than just one of their signature pastries, but we'll definitely be back for more, as Alan Yau has once again, mastered the art of spontaneously refined communal dining. Good food is great, but a svelte backdrop is a plus.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

I've heard about this place for a while when we were living in New York as Joel Robuchon's empire includes restaurants in Paris, Las Vegas, Macao, Monaco, New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. It's no wonder that he has 18 Michelin stars (the most of any chef in the world) among those restaurnts. The London branch was just awarded two stars this past January so we (mostly I) were quite excited to dine at my first 'two michelin' starred restaurant.

The food at L'Atelier is modern European while the decor is more sleek Japanese looking. Pretty slick looking place with lots of red and black. One of the things that differentiates L'Atelier from its stuffier counterparts is that the dining here is less formal in that you sit at a bar and the open kitchen as well as all the service is done behind that bar.

Being that this was at a 'bar' we had to start off with some drinks! Yen had a mimosa (supposedly the best mimosa she's had in London) while I had a blueberry and basil caipirinha which was also very good. Its been tough getting good drinks in London as most places are very strict with the amount of alcohol they are allowed to pour in. One drink means one shot of liquor usually. Weak sauce!

On to the meal. We both started with a soft-poached egg held up by a radish ring, over thin slices of pickled beets. For the main, Yen had the monkfish with an assortment of vegetables and some foam... possibly one of the best fish dishes I've tasted before. I had hanger steak with carmelized onions and side of a layered potato thing. Apparently hanger steak is the rage nowadays in restaurants. Its supposedly the working man's steak as its a cheaper cut and therefore more chewy but is to have tons of flavor. And oh man was it chewy! Sorry hanger steak, you ain't got nothing on my main man, the rib eye.

Everything was nice overall. Good but not good enough considering the prices that we'd go again.

After another spanking large lunch we decided to grab some coffee in Soho. Chill out. Relax. Do some people watching.

After coffee we wandered the streets and ended up walking up to Princi! I'm sure Yen will talk more about it since its owned by her favorite restauranteur!