Chinese New Year turned out to be a big weekend. A couple of Hong Kong expats from Ian’s sustainable engineering course hosted a great party in Cambridge on Friday night, then on Sunday I went into London for the major Chinese New Year celebrations focused around Trafalgar and Leicester squares. We had Dim Sum (what we call Yum Cha in Australia, essentially Chinese brunch) at the (in)famous New World in the heart of Chinatown, noted in this list of the top 10 Dim Sum places in London for it’s trolley-to-your-table service.
Unfortunately for our predominantly white Western group this meant being served last as the trolleys meandered amongst the tables. It reached the stage where we were flailing our arms as trolleys sailed past pleading ‘please, please give us dumplings’!? Eventually we were sated, then wandered amongst the crowds, buying jars of sauce and enjoying the deafening Chinese firecrackers.
It’s a very auspicious year for me, as I was born in the Year of the Pig, and here it is again! Cheers to auspiciousness for all!
You can live the experience through photos here.
Filed under: england
I recently went a conference in Brighton, England, which was strange given that I grew up near Brighton, Adelaide, which has a much better beach, but a much more modest jetty, and less celebrities.
The ‘beach’ in Brighton is just a bunch of rocks really, though the smattering of boats on the foreshore make for an interesting wander. I went to a French restaurant next to the Old Ship Hotel, home to the best meal I’ve had in the UK so far! Unfortunately the fish and chips from a nearby takeaway were as average (and expensive) as I’ve come to expect over here.
Still, if you have a few bucks to spend, Brighton is wonderful! You can see more photos here.
Although it happened a week late, Ian’s Birthday slash Australia Day party at our house in Cambridge was a resounding success. Though Triple J’s Hottest 100 got drowned out in the hubbub, the lamingtons, Anzac biscuits, vegemite sandwiches and snags when down a treat. The range of nationalities topped my Canadian celebrations, with representatives from every continent except Antarctica!
You can see a bunch of photos from the event here.
