Category Archives: Restaurant

Fried shrimp chips – Jun Ming Xuan

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Fried shrimp chips - Jun Ming Xuan
Prawn flavored crackers for the table. Complimentary
Jun Ming Xuan Chinese Restaurant, London ENGLAND

Also called krupuk, these crispy airy chips are addicting! I love the subtle shrimp flavor and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. I’ve never fried these myself at home, but I think I’d prefer to save the time and energy and buy them premade!

The Monument to the Great Fire of London

The Monument to the Great Fire of London. We walked up the 311 steps of this Roman Doric column that commemorates the Great Fire of 1666 located in the financial area of London. It’s the tallest isolated stone column in the world and the panoramic views from the top are pretty amazing!

Pork ribs in Mandarin sauce – Jun Ming Xuan

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Pork ribs in Mandarin sauce - Jun Ming Xuan
Fried pork spareribs in a tangy sweet sauce. £5.80
Jun Ming Xuan Chinese Restaurant, London ENGLAND

Mmm, these were really good! I loved the flavor of the Mandarin sauce and its sticky consistency. I’m a sucker for ribs, noms!

Buckingham Palace during Changing of the Guard
Buckingham Palace during Changing of the Guard. Wow, this place is an absolute madhouse during this ceremony and unless your next to the inner fence you really can’t see much! I would say it’s kinda cool, but I wouldn’t waste my time waiting on future visits.

Fish and chips – The Lord Moon of the Mall

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Fish and chips - The Lord Moon of the Mall
Battered fillet of sustainable cod, chips, tartare sauce and garden peas. £5.99
The Lord Moon of the Mall, London ENGLAND

Who says British food is gross and flavorless?! I HAD to try their fish and chips and it tasted great! The fish was nicely fried and the batter had a good flavour (hehe). The fries were crisp on the outside and pillowy on the insde and I definitely prefer garden peas to mushy peas.

The Lord Moon of the Mall dining room
Perhaps this painting is of the Lord Moon of the Mall? Lol, prolly not but the dining area is quite cozy and busy! So there aren’t any servers that come to your table to take your food order. You have to go to the bar to order and then expeditors bring out your food when it’s ready.

The Lord Moon of the Mall interior
I love the high ceiling and large windows in the dining room. This was our first full day in London and the weather was horrible – it was cold and rainy!

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, Palace of Westminster

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, Palace of Westminster. It was a gloomy day but that didn’t prevent us from walking around London like crazy people trying to fit everything in. It’s pretty amazing how ornately decorated this Clock Tower is.

Fresh cod fillet & chips – Fusciardi’s Cafe

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Fresh cod fillet & chips - Fusciardi's Cafe
“Fusciardi’s have been cooking fish and chips for over 70 years in our homemade batter. And freshly cut chips!” Medium €6.50
Fusciardi’s Cafe, Dublin IRELAND

I feel bad for saying this because the worker (owner?) was SUPER nice, but this was horrible! The fish was limp and super oily and so were the French fries. And oddly enough, they both lacked flavor. I’m sorry nice worker, forgive me!

Ha'penny Bridge, Bachelors Walk
Ha’penny Bridge, Bachelors Walk. This is a beautiful pedestrian bridge over the River Liffey that leads to Merchants Hall on the southern side.

Pancake “special” – Pifko Bar and Grill

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Pancake "special" - Pifko Bar and Grill
Homemade potato pancakes baked with chicken, pork vegetables, mushrooms, and melted mozzarella. Domaci bramboracky s masovou smesi, zapecene s mozzarellou. €12.50
Pifko Bar and Grill, Dublin IRELAND

Another odd dish with some interesting flavors. The potato pancakes were plenty cooked and the melted mozzarella was a surprising addition. Perhaps I just need to immerse myself in Czech food so I can understand the flavors better.

Bedford Tower, Dublin Castle, Upper Yard

Bedford Tower, Dublin Castle, Upper Yard. This is a cute cobblestone Georgian courtyard surrounded by beautifully old buildings. In 1907, the Irish crown jewels were stolen from this building.

Vepro, knedlo, zelo – Pifko Bar and Grill

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Vepro, knedlo, zelo - Pifko Bar and Grill
Czech national dish! Slow roasted pork served with cabbage and dumplings. €10.50
Pifko Bar and Grill, Dublin IRELAND

“Pifko” means “pint” in Czech. This is a random restaurant along the River Liffey but we were looking for a change. This was the first time I’ve had traditional Czech food and I don’t think I was made into a fan. The pork was really good, but I didn’t really like the cabbage or dumplings. They were on the sour side for me and the dumplings were soggy and unappetizing. I guess I’m just not used to these flavors and textures.

The Spire of Dublin, Monument of Light, O'Connell Street

The Spire of Dublin, Monument of Light, O’Connell Street. This 121.2 meter (398 feet) tall stainless steel monument is the tallest sculpture in the world! It was designed by Ian Ritchie Architects and finished on January 21, 2003. Some nicknames include The Spike, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Nail in the Pale, The Stiffy at the Liffey, The Erection at the Intersection, and The Pin in the Bin.

Dublin coddle – The Bachelor Inn

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Dublin coddle - The Bachelor Inn
A traditional Irish dish of pork sausage, bacon, potato, onion, and parsley served with batch bread. €8.95
The Bachelor Inn, Dublin IRELAND

Dublin coddle - The Bachelor Inn
Mmm, this was a simple stew-like dish and VERY flavorful. I actually really liked the batch bread! It’s super light and airy and they lather it with plenty of butter. The Bachelor Inn is a cute place along the River Liffey walkway and the service was excellent (and good looking too)! We all recognized that out waiter was a diamond among the not-so attractive local population, lol! Would definitely recommend dropping in for a pint or some vittles!

"The Prick with a Stick" James Joyce statue

“The Prick with a Stick” James Joyce statue, North Earl Street. This statue is along the shopping corridor in north Dublin, not too far from where we were staying. There’s plenty of shops and excellent people watching, lol!

Margherita pizza – Ristorante Romano

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Margherita pizza - Ristorante Romano
Tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on an organic flour crust. 12 inch pizza €8.50
Ristorante Romano, Dublin IRELAND

This pizza wasn’t very good – I guess I couldn’t expect much from an Asian/Italian restaurant in Dublin. The crust was thin, dense and it these weird stratified layers of dough. Very odd. It wasn’t very crisp either considering its thickness.

River Liffey at night
River Liffey at night. The river cuts through the center of Dublin and has many cute shops, pubs, and restaurants along it. Apparently, it’s one of the few rivers in Ireland with a feminine name.

Pasta all’ matriciana – Ristorante Romano

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Pasta all' matriciana - Ristorante Romano
Rigatoni pasta, tomato based sauce made with smoked bacon, onions, tomatoes, and red chilies with basil and parsley. €13
Ristorante Romano, Dublin IRELAND

Pasta all' matriciana - Ristorante Romano
This was one of the weirdest Italian restaurants I’ve even been to. All the workers were Asian which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I will say that the food certainly had some Asian flare. They even offer sriracha as a condiment for your meal. This pasta tasted ok – I liked the deep smokey flavor of the sauce and the bite of the rigatoni. But OMG, can you make a pasta this greasy!!! I was actually disgusted. Granted I was starving so I ate everything, but I was still grossed out by what I found at the bottom of the bowl. I’ve never seen that much grease separate from a pasta dish before!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We didn’t get a chance to walk inside, but this is a beautiful church from the outside especially looking at it from St. Patrick’s Park. The tulips were in full bloom!

Traditional Cornish steak pasty – The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery

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Traditional Cornish steak pasty - The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery
Served with minted mushy peas. £4.25
The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery, London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Traditional Cornish steak pasty - The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery
When in Rome, erm I mean London! I would say that these two food items, a pasty and mushy peas, are pretty traditional British foods so I had to order them. I wasn’t impressed, but it was airport food. The minted mushy peas weren’t very good at all, or perhaps I just don’t have a taste for them. The mint flavor was overpowering and synthetic tasting. I couldn’t finish the small serving of it! The pasty tasted ok, but I didn’t really like the thick dry dough. The inside was mostly potatoes with some beef mixed in. Not a lot of flavor, but I’m glad I tried the two.

Harlequin ale – The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery

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Harlequin ale - The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery

Light amber in colour with a toasty, hoppy aroma and smooth smokey flavour. Half pint £2
The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery, London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Wow, after a long flight from San Francisco and a long layover before boarding for Dublin, I totally needed this! It was pretty good, but I’m no beer expert. I really think the British pound and coversion rates are gonna kill me, lol!