Oak Street Ranch

A thousand years of London

So, where does one start to explore the history of a city which has existed for 2000 years (starting from a 1 mile square village, settled by the Romans)?

Perhaps with last night's dinner - Hakasaan. Let me say, it was like an easter egg hunt to find the place. A tube ride, followed by some cryptic map directions, to a side street not well marked, in an area near the WestEnd. Our only tip was the guy with the clipboard standing by the doorway.
We went down the stairs, through two sets of doors, into an asian fusion wonderland. Dark woods, blood red lights, spot lighting over the tables, staff all dressed in black. For those of you who have been, it looked similar to Katana, on Sunset. Only darker lighting, and in a basement, rather than a view of the Sunset Strip.

Dinner started with a few of their signature cocktails - A hakatini - which was a nice, fruit infused martini. And for me, a pink mojito, with cranberry and tequila. A really good start.
Dinner included grilled dumplings and hot and sour soup. Some of the best we've had. Main courses were a vegetable mix, some grilled/curried shrimp and a merlot beef. The veggies were tasty, the shrimp was very well done - but the beef was...a show stopper. Rich, smoky, cooked to perfection. Some of the best food we've had (despite all the doubts expressed about London food). Many times we commented that we could have easily been in Santa Monica, rather than the United Kingdom.

From dinner, we walked through the West End a bit, and stopped off at a pub for a pint. Groups of expats comparing countries and a helpful barmaid giving tasters of draughts rounded out our adventure. A Tube ride back to Knightsbridge and we were back home for the evening!

What then? What about Monday?
Well, first off - the weather was supposed to be dicey, so we didn't know what to expect. How to start? With breakfast, of course. And, a minor bit of shopping. We walked over to Harvey Nichols - another well known store in London. Their 5th floor - yes, a Cafe, a restaurant, a Gelsons-like market, and a bar with its own wine-cellar room and cigar humidor! Jen had some pancakes with ricotta (very light and tasty) with bannana, and I had a traditional English breakfast with eggs and tomatoes and sausages. And much coffee.

Then - we decided to have a go at more traditional tourist fare - A double-decker bus tour. We visited the sights - London Bridge, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, past the court buildings (with their barristers in wigs and capes), Princess Di's house, the memorial to her, etc etc etc. So much to see. The problem - The weather was BITTER...really cold, raining off and on and terribly terribly cold. Very difficult for sightseeing.
After touring the sights, stopping at various locations, we opted for something slightly warmer: Museums.

A side note - London is not inexpensive. Certain things are pricey, and others are not, which is about what you'd expect for any major city - But its the exchange rate. Its about 2 US Dollars to 1 GBP. So, everything is twice as expensive to folks from the US. Even the exchange rate to the euro was better. BUT even with that, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: Museums are free admission.

So, we headed off on the Tube, to the Natural History Museum. Its quite a lovely museum, and we had a great visit. Tommorow we plan for the Victoria and Albert.

Tonight, we're went to Roka - which is apparently another asian influenced restaurant. Sushi and robataki. REALLY REALLY quite good. The yellowtail was impressive. Grilled fillet and asparagus, grilled chicken and leeks, and grilled mushrooms. Delicious stuff. Packed house. Definitely would recommend it.
We had our pick of pubs in the West End, but really, got drenched in the weather, so made our way back to the hotel via tube. Looked through some pamphlets for further adventures tommorow.


Sorry the photos are not so exciting. With the weather, the running from place to place, and often, the photo restriction, its been less prolific with the camera.
http://community.webshots.com/album/550644085BuKPHk

posted by Mitch @ 9:23 AM