China Town, London

The hustle and bustle in Soho London is unrelenting! The honking of the traffic, the rickshaw ringing their bells trying to make their way past the congested London traffic, the ecclectic scent of Chinese cooking that hovers in the air like a permanent fixture, people chatting on their mobile phones and a hurried strut of tourists and locals alike make this place such a lively and spirited place and come to think of it, I happen to be a part of the London scene!

On Sunday, the drive from Battersea to Islington was abysmal. I got involved in the moving of my friend's stuff from his old flat in Islington to Chelsea. The exercise was tiring and stressful - well, at least I was not part of the whole process. I helped on the bits and bobs that needed moving but mainly driving, loading and unloading. Can you imagine if I volunteered to get involved from the start? At least it's over and done with now and I'd like to think that he is happily settled in his new place - though saying that, he has to unpack; which luckily I won't get involved in anymore.

For dinner, we went to China Town in a restaurant called China China that serves the best Chinese Food in town (well, this is to my personal taste and a lot of my family and friends agree with me on this). By the way, the lights are bright so expect no conducive dining experience as it's non-existent until the food arrives on your table. Diners in this place come in single, two-somes and group. If you dine alone which is not unusual in London in China China - they tend to seat you downstairs otherwise if in two's or group then the upper floors.

Now about the food, my favourite is their Roast Duck and Soya Chicken. I would also recommend the Crispy Noodle with mixed meat if you appreciate liver and the likes. The green leafy vegetable with oyster sauce is ever present when I dine and on occasion when ravenous, a serving of fried squid with salt, pepper and chillies would not go a miss. Remember that if you go with friends, you can always share the portions and their serving is quite generous. The other favourite of mine is their hotpot - especially the bean curd and mixed meat!

After our late dinner, we went for a quick walk toward Shaftesbury Avenue where theatres are abundant and ravers were spilling on the road queueing to be admitted to a club. We crossed Charing Cross and walked towards the Seven Dials where I parked the car! We then proceeded on our drive home past Hippodrome, one of the biggest club in London;

The National Gallery which is one of my favourite galleries (I always visit the place when I have time);

St Martin's in the Fields Church which holds concerts on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday night if I'm not mistaken - a place of visit not to be missed. They also serve meals at the Cafe in the Crypt;

Driving along now, we also went past Trafalgar Square on to Whitehall where all government buildings stand side by side and where the Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and his family reside in 10 Downing Street and 11 Downing Street respectively.

We also went past the Houses of the Parliament and the famous Big Ben. Driving along the embankment, we saw the M16 Office Building which was famously featured in one of the James Bond Movies on the southbank of the river which was nicely lit as we headed down even further west before we crossed Chelsea Bridge southwards towards Battersea.

Now I stop here as I need my rest. I will be flying to Dubai tomorrow so expect an article about the place in the next few days.

For now, thank you for taking the time in reading my blog.

Take care of yourselves and God Bless,

Alan