Trafalgar square, Carnaby, Oxford Circus & Bayswater Duck, London

Here are some interesting things I saw, from the walk all the way from my hotel (on Kensington) to Oxford Circus..  Considering the amount I ate on this trip, I had to find every excuse to exercise!  Later that night, dinner of scrumptious duck, in Bayswater.

Cute – slogan .. I wish someone would save me from the lousy coffee in our office pantry:P

Trafalgar square – A visit to London would be incomplete without going to marvel at Nelsons Column and the four giant lions:)

Tourists behaving badly.. poor Landseer Lion !

Jeez.. I thought only Malaysians were capable of acting so Jakun.. but look at these tourists.. chis!

You’ll be shocked by the 10 massive tree stumps from the jungles of Africa rising up like grotesque apparitions in Trafalgar Square.. did someone go mad and drop those poor dead trees right there? The horrible depressing tangled roots reach 169 feet and is about the same height as if the trees were alive.

The art installation called Ghost Forest is the work of Oxford-based artist Angela Palmer, who wants to highlight climate change and the ‘removal of the world’s lungs’ through deforestation. I must say, it was pretty effective.

An ‘artist’ on his knees spreading love.

“All you need is love”.

On the road to Oxford Circus. Has anyone eaten here? Any good? Check out the price for the set menu.

This is were we watched the Phantom of the Opera the following night. No matter how many times I watch this .. I am always bawling my eyes out at the end. I think I have watched 3 different endings to this play so far. What will the ending be tomorrow night.. 😉

I love this shop. They do excellent postcards. The photography is mind-blowing.. of course it would be. This is National Geographic!

Hamleys .. the biggest toyshop in the world, opened by William Hamley. 7 floors packed with amazing toys and games .. Hamleys are the experts in fun!

Walk, walk, walk, by this point , my back is breaking. We’ve been walking for 5 hours straight now..

I spy with my eye.. Carnaby!

History of Carnaby.

Every year Carnaby is host to some of the most creative Christmas lights in London. This year apparently, it takes inspiration from the psychedelic 60’s in celebration of Carnaby turning 50 in 2010.. how cool.

Famous shopping street in London’s West End.. I like! This place also burnt a hole in my pocket because I visited Accessorize, Anna Lou of London, Eastpak, Onitsuka Tiger, Pepe Jeans London, Red Sparrow, Replay .. blah, blah, blah.. broke.

Bomb scare.. unidentified brown package..? I think I was more interested in the bizarre Mohawk tube guy, rather than the cause of the tube station being shut. There is always some line or other being delayed. Some things never change in London.

Later that night… down to Bayswater for dinner. We cannot be asked to fight with the masses at Four Seasons. As such, I have not tried the Four Seasons duck (in Bayswater) till today. That, as well as having no money as a student, have kept the duck out of Ciki’s reach:P Anyway, since those sad old days, I have returned to London, a little richer, and I have eaten the duck at Gold Mine  Restaurant several times. I have also eaten the Four season’s Duck in KL, when this world famous restaurant reached our humble shores. I can safely say that Me and the four season Bayswater duck have no Yuen Fun (karma).

Just as well, because Gold Mine is opened by the roast meat chef of Four Seasons. Hah! So … here goes my duck dinner story.

Before the duck .. the Kaw Yoke.. (kaw yoke – pork belly slices with yam). Damn fatty, succulent, juicy, plump, melt in your mouth , yammie bits of pork. Delightful!

One whole duck to ourselves. Love!

Verdict? We will agree with all the other written reviews – sweet, sweet sauce with an excellent quality in Duck meat to boot. To me, the Duck is to Bayswater, what Char Siew (BBQ Pork) is to Hong Kong. The meat of the duck is thick and solid, with very low soft white fat content. The hunks of flesh are soft to the bite but firm. The skin is delicious though not as crispy as the duck in KL. However, we were pretty lucky as we got a good mix of, softer skin (foreground) and crispy skin too (background).

Pass with flying colors and a drunken ovation:P

This is the teem kai (Frogs Legs).

The thing is so damn huge, it must be a real huge-ass bull-frog. Anyway, the length of the leg spans the entire rice bowl. Flavour and texture wise, it was a bit weird. Too soft .. for want of a better description. We are use to our little frogs having a bit more muscle. These frogs need to exercise more!

Read more about how Bayswater Four Season’s Duck comes to Malaysia here.

The end.. but to be continued!