The Importance Of Good Food

Michelle and I thought that it would be a breeze to head down for a ride on the London Eye this early afternoon. Boy were we wrong and unprepared for the onslaught of holidayers thinking the same exact thing.

It was a zoo from the time we walked out of Westminster station, over Westminster Bridge, past the London Aquarium, Dali Museum and to The Eye. However, on a positive note, it was a beautiful warmish winter day and we got to take in glorious views of the Parliament Building and the river Thames.

Postponing for another day the London Eye idea, we headed to Harrods in Knightsbridge. Once there, we found ourselves in the food hall from which we abandoned ourselves to for the next hour.

In the retail side of the food hall, you’d find coffee, hot chocolate, tea, biscuits, cakes, chocolate, sweets, marmalade, jam, and honey – most ridiculously sale priced. So of course, we stocked up on shortbread cookies and clotted cream fudge, cream biscuits and tins of tea.

At the other side of the food hall, you can buy the most exquisite looking food stuff for takeaway. How cornball are we that we ran around taking pictures of food behind glass? It looked so scrumptuous, delectable and perfect, as you’d expect anything from Harrods would be.

One must visit the world famous Harrods if ever in London, even if just cross it off one’s list and say that one did it. However, it is certainly not my favourite department store in London. (that accolade would go to Selfridges) Although Harrods is quite an institution, the gold over the top glitz and Egyptian opulence is too much for me to take seriously.

Michelle had to check out the Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed memorial, consisting of their pictures, a wine glass with lipstick smudge from Princess Diana’s last dinner, as well as, the engagement ring Dodi had purchased for her the day before they died. Mohamed al Fayed had wanted to keep his son and Princess Diana’s memory alive, but as with anything Princess Diana-related, the memorial was theme-parkish with camera carrying tourists.

Rather than eat at the uber-price Harrods restaurants, cafes or food counters, we grabbed some takeaway sandwiches from Sainsbury and went down to Trafalgar Square to meet up with Nathan and VyVy. We were excited to check out some Botticelli, da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Seurat at the National Gallery.

Not to be outdone, I wanted us to check out the National Portrait Gallery, adjoining the National Gallery. The gallery houses portraits of historically important and famous British people. The National Portrait Gallery also showcases contemporary photographic work and the annual BP Portrait prize competition.

The last time I visited was for a Kate Moss portrait. This time I got to explore the 3rd floor featuring the Tudors portrait gallery. I was like a kid in a candy store because I loved watching films about that time period in royal history, particularly the story of Lady Jane Grey and of the Virgin Queen Elizabeth.

Left to right: Queen Elizabeth, Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, Queen Mary

There were portraits of King Henry VIII and his wives Anne Boleyn, Catherine of Aragon and Catherine Parr, but the most stunning portrait was that of the young virgin Queen Elizabeth. Her portrait commands your attention and admiration to this day, especially with that curlicue frame around the portrait.

Current exhibits include a retrospective on Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005, which we skipped because of the rather steep £11 admission cost.

One exhibit I did spend time at was Champions: Portraits by Anderson & Low (to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation). The black and white nude portraits of internationally renowned male and female athletes were nothing short of stop you dead in your tracks striking. The project was conceived to show that these formidable athletes, with their incredible physiques, were just as vulnerable to HIV and AIDS as the rest of humanity.

For dinner, we all strolled over to the 15th century Cittie of Yorke pub nearby on Holborn. The pub has bragging rights as reportedly one of the longest bars in London. The traditional bar is dark wood panelled and has large oak vats at the counter. The booths are small and confessional-like, which may explain why this pub is most frequented by lawyer types from the nearby courts.

After our fish and chips, we headed over to the Marks and Spencers Simply Foods across the street. I learned the hierarchy of food shopping for Londoners.

Tesco is one of the largest supermarkets in London and one that newcomers think the world of when they first arrive in London, not knowing any better. Yup, that was me. The better quality Marks and Sparks was a little more pricey, but I found out not outrageously so. Harrods is considered high end grocery shopping, although the only people who carry Harrods shopping bags are tourists, simply because whoever can afford to grocery shop at Harrods, usually has their groceries delivered.

So the hierarchy generally goes something like this: (from lowest to high end)

01. Asda
02. Tesco
03. Sainsbury
04. Waitrose
05. Marks & Spencers
06. Harrods
07. Fortnum & Mason

Now I know.

8/6/2011 update: UK’s daily mail put together a tongue-in-cheek guide to shopping styles.

View more photos of my trip on my Flickr album.