Team Bricki Just Touched Down In London Town- September 2021 DAY FOUR

[princessnicki]

We woke up bright and early ready for the day ahead setting off at 9.30. Our first stop of the day was Victoria and Alberts museum for our pre-booked time slot at 10.00 (we had to do this for all of the museums/ galleries). We were minutes walk away from Russell Square tube which would take us direct to Knightsbridge, just down the road from the museum. The London transport system was amazing, we found the tube really easy to navigate and so easy to get a black cab or Uber when needed too. There was no queue to get in and the museum was lovely and quiet inside. We didnt really have a plan of what we wanted to see so we just worked our way through each section. There were quite a few areas closed but nothing major- the only one Brett was disappointed to miss out on was Photography as he is really getting into learning about this since we started a Food Blog on our Instagram page.

We entered through the Sculptures section and arrived in Asia. We looked at all the exhibits from China, Islam and the Middle East, South Asia. Each area showcased items from history, art, fashion, traditions. Our favourite section here was the Japan area

Brett loved the Samouri swords

The art was really beautiful too

This snake bag was really cool- i would use this!

The Buddhism area was gorgeous too- we loved this golden Buddha

The Renaissance area was stunning- it reminded us of Spaceship Earth. The craftsmanship on all the statues was amazing. It is crazy to think how old everything is.

Our favourite sections overall were definitely the Fashion section. There were outfits on display from famous designers, outfits from history as well as some current fashion pieces.

We loved the older clothes, Brett said he would definitely wear some of the waistcoats and shoes on display

And i fell in love with some of the dresses from the 1950s and 1960s

We also equally loved the Jewellery exhibit. This was absolutely fascinating to see pieces from the past all the way up until the modern day. There were some stunning jewels- the older items were a lot prettier and more classy than the present day items.

We also enjoyed the Stained Glass, Paintings and other areas that we didnt take pictures of.

We absolutely loved this museum, it was really interesting to learn about history from around the world and other cultures and traditions. We would definitely go back again to see the sections that were closed. We spent around 3 hours here and felt we got a lot done.

With some time to spare until our food date, we decided to have a quick drink break and then try and tick off some of the touristy spots that we wanted to do. We walked past E L & N Cafe in Knightsbridge, which was on our list to try so we stopped in. This place is very "instagrammable" as the decor is all pink with light up quotes on the wall.

We had Pistachio Frappe (Vanilla, Milk, Pistachio, Whipped Cream, Pistachio Sauce)

Red Velvet Cake Latte (Red Velvet Cake Syrup, Beetroot Base, Chocolate Chips, Sprinkles)

Pistachio and Raspberry Creme (Pistachio Mousse, Raspberry Filling, Chocolate and Pistachio Ganache)

Caramel Financier (Chocolate and Caramel Mousse, Hazelnut Ganache)

This was a very pricey treat at £35, we had a meal with cocktails for not much more several times on the trip! But it was delicious, a great sugar rush and something we could tick off the list!

We carried on down the high street in Knightsbridge, walking past some amazing shops including the famous Harrods. We walked by Nusr-Et Steakhouse by Salt Bae. This place is causing a huge stir on social media at the minute as the prices are insane- they wont even tell you them until you get the bill! The prices have been leaked and there is a £1500 gold covered Tomahawk and even a basic steak is £600. It is cheaper to fly to the guy's branch in Turkey than eat here! The restaurant was all blacked out with bouncers on the door and they didnt want you to take pictures

We reached Green Park which was buzzing with cyclists and runners- we have never seen as many cyclists before as we did in London. It is a convenient way to get around though if you have the bottle to take on the London traffic! We walked all the way through the park towards the Palace- it was a gorgeous day and the walk was stunning.

We arrived at Buckingham Palace and took some photos. We had planned to try and catch the changing of the guards but it happens in the morning. It was lovely to see where our Liz lives as neither of us have visited here for many years

We carried on walking towards Westminister and onto the bridge to see the views over the water. We stood near the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and caught a glimpse of the wheel.

It was a shame that Big Ben is under construction so we couldnt get a proper snap of that!

We were running late for our dinner date now so had to get a move on and get the tube from Westminister into Kings Cross. Of course when you are in a rush, nothing goes to plan! We took the tube down to Tower Hill as instructed to change lines to be able to get to Kings Cross- of course the second tube was really delayed! When we finally arrived at Kings Cross, Google Maps took us a really long way to the restaurant so we ended up 30 minutes late- a total of an hours journey from Westminister! Luckily we were meeting some friends and they were on time so we didnt lose the table!

Our restaurant of choice was Hoppers which serves Sri Lanken food- a cuisine we have never tried before. I would say that it has hints of Indian, Turkish and Moroccan cuisine. Our friends that we met are Suzie and her husband Carter, who live just outside of London. I have known Suzie for around 7 years from a Disney Facebook group that eventually broke off into a smaller group of girls that have met up several times over the years. Suzie and i only spoke within the group chat until last year when we started chatting via private message, this was the first time we were meeting up in person. They are a fantastic couple, we had the best day with them, so many laughs and chats about life and all things Disney.

Onto the food, we all had no idea where to start so decided to order the "Taste of Hoppers", which for £35 gives you a taste of everything, we got 3 meat and 1 vegetarian (for Suzie). This was an excellent idea, there was soooo much food, making it excellent value! It is shared almost family style so the whole table has to order it if this is the option you are going for. Our table wasnt big enough for everything so we gave up trying to take pictures in the end. The food was absolutely unreal, so full of flavour, hot and spicy, some of the best curries we have ever sampled.

Lanka Mixture- this is like a Bombay Mix, it was gorgeous, so spicy

The starters to share were Mutton Rolls with Sri Lanken Hot Sauce

Hot Butter Squid

Bone Marrow Varuval and Roti

Lamb Kothu Roti

Everything was amazing. The three of us were practically licking the plate of the Bone Marrow dish, the curry sauce was so moreish

I didnt get a picture of the curries and dips so had to borrow a picture from online. You choose one curry each from Black Pork, Chicken or Fish Kari (we got them all) which are accompanied by Dahl Kari, Pol Sambol, Seeni Sambol, Raita. There was so much meat inside and they were all delicious. You also get a Hopper or a Dosa each to dip in, we sampled both and they were so good.

The Hopper was like a big cloud with a spongey bottom, it almost had a hint of a rice pudding flavour to it. The Dosa was like a crispy cone and it was so light and tasty.

There was a bit of confusion from the food serving staff as they put all the dips on one plate and we werent sure which were for Suzie. We were told one sauce was Vegetarian but it was definitely meaty. It was ok for us as the meat eaters double checked everything first but something they should be very careful not to get wrong. We cant fault the service and the food here though, it is somewhere we will definitely all return. Our server Mike definitely took a shine to Brett, Carter was joking that he might find a phone number on the receipt when we leave haha Brett will literally talk to anyone and have a joke with them- he is so friendly!

Our cocktails were

Nitro Kappi (Ceylon Arrack, Espresso, Vodka, Spiced Cold Brew)

Arrack Attack (Ceylon Arrack, House Ginger Beer, Coriander)

The man on the next table started talking to Brett and Carter. He was a proper old school East End geezer, he was absolutely hilarious. He kept making jokes about the food being too posh for him as he is only used to pie and mash but he wanted to impress his date so she would go home with him. His wife kept telling him to be quiet and said he was only joking as they had been together for years. The man quipped he wasnt talking about her. He was very funny.

** continued below**

[princessnicki]

Despite our lateness we were on track for our next booking and hailed a cab over to Carnaby for cocktails at Cahoots.

This is a 1940s bar with the most amazing theming- you can choose the Ticket Office or the Underground. We chose the latter as the bar is literally set up like a Subway train (and there is a bigger choice of cocktails). They play 1940s music and it has such a great vibe. The lady on the door checking us in was hilarious and she took a shine to mine and Bretts shoes- we were wearing the same pair of Leopard print loafers. She kept saying she wanted them and Brett was joking with her that he was worried someone was going to try and steal his wifes shoes when we got inside.

The shoes in question

We headed downstairs and were handed the menu, which was a newspaper.

We chose Class Hopper (Creme de Menthe, Botanist Gin, Mozart White Chocolate Liquor, Red Pepper Yoghurt Foam) this was like two cocktails in one as the red and green didnt really go together so i drank the savoury foam first then got to the sweet creamy take on the Grasshopper cocktail which i love so much

Biscuit Tin (Custard Cream, Hennessy VS Cognac, Disaronno, Tonka Bean, Egg Yolk) Super rich and moreish

Bittersweet Symphony (Remy Martin 1738 Cognac, Campari, Strawberry Wine, Lemon, Soda)
A take on an Aperol Spritz

Liberation Lane (Grey Goose, Elderflower Liquor, Tropical Syrup, Lemon, Orange, Kentish Pip Berry Cider)
Super fruity, fizzy and refreshing

Suzie also got Winston Churchill in the most awesome themed mug ever!

Theming wise this is one of the coolest bars we have ever been to. We definitely need to come back again and try the war rations Afternoon Tea which i believe comes in a picnic hamper

Time flew by as we chatted and it was soon time for our next booking. Suzie and I headed out first and we could hear Brett and Carter giggling like school girls behind us. Carter was howling as Brett came out barefoot saying they stole my shoes! The poor lady on the door for a split second thought he was being serious before bursting into laughter. She called them both naughty boys saying she genuinely did think someone had stolen his shoes for a minute! Me and Suzie pretended not to be with them as we headed down to the main street to hail a cab haha

We arrived at our next stop at the Hilton on Park Lane. This is one place we were all looking forward to visiting- Trader Vics!

We were greeted by staff dressed in their best Poly gear and taken downstairs to a quiet area at the back of the bar- i think they guessed we werent a quiet group! The theming here was amazing and definitely gave us Polynesian and Trader Sams vibes. We were greeted by Guy who said he was going to look after us all evening. We told him that he was under immense pressure to make this like Trader Sams as we were all supposed to be in Disney this year! He clearly knew the Disney vibe as he made some cringeworthy jokes that would sit perfectly on the Jungle Cruise. He had a very sarcastic humour too which was hilarious. He wasnt impressed when i called him Aussie Guy- he was actually Kiwi Guy! He called me and Suzie selfish for stealing the best seats so gave Brett and Carter the throne to take it in turns to sit on

I tried to bargain with Kiwi Guy for some of the awesome tiki mugs but he said that Covid had put the mark up so high on them that they couldnt sell them and make a profit anymore. We said Disney charge $25 and he said they couldnt even sell for that. They were so much nicer than the Disney ones- hopefully we can get some in the future

As the evening wore on, Kiwi Guys stories got more adult, his wife is German and there were anecdotes about the traditional saunas and his mother in law! He brought us a round of S** On The Beach shots- we have a fab video of this, i wish i could post it but i have tried to screenshot it the best i can! He said "you guys have alcohol, mine is grenadine and orange so dont try and get me sacked" we said no chance Kiwi Guy! He told us a little poem to toast

"There are tall ships, there are small ships, there are ships that will cross the sea, but the best ships, are friend ships, so here's to you and me"

The cocktails we enjoyed were

Scorpian (Rum, Brandy, Orange Juice, Almond)

Seyhorse (Rum, Melon Liquor, Passionfruit)

Tututopo Tiki (Spiced Rum, Amber Rum, 151 Rum, Pineapple)

Samoan Fog Cutter (Rum, Gin, Brandy, Sherry, Orange, Orgeat)

Suzie had this cute Puffa Fish too

My gosh these cocktails were strong! Definitely another nod to Trader Sams

On the next table to us were some of the Newcastle Utd players, they kept looking nervously at Brett and Carter like they were going to come over and speak to them but as Crystal Palace and Liverpool fans they werent even slightly interested!

Carter has a very distinctive voice and it had been bugging me all day who he reminded me of so i asked him and he said James Cordan! Thats the one! He not only has the same voice but he has the same mannerisms and tells stories in the same way! We called him Gavalaaaa for the rest of the night

Eventually we asked for the bill even though i think we could have all happily stayed there all night. Kiwi Guy brought over a tray of rum shots and said there you go this beats Trader Sams hands down, they need two shots of rum to get the Hippos out of the trees and we give you four! He said he had another poem for us!

"If the ocean was rum and i was a duck, i would swim to the bottom and drink my way up. But the ocean isnt rum and i'm not a duck so lets get... f***ed up"

Again we videoed this so screenshots of this arent the best

We didnt order or pay for either round of shots so Kiwi Guy must have taken a shine to us despite all the banter we gave him. We tried to give him extra tip on top of the service charge but he said no, he just likes to make people smile! One of the best hosts we have ever encountered, what a guy (excuse the pun!)

We took pictures at the photo op on the way out and were given Leis and a Polaroid pic to remember our experience.

We hugged and said goodbye to Suzie and Carter and promised we would meet up again- they said they will come up to Leeds or Manchester next time to hang out. We got an Uber back to the hotel and Brett said he regretted not getting food at Trader Vics so we headed back out on a food mission, finding Five Guys on Tottenham Court Road- a twenty minute round trip food mission! We felt like proper chavs walking through the fancy hotel with takeaway! We ate Burgers and Chips in bed watching Friends- perfect end to another perfect day!

[margyloveswdw]

I heard a bit about Hoppers this week on the radio show I was listening too! Sounds awesome.

What a fabulous day!

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by margyloveswdw

I heard a bit about Hoppers this week on the radio show I was listening too! Sounds awesome.

What a fabulous day!

See more...

Thats funny Carter said the same thing too that Hoppers had been mentioned on a podcast he was listening to! It was delicious food, definitely on par with Mowgli

[Sparksy72]

I’m popping Hoppers and Trader Vic’s on the list, all your dishes looked fantastic and those tiki glasses are fabulous. It looks like you had a brilliant time!

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

I’m popping Hoppers and Trader Vic’s on the list, all your dishes looked fantastic and those tiki glasses are fabulous. It looks like you had a brilliant time!

See more...

Two of our favourite spots of the whole trip

[P&S]

What a brilliant day and night I've not been to London for many years I need to get back there

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by P&S

What a brilliant day and night I've not been to London for many years I need to get back there

See more...

Would highly recommend it, we were disappointed to miss America but parts of this felt like we were over there. We had a great time

[WileyCoyote]

What a truly fabulous day. The V&A is such a great museum. Shame about the photography bit being closed.

Oh my what an awesome array of cocktails. How were you still standing after that lot? Those bars look so brilliant - love them - and even better enjoyed with friends and great servers. Magical !

Mmm the Sri Lankan meal - must confess wasn’t sure about that.

What happy memories you must have from this day - perfect.

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

What a truly fabulous day. The V&A is such a great museum. Shame about the photography bit being closed.

Oh my what an awesome array of cocktails. How were you still standing after that lot? Those bars look so brilliant - love them - and even better enjoyed with friends and great servers. Magical !

Mmm the Sri Lankan meal - must confess wasn’t sure about that.

What happy memories you must have from this day - perfect.

See more...

V and A was lovely, we really enjoyed it

Hoppers was fantastic, very much like Indian food, the curries were delicious

The Cahoots drinks werent strong but the Trader Vics ones were, definitely couldnt have more than a couple in there! Was so happy that we had a Trader Sams style server