Spending Chinese New Year Alone in London

It has been almost four months now and I guess I have gotten used to traveling around Europe and being a nomad. I have yet to meet anyone from where I knew them before I started my trip apart from family. I was a little but sad but then again I planned it that way… was curious how being alone on a festive day would be (especially one that you celebrate with family for your whole life).

London was limbo … since I have been there before a long long time ago it felt familiar … yet so much places I had not ventured such as the Natural History Museum or the British Museum. My cousin words hunted me from a few years back …. According to him … ( I cant remember the exact words but it sounded like so )

“The British Museum is the best museum in the world …. Because its where England looted the whole world and display all the trophy there”

Hence a trip down the British Museum and the Natural History museum to see dinosaur bones. Of all the museums I had been to this one was definitely worth the visit … plus it was free J

A Taste of Home - Melau Restaurant

Dinner time was when I was wondering around Chinatown in London on the first day of CNY 2012. I was curious how it was like to celebrated overseas but I guess it was more tourist than ever. Restaurants were fully packed and price was sky rocketed as when back home. Turning around the corner off the main street of Chinatown I found a small shop selling Malaysian cuisine.

As I walked in the shop which was empty a nice old lady seated me and pass me the menu. An English menu which stated all the dishes in Malay with translation at the bottom and filled with description of the food.

It went something like this :

Nasi Lemak
( Coconut Rice )
Fragrant Rice cooked with coconut oil, served with stew chicken in special sauce (rendang) accompany with fried egg, cucumber, fried peanuts and anchovies.
Comes with special home made chilli ( Sambal )

I had walked into a Baba & Nonya shop which cooked almost everything authentically Malaysian. As I placed my order for food there was nothing to do but wait. Listening to the workers in the restaurant passing time chatting in 4 different language at the same time mixing them up as they speak, I knew they were definitely from Malaysia and a small smile formed as it reminded me of home.

A new customer came in ( British Guy and Girl ) and the guy said , this is where you get the good authentic stuff. Not the watered down version for the white guy. I was grinning when I heard that and by the time the food came it was hugely satisfying.