A Foodie’s Stroll along Covent Garden with a Toddler

Covent Garden, London. I absolutely adore strolling along its elegant piazza, taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the living statues and performers. There’s a true buzz to this place and my toddler loved running around chasing pigeons and observing the street entertainers. However, she did keep a safe distance from the incredible live statues. My other half is also kept entertained (much to my delight) as there’s an Apple shop which kept him occupied for a little while at least whilst I enjoyed a spot of window shopping.

Sssshhhh ,there’s also lots of ‘tummy temptations’. Its not a secret that I love eating and I have a very sweet tooth. First stop, Laduree! French macarons are one of my true weakness, I love them. (They are so expensive though) Their display is always impeccable and is always way too inviting. Aaaah, a little box to share.

Even if it can get very crowded, I still enjoy looking around some tourist-friendly crafts. This stall in the Apple Market definitely caught my eye as my toddler absolutely loves dancing. The quote was so apt ‘ Born To Dance ‘.

The Apple Market was gorgeous in all of it festive glory. We had a wonderful time catching a few shows, relaxing and just enjoying each other’s company.

Time for sweet treat number 2. Intense dark chocolate soft serve with raspberry sauce on a crunchy waffle cone from Godiva. It was heavenly.

Of course, after all these lovely sweet treats .. the toddler just had to announce that she was hungry. Starving in fact. We managed to squeeze in a few photographs before stumbling upon a friendly family-run restaurant, Pasta Brown. Luckily, they had smaller starter size pasta portions on their menu.

Mummy daughter duo

One with her grandpa

One must dance, everywhere.

Hello, Pasta Brown.

Gamberoni, butterfly king prawns sautéed in garlic butter with mixed leaves. The sauce was perfection.

Spaghetti Alio Olio Alice. Chicken, brocolli, pine nuts, chilli, garlic and olive oil.

Classic Bolognese which little one loved. Dairy and egg free option for her.

I have a soft spot for family run restaurants and they dealt with all our requests very well. Delicious food is the main thing though. Mmmm! I would definitely go back. Do drop by if you are around Covent Garden, I have made a mental note in my head to explore the London Transport Museum the next time we are there.

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Chinese food in London

Foodie post! We are obviously huge fans of Chinese food, no surprises there and London just has so much to offer. Where to find the BEST OF IT? It’s really hard to tell as there are just so many ‘types’ of Chinese food from Dim Sum to numerous regional cuisines.

Different restaurant excel in different dishes and one restaurant that I personally enjoy is Mandarin Kitchen in Bayswater. A little birdie told me a few years ago that we must try their specialty signature dish, their lobster noodles and once I tried it, it was love at first taste. We take the chance to drop by whenever we are in London for a few days. It is very impressive when they bring a huge plate out to your table, just look at it! A tad pricey, but well worth it for a treat and you do get what you pay for. Well, we do not savour lobsters every day. I had to stop the waiter to get this picture, as they take it away to plate it out for you. Even portions for everybody, so there is no need to rush to get seconds. Other dishes are also tasty but the lobster noodles take the cake.

Lobster noodles, Mandarin Kitchen.

Squid in salted egg yolk

We were there during the festive season and it was almost impossible to get a reservation. We managed it but we still had to wait for half an hour. It is often very busy, it might be best to reserve a table before you go.

Mandarin Kitchen

14-16 Queensway, London W2 3RX, England

+44 20 7727 9012

Another must try for their roast meats is Four Seasons. The reputation of the Four Season’s roast duck has spread worldwide and some of my friends from Hong Kong and China said it is the best, even better than the ones in their home country! Now, that’s a dazzling review. They have a few branches in London now, but we tend to walk pass the one in Bayswater or drop by the newer branch in Chinatown.

Oddly enough, I do not have any picture of the roast duck! The toddler must have been playing up, have you tried eating in peace with a 2 year old? Wrestling chopsticks out of their hands, trying to order something you think they will eat and then getting them to enjoy their food. They do have an extensive menu and everything is reasonably priced. I did however capture what we ordered for my daughter. She loved it. Stir fried prawns with broccoli and mushrooms.

Four Seasons

12 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London W1

+442074940870

I have always noticed a long queue outside Kam Tong Restaurant, so this time around we decided to join the queue! If that’s not an indication of good food, I don’t know what is. We tried their vegetable spring rolls and king prawns with asparagus. Simple and delicious.

We also tried their Cantonese Roast Duck. Competition is fierce when it comes to this barbecue roasted dish. Its good but I prefer the one in Four Seasons or Gold Mine (both also in Bayswater)

I have heard raving reviews for their dim sum at this restaurant, we were here for dinner therefore ordered dishes to go with steamed rice. The best dish from Kam Tong must be their Mongolian Crispy Lamb. It was served with iceberg leaves, spring onion, cucumber and Oriental brown sauce. The flavours were incredible and the crispiness of the lamb is absolutely beautiful. Try it!

Kam Tong Restaurant

59-63 Queensway, London W2 4QH

+4420 7229 6065

Hope you are not feeling too hungry after this post! Thank you for reading and do leave your recommendations on what Chinese food to eat at your favourite joints.

Iris x

Pick us to be your Mark Warner family, please?

I always do this, stumble upon something when it is 6 hours to the deadline! Oh seriously. ‘Why do I do this to myself? but but this is too great of an opportunity to not give it a shot?’ Come on Iris, write.. write for your life! I have just finished gawking at Capture by Lucy’s beautiful travel pictures and am taking up her call to apply to be one of Mark Warner’s family ambassadors. As she would put it, I would regret it if I don’t. Absolutely, so here goes and wish us luck.

Travel, extraordinary travel. It truly is the best. We have been very lucky as a family to be able to escape the pressures of daily life and see so much of the world together with our 2 year old. We have formed precious lasting memories by flying the little one all the way to Malaysia to start, exploring the hot springs in YangMingshan Taiwan, taking in all the sights in downtown Taipei all in a day and recently if you follow our Instagram, we have just been to Madrid, Barcelona and Greece!

Lots and lots of exploring the world with a tot in tow. Instagram must be my favourite social media platform, it was like our travelogue with lots of holiday snaps and videos especially of the little one prancing around everywhere. I have managed to snap about a thousand pictures (no joke) and I cannot wait to get them organised for my little blog.

To be in the running for Mark Warner’s fabulous holiday i.e for us to be brand ambassadors, I am suppose to collate our Top 10 travel must haves! I have written a similar blog post ‘Surviving Long Haul Flights with our Toddler‘ last year and this still stands. Always better to be prepared BUT after our recent travels, I have an alternative Top 10 MUST HAVES.

1. To be Bold and Adventurous – experience new things!

We risked it with the toddler and took a cruise boat out when we were in Athens to experience 3 absolutely beautiful islands namely Hydra, Aegina and Poros. It was a very long day from 7am till 7pm and we had about 9 hours to spent hopping on and off the cruise ship. It started off very wobbly as she was exceptionally quiet which is very unlike her and then she was sick! Thankfully, it was just the one off. She must have been seasick, bless! It paid off tremendously as she had a ball dancing around. When she is older, we must show her this postcard worthy picture of Hydra where she was in awe of all the donkeys on this ‘no vehicles’ island.

2. Relax the rules – try not to be too uptight (speaking for my husband *jokes*)

When you are on holiday, anything goes. Oh well, within limits of course. When we arrived in Greece the little one was exceptionally taken by all the gorgeous stray cats roaming everywhere! They were absolutely gorgeous although one will never know if they have fleas or carry illnesses. I definitely relaxed the rules and allowed her to touch them as long as she could wash her hands properly. Definitely makes for a more relaxed holiday!

3. Indulge – in good food, fun shopping, relaxing spa sessions, whatever tickles your fancy.

There is no denying that I love my food especially desserts! When on holiday, INDULGE. Try it all, eat it all. Don’t follow me for diet advice although if you have or had a 2 year old. You will know that they run. These little humans can really run and chasing a toddler around takes its toll. I definitely burnt more than enough calories keeping her safe.

4. Enjoy an ‘adult’ holiday

As long as you not taking them to a night club, all should be fine. I was initially stressed before we embarked on our trip to Athens as understandably we want to climb up the Acropolis but having read some feedback from Trip Advisor forums, some won’t recommend it as you have to leave your stroller. You know what, just do it! She had lots of exercise and plenty of fun, who cares if I could not feel my arms properly afterwards. She napped when we were still up there and we had to carry her back down. Daddy did most of the heavy lifting. Well worth it! There’s always a way for them to entertain themselves or maybe we are one of the lucky few.

5. ‘Dancing shoes’

Those of you who follow our family’s journey will know of my tot’s tendency to break into a dance anywhere and anytime! Only 2 but she lives to this mantra ‘Why walk when you can dance?’ Plenty of dancing videos, check out one of my favourites filmed in Madrid on my Instagram HERE. Her lack of inhibitions is fantastic, she had a ball every time she heard music. Boogie boogie throughout your holiday, you will not regret it.

6. Take silly pictures and videos

These two never fails to crack me up! They think of the most random things to do whilst waiting. Like daddy, like daughter?

7. CAMERA. Video camera. Phone camera. – even better an Insta-husband

Bless my patient husband for dealing with my .. ‘another picture baby’. Another one here and here and here and here! Whoops. In all honesty though, my pictures of him and our daughter are way better than his. Grrrr.

8. A very LARGE inflatable – in our case, Horsey

I kid you not, this horsey has been with us to Taiwan, Malaysia, Wales, London, you name it! Proof –>

9. Lots of soya milk and SNACKS!

Bubba has a dairy allergy so we tend to be very prepared in this department. Lots of soya milk just in case. NEVER ever travel without snacks. I mean it. It makes them happy when they are upset. Pictures above were taken in Madrid, she was getting very grumpy and all it took was a small box of raisins to turn her frown into a smile. She even fed daddy some.

10. Little activities to keep them busy. Stickers and lots of them!

Thank you for taking time to read and fingers crossed we will be able to embark on another fantastic getaway. Sunny one perhaps?

Pick us pick us! Little one would be thrilled if I am a #MarkWarnerMum and then she can do THIS all over again and our family will be able to form lasting memories in the sun with Mark Warner. Can we just be full time ‘wanderlusters’?