London Chinatown

[John]

I took a few pics on Sunday, just though I'll share them here



































a couple of offtopic shots taken on the same day

[Monkey]

I was in Chinatown yesterday too. I ate crispy duck and barbecued pork rice here with my girlfriend:

[Peyre]

Loverly

gonna have to visit soonish myself (chinatown), won't have any probs finding some quality food.

[Monkey]

^ Actually you may. Many Chinatown restaurants are awful. The best are excellent however. There's an excellent new Japanese place called Okawari on Lisle Street.

[John]

Originally Posted by Monkey

I was in Chinatown yesterday too. I ate crispy duck and barbecued pork rice here with my girlfriend:

lol what a coinsidence, I was in Wong Kei and ate crispy duck and pork with Tsingtao beer . It was just in the afternoon though, it was quite packed with people (as usually I guess).

[Peyre]

Originally Posted by Monkey

^ Actually you may. Many Chinatown restaurants are awful. The best are excellent however. There's an excellent new Japanese place called Okawari on Lisle Street.

had a nasty experience at spitalfields one day. Grabbed a curry for lunch on a school trip and was violently sick for the rest of the day

[Monkey]

More Chinatown photos:

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by John

lol what a coinsidence, I was in Wong Kei and ate crispy duck and pork with Tsingtao beer . It was just in the afternoon though, it was quite packed with people (as usually I guess).

We also had TsingTao, duck, and pork. I was on the top floor as there was no space on the second floor.

[Awayo]

Bloody hell, Monk! You took your chick to bloody Wonky's? Last of the Big Shpenders.

Bet you made her pay for her half too.

[Monkey]

^ I took her to Yauatcha earlier in the week so don't be hard on me. I have bought her several cocktails at Salt and some other bars in Soho whose names I forget. She hasn't paid for anything. Anyway Wong Kei is great for lunch on a lazy Sunday. I usually combine it with a walk from my place in Marble Arch via Berkeley Square in Mayfair and down through Soho via Carnaby Street to Chinatown (I like Wong Kei, Laureate, Okawari, Kowloon cake shop, Loon Fung supermarket) and then on to my favourite shops on Piccadilly (Waterstones, Fortnum & Mason, Japan Centre, Minamoto Kitchoan, La Maison du Chocolat etc) and then back home via Selfridges. Lazy Sunday heaven....

[John]

Originally Posted by Monkey

We also had TsingTao, duck, and pork. I was on the top floor as there was no space on the second floor.

hehe London is so small after all

[Monkey]

Awayo I know you. You are a closet wannabe Londoner. Why don't you ditch Liverpool with its cranky old ferries, Beatles nostalgia, shell suits and missing wheels for an exciting new life in the throbbing southern metropolis?

[Awayo]

London? I've tried it and didn't like it. Wong Kei's is ok though really.

Having a waiter shouting at me "You stupid! You put too much hot sauce on plate! You burn! Ha ha!" was entertaining.

When I was in London, younger and even poorer than I am now, I and the people I knew would frequent that triumvirate of cheap, cram'em in; kick'em out dining in the West End: Wong Kei's for Chinese, Pollo's for pasta and the Stockpot for English school dinners.

See, something about London I like.

As for Liverpool, joking aside, the crime statistics would imply that you're more likely to get your wheels nicked and be a victim of most crimes in London than Liverpool, I'm afraid. In fact, when I was in London I did have one of my car's wheels nicked! And I was pickpocked, friends had bags nicked, some scrote tried to mug me - all things I've personally not suffered anywhere else in the country.

You're right about ferries though. Liverpool's got'em. Btw, they went into action against the Germans in WWI, so respect is due, young Monkeynuts.

[Zenith]

bastards im damn hungry now !

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Awayo

You're right about ferries though. Liverpool's got'em. Btw, they went into action against the Germans in WWI, so respect is due, young Monkeynuts.

I'm sure the Germans were terrified! Was it the Mersey ferries that sank the Bismark?

[Awayo]

They were involved in a daring raid on the port of Zeebrugge in 1918. Weird but true:

The Zeebrugge Raid, 1918 Zeebrugge was an outlet for German U-boats and destroyers based up the canal at Bruges, and the British planned to sink three old cruisers Iphegenia, Intrepid and Thetis, in the channel to block it. These would have to pass a long harbour mole (a causeway or pier), with a battery at the end, before they were scuttled. It was decided therefore to storm the mole using another old cruiser, HMS Vindictive, and two Mersey ferries, Daffodil and Iris II, modified as assault vessels. Two old submarines were to be used as explosive charges, under the viaduct connecting the mole to the shore.

The attack went in on the night of 22-23 April, under the command of Commodore Roger Keyes. Vindictive was heavily hit on the approach, and came alongside in the wrong place. Despite much bravery by the landing party, the battery remained in action. One submarine did succeed in blowing up the viaduct, but the first block ship was badly hit and forced to ground before reaching the canal entrance. Only two (Ipheginia and Intrepid) were sunk in place.

Much was made of the raid. Keyes was knighted, and 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded

[Monkey]

^

[tommygunn]

As for Liverpool, joking aside, the crime statistics would imply that you're more likely to get your wheels nicked and be a victim of most crimes in London than Liverpool, I'm afraid. In fact, when I was in London I did have one of my car's wheels nicked! And I was pickpocked, friends had bags nicked, some scrote tried to mug me - all things I've personally not suffered anywhere else in the country.

My first trip to London i had my money stolen and the lad in tesco tried to rip me off with my change you get the feeling everyone is out to rip you off there.

[Awayo]

Well, no large city is without a crime problem, Tommy. London's crime is pretty bad, but not the worst in the country. Why, for example, Nottingham should have the worst crime problem in the UK when nearby Sheffield, which is about the same size and, on the whole, significantly poorer, is safer than every other large city?

The West End (which includes Chinatown, the subject of this thread) does have a marked problem with bag snatching in restaurants and pubs. The rest of London is not so bad for that. You know not to leave your bag alone (especially advisable nowadays with terrorism problems) and keep an eye on valuables when in town. Many bars have clips under the table tops to hold onto your bagstraps. I've not seen them anywhere else in England.

[tommygunn]

Originally Posted by Awayo

Well, no large city is without a crime problem, Tommy. London's crime is pretty bad, but not the worst in the country. Why, for example, Nottingham should have the worst crime problem in the UK when nearby Sheffield, which is about the same size and, on the whole, significantly poorer, is safer than every other large city?

The West End (which includes Chinatown, the subject of this thread) does have a marked problem with bag snatching in restaurants and pubs. The rest of London is not so bad for that. You know not to leave your bag alone (especially advisable nowadays with terrorism problems) and keep an eye on valuables when in town. Many bars have clips under the table tops to hold onto your bagstraps. I've not seen them anywhere else in England.

Its all the asylum seekers robbing purses scumbags.