Week 17 in London

Week 17: 27 July – 2 August 2015

2 years on from our first dinner date in downtown Canberra, on Monday night we dined at Hutong at The Shard, sitting 33 storeys above London. The food was incomparable with any food court Chinese, and the views equally impressive – we enjoyed won tons, crispy shredded beef and peking duck.

Fast forward to the weekend and on Saturday we headed out to Camden Beach. Far from the coastline, the Roundhouse is a former railway engine shed turned performing arts venue which for the past few years has hosted Camden Beach. Installed on the outdoor terrace, the beach is kitted out with 150 tonnes of sand, deck chairs, beach umbrellas, beach huts and bars. We spent several hours basking in the warmth, and thanks to Stoli Vodka’s sponsorship of the event, enjoying free samples of Stoli Lemonade and Stoli sorbet.

From here, we wandered up to Primrose Hill, where there is a clear panoramic view across central London. We then strolled Regent’s Park, a pristine 410 acre ‘Royal Park’, through to Queen Mary’s Gardens.

On Sunday, we went over to nearby Brixton. Brixton is located close by to Clapham and, due to being in the midst of urban regeneration, is a bit funky and hipster but certainly not as polished as Clapham. We went out in search of Brixton Markets although this weekend coincided with Brixton Splash, a one-day annual multicultural street festival, so the usual markets were nowhere to be found. 

Pop Brixton is the latest hipster den, a pop up village built out of shipping containers, comprising a vibrant mix of "shops", the majority being of the food and beverage kind. We had Japanese gyozas (like dumplings), Mexican Tacos, and Thai ice cream that was a suspiciously similar concept to Australia's Cold Rock 

We returned home, before walking up to Clapham Common to consume sickening amounts of free ice cream at Ben and Jerry's Outdoor Cinema. 

Highlights for the week:

- Dinner at Hutong

- Camden Beach

- Primrose Hill 

- Regent’s Park

- Queen Mary’s Gardens

- Brixton Splash

- Pop Brixton

- Ben & Jerry’s Outdoor Cinema