breakfast

london 9.34am 9C sunny wednesday 2019

coleslaw on toast is really very nice. it so happened that i saw these coleslaw reduced to 13p, 600mg, and the bread were 8p for a whole loaf, they were polish bread, with so many polish people here in uk, the supermarkets are catering to them by making their style of bread. though i cannot see the difference from baguette bread. they are a bit denser than the baguette, i think. but i am not sure. i dont buy baquette that often to know the difference. this morning i used them for breakfast, but they are good for tea, or lunch, or anytime really as a snack. i think it is the mayonnaise that makes it so more-ish.

the funny thing is there is a free breakfast given by a cafe in carnaby st, this morning, and all mornings this week. but i have been too lazy to go. it is between 8am-11am. i know, free food and i am turning my nose up at it. what is the matter with me!! you may well ask!

carluccios free breakfast

london 10.15am macdonalds in victoria place. 6.1C sunny? cloudy maybe. saturday 2018

its so early and allready i have been to places. haha. i went at about 8.30am to the carluccio free breakfast offer. i went to the waterloo branch, wearing my bathrobe. haha. it can double as a dressing gown. anyway i think i was the only one wearing such things, when i arrived. and the staff were very welcoming… the maitre d even said i look the part. it was a really nice full traditional breakfast… coffee, juice  and they even ask how i want my eggs. sunny side up i said. and cappuccino and orange juice. it was lovely.

the cup have their name on it, so maybe i should have turned it round to show it. the eggs are beautiful, i would not be able to do it like that if i were to make it myself. so white, the egg white part of it. 

it is a wonderful promotion. and with all such promotions it really is free… there is nothing to pay. it is what i like about the uk promotions. i think everywhere else , i am thinking of america here, you would be expected to pay something. but not here, in good ol’ uk. i wonder if steve will be going to this… maybe not, as i dont think he likes to dress up. haha. waterloo is very near me… (wait…  everything is near me!.) but the waterloo branch is not very posh or at least not to me… most of those in there that morning were travellers i think. some of their branches in covent gdn, or south kensington, or marylebone have customers that look very rich…at least that is how they look when i pass by and peek inside the shop windows… so i daresay it will feel strange to walk in there wearing a dressing gown. esp when the only people wearing dressing gowns in london are tramps , rough looking old men, sleeping rough and dragging a lot of baggage with them… haha. 

anyway it was a lovely breakfast, and then i went to victoria station, on the shuttle bus that ply its route between the two stations. and now here i am in the macdonalds using their wifi. and i found today’s daily telegraph too so i shall read it in these quiet and pleasant surroundings… i know, no one would describe a macdonalds place as pleasant… haha. but it is really. the papers are a great find, as the libraries are closed this easter weekend… and i can get the tv guide now for my weekend viewing.

added. the service charge estimated bill for my flat for 6 months april18-sept18 came today. £683.16  just for the record. 

easy life in london

london 11.25am 14.2C cloudybut bright. wednesday 2017 victoria library

i got notified that linkn is giving away a free breakfast sandwich,made by sub-cult.co.uk  just to celebrate success. it is in the shoreditch boxpark, near liverpool st station. i first stumbled across the boxpark when i went to the nun’s free soup kitchen. its an interesting place built of containers to carry goods in cargo ships. the boxpark itself was closed, it opens at 11am, whilst the free sandwiches were cooked up in a van near the shoreditch overground rail station, just outside the boxpark. i arrived around 9.30am, only a short queue, and they were making a veg version, and a meat version. i got the meat version, very nice it was too, egg and chunky pieces of beef. the veg version was avocado mash with bits and pieces of veg. 

 

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

its very nice, we each got half a sandwich. 6inch one.  its that nice that i wish i got a whole 12inch sandwich.haha. worth while to go there again tomorrow and the next day if u are around the area. the meat makes it worthwhile. go after 9.30am i think, because i imagine earlier the office workers will be crowding round it, the worst of the queue will be over by 9.30am, i think, as they will be at work. also if u go there by tube and bus, the tube wont be so crowded.

but of course, it is very cheap to make your own breakfast. it is very cheap to eat if u cook it yourself. i know it, that is why when i hear this… i keep reading of newspapers saying so many families are too poor and have to decide to eat or heat… i dont believe them. 

we are all familiar with advertising, and i think have gone along with the premise that advertising pays… that it will bring in customers. i dont think there is any one testing it , it just seems to have gotten into the general consciousness. and of course everyone wants it to be so, because if we are customers we get freebies… haha. and the whole internet is available for us at low costs because of these adverts. this article in takimag.com talks a bit about it. it questions whether internet advertising is effective; and concludes that if u tag your advert to news, it helps. and gives an explanation why billionaires like bezos, buys the washington post.

does giving away free food helps? what do you think?

does internet adverts really works to persuade u to alter your behavior and buy their stuff? i know it does not affect me , in fact i go even further and say a lot of the clicks that i do on the internet is done by underhand tricks of the website, i click on the adverts accidentally, or i was fooled by their layout to do so, or even they automatically switch on the advert without me even knowing about it as soon as i land on their page. so if you, as the advertiser is paying money to them by clicks on your advert, you might find it is based on misleading statistics. as for giving away free food, well, i hope they continue haha. if i ever get to do a survey asking me if i am influenced by free food, or free samples, i shall tick yes… haha. and i bet plenty of us will do that , not only me. haha. i think adverts affect me only in that they make me hungry watching them… esp if they are food ads. but instead of making me rush out to buy them, i just go to my kitchen and make some food. haha. though if i know i am not hungry but just seem to crave for something to eat, i just drink water. a mug of tea takes care of the cravings. 

10/11/17added that free breakfast sandwich was sponsored by  linkedin, and found out that microsoft paid $26billion last year to buy it. 

cooked breakfast

london 12.28pm 8.8C cloudy/foggy friday 2016

i got a macdonald leaflet sent to me recently by post offering breakfast for £1. or £2 if it is with coffee.  its good if u are travelling and so out of the house/flat; but it is so much cheaper to just cook it at home, and you can have it with fried fresh tomatoes, that it is a no brainer which is preferable. though i have to admit i was tempted when i got that leaflet. even me, because there is something rather appealing about those photos. not to mention someone else have cooked it. and you are seated in a restaurant and also able to use their free wifi. it feels very grown up. haha. the voucher is valid before 10.30am. i also got free vouchers for a big mac with fries, or a quarter pounder with fries for £2. and that is valid all day. i think the big mac with fries or quarter pounder with fries is the better value. but i have not bought any. i sometimes wonder why i dont. maybe the thought of my pass experience when it was so salty has lingered in my memory. they look great in the pictures but no so in reality.

breakfast.

when i cook it myself i get two fried eggs!! this breakfast  costs 40p.

it seems people have used the price of big mac to show the difference in cost of living in different countries. but as u can see, the promotions they give, in terms of money off vouchers; can make a nonsense of those prices. for eg, uk big mac costs (according to the website) $3.94. = £3.11. but in actuality it is £2.95. (i think , i must go by a macdonalds and check! added. it is £3.09)yet i have vouchers that allow me to buy it (plus fries) for £2.

Digital StillCamera

people who buy and eat  these hamburgers all the time really deserve to be poor. £2 seems quite cheap for a macdonalds quarter pounder, but think of this… for that same price u can buy 500mg of minced beef. 1lb = 453gms. it would make u a lot of quarter pounders, because hamburgers are not pure beef, it is 50% fillers, (rusks etc). so u could get 8 quarter pounders out of that minced beef.even if u make allowance for all the cheese,gerkins and buns, u could still make 4 meals out  of those. added. 11.48pm 3.12.16 4.7C saturday. my usual breakfast is porridge with a small handful of sultanas. that is it. and it is really very filling. today i did not feel like eating till 9pm. 

croissants are lovely

london 12.50pm 23.1C sunday 2016 in the library

1.51pm sunny 23.2C back in the flat

Digital StillCamera

 

there were 4, i ate 2 before i remembered to take this picture. they are from waitrose reduced to 69p from £1.50. i felt like having some croissants this morning. i got the free coffee too, seeing i have to go to the till to pay for the croissants. coffee goes well with croissants.  i shall save these two for tomorrow when i shall grill them first to bring back the crispness.

porridge

london 9.02pm 15.2C (18Chigh) monday 2015

just saw ‘food unwrapped’ on Channel 4 tv. talking about oats. asking if there is any difference between quick cook oats and the long cooked ones. they are all oats, quick cook oats are thinner and steamed 30% longer. the oat grains are flattened by rollers.

i dont know whether the basic oats that i buy from tesco (costing 75p/kg) are slow cooked or what. the non basic oats cost  twice as much, and the program do not say why some oats are more expensive than the basic ones. i dont see any difference but then i have not really read the ingredients in those expensive oats.

now that i mention it, i have not looked at ingredients of the basic oats too.so let me see… it is rolled oats, and it got fats, 8g/100g, and sugers1.5g/100g. protein too, 11g/100g. (1 teaspoonful = 4g)

the instructions , first time i am reading it, says 2mins microwave, stir and another 2mins. 800w. well i only do a 2min one and that is it. its good enough for me. so it looks like the basic oats is the quick cook oats. usually they cost a lot more if they are branded.

also did u know oats are in muesli too? so they can be eaten uncooked. just add milk. and u can make your own muesli it is very easy to do and so much cheaper. i bet very few know that and end up buying and paying over the odds for the packs in the store. 

i microwave it for 2mins. so maybe they are quick cook. though simon goes through the trouble of cookng them over the stove and he takes a long time over it. i dont think there is any difference except that the stove method is slow and you have to continuously stir it so it does not stick to the pan, and there is more washing up to do. the porridge tastes better if u use whole milk, but i dont,i  just use water, and some powdered skimmed milk, (too little to make a difference in the taste really, ) because i am too lazy to buy milk, haha. simon buys long life whole milk, and they are as nice as fresh whole milk, and they can keep for a long time so you can buy a lot and keep them. unlike fresh milk which goes bad very quickly.

but i dont bother to use his milk. if i use his milk i have to buy them so that he does not run out. and i got out of the habit of buying milk. i eat the porridge with a handful of  sultanas. and they provide all the suger i need. so i dont add any spoonfuls of suger to it. 

JD Wetherspoon launches coffee price war – fastFT: Market-moving news and views, 24 hours a day – FT.com

JD Wetherspoon launches coffee price war – fastFT: Market-moving news and views, 24 hours a day – FT.com.

99p for filter coffee and free refills in morning and afternoon in a wetherspoon pub. and reduced priced breakfast too. hmm, will you go there?

i dont commute to work but it might be attractive to those who come into london to work. there is a wetherspoon ( it is a chain of pubs) just outside victoria station. people might start thinking of meeting there instead of at starbucks or cafe nero.

i found this article via google news which is now my favourite place for browsing the news. it enables people to read subscription -only newspapers like the FT(financial times) without having to register with them.

here is a link to the guardian, on the same subject, in case u cannot access the FT. £2.99 traditional breakfast. and 99p for a small latte or cappuccino. that is good value. esp if the victoria branch does it. not always certain that central london branches follow it up. it will certainly provide competition for the local outlets in the area if they do so.

What’s The Cereal Killer Café Actually Like? | Londonist

What’s The Cereal Killer Café Actually Like? | Londonist.

they received a lot of publicity when a channel 4 video went viral showing the owner abruptly stopping the interview when he was asked how can he justify charging £3.20 when there are so many poor people in the area.

it was a provocative question, and of course quite illogical, otherwise every shop will have to close if they can only price their goods to cater to the lowest earners.

the owner wasn’t trained in public relations, and why should he after all he is busy trying to set up a business , not answer provocative questions from tv interviewers.

from this article it seems to have been good publicity, because the public knows that shops are never catering to the poor.

it seems it is £2.50 for a small bowl, £3 for a medium bowl, and 20p extra if u ask for premium milk. from the picture the medium bowl looks quite large.

personally i think cereals are the devils food, so full of suger, but even i am tempted sometimes to eat them. and they are very expensive for what they are even if u buy the box from the supermarkets.

i eat porridge for breakfast and porridge is very cheap, which was pointed out by a lady who wrote a report on poverty, where she mentioned one of the causes of the poor being poor is because they do not know how to cook. she got a lot of criticism for it, but she is correct.of course. but nowadays we are so politically correct we cannot say such a common sense thing without someone scolding her for mentioning it.

i read somewhere someone saying one charity visited a poor family, with the children malnourished and found loads of pasta on the shelves given to the mother. when questioned the mother  said she had no idea they can be made into food, as she gets her spaghetti from cans.

living in london pt 10

london

I woke up this morning at 5am and opened the curtains and saw the street wet , suggesting it had rained overnight. and went back to sleep and half an hour later woke up yearning for a malaysian or singapore kopitiam breakfast. 

in those days u can order a kopi kau, (meaning the first straining  of local coffee from the cloth filter, so that it is strong) and then from the steaming tower of bamboo baskets chose your dimsum. usually there are not as extensive a choice as u would get in a restaurant at lunchtime, but there will always be har kau, siew mai, or pau, (char siew pau, or pork pau, or black sweet black bean paste pau). and that is filling enough. 

or you would take one of the nasi lemak banana leaf wraps that will be lying around on the table and eat the fragrant offerings inside, usually minimal ingredients with a sambal of anchovies,a slice of cucumber,  and very fragrant coconut rice. they are all very cheap. in those days. not sure nowadays. or even if they are available any more. 

or u might ask for a bread toast of kaya jam, and a soft boiled egg. 

or u might ask for porridge. 

mostly i would go for the dim sum. it is so nice to just sit and sip the coffee , in a thick lipped porcelain cup and saucer, which invariably will have spilt coffee in it, which you wont waste and tip it back to the cup.

i know some old guys would cool the coffee by pouring it onto the saucer and then sip the saucer . A bit gross but you kind of got used to seeing it haha. (though now i come to think of it, i wonder why i consider that gross. it sounds entirely logical.)

and enjoy the cool of the day, as mornings are the only times when the air feels so fresh and clean and cool, and so quiet before people crowd in and things get busy. 

these are the little things that come to me now and then, now that i live in london, memories of my days and childhood in malaysia. and i am filled with nostalgia when it happens. the happy days of yore. 

And i still dream of my working days as a dentist, and just now i got a new dream about my days as a multilevel marketeer. they are pleasant dreams, for eg one where i expertly and swiftly took out a wisdom tooth and feeling good about it. i wonder if people dream of their working days when they retire? I enjoy my working life, mainly because i can take long holidays away from it, so it never gets stale. i never feel overworked and stressed about it, i know when and how to balance it with life… but it seems strange that i still dream about it, now i am not working anymore and happy not to be working. 

these memories are nice but i realise there is no going back to those days. The long lazy evenings chatting about nothing with friends in the mamak stalls drinking teh tarik, for example. Even if i go now to malaysia and singapore and go to a kopi tiam , it wont be the same. i have changed, if the place have not.

I think this post reminds me of my days in singapore and malaysia. 

Now I live in london and breakfast is bacon and eggs , fried tomatoes , baked beans, toast with butter and jam, the traditional breakfast which brings along with it memories too. nowadays i seldom eat it, preferring just to have porridge with a sprinkling of sultanas everyday. though when simon breaks open a pack of bacon, and i have fresh tomatoes, i will have it and bring back memories.

I was in soho yesterday, where they had  street stalls set up as a market. there was one stall selling leather knapsacks and brief cases, from £90. in the old days i would be tempted to buy the leather knapsacks. they are lovely. but i love my gym style nylon bag i use now so i doubt i shall want to go back to using a leather one.

just as well, i was thinking, it saves me spending £90 haha.

It was pleasant walking the street in sunshine, and sitting in soho square looking at people, and reminds me of the old days when i would hang about soho, sitting outside cafe nero, or the long gone old compton st cafe(open 24hrs),  and soho square; and meet and greet friends as invariably they too will be hanging about there. now i dont know anyone. i wonder if i shall wake up dreaming of it years later if i live long enough. 

 

wandering around london

London

Thursday 10.1.13 

I went to ikea again for the free breakfast. Didn’t planned to go today, but I was up by 8am, and thought well I have nothing planned and I do fancy a cooked breakfast, so off I went to catch the tube.

And I know the route very well and got to ikea at about 10.10am.

And afterwards I was at a loose end as to what to do.
I thought of taking the 112 and let it take me to its end destination, brent cross… but the idea of seeing another shopping mall did not appeal to me.

So I took the bus back to the tube station. This time though instead of taking th 112 back to Stonebridge park station, I went to another bus stop where two buses have routes going to harlesden station.

It turned out to be a better station to go to, to catch the train back to central London. More buses ply this route.

I could take it to Lambeth north station where my gym is, but I did not fancy going there just yet. And I was pondering which stop in central London to get off. Well, I wanted to piss, and so remembered there are free public toilets at oxford st, in carnaby st , and in marshall street, near brewer st.

When I arrived at the carnaby st toilet, I saw a turnstile, it seems u have to pay, but there was no sign as to how much.

I was going back up the stairs when a man came down, and I suddenly decided I shall go back and see if I can use it. The turnstile was a bit loose and there was some give which provided a small space to allow me to enter so I did. There was no attendant.

After I finished pissing, I tried to go out and the turnstile refused to budge. The man told me to press a green lighted button and that releases the turnstile. Glad he was there to tell me otherwise I would be lost what to do. I wonder if others have this ignorance of how these public toilets work.

Hmm, I did not realise they are making the carnaby st toilets a paid one. The broadwick st, (at the north end of brewer st), toilets are still free I think.

Added. 27.3.13 found this article that says a private company is running the toilets now. and they have been closing (link) the free toilets and charging 50p for the others. 

 

Anyway I went to a gay sex shop in soho to get the gay magazines, boyz and qx, which are distributed free and took them to soho square to read them and to eat my snack and chocolate hot drink which I brought from home.

I see in the magazine that nudityclub is having a free charity night, on 11.1.13. Or rather they are asking members to donate £3 for the terrence Higgins trust charity and for non members to pay £5, including a £3 donation.
It is a nice place, where guys can be naked and play and dance naked.

I went last year intending to just pay £5, but got persuaded to buy a £5 annual membership and pay £3 donation. It was not worth being a member as I did not go to any of their subsequent nights. The entry fee for members is a pricey £8 that is why.

So this time if I do go , and that is not certain, I shall just pay the £5 donation.

I went on to Chinatown and bought frozen mackerel 1kg for £3.25. And also they were selling their thai red curry paste. brand name is maesri, 1kg for 50p . Usually they cost £4. I think because the sell by date is 26jan 2013.
Similarly, they have this chinthe Burmese bamboo sooot pickle for 50p. Again because it sell by date is jan2013.

But I don’t mind as actually u can still use it after their sell by date. The shop cannot legally sell it after that date, hence the cheap price. I bought 2. It is a good buy as curry powder250mg is already costing £1.35 now.

I think it makes a good laksa dish eaten with vermicelli, or flat noodles.

Then I decided to return home as I have to put the frozen fish in my freezer, instead of going to the gym as I originally planned.

(my bus was actually waiting at the bus stop with its hazard lights on, so I did not have to wait for the bus, it was waiting for me haha.)

Back home, I went online and saw in one of the blogs I follow, that there is an ice carving exhibition and demonstration in canary wharf from 11jan(tomorrow) and over the weekend.

It sounds interesting, so I shall go to have my breakfast at ikea tomorrow and afterwards I have somewhere to go. I have not been to canary wharf so it would be nice to go there and have a look at the place as well as go see what the ice exhibition is all about.

I sent an email to a friend who lives in Harlesden and ask him whether he might like to join me for breakfast at ikea, if he got a ikea family card, or join me to canary wharf for the ice thing.

It would be more fun to go with a friend I think.

Last night, I got a call from a friend of my friend who lives in poole saying he intends to visit London and ask me if he can stay at my place.

Well, I said he can.

Only later I realise I forgot to tell him that I don’t have my heating on and so he should bring along some warm fleece. Hope he likes cold and not want to have the flat heated up.

I think as long as they don’t want me to heat up my flat for them, I don’t mind them staying here.

I am so used to not having the heat on that I am reluctant to warm it up even for guests. That is why I don’t invite people to stay at my place. They ask, and they can stay as long as they are aware of and accept my no heat policy.

U might say I am a awful host, haha. But I figured that if the guests don’t make too much demands on me I would be more willing to host them again next time. But if they give me a lot of inconvenience or costs, I wont have them next time.

Haha, that is the plain fact of it. Many people might not want to say it so bluntly, but there you are. That is my view. U will be welcome as a guest if u give me the least inconvenience and expense to host you.