Eat. Cook. Eat?

Okay I know I am terrible at updating... because I've gotten busy... but nevertheless I will try to be more motivated to update more!!

So this post will basically be about how I manage to eat in the UK... haha I will try to post a video blog sometime soon! I know that my family has requested me to do so, rather than boring posts. I hope that you all continue to read this blog! I will try to update every two days... :)

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Living in a self-catered accommodation has taught me how I would eat without a dining hall and my mom's cooking. If I had the choice, I would be eating toast, rice, and other things.

The problem is -- I didn't want to buy a toaster or a rice cooker for the few months that I am in the UK. So I had to improvise. Can you imagine what people, in the old days, used to make some of the foods/meals we have today? There were no such thing as household appliances!

As a person of Asian descent, I feel that rice is a big staple food for me and for many Asian dishes. I've learned that you can actually cook a lot of things using one non-stick pot.

Boiling water has many uses in meals and can help create many dishes such as ramen, dumplings, boiled vegetables. Instead of buying a frying pan, I can still fry eggs and sausages with the same pot. I've also learned to toast bread with the same pot! A thing I haven't tried is cooking rice... by boiling it with water. So over time, I learned that I can be frugal with buying one pot to create various dishes.

I suppose that if you saw my photo album about food in London then you've already seen most of what I have cooked. I believe the British sausage isn't exactly suppose to be burnt black... but I think this is the downside of using a shallow pot to cook it..

Other than that, handy food items that I recommend buying to make your self-catered status better:
Salt
Sugar
Pepper
Nutella
Raspberry Jam
Oyster Sauce
Soy Sauce
Cornstarch
Butter
Bread

^ these items are great in the sense that you can create marinades for your food, add toppings to your toast, and make food more fun to eat!

Well that's all folks! I'm trying to update more, but I suppose this is a result of socializing with more people and not having the chance to write up my experience! Life at UCL pictures to come... :)

xoxo,
Kristian

Never fear! There is happiness in London...

Yesterday I went to Camden Market, located on the "Camden Town" underground stop using the Northern Line. And guess what I found?? Affordable food and shopping!! I couldn't be any happier. If you ever go to London, Camden Market should be the place where you buy all of your souvenirs for people back home. There are tons of shops and make sure to look around for the best prices.

there are a bunch of random horse statues here..

these fish are banned in the USA!! Should I try a pedicure from them? haha

this is definitely a crazy "futuristic" store and had random professional dancers...

pictures weren't really allowed :(

Camden Market is like a bunch of NY Chinatown stalls put together... like a swap-meet... like a food bazaar... it's kind of like a farmer's market except with food and anything you want to buy. You can haggle at most stalls which is a bonus! It's a large collection of markets and you will definitely find something you like! The downside is that you're always worried about finding a better deal and whether the quality of the item was worth the price. There are also a ton of designer knock-offs... this makes me wonder if all Londoners shop here for reasonably priced fashionable clothes and accessories...

The prices of food here is amazing! The cheapest I've seen so far. Even thought it's not a restaurant, sit-down-for-a-date kind of place, I think it's worth it. I suppose you can simply call it "street food." There are so many varieties such as Mexican, African, Peruvian, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Polish, Italian, etc. Everything that you can probably crave when you're in London... cause the quality of food usually isn't so great... but Camden Market seems to be okay! There are actually decent sized portions there...

There are so many differences that I've been noticing/noticed while being in the UK,
- the expiration dates of food/drinks finish so quickly! Every time I buy bread, milk, meat, etc. The expiration dates come insanely fast... like within 5 days... even if you look for a longer shelf-life. I kind of miss food in the US because of this...
- Also everything has to be "consumed within 3 days after opening"... even water?? I don't get why.
- there are a ton of "beware of pick pockets" signs everywhere. It must happen so often that it's regulated to be on every part of the city...
- you get your picture taken about 200+ times a day because of the CCTV cameras everywhere. This makes me feel safe, yet worried about having a bad shot... haha

Alright -- that's all for now folks! Coursework is makes it hard for me to update more often.. :(
Kristian


Tips for Studying/Traveling to the UK #10: Understanding the Meaning of College, University, and School
In the UK, higher education after "high school" is called "university." College is a term used to describe A-level education and high school. School is used to describe middle/grade school. So it can definitely be confusing to explain that you attend "college" in the US, when you actually mean a type of "university." I don't think that this will be a big problem when talking to others. You will probably just have to explain how many people in the US use university/college/school interchangeably.