First month of the year has passed, and as always, it passed in the blink of an eye. Maybe it’s because the month is split in half - half of it I spent in Mexico City and the other half in London. Seeing as I’m still looking for a job, I took advantage of the freedom and stayed home as much as I could. Recharged batteries, motivated heart and gears in my brain turning, I’m ready to take on London again. Here are my January highlights:
1
Sarde, Mexico City
2
Cacio e Pepe fries, Bobo Burgers
A different way of eating french fries that I hadn’t ever really thought of before but that makes so much sense. We went to Bobo Burgers to have lunch before my sister flew back to Japan, and since she’s a self-proclaimed burger connoiseur this was the perfect place to go to. Definitely going to try to make these at home.
3
Tacos del Valle
Around the corner from Bobo Burgers but on a different day, I went to tacos del valle with my best friend Maria. We queued for around 25 minutes, but the minute we sat down and saw the food it was undoubtfully worth it. My dad had told me before that the tacos here were good, and i always trust his food recommendations, but this exceeded my expectations. These were some of the best tacos I had had in a very long time and everything about the place made it even better. Great salsas, great menu, great staff. Can’t fault this place!
4
4
Will’s French Cheese
I always look forward to London-Mexico crossovers when I’m back home, and this time around I got to see Will and Agni for an evening to catch up. Will brought cheese from France for his coworkers to try, and I found the afternoon really wholesome. I’m happy to see friends enjoying the city and building new friendships.
5
Elote Asado
As mentioned before, one of my favorite parts of Mexico is going out to find elote stalls. This one in Mexico City was a new discovery while my mom and I were driving past El Chamizal. A man with a truck full of mazorcas, he took the grilled kernels off the cob and made a sort of grilled corn esquite that solved my conflict of whether to order a grilled corn or esquites. Definitely one of my favorite snacks ever.
6
Dad’s Weekend Cooking
My dad loves to cook during the weekend, always has. This weekend he made us a vietnamese-mexican crossover seafood feast which left us all with very happy bellies. He made shrimp spring rolls, camarón gobernador, ceviche, abulón and crab. These lunches at home are definitely one of the top things I miss when not home.
7
Arrrco
Two days before heading back to London, we spent the day out on Sunday and were taken to Arrrco for lunch by my mom. She has been taking art and art history classes here and told us a bit about how the place works. Bar by night, restaurant and cultural space by day, I find these kinds of places appearing more and more around Mexico City and it makes me feel so excited that spaces like these give a platform to artists, curators, chefs, and alll kinds of creatives to come together. I loved being able to draw on the paper tablecloth, and the food we had was muaaaah chefs kiss.
8
Steak Sandwich - The Eagle
Back in London and after a week of being sick in bed, I finally got together with my friends again and had a classic exmouth market night out with them. We went to The Eagle, a pub that’s definitely on my top 5 pubs in London list. A bit of an institution, I shared their iconic steak sandwich with Olina and I enjoyed every bite.
9
Painting by Emily Ponsonby
I saw this painting at the London Art Fair and loved it. It reminds me of when my dogs look up from under the table to guilt me into giving them a little bite of whatever we’re eating at home. It’s a little part of being home that I miss so much when in London :(
10
Lisboa Patisserie
After a walk around Notting Hill, Hugo took me to this little portuguese café which had a selection of portuguese pastries of which we tried the pasteis de nata and a pastry with a layer of chocolate cake, icing, candied pineapple and cherries. We had some tea and warmed up before heading back out into the cold, and overall just had a very nice afternoon. I forget how nice it is to walk around Notting Hill, especially in the winter.
11
Rogues
Last day of the month, and Ben and I had dinner at Rogues after failing to secure a table at Tempo. Finding a table last minute on a saturday night (or really sometimes any night) is difficult in London, but when there is space somewhere new it’s always more exciting than booking in advance. Rogues’s food was delicious, my favorite dish being the grilled cod cheek with leeks. A perfect date night spot, I definitely recommend.
To wrap up January, I want to leave pictures of this lamp which I talked about a couple of times with my mom. Designed by Onora Casa, the ‘Lámpara Gelatinera La Merced’ is inspired by street vendors in Mexico City markets who sell gelatin in these portable displays. I find the lamp to be a great use of design and aesthetics, while also appreciating the improvisation that you find many times in Mexico City: