En Mi Barrio

Barrio North is a latin-inspired riot of colour on Essex Road in Islington.  It has a range of cocktails including some made of tequila and cachaça.  I went there for my Mexican friend Liz's birthday and although I didn't stay long (because I had to work the next day) it looked like it was shaping up to be quite a night.

Balkan Beat Box

Balkan Beat Box are an American Israeli group playing Balkan inspired music.  Having listened to so much chalga it was interesting to hear some familiar sounds in a completely new context.

 

 

We got given quite a lot of flyers when we came out for other events that we might be interested in.  What I don't really understand is - why is this kind of Balkan music cool enough to merit more than one event in London but Balkans pop is not.  Would I still like gay Bulgarian chalga if I were a hipster? Probably not I guess, but then there is absolutely no chance of me being classified as a hipster.

BiBimBap

BiBimBap is a small, bright Korean restaurant in Soho that serve their tasty food still sizzling in the bowl.  I finally tried kimchee - a fermented vegetable dish.  It very nice and the whole dining experience was very quick (which was perfect for my afternoon of studying).

Lots of Polaroid photos of diners.

If you say the name BiBimBap and add a Bap and repeat it lots of times it sounds a bit like you are singing 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.' And you can't ask for more than that from a restaurant.

Delicious in Mauritius

Mauritius Paradise is a little food stall in the Market Hall in Wood Green Shopping City.  It's tucked away at the back of the shopping centre and you can either buy your food to take away or to eat in.

I had chicken curry roti, a slice of bread pudding and a pink drink called alouda which seems to be a Mauritian version of the Indian/Pakistani drink called falooda. The service was a bit chaotic but I can't complain because the food was great.

Damascu Bite

A Mediterranean takeaway in Brick Lane.

It would be great if all takeaways looked like this one.  Mind you, it is in the trendy part of the East End.  I had a delicious halloumi wrap.

Lost in Fairy Tales

Lost in Fairy Tales was Dace Brakmane's solo exhibition that took place over the weekend of 25th to 27th May 2012.

Here is what Dace wrote about the exhibition (hope she doesn't mind me using this on my blog):

"From my childhood I remember that my grandmother believed in the godess of the rainbow. My mother told me to tidy up before bed, otherwise the godess of fortune could break a leg. I believed in forest spirits who left candies for me (or as I later found out, my grandfather) to find when i went out to explore forest.

In this exhibition I share some of my favorite fairy tale heros. Mystic creatures are revealed by delicate and thoughtfull pencil and ink drawings that capture your imagination. 

Look. Dream. Believe."

 

And there was a chocolate fountain!

Mongolian Grill

The Mongolian Grill is an awesome restaurant near Clapham Common.  You have a hot plate in the middle of the table and you can choose to either have an all you can eat grill or hotpot for about £13.

We chose the grill option and the waitress came over to give us a demonstration of the grill and gave us some rules:

- Make sure that the food is cooked right through before you eat it.

- Keep your raw food on a separate plate to your cooked food.

- Don't forget to collect some dipping sauces from the buffet.

 Our grill (the photo doesn't capture how much fun it was to go to a restaurant and cook your own food.  So much more fun that doing it at home!)

The buffet

It was a lovely evening. And I discovered that my friend Jeremie has actually been to Mongolia! It's not every day you meet someone who's been on holiday there, and even less often a friend you've known for 2 years :)

National Bank of Kuwait

Just a short walk from Baker Street tube station is the National Bank of Kuwait.  In case you ever need to go there.

Euro 2012

Well since the Euro 2012 is currently on, I thought I would do my own blog league based on the most visited posts on my blog.  So here they are in country order:

1. Hungary
2. Asia (Wok to Walk noodle bar post)
3. Poland
4. Russia
5. Greece, Turkey and others (the Salla post)
6. Mexico
7. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana (one of the Jack Bell posts)
8. USA
9. Japan
10. Ukraine.

So it looks like a lot of people who come to this blog are trying to find out about Eastern European things.

Pinta: The Modern & Contemporary Latin American Art Show

I've occasionally thought that it's not as easy to find Latin American art in London as it is to find European, North American and African art.  So I was pleased to see Pinta advertised in the tube and even more pleased to find a voucher online for a free ticket. 

Paolo Campochiaro, Uruguay

 The Corpo Colectivo from Alison Jacques Gallery

 From Whisper to Shout by Germán Gómez from Spain

 Marco Mojica from Colombia

 Sandra de Berduccy from Bolivia

 Nuno Sousa Vieira from Portugal

Egg by Karen Estrada from El Salvador 

 The Simple Plan by Jean Marc Calvet from France/Nicaragua

 Evolution in Spring 1/5 by Jean Jacques Ribi from Panama/Italy

 Anatares by Omar Carreño from Venezuela

Untitled by Matilde Pérez from Chile

While she Waiting she was Thinking about the Dream by Luis González Palma from Guatemala