M for Moldova!

A Ukrainian Couchsurfer called Vitali let me know that there is a Romanian resturant in Leytonstone called Amurg that also serves Moldovan food!

So off we all trooped to East London to eat mamaliga and Moldovan stew.

I had some delicious Romanian white wine and more polenta than you could shake a stick at.  The service was somewhat 'traditional' (i.e. a bit slow) and I can imagine that the music would be very distressing if you had a hangover (very upbeat and high pitched).

It's definitely worth a try if you've never tasted Romanian or Moldovan food before. It brought back fond memories of the 6 weeks that I spent in Moldova, fortunately without the dodgy tummy....

New Malden

New Malden is estimated to be the most densely populated Korean area outside of South Korea and the largest Korean community in Europe.

So whilst I was there visiting my friends who just moved to the area (neither of whom are Korean by the way) I went to a Korean restaurant for some tasty Kimchee stew.

Pop Goes the World

My friend and I decided to run our very own Club Night

It's going to be a bit like Salla that I visited a couple of times and that has since closed down.

We're going to play some: kwaito, azonto, reggaeton, eurovision, Kpop, Greek and Turkish pop, chalga and much more!!

It's going to be in Firefly bar in St Paul's on Friday 9th August 2013. Come along and party around the world with us.

Bamboura in Brixton

My friends and I went to Bamboura before going on to a gig in the area.  We had punch to drink before (and during) our meals.  I had a tasty jerk chicken dish.

 

We never found out what was in the punch as the waitress didn't understand my colleagues questions (I think it was combination of their accents and her not being too keen to share any information about the meals with us)

Bodos Schloss

Bodo`s Schloss is an Austrian Apres Ski style restaurant and bar in the High Street Kensington area. They've really gone all out on the decor to make the place look like a little Alpine spot. What's more they serve one of their range of shots in an old wooden ski.  (it's cooler than I've made it sound I promise!).

My friend Miriam and I both had a glass of an Austrian wine.

Viewpoints on Folklore

Viewpoints on Folklore is an exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Institute that runs until the end of August 2013.  It examines understanding of the term 'folklore' in the work of contemporary Austrian artists.

 

Daily Production 2009 by Sascha Reichstein

Medicine Mountain - Learn to Love in Seven Daysby kozek hoerlonkski and Sir Meisi

Koza in Lambeth North

I went to Koza in Lambeth back in the winter but didn't get round to blogging about it at the time.  I chose the restaurant mainly because they are on Taste Card.  

They offer mezze platters where you can try a range of hot or cold starters.

 Some mint tea after the meal

 

My friend had a glass of Raki to end the meal

 The restaurant was not very busy which was shame because it looked lovely.  I also enjoyed the Turkish/Arabic pop soundtrack and recognised a song that had been in the belly dance production of Cinderella that I'd seen in Sheffiled at Christmas.

Trade Routes

Trade Routes is an exhibition at the Piccadilly branch of Hauser and Wirth.  According to the gallery the exhibition:

"presents a diverse picture of where [these] trade routes stand in today’s globalised society through the lens of 15 artists."

Triptychs from the 'Food for Thought' series by Maha Malluh.  The tapes are all of sermons and they are distributed from Saudi Arabia to the Middle East and Africa.

Slipper by Hassan Sharif which represents the evolution of the United Arab Emirates from a nomadic to a consumer society.

From the series 'Les Maitres Invisibles' by Rachid Koraïchi.

Fatima Al Qadiri & Khalid al Gharaballi - Mendeel Um A7mad.  This video was about the Kuwait ritual of pre-noon tea called Chai Dahaha.

Other works in the exhibition

Ground floor
Bettina Pousttchi - Piccadilly Windows
Monir Farmanfarmaiain - Installation of Seven Elements
Bharti Kher - Not all who wander are lost
Alighero Boeti - Mappa
David Zink Yi- Neusilber
Lee Xe - Bardo

Mezzanine
Gülsün Karamustafa - Double Jesus and the Baby Antelope

Upstairs
Soubodh Cupta - Untitled
Adel Abidin - Three Love Songs

Vault Room
West Shawky - Al Araba al Madfuna

More information can be found on the gallery website: http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/1773/trade-routes/view/

Russian Revels

I finally made it to a party from the Last Tuesday Society a couple of months ago and I had a blast! Such a great evening.

But more relevant to my blog are the 'Russian Revels' two Russians who serve Eastern European food at various events around London.  They've  been to a Baltic midsummer night garden party and an International Woman's day event according to their flyer.

They were providing food in the Russian room at the Orphanage Ball.

You can find more about them on their site www.russianrevels.co.uk

Unknown Heroine

Unknown Heroine was a the first UK solo exhibition by Croatian artist Sanja Iveković and it took place at the South London Gallery between December 2012 and February 2013.




The exhibition has the same name as one of the pieces of art that examined the story behind a street in Zagreb called Ulica Neznane Junakinje (Unknown Heroine Street). As a former geography student this appealed to me.

I also liked the photographs from the 1970s and the themes of women and consumer society.

This image was not at the exhibition but I really like it so I've included it anyway.