The dumplings.

The rice noodles.

And the pork buns.

Why? Because the Chinese Food Festival is happening. I love Chinese food. And here’s a fest that wants to remind folks of how awesome this legendary cuisine can be.  So what’s going down? For three days there will be over 20 stalls and restaurants whipping up authentic dishes, but other highlights include a swanky 10-course Shanghai Supper Club,  pro chefs demo’ing their next level skills, a street food competition, a night market and traditional Chinese performances. Just note that the fest doesn’t accept cash, so you’ll need to get your paws on a Food Card you can buy on the day or in advance – it doubles up as a membership card which gives you discounts at various Chinese restaurants in town. Sweet!

The Chinese Food Festival kicks off on Friday, August 19th with an opening ceremony and runs until August 21st. For more details visit www.chinesefoodfestival.com. 

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Pics shot on a Canon 5D Mark 1 (24-105mm lens) 

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All pics shot on an iPhone 5s.

The post My weekend in pictures: December 12 appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.

All pics shot on a Canon 5D Mark 1 with a 24-105mm. 

My first time visiting the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road. What a quirky venue!

The post My weekend in pictures: December 5 appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.

Walking toward St Paul’s Cathedral on Tate Modern’s sunrise walk and breakfast with Royal Society University Research Fellow Lucie Green. The walk was part of the International Year of Light in collaboration with the Institute of Physics.

Royal Society University Research Fellow Lucie Green holding court.

Christmas lights on Watling Street.

…and then came the snow.

A steward at Battersea Arts Centre rounds up the audience for Scratch double bill Show Me The Money and How To Die of a Broken Heart.

Paula Varjack in Show Me The Money. Opener of the Scratch double bill at Battersea Arts Centre.

Femi Martin (who performed in her own show How To Die of a Broken Heart) talks to the audience.

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Le Bistrot du Pientre

This classic Parisienne bistro has lovely staff, beautiful décor and the yummiest crème brulee I’ve ever had in my life! My friend couldn’t stop praising their tartare de boeuf (beef tartare) while my poulet fermier rôti avec frites et salade (hearty roast chicken with fries and salad ) was just a generous as it could be. All this deliciousness came at a higher price than we expected, but there’s no denying we got what we paid for.

116 Avenue Ledru Rollin, 75011 Paris, France. Closest station: Bastille. bistrotdupeintre.com

Le Tibourg

Le Tibourg could easily be written off as a tourist trap given the locality, but the food inside this trendy hotspot in Marais didn’t disappoint. A delicious club sandwich was twice the size I expected, and my friend also gave her burger a two thumbs up. The TripAdvisor consensus might tempt you to avoid this spot if past reviews are to believed – and to be fair, the service was frustratingly slow at times – yet overall, I couldn’t fault it. The prices were reasonable, the food was on point and I would happily visit again.

19, rue du Bourg Tibourg – 75004 – Paris Closest metro: Hotel de ville www.yelp.com/biz/restaurant-bourg-tibourg-paris

Chez Janou

On a last minute hunt to find an amazing French restaurant for Sunday dinner, Chez Janou was recommended to us by a local pharmacist. His reasoning – “great food, not too pricey”, and he even drew a little map on a Post-It note for us to get there. He wasn’t kidding; Chez Janou is one of those quirky neighbourhood spots that are so highly revered, you actually need reservations to eat there – and by the time we left, there was a short queue to get in. Luckily enough for us, we managed to secure a table for two and enjoyed an evening of great wine, charming service, and really, really, really good food. This included the petit chevre roti au romarin (a warm tomato sauce topped with goat’s cheese that we polished off with bread); magret de canard au romarin (an exceptional roast duck with rosemary potatoes); and pot-au-feu (a simple yet exquisite beef stew). With wine, all this set us back a mere 62.50 Euros (£44.60) for two – a bargain for a night that was nothing short of fine dining. I can’t wait to return!

2 Rue Roger Verlomme Closest metro: Chemin Vert chezjanou.com

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Plane vs Eurostar

Everyone knows that travelling by Eurostar is dope – and if you book it well in advance, you can get to the Paris for less than £100 quid. My lastminute.comness meant I spent a eye-watering amount that went over the £150 mark, but I don’t regret it; the ease of just pulling in to Gare du Nord from Kings Cross St Pancras always trump travelling on a plane in my opinion, even if flights nowadays are a bit cheaper.

City guide vs apps

I bought the Time Out Shortlist Paris 9th edition guide a day before I travelled, just to be on the safe side: it’s got a quality map in the back and I found it pretty useful during the weekend, especially in learning about the different  areas in the city. But I couldn’t live without Google Maps – and thanks to GPS, I could frequently conserve my data while getting an accurate location. The Uber app was also fantastic for booking quick and cheap taxis and the free Duolingo app helped me with brushing up on my (very) basic french.

Hotel vs airBnB

The last time I visited Paris was in 2013 for the half-marathon and I stayed in the uber-hip Mama Shelter in  the 20^th district in central Paris (nearest metro: Alexandre Dumas). It’s got a great vibe, dope food, but it’s off the beaten track and hardly the bargain I was looking for this time round. So I tried airBnB for the first time which is so easy to use.  After a friend recommended I search for spots in Le Marais or Saint-Germain-des-Prés,  I ended up booking a clean and quaint apartment from a guy named Ahmed which only cost £116 for two nights and was in a fantastic location. Sharing with a friend meant I only spent £58!

Public vs two-legged transport

I ended up being one of those tourists wasting everyone else’s time when I tried to buy a Metro ticket from the machines at Gare du Nord. Eventually I figured out the system of a single €1.70 ticket per journey  (so cheap!), but I only every used six for the entire weekend so avoided buying the booklet of ten. The rest of the time we walked to take it as much of the city as possible – thank you Google Maps! We also used the Vélib’ bike hire scheme which was cheap but a lot trickier than it should have been; the first hire machine we found was out of order, the second had plenty of defective bikes and once we hired, we struggled to find a place to dock them once we reached our destination in Bastille! Also, cyclists ride on the right in Paris, so there were a few hairy moments when it came to crossing junctions…traffic light crossings became our fast friends, I tell ya!

Tomorrow’s post: What we got up to… The Louvre, Centre Georges Pompidou and Musée d’Orsay

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The two day event was packed full with lots of family-friendly treats from live music from around the world to live performances scattered around the venue, all neatly placed between colourful fun fair style attractions. The huge venue packed as much entertainment into one place as humanly possible.

The National Theatre’s War Horse appearance was jaw-dropping, while Boy Blue entertainment drew crowds with their hip-hop/martial arts choreography. Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege, a bouncy Stonehenge, was one of the coolest bouncy castles we’ve ever seen and DJ Charlie Dark put a hip-hop spin on the age old classic ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’. His rendition was packed full of energy and had even the youngest child in the room jamming to hip-hop oldies.

With so many interesting things happening around the park it was impossible to be short of anything to do. However, the highlights of the event were definitely the Barbican Drum Works collaboration with drum group Pandemonium, who opened up the Olympic ceremony last year. Their Brazilian inspired presentation had crowds following them on either side of the park like it was carnival until they met by the Music Stage to end their performance leaving the crowd wanting more. Another highlight was Mali Foli on the Music Stage, a journey through Malian music by Amadou & Mariam, Viuex Farka Toure, Fataoumata Diawara and Chiek Tidiane Seck. They had people moving, shaking and dancing in the rain.

By the end of the day we were knackered but not too tired to check out the “spectacular finale” that we’d all been hearing about throughout the day. On the way to the exit, crowds of people headed to the bridge to see how it will all end. Bompas & Parr rode two small boats on either side of the river while pouring translucent green liquid into the water. Once they were done, we all awaited some sort of firework display that never came. Despite the disappointment, the festival was a great way to open up the North Park to the public – and with Saturday’s sunshine, the timing couldn’t have been any better. (Words: Mariam Ajioba)

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a big screen surrounded by comfy deck chairs and bean bags. Instead of stale food stand offerings, the team behind Backyard Cinema provides food straight from the BBQ along with freshly made popcorn. Rather than a cup of ice and a bit of soda, their bar is stocked with wine, beer and cocktails.   Their next event is a mini-movie festival taking place July 20-21 under the arches of the London Fields Brewery in Hackeny. Films include The Big Lebowski, The Hobbit, and Life of Pi. Films continue through the summer at Camden Market, where Backyard Cinema has set up a screening area next to the Regents Canal and a stone’s throw from the famous street stalls serving up worldwide cuisines. Almost Famous, Evil Dead 2, and Stand By Me are some of the titles they’ll be showing until the end of August. (Words: Barbara Cole) For more information visit www.backyardcinema.co.uk

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