London Friday night out

If you think the Friday bug is strong in Malaysia, think again. My first Friday working experience has been quite amazing. I have been told that the people here leave right on the dot on a Friday and this is relatively true. I managed to leave at about 5.15pm, but that’s probably because I already completed what I needed to do. That’s one thing here I like more… if you’ve finished your work, you’re free to go.

I already made arrangement with 2 of my buddies, KT and KK to have dinner and hang around town for the night. After changing to more comfortable clothes at my apartment, off I go on the famous London underground…

We decided to go for dinner at the infamous “Wong Kee” in Chinatown. This place is famous for its appalling customer service, sometimes outright rude. But then again, hordes and hordes of people will flock to this place to have a meal. Reason…? This place is one of the best if you want value for money.

A quick look at the menu and I think it has not changed since I last came 7 years ago! Anyway, we ordered the following dishes…

Stir fried ‘choy sum’ - £4.
Fried ‘tofu’ with minced pork - £3.50.
Roasted duck with assorted vegetables - £8.

The food is not too bad; certainly edible. For this price, you can't complain. Check out the price. Imagine if you earn £ here, don’t you think the food is cheap?

We walked around Leicester Square f.k.a. Chinatown after dinner. The place was bustling with activities yesterday, just like how it was 7 years ago. I guess Chinese are also populating this place at an incredible rate. There was a long queue in front of a particular restaurant. It is one which I will pay a visit when Jules arrive… the duck specialist… Four Seasons; who opened a branch in Leicester Square.

Those who have been in London will know this place offers arguably the best duck in the world. The second best, to me at least, is Sunrise in Sea Park, Petaling Jaya.

We walk around Leicester Square and Covent Garden. Walking around brought back a lot of memories. The feeling of hey-I-have-been-here before was quite apparent.

I noticed something when walking around...that a lot of people crowding around outside bars instead of inside. KT said that bars in London are smoke-free so all the smokers have to go out to smoke. Smoke… Free… Bar!!! This is so cool.
After a while, we decided to find a place for a drink and to continue our conversation. KT brought us to this place called Meza Bar. It’s a more up class kind of bar, with people from the professional world making up the crowd.

This place is famous for cocktails. After me and KT had a beer, we decided to try some cocktails. Noticed the bar tender kept making this particular drink. A quick check with him and found out that the hottest drink of the night was ‘Mojito’ (pronounced mo-hi-to). I gave that a try and KT ordered something called ‘Old Fashioned’.
Verdict: Mojito was very nice and Old Fashioned was very… strong!

The conversation revealed that there are easily 30-40 people whom I know who are currently working in London. From the way I see it; plenty have decided to return to Malaysia... NOT! Why? Cause some of them have actually bought properties here. Yeah, propertIES. I guess the brain drain problem in Malaysia is really worsening by the minute. And honestly, I am very happy to contribute to that. Can't wait to be more accurate.

The crowd began to come in at about 11pm but we decided to leave as we do not want to miss the last tube. We made our ways to the nearest tube station and went our separate ways. I was greeted by a busker in one of the inter-change station. The air in the underground is as filthy as ever but it’s the most efficient way of travel so… can't complain.
Will be heading to Hillsong Church which has a branch here in London this Sunday. Exciting!