Dim Sumday!

The Wig loves Dim Sum. In fact it is his favorite food and death row dinner, so when we were invited for Dim Sum today he nearly popped with excitement. The only problem with being such a connoisseur is that his standards are very high. I'd never heard of Dim Sum when I met him but now I think I am rather as fussy as him. His favorite place to go is Imperial China in China town, so if you need to know a good place to go you can't go wrong there. They also have Karaoke upstairs - what more do you need?

http://www.imperial-china.co.uk/

However, if you prefer Dim Sum in the privacy of your own home, get yourself a bamboo steamer and head on down to Longdan on the Hackney Road and get stuck in to their freezer section. You can buy it all there, frozen, and then cook it at home! Lovely.

http://www.longdan.co.uk/?mod=contact&ctid=6

One of my most memorable Dim Sum experiences was on New Years Day 2010. We were visiting my older brother who lives in Maroubra, Sydney and after a particularly heavy NYE which began on my cousins yacht (?!), watching the fireworks in Sydney Harbour and ended in a rooftop apartment party, we woke up more than worse for wear on January 1st. So we dragged our sorry selves from bed, crossed the street from my brothers place and had Dim Sum for breakfast. What a start to the year. It was also slightly different to how I have had it here. We didn't order anything, the waiters just kept wheeling trolleys full of food past and you could pick what you want and keep going until you exploded. I have dreams about things like this. It was amazing.

Today though, we went with some friends to Youngs on Upper Street, Islington. I've often walked past this place and wondered why it is always empty but it's been there for a long time so it must have some customers. I'm never sure if being empty is really a good sign for a restaurant but the food was absolutely fine. The Wig ordered for everyone (6 adults and 1 small child) and managed to get it spot on with the amount of dishes. What a pro. I would give the food 7 steamed buns out of a possible 8, but the drinks 4 ice cubes out of a possible 10. The others had red wine and I fancied a glass of white, but they only had the mysterious non specific 'House'. So I opted for a soft drink instead:

Me: 'Can I have a cranberry juice please?'
Waitress: ' No'.
Me: What fruit juice do you have?'
Waitress: 'Apple, Pineapple or Orange'.
Me: 'Can I have an orange juice then please?'

She gave me a lemonade.

After lunch, we walked through Highbury Square on our way to a very exciting mission. My Jielde 6 arm light was finally ready for collection!

http://www.jielde.com/index/indexuk.html

The light that I had been swooning over for about 2 years was about to be mine. I never thought a light could have such an effect on a person, but this one did. I saw it in a shop, saved up for it for quite some time and last November I ordered one. It has taken 3 months to be ready since they are hand made in France, and now it is home! I am aware that this makes me sound like a bit of a loser but you know what? I don't care. I am considerably less well off for buying it but at least I can see. I was, however, rather less enamoured by the girl in the shop that served me.

Me: 'I've come to pick up my light'.
Girl: 'Have you got a car because if you haven't I don't know how you'll get it home'.
Me: 'Bus?'
Girl: 'Fine'.
Me: 'Would it be possible to check it before I take it to make sure it works ok?'
Girl: 'Its fine'.
Me: 'Well, can I just check it?'
Girl: 'We wouldn't sell it if it didn't work'.
Me: ' Hmm, can we just have a look at it?'
Girl: 'Look, I got it out the box earlier, it's fine. If I take it out of the box again, it wont go back in'.
Me: (what a strange light, I thought. It will only let you take it out of the box once and then it grows in size and refuses to let you put it back in).
Me: 'The thing is, if I take it home and there is a problem, then I'll have to lug all the way back, and you might not take it back as you could say it was me that broke it'.
Girl: (Snort) 'Ha! We wouldn't say that!'.
Me: 'Can we just look at it?'
Girl: 'FINE!'

When she did eventually take it out of the box and plug it in I actually hoped it didn't work, just to piss her off. I give the light 10 watts out of a possible 10 and the shop assistant 1 flip of the bird.

I had to stop off for a scone at the Albion on the way home to calm down, so not only did she raise my stress levels but she also made me fat(ter). Thanks a lot!