It's London, baby! Part 3
In the previous podcasts in this series, we have explored the ways to get to London as well as some of the tourist attractions worth visiting. This time, you'll get a glimpse of what is called the British cuisine.
It seems that London has more to offer in terms of foreign cuisine than any other city in Europe. Yet the British one tends to be overlooked by the locals to say the least. This is quite a shame, as England boasts a truly spectacular variety of dishes to suit the weirdest of tastes. Here are a few of those dishes and the best places to try them at.
The full English breakfast
With a mere 10 percent of the population still having a full English breakfast at least once a week, it seems to be going obsolete. Yet there are still places, where you can enjoy the classic combo of fried beans, sausages, eggs, bacon, toast and tomatoes. Try going to Café in the Crypt, which serves it at a reasonable price.
Fish and chips
The symbol of the English cuisine, fish and chips are now sold in a variety of different ways, be it a take-out or a sit-down meal at a restaurant. The dish now consists of battered white fish, most commonly cod, and deep fried slices of potato. The place I tried it at was Golden Union, which offers an assortment of fish options and different dish sizes.
Scones
A scone is a single-serving cake, typically made of wheat or barley. It is often lightly sweetened and occasionally glazed. It is always served warm with a bit of jam and cottage cream, which you put on top of it. Scones are an essential component of the so-called High tea (drinking tea and eating cakes and sandwiches), which is held in the majority of well-established hotels in London. I tried it at the Corinthia Hotel, and can highly recommend it. Should be said through, that it's mainly done by tourists, so don't expect any of the Royal Family to be sipping their tea next to you.
The Cornish pastry
Considered to be the national dish of Cornwall, the Cornish pastry is a savoury pie filled with meat and vegetables. It was originally created for the miners, who needed a quick snack at their workplaces. Now it is eaten throughout the country in many variations, including chocolate and banana. The best place to try them in London is the Cornish Bakehouse, which offers handmade pastries straight from Cornwall itself.
Hope this series of podcasts has given some useful information on what the touristic version of London is like. Now it's up to you to pack the bags and explore it yourselves!
Vocabulary:
get a glimpse of – get a quick look at – мельком увидите
be overlooked – be ignored – игнорируется
boasts – has and is proud of – может похвастаться
mere – only – всего лишь
be going obsolete – be disappearing – исчезает
combo – combination, mix – сочетание
a take-out – food that you order in a restaurant and take with you, instead of eating it there – еда на вынос, с собой
battered – covered in a mixture of milk, flour, egg and then cooked – в кляре
cod – a fish that lives in the North Atlantic Ocean – треска
single-serving – served individually – подаются по отдельности
glazed – covered in melted sugar – глазированные
well-established – having existed and been successful for a long time – уважаемый
sipping – drinking slowly – попивающих
savoury – not sweet – не сладкие
miners – people who work in mines to get coal – шахтеры
