Summer time in London
We’ve had unusually warm weather lately! The forecast calls for high 80s all week!
Yes! Summer time is here in London and there’s no other way to celebrate summer than a glass of classic Pimms and lemonade. Ahhhh, Pimms…often associated with Royal Ascot, Wimbledon, Henley Royal Regatta, outdoor concerts, and always a cheerful reminder of summer.
Speaking of Wimbledon, I am rooting for the two Andys – Andy Murray (U.K.) and Andy Roddick (U.S.A.). Apparently, Wimbledon tickets are extremely hard to get. Most people enter into a Public Ballot draw six months before the tournament, or queue overnight for day of tickets. We’ll try our luck with tickets next year; otherwise, I’d be happy to spend a nice evening on the grounds of Wimbledon in SW19 with my glass of Pimms.
As most of you know, Kenz works in Canary Wharf and on Friday he and colleagues organized a going-away happy hour in honor of his co-worker who is moving to Australia. How exciting and bon voyage!
Many countries including the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand have special bilateral arrangements, which allow young people to spend time in another country on a two-year working holiday. So naturally, there are a ton of young Aussies and Kiwis here in London and most of them reside in West London around Shepherd’s Bush, Earl’s Court, and Acton. We’ve not spent much time in West London until Sunday when our New Zealander friends whom we met in Turkey invited us to birthday celebration in Acton Town. It was good fun! The schlep to Acton was a pain b/c both the District and Piccadilly lines were down (stupid Tube), but we made it a fun day out including a fantastic sushi dinner at Sushi Hiro (Tube: Ealing Common) and watched the second half of the FIFA Federation Cup between USA and Brazil. As exciting as the game was, USA lost to Brazil 3-2. Boo!
But, back to Sushi Hiro. Kenz and I are Nipponophilia – we have an interest in all things Japanese. Kenz more so than me, having taken his fair share of Japanese history, Japanese literature/film (Ryunosku to Kurosawa), and Japanese language courses while at University, and not to mention the summer he spent in Japan when he was 16. We’ve been on a sushi kick lately, scouring the Internet, Harrden’s, Time Out, foodie blogs for excellent sushi/sashimi (we don’t mess around with teriyaki chicken, soba, udon, just the raw stuff please).
Sushi-Hiro is not pretentious at all with only 10 tables and the décor reflects Japanese minimalism. Like Tomoe, the clientele was largely Japanese. It is by far the best sushi I’ve had in a very, very long time, far better than Kirala in Berkeley or Uzen in Rockridge. I am still drooling over the glistening scallop and the delicious fatty tuna that just melts in your mouth. Even better, the damage was only £36.50 for an assorted sashimi platter, nigiris, several rolls and two Asahi! In the States, sushi of this quality will set us back at least $100 USD. I’m already planning my next trip to Ealing to visit our New Zealander friends and Sushi-Hiro, definitely worth the schlep.
I hope you all are enjoying your summer! We miss everyone!
Cheers! Lily
