England: Andrea Chavez-Lazaro (Food in London)

Food in London

Since being in London, I have tried many unfamiliar foods. With so many cultures in one big city, I have found food from every corner of the world. I have tried Malaysian lamb, Korean corn dogs, Turkish halva, Chinese hotpot and of course all sorts of British foods. I have even seen multiple Venezuelan restaurants and stands. Coming from a Venezuelan family, I get excited every time I see one. I have had foods from all over, still, there is so much more to taste.

In the United States, it is not common to find a South Asian restaurant. Here, these cuisines dominate the restaurant industry. One of the first restaurants I went to in London was an amazing Indian restaurant in Kensington called Little India. My friend had gone before and fell in love with the food. Since then, she encouraged me to go. One day after class, we decided to go for an early dinner. I had a garlic chicken with sauce and rice. I had never had anything like it. There was so much flavor packed into a bowl. I had to force myself to slow down because it was so good. Another Indian food we had was during our Food Society and Culture class. We went to an area with a high Indian population called Southall and at the end of our walking tour, stopped at a restaurant to try dosas. It was like a giant crepe but it formed a more circular shape rather than having the middle touching. It had a filling of potato and was covered in ghee. It was amazing.

One flavor that has shown to have a heavy influence throughout London is peri peri. This is an originally South African spice that was then produced by Portuguese explorers in such territories. It consists of a mix of peppers that pack flavor and light spice. A popular fast food chain called Nando’s has peri peri flavor in almost all of their dishes and sauces. In many restaurants throughout the city, it is common to find peri peri fries. I have been lucky enough to try these flavors and find myself constantly going to Nandos. Overall, one cannot go wrong eating in London.

 

 

 

Andrea Chavez-Lazaro

Major: Psychology

Hometown: Verona, Wisconsin