Lao di fang - 老地方

They don't take reservations from Europeans, they don't appear to have a website, but My Old Place (lao di fang) serves some of the most authentic Chinese food you'll find in London. At the end of my introductory Chinese course, all us students went with our tutor to this fantastic place. There is an English version of the menu, but the Chinese one looks more comprehensive. Just try stuff is my advice. Reviews here and here. And if you had asked me to read that Chinese three months ago, I wouldn't have believed I'd ever be able to do it. I start the next level in a couple of weeks.

Chinese in the New Year

It was Chinese new year last week, and the London celebrations were this Sunday. I didn't make it to that, but here is a picture from my Chinese lessons in the Bishopsgate Institute on Thursday. Here, we are learning to write Chinese characters (my own effort is in the front of the shot). I'm hoping to learn Chinese before going there on holiday in July; I managed to order a Chinese meal "by numbers" in Mandarin so I'm quite optimistic.