tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:39:35 +0000Weblog of <a href="http://www.wonderbirmingham.co.uk/index_en.html">WonderBirmingham</a>http://birmin.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)Blogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-7001228601605736977Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:28:00 +00002008-09-28T22:00:04.699+01:00Some photos from Broad Street and ICC today. This is how the road is closed. From the other side. It is pretty nice, Broad Street without car. Rocket Club was welcoming Tories, but there is nothing political about it, just commercial, I guess. In front of the ICC, there were several people trying to make their points which largely escaped me, like this one. "What is the http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/405820463/broad-street-closure-tories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/405820463" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/broad-street-closure-tories.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-8116738929102927191Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:42:00 +00002008-09-27T21:53:53.198+01:00Birmingham restaurantsA few weeks ago I noticed the Spanish restaurant in Fletcher's Walk, Casa Lamisa, formerly known as Chez Amis, were closed. As there were no notice on the window, I would think it was closed and not just is refurbishing. Although I ate here only twice, I have a fond memory both of the occasions. The food was not always top notch, but could also be very good, and was prepared with care and had http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/405095363/casa-lamisa-gone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/405095363" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/casa-lamisa-gone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-1091530838344934902Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:35:00 +00002008-09-27T21:41:35.948+01:00Conservative Party Conference 2008 will be held in ICC from the 28 Sept. to the 1 Oct. For this reason the traffic will be restricted in Broad Street. Be careful if you have to pass there by car! Also for pedestrians, obstacles are set up here and there.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/405095365/conservative-party-conference-2008-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/405095365" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/conservative-party-conference-2008-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-5492294417911496560Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:50:00 +00002008-09-24T20:46:36.200+01:00Chinese foodIn Day-In Chinese supermarket, I found Interesting looking Chinese retort desserts and decided to try. There are 4 or 5 different sorts and I picked up the most familiar looking one. This looked like a Japanese sweet called "Zenzai", which is a sweet soup of azuki beans. Promising enough for me, it is made by Nisshin - Japanese company, although the product itself is made in China. I don't http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/405095370/cha-cha-dessert.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/405095370" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/cha-cha-dessert.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-2981173260567709353Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:11:00 +00002008-09-22T21:21:44.830+01:00MarketCaribbean foodRecently I have been having an impression that the Caribbean food stall in the Indoor Market has increased the prices and increased the number of customers as well. But until this weekend I have not noticed that the shop has changed! If I remember well, it used to be Noel's Caribbean, and not it is Caribe Bite. The price is about £5.50-£6.00 for main dish (including rice and veggie), so ithttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/405095371/caribbean-in-indoor-market.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/405095371" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/caribbean-in-indoor-market.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-5531405818976198146Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:38:00 +00002008-09-20T06:52:55.722+01:00From the 12 to 14 September 2008, there was a event called Artsfest 2008. I did not know about it before a friend of mine told me on the 12 (Fri.). Was it because of lack of publicity or just because I was away until a few days ago, I don't know. This is my neighbours' cat. She is very pretty, but shy; I have not managed to make friends with. Nothing to do with the Artsfest, but I met here http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/398402423/birmingham-artsfest-2008.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/398402423" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/birmingham-artsfest-2008.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-6912820982116528668Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:38:00 +00002008-09-19T23:12:44.937+01:00MarketThe other day, I saw this in the Indoor Market £19.95 for half a goat! It might be a bargain, but I have no clue how i can cook half a goat.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/398402424/bargain-goat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/398402424" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/bargain-goat.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-2551236510038771599Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:56:00 +00002008-09-15T20:04:48.017+01:00SeafoodMarketThis Saturday, I bought a seabass from the Indoor Market, Birmingham. The super-fresh one cost me only £3. I returned from Greece last week. You think Greece is seafood heaven, but larger fishes are quite expensive, definitely more expensive than at the Indoor Market given the current GBP/EUR exchange rate. There is no way you can get fresh seabass for less than €10 a kilo. In restaurant, it ishttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/398402425/seabass-from-indoor-market.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/398402425" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/09/seabass-from-indoor-market.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-3674462777184964510Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:16:00 +00002008-08-25T11:35:18.676+01:00WonderBirminghamChinese foodThe new page of this week is a review of the restaurant Edward Moon in Stratford-upon-Avon. Edward Moon From this week we will go for a vacation in Greece for 2 weeks and, consequently, I won't be writing about Birmingham for this period and maybe a bit longer, as I should write about Greece somewhere else instead. Before I go, I want to show you a dish I had in Malaysian Delight in http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/378734700/new-entry-from-18th-to-25th-august-2008.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/378734700" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-entry-from-18th-to-25th-august-2008.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-4401660369423519518Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:01:00 +00002008-08-24T09:12:09.523+01:00Sweet stuffIndian sweetsPakistani foodI bought a box of Pakistani sweets from a confectionery shop in Balti Triangle. I asked a guy in the shop to mix a bit of everything for £5. Actually he put more than that (about £5.20). I was about to pay that sum, but the guy told me not to worry about it and charged me only £5. I remember this, not because I was happy to save 20p, but from the way he did it, I sensed that he was proud of http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/373629650/pakistani-milky-sweets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/373629650" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/pakistani-milky-sweets.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-8719893778710286125Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:22:00 +00002008-08-17T20:36:33.421+01:00WonderBirminghamNew entry of the week is another report about dim sum lunch at Golden Pond in Arcadian Centre, Birmingham Chinatown. Birmingham Restaurant Guide Golden Pond (the 9th visit) I have written so much about the dim sum of Golden Pond. I hope this one is excused since the past entry was written some time ago. I wish a good week to everyone.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/373039193/new-entry-from-11th-17th-august-2008.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/373039193" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-entry-from-11th-17th-august-2008.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-4413282705041635751Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:42:00 +00002008-08-13T21:23:38.357+01:00Japanese foodBirmingham restaurantsThe other day, passing through The Mailbox, I found this board. Shogun Sushi and Noodle Bar in The Mailbox has always offered all-you-can-eat sushi buffet for £10, but it used to be only for lunch time. Evidently, now, it is extended to all day, from 12 noon to 11 in the evening everyday (except Sunday, finishing at 10 o'clock). There is 10% obligatory service charge on the final bill (it is http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/366526392/1010-sushi-at-shogun-sushi-bar.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/366526392" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/1010-sushi-at-shogun-sushi-bar.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-3909921588425649414Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +00002008-08-10T20:33:34.788+01:00Sweet stuffIndian sweetsPakistani foodYesterday I tried falooda for the first time. I have been wanting to try it for a long time, but never had the chance. Then, finally, I made up my mind. (For those who doesn't have a clue about falooda, try wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falooda ) This is where I bought it: Yaardgar in Indoor Market. This is a sister outlet of the Yaardgar at the beginning of the Ladypool Road in Balti http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/362079429/falooda.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/362079429" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/falooda.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-7072195445732438856Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:49:00 +00002008-08-10T19:58:08.766+01:00WonderBirminghamNew entry of the week is a review of Dragon BBQ in Five Ways We did not have BBQ, but only the lunch buffet for £5.50. As you can see, I am still writing about the places we visited in July; and I still have to write 2 other pages. And in August, we are not eating out very often because we are under the credit crunch regime... Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. It is not true. We are just saving for our http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/362079430/new-entry-from-3rd-to-10th-august-2008.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/362079430" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-entry-from-3rd-to-10th-august-2008.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-4373452936429201880Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:32:00 +00002008-08-10T09:21:53.033+01:00Polish foodMiddle Eastern foodBirmingham restaurantsYesterday, passing Bristol Street in the bus, I saw Beirut Lebanese restaurant closed with a piece of paper attached on the door. So, today, I went there to check what is written. This is the announcement. Probably it is difficult to read, so I summerise. It says the management has decided to replace the Lebanese restaurant by a fast food shop. The closure is dated the 3 August, so our last http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/360714562/beirut-has-gone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/360714562" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/beirut-has-gone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-1368761764805857473Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:46:00 +00002008-08-07T21:14:11.470+01:00Sweet stuffBreadI don't like so much Starbuck's coffee, not to mention sugar-infested, artificially scented milky coffee-like drinks, but from time to time, we go to the brunch in Martineau Square, because we can enjoy coffee on the first floor terrace in the open air without being annoyed by street dust and noise. The other day, we had also this sweet bread called Very Berry Swirl. It, in fact, was pretty http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/360714563/very-berry-swirl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/360714563" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/very-berry-swirl.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-7549550655875431832Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:50:00 +00002008-08-05T20:55:12.922+01:00New OpeningFive WaysFish and ChipsBirmingham restaurantsRecently we moved from Bearwood to Five Ways. OK. Not exactly in Five Ways, but 15-20 min walk from there. So, now, Broadway Plaza is just 15 min walk away from our flat. The building is pretty interesting. Red brick-y and imposing. And coming close, we realised it used to be Chilren's Hospital. It is hard to see, but in the first line "Children's Hospital", in the second, "Broadway", and http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/360714564/broadway-plaza-great-british-eatery.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/360714564" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/broadway-plaza-great-british-eatery.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-1515083712911261532Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:32:00 +00002008-08-03T08:06:50.032+01:00WonderBirminghamIt has been a long time since last time I uploaded an new item. This time I have an excuse! (but excuses are never something to proud of! ha ha). I have been moving to a new flat and I did not have time and, for some time, internet connection from home. But last week, finally I managed to upload a page, which I am afraid isn't a good news. Birmingham Restaurant Guide Beirut Unfortunately http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/355016247/new-entry-from-18th-july-to-2nd-august.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/355016247" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-entry-from-18th-july-to-2nd-august.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-6235522780965347561Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:36:00 +00002008-08-02T20:49:39.834+01:00Persian foodWhen I visit Middle Eastern Grocers (there are many in Birmingham), I often buy tin food. Not the ingredients, but those ready-to-eat food that I can just open the tin to eat. I have tried some sometimes with success and sometimes less of it. This one I bought from Pers on Hagley road was a successful attempt. It is a rather large tin, and cost me £1.29 as you see in the photo. It is Gheymeh http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/355016249/persian-food-in-tin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/355016249" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/persian-food-in-tin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-4767525827015511925Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:05:00 +00002008-08-02T18:39:42.687+01:00Japanese foodBirmingham restaurantsWoktastic, a new restaurant in Paradise Forum, received a glowing review on Metro newspaper on the 30th July. It got 4 out of 5 points. Evidently it is a "Japanese" (Woktastic website calles its food more appropriately "fusion Japanese") restaurant somewhere between Wagamama and YO!sushi, offering ramen noodles, kare (curry in Japanese), teppan-yaki as well as belt-conveyor sushi dishes. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/355016250/metros-woktastic-review.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/355016250" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/08/metros-woktastic-review.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-1702178863460979065Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:26:00 +00002008-08-02T20:08:02.818+01:00Chinese foodChinatownAs it happened last Saturday, we could not go out to have lunch in Chinatown because of rain this Saturday either. Damn! But, eventually, we went out and, being quite unable to eat something Chinese, I decided to take out a Chinese roast from one of Cantonese places in Chinatown. I am not particularly keen on the spices used for the Chinese roast, but today I wanted to eat duck, so I http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/347488363/chinese-roast-duck.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/347488363" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/07/chinese-roast-duck.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-7246437312628414021Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:56:00 +00002008-07-19T13:16:16.538+01:00movingWe are moving out of the flat where we have lived for 4 years, and we must do various cleanings. One of them is to dry-clean curtains. We have two sets of curtains (4 pieces in total). They are not luxurious curtains, and after more than 5 years of use (when we moved in, they were already used for more than 1 year), it looks better buying new ones than cleaning, but, as the landlord wants us to http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/347488364/clearning-curtains.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/347488364" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/07/clearning-curtains.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-6446990543964634866Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:07:00 +00002008-07-17T21:57:22.880+01:00WonderBirminghamBrindley PlaceWell, I am getting lazy these days, but I did upload one page in these days! Birmingham Restaurant Guide City Cafe I went to City Cafe for lunch. If the food is not the tastiest food you can buy, the lunch course offer delivers very good value for money, and the service staff is perfectly pleasant. Thumb up.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/339442034/new-entry-from-7th-to-17th-july.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/339442034" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-entry-from-7th-to-17th-july.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-6150442290015264692Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:00:00 +00002008-07-17T21:06:37.492+01:00BirminghamThe MailboxWhenever I go close to The Mailbox, I never fail to take a look at The Cube construction site. I am not sure if this photo do justice to how gigantic this site is. Difficult not to amaze. Really looking forward to see what will be realised here!http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/339442035/cube-construction-site.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/339442035" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/07/cube-construction-site.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498680578392758986.post-6471617704176100741Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:09:00 +00002008-07-15T22:32:55.512+01:00New OpeningBullringcoffee shopOn the lowest level of Selfridge's in Bullring, there used to be Cafe Nero. It was spacious, and often not too crowded, so we often went there. Unfortunately it was closed a couple of months maybe, and the space has been occupied by luggage selling area. Last weekend, I saw Starbucks occupying the place where Cafe Nero used to be. It looks less airy and spacious than before, and definitely http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~3/339442036/starbucks-in-selfridges-too.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (mesogeia)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BirminghamLife/~4/339442036" height="1" width="1"/>http://birmin.blogspot.com/2008/07/starbucks-in-selfridges-too.html