The place for lunch our last day in London was Veeraswamy. The oldest Indian restaurant in London was founded in 1926 by Edward Palmer, a retired Indian Army officer and the great-grandson of an Indian Moghul Princess who was married to Private Secretary for the first Governor-General of India. It was located at the second floor of the building on a busy street with shoppers, close to Piccadilly Circus. The interior - golden wall and colorful glass hanging lights and chandeliers - was supposed to evoke Maharaja's palaces of the 1920's.
We ordered two curry dishes. One was Lamb Kundan Kaliya from Indian Royal recipes. 'Kundan' means golden, 'Kalia' means meat. Saffron creates the golden color of the dish while Veeraswarmy's Lamb Kundan Kaliya emphasized its royal stately with gold leaf. The lamb shanks were tender and the sauce was creamy but light and delicate. It was a little spicy for me, but the flavor was wonderful.
The other dish was vegetarian Paneer curry. The paneer was so soft, like silken tofu! Tomato sauce was fresh and bold. Pretty spicy (for me), too. We were glad to choose completely different curries.
Rice didn't come with the curry dish. You need to order it separately. It was just plain steamed rice, nothing special. The portion was small, though. I wished to have more to calm my spice-heated mouth down.
We also order a naan. It was simple and fluffy.
It was a lovely lunch indeed. The restaurant market in London must be very competitive. Veeraswamy, which awarded one Michelin star in 2016, has been clearly one of winners.
Before we appreciated the high-end classic Indian cuisine, we were on River Thames. As a London beginner, I wanted to see Tower Bridge. When I saw it, how happy I was! When I knew we could cross the bridge, I was so excited!
After crossing the bridge, I hoped to visit Tower of London that was just over the bridge.
However, on our way to Tower Bridge, we saw HMS Belfast sitting on the river. J's eye shined. He took me onto the Royal Navy cruiser.
And into the deep inside of the ship...
It took about 90 minutes to see the entire ship. After then, we crossed Tower Bridge, but unfortunately didn't have enough time to see Tower of London. HMS Belfast wasn't my original destination or my taste, but I admit that I enjoyed taking a picture of myself on Captain chair.
After Veeraswamy, we visited Harrods, London't famous department store. It was really a tourist trap. Hundreds of people pushing each other at the entrance and inside corridors. Both the massive building and crowds were overwhelming. I just took a couple of pictures of their famous stuffed bears and we left quickly.
Good bye, London! Hoping to see you (especially Tower of London) again soon!
