Glasgow

every time i get down to writing a post on exchange, it just seems so crazy long ago. ahhh. i miss those days. especially my last month of travelling. perhaps because it was nearing the end, perhaps because i was meeting people i haven't seen in months, i enjoyed that last month especially so :') and looking at these photos again just brings back so many memories from those times ^^

i was very happy to be hosted by dearest linwei while i was in glasgow! (: i totally didn't have to plan anything at all (perks of visiting people woohoo!) and so i can't remember for sure exactly where were the places we visited haha, but i will try my best! :p the area i visited in glasgow was pretty small, but it was a lovely place to be. my first city in the united kingdom! and i fell in love with the country :') the people, the atmosphere, the language. goshhh. especially london!!!! hee ^^

What to see in Glasgow

a rather unconventional place to be considered an attraction, but nonetheless outstanding, was the University of Glasgow campus! haha. apparently this place was the inspiration for JK Rowling's entire Harry Potter series! 

the Glasgow Botanic Gardens is the perfect place for an evening stroll after dinner and that is exactly what we did! it's a pretty huge park and therefore pretty much empty and spacious.

the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum is a magnificent building that is located right behind the university if i remember correctly! i didn't manage to visit because i didn't make it there during their opening hours, but it's free for entry and is apparently among the most visited attractions in the UK outside of london!

in terms of touring, i didn't really spend thaaat much time exploring glasgow. i was shopping for the most part hehe :P visit primark!!!! i actually preferred this outlet to london's oxford street one, even though it was about half the size. it is much less crowded here, and i probably went in and out of the changing room 10 times and the salesperson didn't even blink. no queues at all! ;)

on the other hand, my dear tummy had the most amazing gastronomic tour while i was here though ^^ just three days? and i had the most amazing food (especially seafooooood) since the start of my exchange :D

My foodie recommendations in Glasgow

there is this little street in Glasgow, called Ashton Lane, if i'm not wrong, where there are tonnes of bars/pubs, and is the hip street where all the youngsters hangout! plenty of options for good food & drinks here, so do check it out ^^

i particularly liked this restaurant with the most tongue-in-cheek name ever! - Ubiquitous Chip (: i love how restaurants in UK all have pre and post-theatre menus which offer value-for-money set meals that are more than enough to feed your belly ;) i swear i had a FEAST even with a two-course menu :D and i think the set menus change pretty frequently, which makes for a wide variety whenever you visit.

we started with an amuse bouche by the chef. aww so nice! ^^ i can't really remember what it was, so my description might be a lil' faulty, but i think it was the most adorable, tiniest pancake ever, topped with a piece of salmon and mayonnaise with a sprig of herb. i can't rmb what the black cube was, i think it was something i didn't like haha.

it was HILARIOUS how linwei and i had the EXACT same tastes for all of the dishes! hehe!!! we are so telepathic <3 and so it made for the perfect sharing experience ;) for starters, we had the grilled bream and confit chicken and black olive terrine. the grilled bream was done to perfection with its crisp skin and fluffy soft underside, and it came with a lovely smoked crab and apple consomme which tasted vaguely chinese!

the terrine was really interesting, and pretty tasty and i thought the anchovy aioli was a nice touch.

for the main, i had the pumpkin and almond pastilla, which was a deliciously interesting dish. kind of like a spring roll filled with a yummilicious filling! and i loved how the quinoa added a crunch to the dish, while the orange vinaigrette lent a tangy essence to finish off the whole dish. this dish had a middle-eastern taste to it, which was pretty exotic!

linwei had the pan fried orkeny organic salmon which was seared beautifully. looooved the crisp skin ^^ haha. and it sat atop a bed of lemon and parsley pearl barley which was super interesting! guess this is how westerners eat barley, unlike us who drink it in soup! so cool! it gave a toothsome bite to this dish, and was complemented by a pickled beetroot gel.

an extremely satisfying first meal in glasgow that i'll never forget! also loved the decor of this restaurant, which was chic, yet cosy! (: pre-theatre menu is priced at £15.95 for 2 courses and £19.95 for 3 courses and is from 5pm-6.30pm.

Ubiquitous Chip
12 Ashton Lane, Glasgow, Lanarkshire G12 8SJ
Tel.: +44 0141 334 5007

another place where i had the most amazing food was at Two Fat Ladies. haha the name is hilarious!! and everything in the shop is branded with a logo of two fat ladies lol. i think it was because the unit number of the shop is '88', hence the resemblance to two fat ladies.

i had the FATTEST, JUICIEST, YUMMIEST mussels while i was in scotland!! they were absolutely unbeatable :O i didn't even know mussels existed in this size till i ordered them here!!!!

look at how fat and bouncy they were!! and oh-so-fresh :DDD we had this for our appetizer, and it came with a delicious white wine, bacon and cream sauce which we slurped up every bit of.

for our first main, we had the bacon wrapped chicken supreme stuffed with tomato and cream cheese in  a red wine reduction. it was sooooo good! :)) it was wonderfully delectable, the creamy flavours of the stuffing exploding in our mouths as we dug into the tender chicken. and the sweet-savoury red wine reduction was a delicious dressing for this dish ^^

the pan fried fillet of sea bass was a contrast to our previous main dish. simple, with a light pesto sauce and sweet potato mash on the side. it helped to balance out our other heavier main just nicely :)

we were so stuffed by then already, but we still had dessert!! here's a tip for you all, especially if it's a bunch of girls dining together - go for the two course meal, which is really filling enough, and order either an appetizer/dessert with your main and share! we had the most amazing dessert ever!! the chocolate and hazelnut pot. it came in the tiniest espresso cup ever, and i was a tad disappointed when it first arrived at our table. but gosh. it was like a bottomless pit!!! haha. kept eating and eating and it never seemed to end. and it was so yummy!!! luscious, mousse-y, creamy, rich chocolate, and topped with two tart raspberries on top which helped to cleanse our palate. such a scrumptious way to end the meal! (:

the two course pre-theatre set goes for £14.50 and the three course £16.50.

Two Fat Ladies

88 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6NX

Tel.: +44 0141 339 1944 

i had the most exotic breakfast ever in glasgow. haha. totally took a plunge here and tried something i would never ever eat otherwise!! - black pudding. see that black round thing on my plate? that's a BLOOD sausage. haha it sounded absolutely ghastly! and i was really quite hesitant about putting it in my mouth. but linwei assured me that it tasted nothing like blood, and since YOLO, i went for it! and guess what! it really wasn't too bad after all! it tasted nothing like a sausage, maybe somewhat like a liver patty or something like that. not something that i would eat again anytime soon, but i was really proud of myself for finishing it (Y). 

anyway, that was part of my Scottish breakfast (£3.19) at Wetherspoon. i love how UK is so health-friendly that they even have the number of calories of each dish written on the menu! makes it real easy for those who are following a strict caloric diet ;) no help for me who totally busted my limit with a 812cal breakfast though :P hahaha. but it was a really good hearty breakfast consisting of the black pudding, fried egg, Ramsay of Carluke Lorne sausage (kind of like a hash brown actually), baked beans, tomato and potato bread (loved this!!). and omg it was so affordable!!!! :O where on earth in singapore can you get a full breakfast for less than SGD$10?! you can't even get an eggs benedict with that. hehe happy! (Y)

we also ordered the eggs benedict (£3.49 - okay haha so it's more expensive than my big breakfast :p) which was done perfectly with tasty hollandaise sauce and a flowy yolk ^^

Weatherspoon

The Camperdown Place, 4/5 West George Street, Glasgow G2 1DR 

CHINESE FOOD!!!!!!! :") i was so damn freaking happy to find caifan in glasgow!!!!! omgggg. you have no idea how much i missed this after 4 months on exchange. i was literally gonna drool once i stepped into the restaurant and breathed in the smell of the food. there is a very good lunch deal for students where you get rice + any 3 dishes and free flow soup for just £5!!! how good is that! ^^ you can choose three meats even, and the price is still the same (haha whoops auntie-syndrome here). and the pile of rice is humongous (good for guys i suppose). omgosh the taste was sooooo good. it really did taste quite authentic! and the whole restaurant is filled with chinese, so you can be quite assured of its quality ;)

Crazy Wok
173 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6AA
Tel.: +44 0141 334 1888

so this wraps up my glasgow trip! ^^ but that's not all! this was just in glasgow itself and i took day trips to the scottish highlands and edinburgh too (: more posts coming right up!