Episode 6 -- "Things are looking up"
It had been an unusually hot summer for Londoner. Normally, the skies are gray, the wind is damp and the roads are misty with moisture. This year was the exception. We had shining sun, dry hot wind and no rainy weather. We thanked our good fortune for enjoying such lovely weather.
We left the country style Covent Garden and went to the legendary Harrods department store. Harrods is famous for its high-end brand-name merchandise, but the death of Princess Diana with the son of Harrods owner together in an automobile accident brought up a lot of gossips and rumours. The fact that a shrine was built in the basement of the store encourage the notorious fame of the rumours. The British monarchy could not allow such scandal and they denied every bit of news about the lovers. It looked the more you want to cover, the more interest is generated. Nowadays, the shrine becomes a must see tourist spot. People were taking pictures in front of the shrine with strange gesture making the whole thing like a circus.
Harrods is also famous for its display of food. There is a whole floor dedicated to food. The fruits are fresh and arranged in an array of colors. The meats are all 
trimmed to the cleanest look and the fat is just minimal encasing the meats. The jams are from all over the world. There used to be a mango, orange chutney and this service was discontinued [may be lack of interest] the cakes are phenomenal. There are oyster bars, steaks, seafood stands, French cuisine, pasta section; all these are part of the food hall.
The prices at Harrods are also incredible. They charge 4P for 1 single rock oyster, 19P for 100g of steak. I am not bold or crazy to pay such prices for a piece of meat which looks like rib-eye. The Brits are not famous for their beef. They are more efficient with their lamb.
I was hungry after all those temptation. We started strolling the street and we found Thai food, Indian curry, Italian pasta house, burger joints; the choice is so many. The UK seems to have a control on their prices. I found the prices in general have become cheaper. May be the competition or may be the price pass the threshold of what people can afford and they have to adjust. It should be good for tourists.
We came upon a French restaurant with French windows. It looked clean and modern and they offered 12P for a 2 course dinner. That was a sweet deal. The restaurant carried the name of ‘Aubaine'.
Aubaine is godsend, chance of a life time. It also means ‘everything you want to try but were afraid to’. We stood in line, got a table and started looking at the menu. It was a simple menu. Grilled cod was the instant favourable. I picked the duck and chicken terrine. We chose a white but the server said it was not chilled and we got a
bottle of red instead. It might be odd to pair fish with a red but we can do whatever while on holiday.
The food came. The fish was rather impressive. It was done just right; still moist in the inside. No one could argue about this fish. It was simple, wholesome food.
We got our share of good food and good wine and started walking home. We passed a Wholefood store on our way home. Wholefood also handles slight high-end food items and they have a food court too. That we should try. The bars were still busy. People were still walking around. Simplicity is always the best and yet the hardest to show its beauty. You take an egg. If you are required to cook the perfect sunny side up egg [meaning the egg – both white and yolk have to be hot; no burning on the edges] then it would not be so easy. Then everyone has to be good and working in harmony.