The Melting Pot of Cultures: London Review

By Sam Avila

In Midwestern America, the diversity of foods is limited to certain areas of the world: American, Mexican, or Chinese foods. There’s hardly any push towards building more restaurants that cater to other cultures. Aside from American customs, the United Kingdom’s sudden change in cultural representation completely took me by surprise.

The moment that where spoon meets noodle perfectly captivated my taste buds with varieties of taste.

Now, the spice from the broth did become too overpowering for my poor tongue. However, the combination of red pepper, steamed gyoza, and the crispy sweetness of chicken will always swoon me over college dining hall foods.

Wagamama:

The opportunity of trying a full ramen bowl latched onto my attention immediately. The savory smell of roasted pork, topped with a fresh, spicy pepper alongside a serving of a hard-boiled egg yolk enticed my taste buds. The noodles gave such main character energy without?

Caffe Tropea:

One of my greatest opportunities throughout this trip, BY FAR, was eating my first English-style Breakfast at Caffe Tropea.

Although the Strathmore Hotel did have some options for English-style Breakfast, their version could not top this monumental form.

Ok, I might be exaggerating a lot over this meal but, for my first experience in Europe, taking over the show. it was a change in culture with eating this cuisine.

Different thoughts came to my mind. The individual spices’ combined flavor filled up my mouth. Nothing at all like in Lawrence! Sure, there are several places in the area where you can find ramen noodle bowls (even just ramen noodle cups in a store nearby), but this was the true, pinnacle form of a ramen noodle bowl. Perfectly captivating my mouth with varieties of emotional, ecstatic happiness as confetti flew across my vision.

I could not take my eyes off of how amazingly tasty these combinations were. The simple sunny-side egg, pork sausage, and a side of mushrooms topped with a buttered sourdough bread left my mouth with an explosion of flavor.

That strong, delicious sausage skin connecting with creamy and gooey texture of egg yolk dripping down. How could the creaminess of this yolk be that good? It had to be a crime for sure. for the plate. I could not ever imagine how the grilled slice of lemon contributed towards the salmon’s tasty flow.

Not just the egg yolk coming in to shine, but the freaking baked beans stole the show. Like come on, really Britain? Baked beans with eggs, tomatoes, pork sausage, and mushrooms? You are tripping!

However, their soft texture created a balance of the yolk mixed with the hardness of the freshly grilled tomato and chopped mushrooms. The beans inched towards the pork sausage and hugged it gently; the perfect combo of flavor.

Now this dish, among all others that I have tried before, was the pinnacle of food. Or as I like to call it, the Madonna of All Dishes; easily beating my number one spot. I would highly recommend this dish to ANYONE. The Englishstyle breakfast is truly a must-have for foreigners coming into the UK.

Even the size of the oval-shaped bowl holding the green beans nearly towered over the entire salmon and plank! It added to the already creative energy of the dish, almost in a fantasylike setting.

From these moments, I would repeat each of them just to capture that experience again! The freshly cut meat, delicious usage of spices, and the careful attention to detail with presentation. The dedication for each dish was a phenomenal touch to the London experience!

Two Truths And A Lie

Hard Rock Café, London Version:

I know what you are thinking right now…this is not exactly a cultural dish per se. And although it is not one, it was STILL a mouthwatering treasure to discover and behold.

The sweet, savory salmon meeting the mashed potatoes with green beans on the top felt like paradise. The addition of the plank holding the salmon was an interesting touch by myself near the last day of the trip

See Page 97 for Answer Key

What was the most disappointing part of the trip?

Kensington Palace because I honestly thought you would get to see more stores/attraction places within the area besides the museums. They did have a few stores, but they were mainly gardening/food stores.

Sammi Davis is a junior at the University of Kansas studying English with a minor in Spanish. She serves on the writing team for HerCampus at KU and is a part of ThriveKU. In her free time, Sammi loves reading the latest BookTok phenomenon, trying out restaurants with her friends, picking up new crafty hobbies, and drinking way too much caffeine. Her favorite London experience was visiting the British Library which had several original copies of works by famed British authors on display.

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