A magical city where classical ambiance blends perfectly with modern vibes.

After graduating from William Angliss Institute in March 2018, I set off on a quest to find the next best thing in the culinary world. Seemed like I had got an insatiable appetite for learning about food—which I still do!

After delving into some research, my choice finally landed upon the most prestigious culinary school, the infamous Le Cordon Bleu. I was drawn to its two courses. The first course I chose was the boulangerie course focusing solely on bread, while the second course comprised of gastronomy, nutrition and food trends. Although Le Cordon Bleu had institutes spread all over the world, fortunately for me, they only hold these two courses in London! 

Finally, I flew to the homeland of Her Highness in July 2018.

Surely I did not expect that my life was going to be changed forever within the short six months living there!

First of all, I had a great experience in school. The gastronomy and nutrition course really changed my viewpoint upon food. We were taught how to be more aware of what we consume, how our diet affected the environment, and keeping up with the culinary world trend. I also found that my classmates were super into healthy foods, promoting sustainability and all other positive behaviours! 

But on top of everything, I rediscovered how delight could come from the smallest things!

For instance, I was not expecting a 30-minute walk from my place in Shoreditch to Le Cordon Bleu could bring me so much enjoyment! The neighborhoods I passed by and the vibe it radiated made me always look forward to going to school on weekdays.

During my spare time, I would often go to my favorite place, the Borough Market. On my way there, I could enjoy the magnificent view of London Bridge and admire the gorgeous Tower Bridge from inside the iconic red double-decker bus number 43.

There was this bakery in Borough Market, called the Bread Ahead, where they sold the most terrific doughnut for all doughnut enthusiasts. When I had got leisure time in the morning, I often found myself strolling the market with a cup of coffee in one hand and a piece of Bread Ahead’s doughnut in the other. With the beautiful view of Tower Bridge, it could easily be the most wonderful morning I had ever spent in London.

If by any chance I’m not at the Borough Market, you could probably catch me walking around Columbia Road Flower Market. It is the place to find the freshest flowers all around London. I really enjoyed spending my sunday morning here, picking up flowers to decorate my small student accommodation. During Christmas’ Eve, many Londonders would collect pine trees to decorate their houses. 

Speaking of Christmas, every year in Hyde Park from mid of November, Winter Wonderland is held! Drinking mulled wine and eating hot churros while hopping around different rides with snowflakes painting the sky would give you the true joyous Christmas experience.

Also, if you have an artistic appreciation, I highly recommend going to the theatres. The actual theatre, not a movie theatre. My sister and I got a chance to experience Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and we had goosebumps all throughout. Prior to the show, we spotted many little potterheads wearing their house crest scarf! It was truly a magical night.

Living there also made me realize how most Londoners had high environmental awareness and put genuine effort in practicing sustainable lifestyle, which I really adore!

The city of London definitely exceeded my expectations! Being the famous movie set it was, London made me feel like I was living in a movie myself! Oh, please bring me back …