Asian Delights

I was wandering around Notting Hill today when I discovered an Asian community--in the American sense.

In Britain, Asian refers to someone or something of Indian, Pakistani, etc. descent. So, strictly speaking, I am not Asian in the British sense. I haven't learned the British name for someone like myself--maybe East Asian?

So today, I found an area with Chinese dim sum, Thai, Japanese sushi, etc. I stopped by a market called something like "Oriental Shop" (yikes) and was excited by the familar goods sold there. Even after spending last autumn semester in this city, I didn't know items like shrimp chips, Hichew, and Japanese gummi candy could be obtained in London.

Here's a visual summary of my purchases:

From left to right: Peach tea, aloe vera juice, boba!, Thai green curry and roti canal pancakes.

Clearly, I hail from the West coast; Chinese shops/food/people and Spanish speakers feel really familiar and 'homey.'