Flight Time / September 2016

18 / 132

18 SEPTEMBER
Sam on…
LONDON
AARDVARK, LONDON ZOO
What’s your connection
to London? When did
you first go there and
what were your initial
impressions?
It was 2009, it was really scary
and it was overwhelming. It
was miserable, it was dark, it
was raining and the sun went
down at four in the afternoon
and I was like “Yeah, this is
not for me.” At first I was just
really shocked, then I worked it
out and it became this amazing
city – it kept opening up and
opening up, with more new
things, and now I know where
my places are, what makes me
happy there. At first, though,
I was layering up because it’s
all cold outside, then suddenly
you find yourself on the Tube,
sweating like an animal, saying
“What’s going on here?” Then
I worked out how amazing and
convenient the Tube actually
is, now I’m all ‘pro-Tube’. Love
the Tube!
How would you spend a
perfect day in London?
If it was a Saturday, I’d go off
to London Fields, if it was a
lovely day. I would eat my way
through the market then I’d just
go curl up in a pub. Not head
off to a West End musical at
all, basically. Or I’d go hang
out at the Soho Theatre later
that night – there are always
interesting people there and
just weird stuff. Soho Theatre is
just a gem.
Where would you
recommend for eating or
drinking in London?
Koya Bar in Soho, on Frith
Street, which is an udon noodle
bar. I’ve spent a lot of time in
Japan and it’s the best udon
and tempura I’ve had outside
of Tokyo. It’s reasonable, too.
They do get queues there, but
going at odd times like four in
the afternoon is really good.
Also, Cây Tre on Dean Street in
Soho has amazing Vietnamese
food. In Australia, Vietnamese
is almost like our national
dish. Do you know pho? A
Vietnamese noodle soup, it’s
very cleansing and refreshing
– you can have it in very hot
weather and also in very cold
weather. I miss it so much – the
food here is all creamy soup
and cheese sandwiches…
Can you name three places
that visitors should see or
do on a visit to London?
There are aardvarks at London
Zoo. I’d never seen them
before, but I could sit there for
four hours and watch them.
Also, the dromedary camels –
they look like aliens – they’re
really ugly and beautiful and
alien at the same time.
Secondly, the canals in East
London – I can thoroughly
recommend getting lost on the
canals and wandering around,
finding little cafes, looking at
weird ducks, and stuff like that.
My other recommendation is
to rock up to a show at Soho
Theatre, it’s always cheap,
and the programming is really
fascinating. I’m a big fan of
that. You could have some
strange comedian from Japan,
a really interesting theatre piece
that confuses you, or an art
installation that’s quite shocking
– it’s a really amazing mixture
of everything that is London.
What’s your best-kept
secret for London?
It’s the aardvarks. I’m trying
to think if there really is a
secret – I mean, I know where
there’s really good WiFi. Would
you like to know that? It’s on
Tottenham Court Road, and
it’s a furniture shop, Habitat –
there’s a café that no-one’s at
– with really strong WiFi, really
good coffee, in the middle of
this furniture department store.
Excellent.
LONDON UNDERGROUND KOYA BAR