0
0
Something new for us today – we were trying out a Gourmaze called The Talisman’s Treats. David and Kirsty had bought us a voucher for Christmas so we were looking forward to giving this a go.
Track an ancient mystery through the buzzing alleys of Soho, London.Solve cryptic WhatsApp clues to unlock three Asian street-food dishes plus a side, as you weave from Fitzrovia to Covent Garden.
Your guide is Confucius the ancient Chinese philosopher. He was brought back to share wisdom and mischief, and reveal a Golden Rule to those who earn it.
We hadn’t really explored this area of London, north of Oxford Street before so were looking forward to having an explore. We were told that The Crown & Sceptre pub in Fitzrovia was the starting point … and we would get clues messaged to us on our phones as we made our way around … with a couple of food stops on the way.
Once at Paddington, we headed to the new entrance for the Bakerloo line, just outside the Station Entrance, to go straight to Oxford Street. With 8 or more exits, it was a case of working out where we needed to be. It’s been a long time since we last went to Oxford Street … and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the shops were occupied and busy. We headed north and soon found the Crown & Sceptre pub. We were early and settled in for a drink before we started our Gourmaze adventure.
A little after 12, Callum started our adventure. It was all down over Whatsapp. Callum was our leader for today and would be “talking” to the Chinese philosopher, Confucius. We were the Terracotta Gourmets. Jon and I were added to the chat so we could follow the instructions. The clues were a little cryptic and subtle but we worked our way around following the clues. It was really surprising how each of us interpreted the clues as some we had very different ideas. We worked it out in the end!
This area was full of little restaurants – we may well be back at a later date to explore a little more. We eventually found our first eating place – Ugly Dumpling. We would get three dumplings served on a bed of noodles. If we wanted a seat, we would also need to buy a drink. Each each chose a different flavour – Callum the Chicken Satay, I had the Oriental Duck and Jon the Prawn & Chive and swapped so we had one of each. They were amazing – and it’s somewhere we’ll be back to eat again. Before we left, we were given a fortune cookie with some information that we would need at the end of the trail.
Back on the trail and we were winding our way around Oxford Street and the outskirts of Covent Garden to our next food place. I didn’t realise just how close Oxford Street was to here.
The next restaurant turned out to be Sushi – Jon was a little disappointed as Sushi is not his thing. It was half a sushi roll each. Callum chose Teriyaki Steak and Jon the Popcorn chicken. The place was a little bit like Subway but with sushi. It was fascinating to watch the servers make and prepare everyone’s food. There looked to be far more food than will fit in the rolls, but somehow they made it fit.
We managed to stop the servers adding pickled ginger to our rolls. Very little seating inside so we stood on the street outside to eat. The steak sushi was OK. Jon did not enjoy his – Callum finished one half and I pulled out the popcorn chicken from the other half – I had had enough seaweed for today!
The next part of the trail took us to the edge of Leicester Square and into China Town. This part of town was bustling. After China Town we were back on familiar territory. We walked past The Arts Theatre (where we had seen Bonnie & Clyde and Hold On To Your Butts) and the Agatha Christie statue. We all commented when we walked past the Seven Dials Market that we had been meaning to go and eat there at some point.
We finally made it to the end point and needed the clue from the fortune cookie to solve. Right first time and we finished the trail in 78 minutes 22 seconds with no penalty points and no additional clues. We didn’t know if this was good or bad or how it compared to others. Time to try our final food treat of the day. They were a little messy but really good. I had tried them before at a place in Newbury and did not enjoy so I was pleasantly surprised by how nice they were.
It was warm and humid in London so we decided to head head back home – were pretty full from the food around the trail so no need to find somewhere for a bite to eat. Our train tickets restricted the trains we would catch from Paddington at rush hour. Callum piped up – Follow Me … and lead us to Tottenham Court Road where we could get on the Elizabeth Line that would take us all the way to Reading. It took about an hour as it stopped everywhere. By the time we reached Reading, it had started to rain!! The first meaningful rain in 2 months!! Luckily, the train to Thatcham was already in so we didn’t get wet … and by the time we reached Thatcham, it had stopped.
A massive thank you to David and Kirsty for an inspired Christmas Present. We really enjoyed our day in London.
