Dishoom and Glasgow and Markets! Oh my!

You'd think finishing all your coursework and not having any exams in December would be great! And it is! Except that it isn't... With nothing to officially hand in until January, it's very hard to maintain motivation. Not just for the literature review I have due in January, but--more importantly--revising course materials I did not fully grasp. Because the five or six exams I'll have in May are going to come awfully quick. Coursework aside, there are many other things I'd like to accomplish over the holiday, such as read the (for fun) books on my shelf and/or edit another couple chapters of my novel. But watching Netflix is so much easier.

I very much doubt you're interested in my lack of motivation or even what I'm currently watching on Netflix (RuPaul's Drag Race). The reason the paragraph above exists is so you can judge me--or I can imagine you judging me--which (I hope) will motivate me to actually do the things I said I want to do. But I don't want that to be the focus of this post, so here are some highlights from the past week:

Sunrise Over Waverley

On Friday night I went to the soft opening of Dishoom, a new Indian restaurant in town, with a group of friends. Now, I'm not a huge foodie or a big fan of typographical exclamation but, HOLY EXPLETIVE THAT WAS THE BEST DINING EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!! We queued outside the restaurant for about an hour, throughout which headsetted staff came around with trays of warm chai and Sherry, free of charge. Once inside, we were handed a table pager and directed to the bar downstairs. The table pager's ID could be used to open a tab, which would be added to the final bill after dinner. The hour of fantastic cocktails, conversation, and anticipation flew by. The pager flashed and buzzed. We sashayed to the elevator and were whisked into it by another headsetted staff member, who, as the elevator door closed, we heard say into her headset, "Party of six, approaching the dining room. I repeat, party of six, approaching the dining room!" We were seated at our table just over two hours after joining the queue. Our server's small-talk game was strong, incredibly friendly, and showed zero signs of stress considering how busy the restaurant was. Each family-style plate came out as it was ready. I didn't realise how bland the food I'd been eating for the past two months was until the explosion of flavours and spices in every perfectly-cooked bite at Dishoom. We knew coming in that everything on the menu was half-price for the soft open. But when our server brought the bill, he surprised us by saying he'd taken off the round of drinks we had downstairs. In summary:

Total wait time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

12 drinks, 6 appetizers/sides, 6 mains: £11 + tip, per person

Sharing an evening of delicious food with amazing friends: Priceless

The next day, most of the Dishoom group woke up bright and early for a day-trip to Glasgow. There was a little confusion over bus tickets and I ended up paying slightly more than I would have had I gotten tickets online instead of at the bus station, but a round-trip ticket was still only £11 and everyone ended up on the same bus in the end. Alongside photo-bombing basic white girl selfies, discussions of typical television shows in Germany and the U.S., and glaring at anyone who tried to use the on-bus toilet, it was all just part of the experience.

We didn't really have any plans or specific things to see in Glasgow apart from the Christmas Market so for the first hour we wandered around the main shopping streets. It surprised us how much bigger Glasgow actually is and feels compared to Edinburgh. Glasgow-proper has a population just over 600,000 whereas Edinburgh is only 464,000. The entire metro area populations for Glasgow and Edinburgh are 2.3 million and 1.3 million, respectively (Wikipedia).

After lunch at a place called "Bread Meats Bread," we wandered a while longer before settling on a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). Entrance is free and we were lucky enough to get a free tour. The art itself wasn't all that great--probably because I just don't get it--but the building was impressive and has a rich history. At the end of the tour, our guide informed us of a gallery opening that evening and encouraged us to attend, if only for the free glass of wine. We did end up going, had our free glass of wine and a lovely chat with the artist's father. But throughout the whole thing I felt rather out of place. I could appreciate the time that must have gone into creating the pieces, but, standing next to a real artsy-type person praising a pair of underpants splattered with paint and draped from a canvas... I just don't get it.

GoMA - the Statue in front is of the Duke of Wellington.
The cone on his head is an icon and tradition of Glasgow
representing the humour of its people.

Glasgow Christmas Market

Other Glasgow highlights include a stroll along River Clyde and an evening at the Christmas Market. As enjoyable as the Glasgow Christmas Market is, I think it pales in comparison to the Edinburgh Christmas Market. Both have fantastic food and tasty treats--the food at the Glasgow one might even be a little better--but Edinburgh's Christmas Market is simply so much larger.

One thing's for sure: the Scots know how to get in the Christmas Spirit. And, judging from the four times I've been to Christmas Markets in the last week, I'd say I'm right at home.

I've an exciting month of travelling and good food ahead, so--just like my waistline--this blog will be bursting at the seams.

Stay informed. -NLD