A Week In London: Day 4 - Primark, Sketch, Book of Mormon

After getting excited and giddy from all the shopping down Covent Garden and Oxford Street the day before, we knew it was only a matter of time before we hit the legendary Primark!!!!!

Also because there was no way I could ever miss Primark, not when everyone from my sister to my girlfriends to random strangers on the internet and everyone's grandmama telling me I HAVE to hit Primark!!!!! So we allocated half a day to tawaf Primark and needless to say, my expectations were VERY, VERY HIGH. 

Dimulakan dengan bismillah~ 

Disudahi dengan alhamdullilah~ Hahahaha!

Sooooo what's my verdict on Primark?????

Uhmmm Primark is mengilakan like everyone claims but it's not as cheap as I expected?????

But ok la, probably because of my very melampau assumption that the "dirt cheap prices in Primark" everyone raves about would mean paying £2.00 to £4.00 for a good, solid dress or pair of pants hahahaha! I mean there are clothing pieces which cost £2.00 to £4.00 in Primark la but those are either of inferior quality (not an issue if you don't mind paying S$3.50 to S$7.00 for a piece of clothing that will fall apart after 2 to 3 washes) or... uhmmm, questionable design hahahahaha

But everything else in Primark can still considered cheap la, especially if compared to all of the other retail shops along Oxford Street. The much nicer pieces can cost between £10.00 to £20.00, (S$17.00 to S$34.00) and they have a pretty wide selection so I grabbed a couple of stuff off their racks, especially the ones that I think are worth their price tags or the kind of items I can't easily get in my size for cheap in Singapore, like pants (I don't like buying pants online because of varying fits). 

Oh, but if there is one thing I regret not buying more of, it's undergarments haha! Excuse to return to London, I guess??????? (Pergi London just to beli coli solalam kat Primark eh hahahahaha)

Melampau assumption aside, I did enjoy shopping in Primark very much and I do think that it is a legendary institution that everyone must go to at least once when they're in London! (Note: Go to Primark the minute it opens for business because lagi quiet and peaceful to shop when not many people around, and you tak payah queue bila nak try on baju or whatever.) Left the store very happy, went for a quick sushi pitstop and saw the most adorable sight outside the sushi stop:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA nak tumbuk muka kau pls.

Anyway. We had a very light lunch after hitting Primark because we were headed to the Gallery at Sketch for afternoon tea next!

SO CANTIK KAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok the pictures above are not by me ok, I lifted them off the internet to give a better visualization on how the restaurant is supposed to look like. I don't do Sketch justice in my pictures (below) so if you want to see prettier pictures, see the ones above or you can read this blog and this blog instead ok.

Right off the bat, I just want to say that I was very impressed by the staff who attended to us when we arrived - she asked whether we had any preferences or dietary restrictions so I asked her whether there was any pork or lard in the food they served. A look of realization flashed on her face for just a millisecond before she assured us there weren't any pork or lard in the food, and told us that she will remove the pastry which contains alcohol from our set as well (even before I mentioned anything!). She also skipped the part where she had to ask us about wine/champagne preferences, and removed the wine glasses off our table without us requesting her to. 

From my one question, she immediately figured out why I asked about pork and lard and made changes without fuss. I would've told her we didn't want anything with alcohol after that first question anyway but for her to cepat tangkap, use her own initiative, and take that extra step tanpa disuruh... akak applaud and akak approve pls!

Also I just want to mention that Sketch is not officially halal-certified but you can tell them to switch the food items which have meat and alcohol in them. Besides us, there was another group of Muslims who dined here as well (it's obvious because they're Arabs in their head-scarfs and black traditional abayas haha) If you're particular about them preparing food where there are other meats or alcohol then don't dine here and go somewhere else ok. Or kalau kau takde kerja and nak buang duit, you can pay just to masuk their uber cool toilet hahahaha:

It's iconic on its own and often touted as one of the best or most quirky toilets in the world hehe (read this and this). You do your business in the futuristic egg-shaped pods! Although it just feels like any other toilet in the world once you're inside la hahaha, toilet kat Tokyo lagi best and futuristic actually, got seats that are automatically warmed and various flushing and washing functions.

Love love LOVE everything about Sketch; from the assortment of sandwiches and pastries and cakes to the yummy flavourful teas, from the gorgeous ambience and impeccable service. Also the highlight for me were their warm buttery scones! Saliheen and I asked for an extra one to share because we couldn't get enough. This is yet another place I will re-visit if I ever return to London ♥

If you're interested to go, must make reservations on their online booking system (here) ok! Afternoon tea at the Gallery (Sketch has other themed areas with different names) costs £45.00 (S$77.00) per person - sounds steep but I think the food, service and experience is worth it if you are a big fan of afternoon tea. All of the sandwiches and cakes and pastries and teas are free flow so lantak la kau sampai muntah 7 hari 7 malam. 

Took an Uber back to the apartment to rest and wash up, then we headed out to The Prince of Wales Theater to watch The Book of Mormon! I wanted to watch Wicked at first but a friend left a comment recommending Book of Mormon on my Instagram so I did a little research - the plotline and humour sounded like something up my and Saliheen's alley so we booked the tickets online. Lagipun why would we ever want to miss out the chance to watch a musical comedy that won 9 Tony Awards including 'Best Musical' amirite?????

No freaking regrets because it was an amazing performance please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be honest I was still a little apprehensive even when we were settling down into our seats because I wasn't sure what to expect expect but after the opening song was performed, I immediately KNEW I was going to have a fantastic evening and end the day on a high. Sample of how the opening song looks and sounds like:

So, so good. Everyone was cheering and whooping and clapping so hard after the opening song and rightfully so!!! The rest of the songs are memorable too - 'Hasa Diga Eebowai' was too catchy for its own good (haha!), I thought 'Turn It Off' was such a funny and well performed scene, and 'I Believe' was such a nice intense solo. Nak kena ada strong flawless vocals to belt it out beautifully seh!

I agree Book of Mormon might not be for everyone though, especially if you're an exhausting social justice warrior who is easily offended by everything and have a stick up your ass. Not the musical comedy for you if you are!!!!!!! Ok senang cakap, this musical comedy was written and produced by the same people behind South Park, so if you're the sort who gets offended by South Park's humour then THIS, IS. NOT. FOR. YOU. You can read some reviews here and here and here to get an idea what you're in for when you buy tickets to Book of Mormon.

For Saliheen and I, we both enjoy crude/dark humour and we loved every little bit of The Book of Mormon, vulgarities, political incorrectness and all. I thought Book of Mormon is so, so funny and clever and an amazing satire on the Mormon religion (and ultimately a dig at organized religion in itself). I have to admit the controversial baby rape joke did make me kind of uncomfortable though, that one's a little too tasteless, even for me haha.

I also didn't know how the ending was going to be and was so scared it'll be ruined by a bad or mediocre ending but when the ending happened, I just wanted to stand up and scream Bravo! BRAVO! The ending was brilliant, you guys, and I am forever happy I've watched Book of Mormon in my lifetime.

Dark lousy picture because Saliheen didn't want to lug around our camera to the musical haha

Can I just say that this day was my absolute favourite day in London? Because this was the day I did some of my favourite things in the world - I went on a shopping spree at Primark, I drank teas and ate scones with my husband in an aesthetically pleasing and artistic space and then we ended the evening with a trip to a theater to watch a highly entertaining musical. Ahhhhhh what a perfect, perfect day ♥

Tapi tau tak what would have made it even more perfect??????? Kalau menang cabutan bertuah bernilai satu juta dolar HAHAHAHAHA TIBA TIBA EH TAKDE LINK HAHAHA OK BAI