I live close to Holland Park and actually have many slow lunches and early dinners there whenever the weather permits. Sometimes, it would just be takeaway and a cheap bottle from nearby shops; occasionally, like yesterday, there would be something more elaborate-ish, like roll out the picnic blanket, make some food from home, bring the ice bucket and spend the entire evening there lazing and soaking up the sun.
When I was young, a picnic with family was the standard title of many compositions at school, an activity that never really sprung out of the paper. It’s always something that only existed in workbook, waiting for us inexperienced Malaysian kids to fill up the blank with our imaginative picnic baskets, home-made sandwiches and fruity squash under a leafy tree in the park or a quiet corner at the sandy beach. Truth is, we Malaysian kids never go on picnics. With a scorching high temperature throughout the year and a common misconception about fair skin, why would we?
My lazy Saturday started with a morning walk to get some fresh air, baguette and fruits. A few candid snaps along the way later, I went home to make sandwiches and load up the picnic bag.
Ready to find a spot in the park!
On the picnic blanket: A bottle of apple and pear sparkling juice (label said “A delicious grown-up soft drink” & I was in), some BBQ chicken from M&S to start, cheese and ham sandwich and summer fruits to finish…except the grapes of course. It’s always acceptable to have grape, isn’t it? Any time of the year, like how it’s always okay to have a glass of wine.
Or two.
An afternoon like this really cheered me up a lot.
Not feeling quite satisfied after a few hours of healthy-snacking and people-watching, we decided to pop into Café Tarte and have something slightly more buttery and sugary.
A cuppa, a mini apple tart and a large slice of baked cheesecake later, I skipped home happily with a much much better mood.
Consider this well-planned Lazy Saturday a success.
Hope you have a lovely week ahead.
With love x