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Wandering Around Westfield London

9th March 2014 By Urvashi Roe 18 Comments

The definition of ‘shopping’ is ‘the purchase of goods from shops’.  Hmmm.  I think that pretty much sums it up.  With children in tow and work schedules I usually know what I want to buy, go into a specific shop and buy it – matching this definition pretty well.  But it’s also a wonderful passtime isn’t it? I used to love walking from one shop to another but the last time I simply ambled around a shopping centre with no particular agenda was years ago.   But a couple of weeks ago, thanks to a last minute babysitting offer, I had the opportunity to do just this at Westfield London.  No agenda. No list. No plan.

A little foodie tour (of course!) 

I was a little peckish on arrival so we headed for a little pit stop at the Loft and Balcony area where there is a food court style arrangement of eateries.  The first thing I noticed was the choice.  Shopping centres used to have cafes and all the giant American fast food chains but nowadays you really can pick any international cuisine and be catered for well.  I wanted little nibbles I had not nibbled before. We headed to Comptoir Libanis which has been on my to eat list for a while.

I was drawn to all the familiar dishes I make at home, Labneh, Baba Ganuj and Falafel to name a few but this evening was about doing things we would not normally do so we had Fattet Moussaka.  A rich and velvety aubergine moussaka topped with tahini yoghurt,crispy pitta strips and fried onions.  It was delicious and I was inspired with the tahini and yoghurt combination.  Rather than wine which would have been wonderful with this, we opted for Rose Lemonade  which was simply Morocco in a glass.

Delicious Moussaka Fattet at Le Comptoir Libanais @westfieldlondon

Creamy and delicious Fattet Moussaka at Comptoir Libanais

I rather like the growing style of shops that are a mini department store like Anthropologie.  Clothes, books, homeware but no need to wander floors to reach the different departments.  These two foodie books caught my eye – one full of mesmerising photography and other rich with inspiring words.

Book #shopping - beautiful imagery in this one by @whatkatieate

A stunning book by Katie Quinn Davis. If you don’t already follow her blog then do. It’s in the blogroll below.

Such a clever book - The Flavour Thesaurus #shopping

A must have book to develop the range of food you cook and the ingredients you use

Onwards to Debenhams and House of Fraser which I am not resilient enough to visit with children. The things I want are too far apart and I don’t have the patience for all the escalators.  But I love their homeware sections and headed straight there, delighted by a 20% offer section and a bargain find.

Camembert Melting Pot #shopping - love these things

For Friday nights in

My husband then dragged me reluctantly to the Apple store.  I have an iPhone and an iPad but looking at all the latest devices and drooling over them is really not my thing. Well until I found this gadget!  Four lenses in a lightweight creation that’s easy to use and carry around – wide angle, two macros and a fisheye.  It’s a pocketsize genius!

New toy! @olloclip #olloclip

A pocket sized genius!

We then fancied a movie and popcorn.  Something with no chipmunks or minions. Something with proper bad guy that doesn’t become good in the end.  Something without princesses and fairies.  Sadly there wasn’t anything that sparked our interest so we settled on a long and leisurely meal at LPDJ.  It was the only restaurant that wasn’t ‘loud’.  My forty-something ears need peace and calm on a Friday night and besides I wanted a little sophistication.  Walking in to LPDJ felt like being back in a Parisian bistro. Starch white tablecloths, tables with little oil lamps and a vast menu. We were lured in by the lobster platters and the wine list.  They even didn’t mind us entertaining ourselves with my new fisheye lens!

Lobster! Woo hoo! #datenight @westfieldlondon

Lobster and calamari at LPDJ

Fisheye lens #olloclip

A great selection of wine by the glass

It was a lovely, impromptu evening.  Thank you to the team at Westfield for inviting me to spend time at Westfield.  Not something I would ordinarily have done but something that covered shopping, ambling and great food in one place- which after a very busy week is rather blissful.

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: shopping, westfield london

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Good Food Everyday says

    9th March 2014 at 9:31 am

    What a lovely post ! Thank you for sharing !

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      9th March 2014 at 10:46 am

      Thank you. It was such a lazy chilled evening. Much needed sometimes

      Reply
  2. Sally says

    9th March 2014 at 1:22 pm

    My teens love Westfield….it reminds them of Dubai. Last time we went they bumped into One Direction and sang with them!!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      9th March 2014 at 4:15 pm

      Awesome! My girls would have obsessed over that for weeks!

      Reply
  3. andreamynard says

    9th March 2014 at 10:10 pm

    Sounds like a fab time of browsing & eating, lovely post.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      10th March 2014 at 12:16 pm

      Thank you. Time out I need to do more often really

      Reply
  4. Sarah, Maison Cupcake says

    10th March 2014 at 11:09 am

    I love Comptoir Libanais, I often visit the one at Westfield Stratford. Not heard of LPDJ – we don’t have a branch of that here but I will investigate next time I’m in White City!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      10th March 2014 at 12:16 pm

      Def worth a visit. Reasonable price too.

      Reply
  5. Fuss Free Helen says

    11th March 2014 at 11:04 am

    We do like Comptoir Libanis, and all that shopping is hard work so you do need sustenance.

    Reply
  6. Southbourne Gardens says

    11th March 2014 at 1:58 pm

    Love Westfield. Byron for dinner or Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast and a bit of shopping; hard to beat.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      12th March 2014 at 8:24 pm

      I’ve never been to Byron. I’ll look next time to see if they do veggie

      Reply
      • Southbourne Gardens says

        12th March 2014 at 9:08 pm

        Very timely, have just been for dinner. They do a mushroom burger. And have bought the lens so looking forward to playing with it at the plot tomorrow.

        Reply
        • Urvashi Roe says

          13th March 2014 at 8:44 am

          Brilliant isn’t it?! So addictive

          Reply
          • Southbourne Gardens says

            13th March 2014 at 1:45 pm

            I haven’t tried it yet. Forgot to take it to the plot but will play over the weekend.

  7. Katie Bryson (@cookingkt) says

    14th March 2014 at 7:20 am

    I feel totally mellowed out after reading your post – Love Love Love Westfield – especially sans enfants!!!!!! I also love that there’s always something new to try when you go back. I’ve never even seen LPDJ there – where is it?!!!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      14th March 2014 at 7:32 am

      We hadn’t noticed LPDJ before either as we always go to the ones near Wahaca. LPDJ is further along towards the waitrose

      Reply
  8. Jan Bennett says

    15th March 2014 at 7:26 am

    That lobster looks delicious – What a great day you had!

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      15th March 2014 at 12:30 pm

      Mmmmm lobster

      Reply

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Hi I'm Urvashi!

I love food. This blog is a little glimpse into my foodie world which is an escape from two teenage girls, a busy job and my little cafe.

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