The Saturday Agenda: Viennese Lunch & La La Land

Kipferl 

• Kipferl was based on the Viennese coffeehouse concept which is actually beyond a concept but a culture in itself. An experience, if you may. Picture yourself with a cup of coffee, flipping through the newspaper, writing in your journal, or reading your favourite novel, for unlimited hours. No rush, no pressure. In fact, the waiter will readily bring you service water as you linger alone and take your own sweet time. History has records of famous poets, writers and noteworthy fellows who spent significant amounts of time in these coffee houses, and in those leisurely paced hours, wrote well-acclaimed literary pieces. It looks like this culture helped create history itself.

Click to "Read more".

• That sounds blissful indeed. How did reality measure up to expectation? Well, there was a queue, and we had to wait for quite a while until we got seated. No problem at all; the customer turnover seemed reasonably fast. But wait there. After we were seated and had ordered, we noticed one perfect picture of Viennese coffeehouse culture in the next table. A few tables away, there was this lady leisurely reading her newspaper! She was impervious to all the fuss and chaos going about her. She took the entire space of four seats in the table assigned to her. Back then, we credited this to her maybe being a regular customer and thus, the VIP status. When I started writing this post, I did a bit of research on the Viennese coffeehouse culture. Now, I understand.

• However, we needed to fill our famished tummies before the movie --- and while I would have loved to stay on for hours with a cup of coffee, newspaper and allow my thoughts free rein --- lunch was definitely in order back then. Perhaps, next time?



Bauernfruehstueck: Classic stir fry of potatoes, onions, bacon and egg



• Okay, I had to copy that literally from the website to make sure I got it right. Spelling and pronunciation levels of difficulty aside, it had me at bacon and egg. Comfort breakfast food! 



Serving portion was large for me. As usual, it took me forever to finish half of this, and requested the other half for take-away

• We dined in the Kipferl branch at 20 Camden Passage London, N1 8ED. I believe there is another location in Ladbroke Grove. Please check out Kipferl's website: http://www.kipferl.co.uk/

Movie at The O2 Greenwich

• I liked La La Land.
• I remember it more for its allusion to chasing one's dreams rather than the love story.
• I did like the mode of storytelling used for this movie --- effectively collaging the old and the new. Probably like most of those who've seen and liked this, I also find the alternative ending excellently executed.
• More than that, I go back to that allusion to dreams. "La la la" can be associated with the lullaby to make you sleep and then dream. It is also L.A. or Los Angeles - the land of movies where dreams are made, literally and figuratively. Among all of the good things about this movie, there is one quote (and I haven't seen it in the memorable quotes list YET) that struck and really moved me: "You change your dreams and then you grow up." THAT is relatable and personal to me. It got me thinking even after the movie. And it actually moved me to tears that very second that I heard it from Emma Stone's character, Mia.
• How many out there, during the course of their own personal adventure, have changed their dreams because they thought that that is part of growing up? Guilty? I am.