Food and Drink, London

On the Strand, leading west out of the City of London, is a deep narrow shop that's been around for 300 years. It's one of the oldest shops in London and it sells and specializes in tea. Every kind of tea you can imagine. Yes they do sell coffee too and also teapots and cups and other tea paraphernalia. It's a fascinating shop.

What to buy: Tea!

What to pay: Various prices depending on the blends.

I love Chinatowns. This is the place to go to buy all Asian ingredients for cooking - from souces, pastes, fresh vegetables and fruits. You can even smell durian from far away :)

What to buy: Fruits, vegetables, noodles, asian cooking ingredients ...

What to pay: resonable prices

Small but packed with all you need in order to brew a good tea. Of course, the main ingredient is water, so that really depends upon your own skills... but good tea leaves help a lot in achieving satisfactory results. They can also offer you tea pots, filters, mantlecloth, cups, mugs and whatever else you may think of.

What to buy: There are so many different kinds of teas you may get lost.

This is a great shop with a huge selection of cookbooks and knowledgable staff. Not only that but there is a test kitchen / dining area where they cook things up from the books (popular recipes are compiled into their own books4cooks books) and sell at a very reasonable price. They also offer cooking courses and demonstrations.

This is a little shop on The Strand opposite the high court. It's been there for over 200 years...
You can buy tea and coffee to your hearts' content.

What to buy: Earl grey tea or herbal infusions...

What to pay: Just a few pounds.

If you're finding London is eating its way through your wallet quicker than expected, do try the supermarkets. They have excellent selections of salads and pre-prepared fruits. Also ready meals - Marks and Spencers is the best, but also a bit more expensive.AND they have a good selection of wines and beers at retail prices .. BIG saving on pubs and restaurants.

What to pay: £3-£4 for a meal. £4 - £6 for a nice bottle of wine. And lots are now have screw cap tops so you don't need a corkscrew!

Lovely old-fashioned cheese shop. Also sells pies, ham and some exotic groceries, but cheese is the major stock in trade. Knowledgable staff will tell you what's ripe for eating now and what needs to be kept for how long. Free samples on offer, and of course you can taste before you buy.

There is a branch in Bath and perhaps other UK towns.

What to buy: Cheese of course. Unlike Monty Python's cheese shop, if you can name it they probably have it. Some of the soft French cheeses are so rank they could probably walk out of the shop on their own - but they taste divine!

What to pay: Name your price. It's easy to get carried away though, so be careful.

Good butchers are pearls beyond price and David Lidgate is the doyen of them all. The best reason I know for not being vegetarian - all meat sold here is organic and humanely reared. Not cheap, but the quality is worth it.

Aside for culture vultures. George Eliot, the 19th century English novelist, lived around here at one point in her life. Lidgates was established in 1850, so Ms Eliot almost certainly knew of its existence. Those who have read Middlemarch, or at least seen it on the telly, will know that the doctor's name was Lydgate, and it is a very George Eliot joke to name her doctor after the local butcher...

What to buy: Buy succulent pies and pasties for your picnic in Holland Park across the road. Or a rack of pork ribs, which I've always found to be especially good value, for your dinner guests.

What to pay: As much as you want to pay.