Wagamama was established in1992 and has branches in 17 countries across the world, so they must be doing something right with their food. Let this post, therefore, be mainly about what not to order at Wagamama.
We visited the Victoria Square branch last November as part of a group. The service was fast, although the staff got our order of Wagamama Ramen wrong and served us the Chicken Ramen instead.
Wagamama has the dubious honour of having the worst ramen I've ever eaten. The broth was thin and bland, as were the pieces of chicken breast accompanying it - some effort in marinating the chicken would certainly have helped. The serving size was also significantly smaller than the teppanyaki dishes that some of our group had ordered, a fact accentuated by the enormous bowl it was served in. The large bowl meant that there was a generous portion of soup, but was in this case an unfortunate turn-off with all of that tasteless liquid staring back at us.
Chicken karaage is another dish on my must-order list. While it's basically fried chicken and easy to make (theoretically at least; I've yet to try it myself), it's seldom found on menus outside of Asia. Hence, we jumped at the chance when we spotted it at Wagamama.
Sadly, the chef's hand must have slipped when preparing the chicken, as there was so much rosemary (which doesn't belong in karaage) that it overpowered all other flavours and had me spitting out bits of the dried herb. Wagamama also used breast meat instead of thigh meat, which was a tad dry after frying. Thankfully, our chicken gyoza was much better with a well seasoned filling, and the ebi katsu another of us had ordered was as crispy and as light as you'd get.
The dessert I had was delicious and the highlight of my meal - but unfortunately is no longer on Wagamama's website. It was a scrumptious tart with a tropical custard (mango or pineapple or both; I can't quite recall!) and raspberries, with dried coconut shavings that complemented the flavour.
The dessert E ordered is also no longer on the menu - and thankfully so. It was a taster trio of desserts, and a case of how less can be more. For example, wasabi does not add to the taste of chocolate fudge cake, ginger does not belong in a white chocolate cheesecake, and pistachio mousse doesn't really go with raspberry jam.
The dessert trio reminded me of Wagamama's sauce accompaniment to their gyoza. In place of the traditional vinegar + soy sauce combination, Wagamama had a chilli garlic sesame soy sauce version instead. So many ingredients, yet none of the 'extras' were really necessary and also did little to bring out the flavour of the chives. There is a reason why certain combinations exist in food, and being innovative or modern does not necessarily mean mixing up many different things.
I might still be persuaded to return to Wagamama though, as their teppanyaki noodle dishes looked tasty enough and seemed to be the more popular items too. I'll just stay well clear from the ramen!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Wagamama - Victoria Square, Belfast
Friday, January 3, 2014
Shu
Shu, located on Lisburn Road, is among the first few restaurants in Belfast that were recommended to me. I've also heard a lot about how good it is since then, so we thought to splurge a little and head there for our anniversary.
The thing about celebrating special occasions in December is that restaurants tend to thrust their Christmas menu upon customers. Shu was no different, and instead of their usual set menu, we were only given the choice between their ala carte and Christmas menus. This would have been fine if the latter were half decent, but quick calculations revealed that the same items from the ala carte menu would actually cost more if we were to choose from the Christmas menu - well, sod that.
The restaurant was packed at its first sitting of the evening, and it took quite a while before we could get any attention from its staff. Being tucked right in a corner between a wall and a lively 8-person Christmas dinner group probably didn't help either. However, it wasn't too long after placing our orders that our starters were served.
I'm a sucker for crab on the menu, hence was dismayed by the size of the crab linguine with chilli, lemon and parsley (£9). It was tiny enough to be devoured in a few mouthfuls, but it was delicious and I forced myself to eat slowly and stretch out every moment that the flavourful broth was in my mouth. E's crispy duck confit with spiced red cabbage puree (£8.50) was a much more sizable portion. However, it was a bit dry and would have benefitted more from a sauce accompaniment instead of the puree.
Our mains were served fairly quickly too. E was feeling adventurous and had ordered the wild pigeon with blackberry puree, potato fondant, purple carrots and chocolate malt (£18). It was served rare (as pigeon is apparently meant to be), and E thought it was "alright". I'm not sure if pigeon is a meat I'd enjoy though, as it had a gamey taste and I would probably have needed more sauce to mask the flavour.
We were stuffed but decided to complete our meal with dessert. It turned out to be an excellent choice, as the Valrhona chocolate and hazelnut brownie with warm Earl Grey infused chocolate and vanilla ice cream (£5.75) was utterly delectable. The Earl Grey lent a slight bitterness to the dessert, making it a light finish to dinner and was polished off in no time at all. Our glass of dessert wine, a La fleur d'Or Sauternes AC 2009 (£6), was also a very refreshing digestif with its notes of candied pineapple, lemon and crème caramel.
Our experience at Shu was undoubtedly saved by its dessert and wine. With all its awards and accolades, we were expecting more polish in its dishes but were wowed by none of the appetisers or main courses**. Nonetheless, Shu's prices are extremely reasonable (except for the crab linguine) for a restaurant of its reputation - and perhaps rightly so given its quality.
Shu
253 Lisburn Road
Belfast BT9 7EN
02890 381655
*: Heavy-handed usage of salt is unfortunately quite common among restaurants in Belfast, with Birdcage on Stranmillis and Il Pirata on Upper Newtownards Road among the worst offenders.
**: The crab linguine came close but ultimately made me go 'wow' for the wrong reason.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The Ginger Tree
We celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago with dinner at The Ginger Tree, a Japanese restaurant on Donegall Pass.
It looked promising enough upon entry, with Japanese sake, whiskey and beer bottles lining the shelves behind the cashier - just as in actual Japanese restaurants and an easy way to display the range of alcohol served. As we weren't very hungry but wanted to try a variety of their dishes, we ordered the Osaka Set Menu, sashimi moriawase and a side of croquettes to share.
The Osaka Menu boasts little in relation to Osaka and its regional specialties, and was probably named because it's the largest set on the menu and the hometown of the head chef and owner. It started with a tsukidashi appetiser - crunchy French beans topped with a dollop of sweet miso sauce.
The appetiser was followed quickly by the side of croquettes. Croquettes are among my many 'must-order' items on a Japanese menu, and these were fragrant and crisp on the outside. The potato and minced meat filling had a light curry flavour, which is probably more suitable for the palette of Ginger Tree's Belfast customers than the spicier curry I prefer. Unfortunately, the perfectly mashed filling was spoiled by bits of pork fat that accompanied every mouthful - while I love to chow down fat that accompanies bacon, steak and pork chops, I was neither expecting to find nor enjoyed the chewy fat in my croquettes.
The second of 3 appetisers from the Osaka Menu was next - the tonkatsu. I was probably too greedy in anticipating a full breaded pork cutlet and was slightly disappointed by the two strips of cutlet on skewers that arrived instead. The strips of pork were perfectly crisp on the outside but slightly dry on the inside, and lacked the thin layer of fat that a good piece of tonkatsu has, which serves to keep the meat moist and juicy. The pork was accompanied by the slightly sweet kushikatsu sauce and not the salty tonkatsu sauce - which seemed wrong until I was reminded that our tonkatsu, by virtue of being skewered slices of pork, was actually kushikatsu and should have probably been named as such instead.
When our next order arrived, I was surprised to see the sushi moriawase instead of our assorted sashimi. Sashimi was the one thing I was looking forward to the most, hence had to regretfully send back the sushi and insist on our actual order. This probably the reason for the sashimi, when it arrived, being unceremoniously dumped on the table similar to how wooden blocks are deposited during shuttle runs - I was not at all impressed. Thankfully the salmon, tuna and ika sashimi were fresh, delicious and all that I'd been waiting for, despite being oddly sliced and of uneven thickness. The pieces of cooked prawn and cooked octopus added further variety.
The final appetiser from the set menu was a generous portion of tempura, consisting of two king prawns and a slice each of courgette, aubergine, red pepper and carrot and onion strips. It was a treat to have tempura again, although the honest opinion would be that the tempura was merely passable. The batter was slightly soggy and lacked the lightness that tempura should have, while the items were a tad overcooked.
It is here that a few words on The Ginger Tree's service are in order. While the restaurant was at full capacity that night, the crowd did not justify the long wait we had between courses as the place gradually filled up. Our entire dinner - that comprised neither alcohol nor dessert - took about 1.5 hours and we must have waited at least 15 min for the main (and final) course to arrive. Such a long wait was unacceptable, especially since we'd ordered a set menu that should have taken less time to prepare than a range of ala carte items.
When our Nabeyaki Udon finally arrived, we dug right in, savouring the warm, delicious broth. We were pleasantly surprised to find a slice of sweet beancurd in the bowl - something we've missed from udon in Japan - until we realised that the udon did not come with unagi as described on the menu and website. Again, the udon and tempura were overcooked too, but the broth tasted so much like what you'd get in Japan that we were willing to overlook the other aspects.
Ultimately, The Ginger Tree is a place I'd visit again, purely for their sashimi and perhaps to also try their sushi and some other items. If the craving is too strong to deny, I'd also order their tempura and udon - just not the nabeyaki unless they can guarantee unagi in it. The Ginger Tree would also be a far more pleasant dining experience if they can improve on their speed and delivery of service, as well as turn the lights up a little so that diners can actually take some photos!
The Ginger Tree
Sunday, August 25, 2013
The end of a season
Today has been so surreal.
From driving down south in good spirits to having a pre-match carvery, to having a great first quarter before all went crumbling to bits and ending in a Tyrone defeat to Mayo, to being more upset than I thought I would be (I mean, it's not even my county and the lads seemed less upset than I was), to cheering up over tea and biscuits on K's couch, to getting misdirected by the sat-nav which brought us on a detour to avoid the toll only to have us rejoin the motorway at the toll, to being back up North on very dark motorway-like roads with not a car in sight and the lowest and yellowest moon ever hanging there in the distance just out of reach, to finally reaching home absolutely knackered from sitting most of the day.
The Gaelic football season for Tyrone has ended - for me it lasted all of 3 weeks but it seemed like a bit longer..
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Summertime
It's funny how my posts so far have all been triggered by the weather – being here must be rubbing off me. It's summer proper, and thankfully the weather has been warm for nearly two weeks now and it's simply gorgeous.
Plane spotting from my backyard.
Everyone around me is complaining about how hot it is, but it's great. I actually feel like I don't have quite enough weather appropriate clothes, given that I own a lot less casual summer clothes than office-suitable summer gear, the latter being completely useless given the place that I am currently working at. The only thing stopping me from buying more clothes is the (probably valid) fear that this weather will end all too quickly and abruptly.
To be honest, it can get a bit too warm here - the house has no fans and there's a lot less cloud cover – but rooms quickly cool down due to the strong breezes. That said, my colleagues all feel that the office is too warm (it's not) and turn the air-con on, chilling my arms and numbing my hands and necessitating my donning of a cardigan – it seems like regardless of where I go, I can never escape unnecessarily cold air-conditioning.
Summer brings about another seemingly strange phenomenon – the ceasing of all classes and courses at the local arts centre and other private teachers. My ballet teacher (who teaches from a church) is off for 2 months, and the Crescent Arts Centre sits empty for a similar (if not longer) period of time. It has meant that I'm having a fair amount of time to myself, but it also means that I'm gaining weight and losing flexibility and strength because I'm too lazy to exercise at home!
Showing off the gorgeous scenery with the Beaghmore Stone Circles
On the work front, things are as meh as usual. On good days I'm fine but on bad days I'm really bored, and today I spent most of the day trying to look busy. However, as luck would have it, 15 min before the end of my shift things started pouring in, and I couldn't leave till 20 min later than I was meant to. It hasn't been that great a fortnight, and that's already with me taking 1 day off last week in lieu of the May day holiday I was owed, and another off day tomorrow in lieu of last week's public holiday.
On a personal level, an article that was shared on Facebook today regarding how modern weddings are a waste of time and money evoked strong feelings. While I don't feel that things like marriage seminars or counselling are necessary (my personal view is that living together before marriage is not a bad way to find out if you want to do this for the rest of your life, but given that the article is written by a pastor he's not going to even suggest that as a viable option), the article brought up feelings that I had a while ago.
Marriage and weddings (both in the recent past and near future) are thick in the air this year, and the more that goes on regarding weddings – not marriage, mind you, but weddings – the more intensely I feel that 1) they're a bloody waste of time, effort and energy; 2) they're darn expensive, both for the couple and for their guests; and 3) that if my turn to get married comes around I'm going to wanna do something like a small ceremony with a big party after where everyone can just come, help themselves to a buffet spread of some sort, drink, dance and get wasted while having a good time.
I know that (3) is a lot more fantasy than reality, as the fact that I'll still want things like photos and videos to remember the day by (as well as to show friends and relatives who can't be present), but I think that having this ideal in mind will help keep things simple. Perhaps that and the reminder that the less money we spend on the wedding the more we'll have for our honeymoon and for feasting and enjoying life for the rest of our days together.
Wildflowers grown on the Hill of the O'Neills which the O'Neills I was with half-heartedly tried to reclaim.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Dirty Duck Alehouse
Good food has to be shared – and The Dirty Duck Alehouse is definitely one of those.
We dropped by the Dirty Duck the other day after a trip to the transport side of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. The alehouse is a large but busy place; it was nearing 3pm but it was still full of customers.
We were seated upstairs by the window. E settled for standard pub fare – the Dirty Duck Angus burger (£9.25), which was a large, juicy burger with generous toppings.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t but order seafood given our view overlooking the sea. As I’d been completely off seafood (apart from fish) for more than a month, I jumped at the chance to have Crab Claws (£10.50). The crab claws are actually on the starter menu, but I love that restaurants here tend to offer some, if not all of their starters in main-sized portions.
The crab claws were absolutely divine – no points for guessing that the reason why there isn’t a picture of the Angus burger is because I was too absorbed in and excited about my meal! There were so many crab claws that I actually got a bit tired eating them at one stage, and – to my own disbelief - gave at least 4 of them to E. I estimate that at least 12 crabs gave their lives for my wonderful meal.
The ciabatta was a brillant touch. It soaked up the flavours of the garlic butter-infused broth, and complemented the textures of the tomato and leek perfectly. The portion of bread was just right too – I dipped it in the broth, scooped up leek and tomatoes with my fork and placed it atop the bread, and dunked bite-sized bits of it into the broth at the end to absorb all the garlicky seafood goodness. E teasingly offered to get me a spoon – but who needs spoons when you have ciabatta! ♥♥
Be prepared to get your hands dirty when you have this dish – as there’s no way to eat crab claws without using your fingers – but the warmth in your tummy and your garlic seafood insides (yes, I do love the combination) will make it more than worthwhile.
The Dirty Duck Alehouse
2-4 Kinnegar Road
Holywood
Co.Down
BT18 9JN
Tel: 028 9059 6666
Monday, March 25, 2013
Post-colonial ruminations
This afternoon, it occurred to me for the first time that I’m living in the land of my former colonial masters. Well, being in Northern Ireland (NI) technically I’m living in the land that had been colonised and subsequently subsumed under my former colonial masters – but basically I’m in the UK, and Singapore was once a colony of the British Empire.
While on JET and interacting with British, Irish, Jamaicans, Australians and Americans, I came to realise that Singaporeans are far less hung up about our colonial past and a lot less aware of issues relating to colonialism. The vast body of literature on post-colonialism would hardly resonate with Singaporeans – in my experience, reading post-colonial academic and fictional works is just like learning to see things from a different point of view.
I can only speculate on why this might be the case. The biggest reason might be that most of us are descended from migrants who came to Singapore only after the British arrived, hence have no sense of having been colonised as our ancestors are not indigenous anyway. It might also be because the history books have told us that Singapore is what is today due to forces set in motion by the arrival of the British – as well as the Scottish actually. Perhaps it’s also because our short history and collective consciousness is more coloured by our separation from Malaysia than anything else – even our occupation by the Japanese due to the incapability of the British to defend us.
These thoughts came to mind due to some very first world problems.
I received the bill for our landline today and was shocked by the huge amount owed. It turns out that calls from landlines are fairly expensive, but we have no choice but to use the landline as our area has abysmal mobile reception. So if we need to make calls from home – which I need to do in my effort to settle in, find work and find ballet classes – we have to use the house phone, and the free talk time from our mobile plans are as good as useless. It made me feel poor, that I’m charged for services that I do not get to utilise fully, and that I’m being over-charged for services that I can use.
Boo. Whinge.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Azure skies and emerald fields
To balance some of the negative vibes on this blog:
I was struck by the expanse of pure clouds and sky when we drove out the E’s hometown. Not all of Northern Ireland is pretty, but there are some great bits here and there along the way.
Just at the end of the road from E’s parent’s place is this gorgeous view below. Apparently the grass darkens when it gets warmer (and wetter), but I really love the current shade of green that’s out there in the country.
Can you spot the sheep?
The United Kingdom–land where your blood boils.
I am up to my ears in rage and frustration due to the twists and turns in settling in, no thanks to the ridiculous regulations that are present in the UK.
Starting with my bank account – the UK requires that all applicants, citizens included, must provide two forms of evidence when applying: a primary form of evidence such as a passport or driving licence, as well as proof of address.
We thought that a signed contract from the letting agent certifying* that I do indeed live at this address would suffice - but we were wrong. The first bank wanted either a bill in my name delivered to my current address, or National Insurance-related correspondence. So we tried another bank, which was more helpful and showed us the application form^ which lists all the acceptable documents. Seeing that my best bet was to apply for a National Insurance number (NIN), I headed to the Jobs and Benefits Office to do so – more on that later.
While waiting on the NIN, we heard that B, an American, had applied for an account with Santander. B had to pay £5 a month for that account, but it was easier to open an account with Santander than with other banks. We checked that out, and to my delight Santander was willing to make exceptions for people who cannot provide the specified documentation. They scheduled for me an appointment with an advisor after confirming my photographic identity (by viewing my passport and my identity card from back home), and I got my bank account today. Yay.
So, now that I have a bank account, I was all ready to get a proper mobile line and purchase a new phone – a bank account is necessary to set up direct debit from that account for the monthly charges. However, I just discovered that what the sales person (#@!%*&) did not tell me was that customers must have resided in the UK for at least 3 years. The rationale for this requirement is beyond me, as where customers have previously lived has absolutely no bearing on their credit worthiness or their likelihood to default on payments! The only option now is for E to purchase a second phone and line in his name for me to use, with the bill to be charged to his account – which was a possibility we had considered in the first week of my arrival but eventually decided to wait till I got a bank account to make it easier for me to manage my own phone line in the long run. A two week wait and all for nothing!
Back to the NIN application. There was scant information available online on how to apply for an NIN, except for a phone number and address. We called the number, but when the person found out that we are living in Northern Ireland, she directed us to call another number instead – essentially “bugger off if you’re in Northern Ireland”. It’s the same thing for certain government offices – e.g. there are no Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agencies in the whole of Northern Ireland, and if you happen to need their services you are welcome to send things in by post or drop into the nearest office in Scotland instead.
At the centre for the NIN application – which we couldn’t contact by phone as no one bothered to answer the line – I was told that it is essential for me to prove that I am actively looking for work at the NIN application interview. The person then informed me that I could get a letter proving I’m actively seeking employment from the Jobs Centre near City Hall. Off I went, halfway across town, only to be told when I got there that not only was I misinformed, but that the place where I could get a letter was from the Jobs Centre housed in the exact same building which I was earlier in. *rage*
In view of the above, I thought to list down some tips for anyone considering moving to the UK:
Tip 1: Bring your NRIC with you when you are moving overseas. I usually don’t bring my NRIC when I’m overseas, and I had with me only because I’d forgotten to empty my wallet before I left.
Tip 2: Santander is awesome – bank with them if you’re in the UK. They are also the first bank in the UK to have an account which gives you cashback on your spending on petrol, household bills and the like – something which many banks in Singapore offer. They also have a credit card which gives cashback on purchases at supermarkets and departmental stores – which is uncommon, if not non-existent, in the UK as well. Unfortunately I’m not eligible to open that account, but if you are – bank with Santander.
Tip 3: If you want to move to the UK, make sure you know someone who is willing to apply for things like a phone line on your behalf.
Tip 4: Be appreciative of the public servants and administrative staff back home. They’re actually pretty good.
Tip 5: Be thankful that Singapore is small. Your needs are well looked after and the provision of services is fair no matter where you live – even if it’s in an opposition ward.
* * * * *
*: To get that contract and my keys to the house, I also had to fill out forms, send in a scanned copy of my identification and pay a non-refundable £30 (or more; can’t quite recall) – so it’s not like it was some scam job.
^: This is a sample from Santander – see List 2.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Revelation
Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland (NI) has been listed as one of the top 10 destinations to visit in 2013, and I was browsing their calendar of events when I came upon this:
The Chinese community is NI’s largest and oldest minority ethnic group. Chinese immigrants arrived in the 1960s, mainly from Hong Kong, and today there are over 13,000 Chinese people - including students - living in NI.
No wonder the first few people I saw when I was in Belfast over Christmas 2010 were Chinese! I recall back then that I was all excited being the token Asian – I mean, you really wouldn’t expect Chinese to be in NI, would you – only to have that thought crushed quite promptly.
At any rate, Derry/Londonderry is also the UK’s city of culture for 2013 (that’s probably why it was on the Top 10 list) and given its proximity to Belfast I’ll be using this as an excuse for getting people to visit me!
This, by the way, is in the county – the gorgeous Mussenden Temple. Come visit!:
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
to the north of the north–Causeway route in Ireland
the north coast of Ireland is known for its stunning scenery (as it the west, apparently), and we headed up along the Causeway route to catch sight of some ruins and nature in the form of Mussenden Temple, Dunluce Castle and the Giants Causeway.
it took about 2 hours to drive up from Belfast, and the weather was absolutely beautiful at our first stop, Mussenden Temple. I’m not sure what ruins those are in the distance:
we had to go through some private property (that’s open to the public) before reaching the temple. As those folks owned lots of sheep (you can see the sheep in the pic above – they’re the small white blobs), that meant trampling on lots of sheep poo as well:
Mussenden Temple is gorgeous – it was used as a summer library in the past:
i also liked the coastline near it – chalk cliffs, if i’m not wrong:
Dunluce Castle was about half an hour’s drive away, and grazing in the fields around it were some really large, black bulls. Dunluce Castle seemed tiny, but it was actually a fairly decent sized ruin:
it’s quite grand and big on the inside – that’s me standing in an ancient fireplace:
but i think what i like the most is how the castle hangs over the cliffs – due to erosion over the years:
the Giant’s Causeway was furthest east, and by the time we reached there around 2.30pm a light drizzle had begun. i hate rain – which i define as moisture of any sort and intensity coming down from the sky – so i was fairly miserable having to walk from the carpark to the causeway.
to make things worse, the rocks were slippery, so climbing up and down them was a little hazardous. Despite them being hexagonal basalt columns with a fairly flat surface to step on, some of them had pointy tops or were unstable. At one point in time i was perched atop a column, terrified to make my next step and trembling like a cat in a tree – good thing i was rescued soon enough, but any longer and i would have burst into tears :S
perhaps because of that, i wasn’t quite as impressed by the Causeway as i thought i’d be.. the pictures sure are pretty though – i can say that cos i didn’t take them, haha – perhaps i was too miserable to fully enjoy the place..
i’d still definitely recommend a visit, as those are some mighty columns:
for the more energetic, there’s an additional trail beyond the causeway where you can get some nice views. i was dragged along to check them out, and there was the Organ Pipes and other stuff:
that’s the causeway down there, right below us. the specks are people:
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Belfast – the city tour
i went on the bus tour in Belfast – i’d recommend it for the historical value, as well as the opportunity to see Belfast beyond the main city centre.
The main city centre of Belfast, despite its size, is all well and good:
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but venture only slightly beyond and you’ll see what Belfast really is like – there’re plots of undeveloped land and derelict buildings, and you’ll find that Belfast is really not a pretty place. it’s a pity, as i think Belfast has potential to develop, but it lacks the financial means and critical mass of people needed to make the city a vibrant, thriving one (for instance, Dublin has a very different atmosphere, in part cos it’s busier).
(the above, by the way, was right next to City Hall)
a friend had previously visited Belfast and i asked her what she thought of it, as the boy considers it a ‘shithole’. Said friend wondered why that was so, as she rather liked it as well as the slower pace of life. While i don’t think Belfast is quite as bad as he makes it out to be, i’m probably more inclined to agree with the boy, as there’s really nothing much to do in Belfast and one doesn’t have to go far to see the less savoury aspects of town. Even Belfast’s city centre isn’t that pretty in comparison to others, and the city gets quite quiet once it gets dark. The boy says that he wouldn’t let me walk around alone after dark – which occurs quite early in winter.
Anyhow, the bus tour – it’s a good opportunity to learn about the conflict between the Unionists (largely Protestant, loyal to the Queen and in favour of being part of the United Kingdom) and the Nationalists (largely Catholic, in favour of joining the Republic of Ireland). The tour takes you to see the murals painted by supporters from both sides.
this is one from the Loyalists:
There’s this whole stretch painted by the Nationalists:
and a commemorative one of one of the martyrs who died of a hunger strike after 66 days:
more commemorative murals:
there’re also the ‘peace lines’, which are essentially walls erected to separate Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods to reduce the conflict between them. they’re quite depressing, as some come up right next to the back door of people’s houses and have been in place for at least 30 years now:
they’re not very visible here, but in the picture above are people (probably tourists) signing messages on the wall. by the way, belfast apparently is one of the safest city in the world for tourists (i’m a little sceptical of that).
there are also other commemorative murals, both for the World War and for those innocents who had died during the Troubles:
something amusing:
and lastly, the old Belfast court house which had an underground tunnel leading from the jail located directly across the road. an example of derelict land sitting right next to the main city centre:
