Hello EF students.
My name is Mei-Ying Chow and I will be giving you an in depth guide to central London,
but with a focus on making your student budget go a little bit further.
I’ve been living in London for the past two years and there are so many beautiful parks,
fun things to do, amazing restaurants to eat at, and so many wonderful places to explore.
So, why don’t we start off with food because, if you know me, you know I’m a foodie and
I have three restaurants that I recommend to visit when you’re here.
Let’s start off with probably the best-value place you’ll find in London, and that is Eat Tokyo.
I take any of my friends who are visiting me here because they have the most incredible menu.
Not only can you see the chefs at work,
but they also allow you to take away your stuff if you’ve got any leftovers.
I always order the bento box because you get the Miso soup, all of your sushi,
sashimi, salad, chicken teriyaki,
and then you can take half of it home because you probably won’t finish it all.
You definitely won’t spend more than 10 pounds there and you’ll have food for another day, which is brilliant.
Now, a mid-tier place that I would recommend is Duck and Rice.
Yes, this is another Asian restaurant, but they’re not just any Asian restaurant.
The interior decor is so beautiful, their menu is exquisite, and they are dog-friendly.
The last time I had dim-sum there with our dog,
they actually gave her a little dog-friendly beer and it was so cute.
They gave her her own bowl of food while we ate our dim-sum.
They have an aubergine and tofu claypot, which is our family’s favourite.
We will always get one if not two when we visit because it’s so good.
If you’re feeling really bougie and you and your friends want to celebrate something,
I would definitely recommend that you go to Frenchie.
If you love your food, you will love it here.
The presentation is beautiful and I would 100% recommend a pre-theatre menu.
It’s cheaper and you also get to try more of their dishes that way.
The location of Frenchie is also amazing because it’s in Covent Garden,
which is so perfect because you’ve got all the stores and street performers around there.
It is also right next to the theatres,
so this kind of brings me on to my next segment, if you are into theatre.
While you’re in London, you may as well see a west end theatre show or-
I know that the Cambridge Theatre has 5 pound student tickets because I did this myself.
Every day bar Mondays, if you go into the box office and show them your student ID,
you will get a ticket with restricted view, even though we were literally front row.
We got to see Matilda, which was incredible. The music was so nostalgic.
The stage was decorated beautifully and the kids were so talented!
I would also recommend the app TodayTix if you’ve not heard of it.
Basically, on there you can check out loads of cheap theatre tickets.
They’ve got Hamilton and Wicked on there.
I did actually go to see Wicked at the Apollo last year for my birthday.
Now, another app for my fellow students is StudentPulse.
They have cheap tickets to classical concerts often in lovely music halls,
for example, in Southbank Centre, which is actually just next to your EF London campus,
so after your class you can just head out and have a lovely evening.
But, if classical music isn’t your thing and you would like a cheap comedy night out,
I would 100% recommend the Top Secret Comedy Club.
My sister and I went to this. Again, we bought 2 pound student tickets
and we got to see 8 comedians, including Paul Chowdhry.
Paul Chowdhry sells out arenas
and his tickets normally cost 80 quid just to go see him and maybe a supporting comedian.
2 pounds! My head couldn’t get around that.
They have a bar as well, so the atmosphere is really nice, very chilled out.
The comedians there are just basically trying out their material
for when they do go on their roadshows,
so it’s actually really nice. It’s a lot more laid back.
If you’re a nature lover like me,
then I would definitely recommend that you check out Regents Park.
I have tried out all of the parks, and this one is especially close to my heart -
not just because it’s a really close distance to my flat,
but also because it has so many different areas and little hubs.
They’ve got the London Zoo there. They’ve got the lake with the swans
and you can rent out pedalos in the summer and do that with your friends.
They’ve also got a Chinese garden area with waterfalls
and it’s so lovely just to sit down on a bench on and relax.
At the top, they’ve also got Primrose Hill, which is an amazing place.
You’ll see loads of people having picnics there. I’ve had a picnic there at the top.
You can watch the sun go down over the city. It’s such a beautiful view and it’s really relaxing.
However, if you’re a runner like me, I would definitely recommend
that you run along the main walkway because they’ve got a café, so you can treat yourself at the end.
It’s also two laps going up and down that are equal to 5km,
so it’s so easy to kind of measure your run.
Similarly, if you like plants and you’re happy to trek a little bit on the tube,
I would 100% recommend that you go to Columbia Road Flower Market.
The flower market is open every Sunday and the nearest tube stop that I get off at is Old Street,
then you just walk 5-10 minutes and you’re there.
It is an incredible atmosphere, especially in summer.
It has such a market vibe.
You’re walking down this little road and there are people going everywhere
and the colours are beautiful.
I believe it closes at around 3 o’clock, so I often go at around 2-2:30 anyway.
At the end of the day, they have less stock, but they often have better prices,
so you can buy huge bouquets for under 10 pounds easily.
If you’re looking for just some room décor or something nice to give a bit of life to your room,
then definitely check out the Columbia Road Flower Market.
There are endless things always going on in London, but that is just a list of some of my favourites
and I encourage you to go out and explore,
especially during summer when the weather is lovely and there’s no rain.
If you enjoy this video,
make sure to subscribe to the EF channel for all kinds of travel vlogs to other cities
as well as everything EF. If you’d like to see more London vlogs,
then check out my channel that will be linked in the description box below.
With that being said, I hope you have a lovely time and enjoy London! Bye!