The thing I’m missing most about Auckland is the food. Compared to this little town, Auckland is the culinary dream, with its top-notch brunch spots, delicious noodle bars, and of course, the legendary Dominion road.

St Andrews does know how to do a great pub however, with over 15 scattered across this 3-street town. There’s definitely something lovely about squeezing into a low-ceilinged, cosy wee pub on an autumn evening when it’s blowing a gale outside. Getting some excellent hot chips and maybe even braving a scotch egg.

I’ve been missing ramen, bibimbap and dumplings so much though (to name a few). In fact, I was craving bubble tea so much that I actually ordered some from eBay. They came about 3 weeks later and were on the same level as instant noodles – just add hot water. Although very average, it satisfied my tapioca pearl needs and the pack was finished off within the week.

My saviour, in terms of Asian food supply here in St Andrews is a little shop called CombiniCo. Set up by a couple of Korean and Japanese students, this place does amazing Bini Bowls – a mix of donburi, bibimbap and poke bowls. It’s now my go-to every weekend.

I’ve been really busy with essays and assignments recently, so I decided to organize a little break to get out of town for a bit and do something fun. After I’ve handed the last essay in on Monday, I’ll be heading down to London for a few days to attend a BBC music careers expo and hang out with some family. I’m taking the train (even though it takes over 5 hours) because the landscape in Scotland and northern England is so beautiful that I think it’s worth the long journey.

The other thing I’m looking forward to about London is that I’ll be able to take a cheeky visit to Chinatown and stock up on snacks. I might take an entire spare bag just so I can get enough to last me through exams.

A quick tip on the trains here – you need to book about a month in advance to get a good deal as the tickets can be really expensive.

Catch ya later!