Edinburgh - Day 3

So I skipped jetlag completely! I woke up at 6:40, a bit groggy, but in good shape. Ate breakfast, and took a walk to wait for my coworker at the predefined place. I spent the day like yesterday, taking some notes and browsing.

For lunch, they wanted to make me try their version of a "poutine quebecoise". I told them it didn't have the required finesse :P. The gravy was off a bit (and there was no cheese), but it was disgustingly enjoyable (as are our poutines). This wasn't at a restaurant - it was a mobile canteen called "the Bap Mobile" that seemed to be almost-permanently parked nearby in a parking lot. My coworker told me that "bap" was slang for breast, so I have no idea.

We finished at around 17:30, he gave me a lift to the supermarket near my hotel, and I bought many fruits and a bottle of Innis & Gunn (a popular beer in Scotland, apparently). I went back to the hotel to drop the laptop and the grocery bags, and went to Omar Khayyam, supposedly the best Indian restaurant in Edinburgh.

With all the hype I recently got concerning this restaurant, I was expecting a better experience. I understand that it was possibly caused by my being alone to eat. For the Chop Chop yesterday, I had trouble understanding the waitresses because of their cute Chinese accents, but the Omar's waiters had Indian accents that was even harder for my ears. He first asked me if I wanted (insert random letters here), and after making him repeating twice, and even asking him what it was, I decided fuck it and said yes, assuming it was some naan bread. He brought back a weird thin crispy bread with some kind of sweet & sour sauce, and a small two-compartments plate that had a pinkish sweet sauce in one compartment, and some mix of onion or something in the other. After I inquired, he told me it was an appetizer, but I didn't know if I was supposed to eat it like that with the tiny spoon, or with the thin crispy bread (which had its own sauce).

There were many waiters, and not many customers yet. My table was positioned on a window, in a place that was easily the center of attention. I could not only feel the waiters looking and staring at me the whole time - I could actually see them. I caught them a few times smiling or smirking in my direction, as if the way I was eating this Indian food was not how I was supposed to eat it (if so, they could at least tell me how!).

Then a waiter arrived near my table with a huge tray full of plates. There was a couple some tables to my right, and I thought that it was their meal, but even so it was a lot for two people. He put the tray nearby, and I could see my plate was also there. I was actually happy that so much food was not for only two people. He turned a small rice bowl over in a large plate, put many different kinds of meat from another on top of the rice, and put a vegetable mix of onions and green bell peppers on top, which formed a huge mountain of food that would be enough to feed a family in real India. Right there, I understood that the huge tray was for me alone. He gave me the mountain of food, gave me some kind of ugly salad with two sauces in tiny compartments, and gave me the biggest naan bread I had even seen. I had not finished the crispy bread yet, so the whole table was, literally, filled by my own plates. I was not really happy.

The food was actually very good, but I hated the experience (again, possibly because I was alone to eat). During the whole meal, I was feeling the waiters looking at me. There was an irritating Indian music (no offense meant to Indians musicians) in the background, but at least it wasn't too loud. I ate about four times the amount of food I had expected (and wanted) to eat. Someone who worked there was dressed differently, so I assumed he was the owner or a manager. He had a full and clean beard. When I looked at the waiters, they were all clean-shaven and standing very upright, almost uptight. I wonder if that's the way it works in India. Add to that the fact that there wasn't enough work for all of them, and you get a few waiters strategically positioned around me, looking at my inexperienced way to eat their food.

I'm someone who finish the food in my plate, so I did finish everything (except for their weird appetizer, which I never knew how exactly you're supposed to eat it). Even if I really had too much, I would have ate it all to piss them off. I was imagining them in awe at the amount of food that I could eat. It cost me £23 (tips included), and I left the place, feeling way too full.

Edinburgh Castle, as seen from
Princes Street and Lothian Road.

It was around 20:00 when I went back to the hotel to get my camera, and go to a walk. I was expecting to walk up to Princes Street, possibly seeing the Edinburgh Castle from there, and go back the same way. I actually walked the whole Princes Street, visited the outside of the castle, walked the whole Royal Mile, and went back to the hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't have a tripod, so the pictures I took had a longer exposure, but were hand-held. It was a very pleasant walk, and the Royal Mile has an eerie ambiance at night. I'm happy I went there at night.

The front of Edinburgh Castle at night.

Edit: Added text and pictures.