Brick Lane: London's Little India

Okay, there isn't really a place in London called Little India, but Brink Lane in the east of the city may as well be.

After hitting a photo journalism exhibition in Southbank, Anja Jargil and I headed east.

The street that is Brick Lane is like a little oasis in the middle of nothing - the surrounding streets are void of pretty much anything - nice, clean and tidy Indian restaurants line either side of the road while male staff from each eatery pester you to enjoy your evening meal at their place.

If you're in the mood for bargaining you could probably haggle a good deal. We had hour hearts set on Aladdin's, but it was fully booked at we were starving.

While making our way back through the pushy salesmen we managed to strike a dinner deal for 9pounds each plus a bottle of wine at Poppadoms.

I think we (okay, mainly Anja) may have been a little too loud for the middle-aged English men sitting behind us. They kept looking over and laughing, but didn't ask us to be quiet so oh well.

The food was exactly what you'd expect - warm, tasty curries at a good price - nothing gourmet, but very yum.

Despite feeling like midnight, the night was still young so we popped into Cafe 1001 at 1 Dray Walk for a drink.

On the way, Anja was distracted by some brightly coloured stools hanging in a shop window so had to go in and buy one - from then on she had her own seat for the night.

Cafe 1001 is on a small walkway and is frequented mainly by students though the crowd was quite mixed. There was a good sprinkling of spoilt-rich kids, but they are easy to ignore.

Outside is a large, and beautifully smelling, BBQ and tables for smokers. You can bring the hot food into the main bar/cafe.

If you come here I'd recommend a Bailey's Hot Chocolate to warm up on a cold London night. And while I didn't try one, the selection of brownies and cupcakes in the cabinet looked splendid.