Hard to believe it’s been around four months since my last dining out experience. Never could we have conceived of a global crisis in which every restaurant, bar, pub and café in the country would be closed, what that would mean for our social connections, and more significantly, what that would mean for the thousands of businesses out there, thrown into such an uncertain scenario.
I’d avoided venturing out for the first couple of weeks following the easing of lockdown rules – in my head, I pictured rowdy raucousness throbbing through the streets, and despite a little of that going down in places, it didn’t seem as intense as I’d expected. So when I did finally decide to book that much-anticipated first restaurant visit, it had to be somewhere special.
Scottish restaurant Mac and Wild was that place, having sat firmly atop my restaurant bucket list for two years, ever since drooling over a photo of their ice cream-topped sticky toffee pudding on Instagram.
Ironically, I didn’t end up trying that very sticky toffee pudding (which probably means I’ll have to make a return visit one day), but here’s how the rest of it went…
With Fitzrovia all booked up, we arrived at their Devonshire Square branch, having booked one of the lovely-looking socially-distanced huts, complete with a seating for up to 4, and your very own self-serve drinks cabinet. In my head, I’d pictured these being outside, but their three, I have to say it as it is, sheds, were opposite the bar inside. Nonetheless, they still created a sense of privacy and intimacy, shielded from other diners. Had I booked one of these huts outdoors in winter, complete with blankets, and heating, I think it would’ve been beautiful – both atmospheric and cosy, but as it were, dining in one of those indoors in 27 degree heat, it was a little on the sweaty side.
Being a Scottish restaurant, there are a number of haggis-inspired dishes on the menu, including their Haggis Pops, which we ordered to start. I should also mention at this point that their menu was limited, compared to what their Devonshire Square-specific online menu stated they had. I had been so desperate to try their Venison Scotch Egg, but it was nowhere to be found, so settled for the Haggis Pops.
Never (ashamedly) having tried haggis before, it’s difficult for me to judge, as I’m not familiar with the standard flavours and textures, however, the pops came as little fried bites, the meaty haggis filling encased in a crunchy shell. Whilst I enjoyed the outer crunch and the flavours, the texture wasn’t necessarily to my liking – oddly, despite being meaty, it had the texture of a potato croquette filling, and I’ve expressed my views on potatoes here before… To accompany the pops there’s a cranberry-mustard, or ‘Red Jon’ sauce. We spent a good few minutes trying to pinpoint what exactly the sauce was comprised of, intrigued by the sharp and sweet notes, before reluctantly giving in when ‘mustard’ was all we could come up with, and resorting to consulting the ingredients list.
Once again, when it came to ordering mains, I was disappointed to see that amongst the side dishes, the Haggis Mac and Cheese I’d set my heart on didn’t feature. Luckily, they were still offering their Truffle Mushroom Mac and Cheese, which I chose to accompany their signature ‘Venimoo’ Burger. The Venimoo features beef and venison patties, with Béarnaise sauce, cheese, pickles and caramelised onions. The burger was very good. Juicy patties, full of flavour, with a sharp, tanginess from the pickles and the warming, creaminess of the Béarnaise sauce and melting cheese. I can’t say it was mind-blowing (I’ve unintentionally ended up with pretty sky high standards), but the quality and flavours certainly made it worth ordering.
Interestingly my highlight was the Truffle Mushroom Mac and Cheese. Despite not being a speciality dish of theirs, I loved the consistency – a super creamy cheese sauce, without the overwhelming sickliness that truffle can sometimes bring. The mushrooms were cut into large cubed pieces, which I surprisingly enjoyed, cementing its place amongst the best mac and cheeses I’ve tried in London.
As previously mentioned, I didn’t get round to trying the Sticky Toffee Pudding in the end, which only calls for a return visit, however, I’ll be sticking to the soft drinks next time, as the cheapest bottle of white wine came in at £36, despite the drinks menu on their website listing white wine prices as ranging between £20 and £74. For me, this was the most significant issue; service had been good, the food was good to excellent, but for those of us not rolling in money who fancy a drink, £36, when you know full well the bottle isn’t worth that, hurts. It feels almost wrong to say anything negative about businesses that are fighting to survive right now, but having been furloughed myself, and seeing a drop in income, I can’t ignore such limited options when it comes to drinks pricing, particularly as the food prices are very reasonable, which just makes the wine list prices seem even more out of place.
Having said that, I’m so glad to be back eating out, and sharing my thoughts, having enjoyed months of home cooking and takeaways. There’s just something that can’t be beaten about the whole restaurant experience, from the social aspect, to holding a physical menu in front of you and spending an unnecessarily long time indecisively asking the waiters for another 5 minutes to decide.
Restaurants need our support now more than ever, so if you’re craving a high quality burger and wonderful Mac and Cheese, Mac and Wild is a solid choice.
Let’s just get something straight, this is DIY like you’ve never seen it before. No flat packs, toolboxes or storming off in frustration, this is the kind that leaves your belly full and your taste buds tingling.
The Coronovirus has obviously affected all of us to quite extreme extents, and the hospitality industry has been one of the hardest hit. Restaurants and businesses have therefore had to come up with innovative ways to keep trading and continue engaging with their customers.
This is where DIY comes into it. It’s the latest trend to have emerged from lockdown, providing those of us at home with all the tools we need to recreate our favourite restaurants’ signature dishes.
I’ve rounded up my favourites, both sweet and savoury, plant-based and meat feasts, complete with content, prices and delivery locations.
Disclaimer: I haven’t tried all of these, so am basing my list on those that stand out the most. This list is not exhaustive and there are so many more great kits out there that you can buy to help to support small businesses.
Patty & Bun – Lockdown DIY Kit
What to Expect: This has to be the exception to my ‘in no particular order rule’ as this is the first DIY kit I ordered and it was incredible. Patty & Bun have you recreating their famous ‘Ari Gold’ and/or ‘Smokey Robinson’ burgers all from your own kitchen. They’ve even introduced a vegan version more recently. Kits include 4 patties and brioche buns, and fillings, depending on which burger you opt for include cheese slices, chipotle mayo, caramelised onions, pickled onions and bacon. Their meat is from HG Walter and is fabulous. They really will be the juiciest burgers you’ve ever made from home.
Price: £25
Location: Nationwide
Doughnut Time – DIY Home Kit
What to Expect: As well as the option to order their 6-packs of doughnuts for those in London, Doughnut Time have created a number of DIY kits so that you can come up with your own creations at home. For full creative licence, opt for the Design-Yo-Own Kit, which comes with 4 blank canvas ring doughnuts along with coloured icing piping bags and mixed confectionary including Smarties and Freddos. If you’d rather go for a classic, The Favourites Kit gives you everything you need to recreate 2 Sia Later (red velvet) doughnuts and 2 Ice Ice Bae Baes.
Price: £20-22
Location: Nationwide
Where the Pancakes Are – Chilled Pancake Boxes
What to Expect: Where The Pancakes Are’s online store not only sells the individual ingredients to jazz up your pancakes, i.e. Canadian maple syrup and their own pancake flour mix, but also has a couple of kits to keep you entertained at brunchtime. The feast box comes complete with bananas, blueberries and bacon, whilst the more modest survival kit adds maple syrup to your staple ingredients.
Price: £22-29.50
Location: Central London postcodes
The Good Egg – Bake-your-own-Babka kit
What to Expect: The chocolate tahini Babka is a fan favourite at The Good Egg, but now you can enjoy it in your own kitchen. Whilst you’ll need a few bits and bobs of your own (milk, loaf tin etc.), the kit provides you with the flour, salt, butter, eggs and flavourings to master the Babka yourself.
Price: £23.98
Location: London only (select postcodes)
Burger and Beyond – Bacon Butter Burger Lockdown Kit
What to Expect: The burger joints are really killing it this lockdown, and Burger and Beyond are no different. With deliveries going out every Saturday, the kit comes with 4 demi Brioche buns, signature 35 day aged minced beef blend, pancetta bacon, American cheese, burnt butter mayo and pickled onions.
Price: £25
Location: London, Chelmsford, Braintree and Colchester
La Pepiá – Arepa Kits
What to Expect: For some Latin vibes in the kitchen, La Pepiá have created their own make-at-home arepa box, full of colour and flavour. Arepas are traditional South American corn buns, which can be filled with vegetables, cheese, beans and meat. You’ll receive 5 rainbow arepas, 5 Venezuelan chorizo sausages or a block of halloumi, 2 avocadoes, green salsa and spicy salsa.
Price: £33-35
Location: London (free delivery)
Pizza Pilgrims – The Frying Pan Pizza Kit
What to Expect: With two deliciously doughy mozzarella pizzas waiting to be whipped up, Pizza Pilgrims’ kit contains two 48 hour proved dough balls, marinara sauce, fior di latte, olive oil, fresh basil and parmesan. If you’re cooking for one, the dough and the marinara can be frozen for you to enjoy another time. At present only one kit can be purchased per order.
Price: £15 (plus £10 delivery)
Location: Nationwide
Lina Stores – Pasta Meal Kits
What to Expect: Both fresh and dried pasta meal kits are on offer from the delicatessen-cum-restaurant Lina Stores. The kits include enough ingredients for a whopping 8-10 plates of pasta, with the dry kit featuring 3 different types of pasta, 2 sauces, olives, capers, artichokes and Parmesan. The fresh kit comes with a beautiful artichoke and truffle green ravioli, 2 other fresh pastas, 2 sauces, butter and Parmesan.
Price: £32
Location: London
Chin Chin – Starter Kits
What to Expect: Chin Chin are known for they wacky, creative flours and ice cream dessert concepts, so it’s no surprise that at present, they’re sticking to some of their tamer creations to send out to us at home. As well as selling loads of their dessert toppings and snacks individually such as Bee Pollen Honeycomb and Sourdough Cinnamon Toast, you can get your hands on their Hot Chocolate and Griddled Cookie Dough Starter Kits. Both intensely indulgent, these are definitely worth investing in.
Price: £8.95-9.95
Location: Nationwide
Crumbs and Doilies – Cookie and Cupcake Kits
What to Expect: For another sweet treat, why not try Crumbs and Doilies cookie or cupcake kits which look as beautiful as they taste. With a load of flavours on offer including red velvet, double chocolate and birthday cake, the kits are packed with either cake mix, icing sugar, oil and cupcake cases, or all the fillings and flavourings you need for a batch of cookies – just add your own butter and eggs.
Price: £15.50-18.50
Location: Nationwide
Lahpet – Coconut Noodle Kits
What to Expect: Not much is yet known about the latest kit to be hitting the restaurant scene, with its release still somewhere on the horizon, however, you can be sure that Burmese restaurant Lahpet’s DIY kit will be bursting with all the spice you need to create your own deliciously creamy noodle bowl.
Price: TBC
Location: TBC
Mac + Wild – Venimoo Burger Kits
What to Expect: As well as opening up their online butcher, selling everything from burgers to sausages, venison to ‘white pudding’, Scottish-based restaurant Mac + Wild have now created their own DIY kit based on their ever popular Venimoo Burger (a burger that’s been on my bucket list for a very long time). Stepping it up from its other burger competitors, this box contains enough for 4 Venimoos, including 4 brioche buns, 4 beef patties, 4 venison patties (yep, it’s double stacked), 8 cheese slices, lettuce, gherkin, Red Jon sauce, Béarnaise and mustard. See – here’s one where you don’t even have to provide your own relish, and it’s barely a penny more.
Price: £28
Location: Nationwide
The Vurger Co – Vurger Meal Kit
What to Expect: One for the plant-based lovers out there now, you can get your hands on either 2 or 4 of The Vurger Co’s Big New York Melts with kits enabling you to recreate them at home with Beyond Burger patties, vegan brioche buns, vegan cheese slices, lettuce, gherkin, tomato, a bottle of burger sauce, and wait for it, this one even comes with a hefty portion of skin on fries for the complete burger experience.
Price: £17.95 for 2, or £34.95 for 4
Location: Select London postcodes
Le Swine – DIY kit
What to Expect: One of the first off the mark when lockdown began was Le Swine offering a delicious make-at-home bacon butty experience. Opt for kits to feed 2 or 4 featuring bacon, duck eggs, bacon butter, signature milk and onion buns, fresh sage and homemade ketchup. If you’re looking to go all out, you can even upgrade to their Ultimate Brunch Kit for 4 which adds on both chipotle and mushroom ketchup, 1l of Virgin Mary Mix, a tin of olives and a voucher for later use when their Spitalfields market location reopens.
Price: £12-35
Location: London
A Pie Party
What to Expect: Finishing with one that doesn’t quite fit the bill, but that I just couldn’t exclude. A Pie Party is my favourite small business ever, dishing up incredible pies, brownies and other sugary treats that are unlike any other. Claire isn’t offering DIY kits, but why bother when you can have full-sized pies and ready-made cookies and brownies delivered straight to your door, for you to devour with no delay.
Price: £18-39
Location: Nationwide
The Peanut Butter Blondie Pie
Supporting businesses like these at this v dodgy time is so important if you want to see them back in business when ‘normal’ service resumes. There really is something for everyone, from minimal to maximum effort, covering a range of budgets. Check out their websites or Instagram accounts for further information and mouth-watering shots from each of these fab restaurants and businesses.
Haven’t done a review for a while so here we go… This review actually should’ve taken place a couple of years ago, except for the fact that I got confused, and booked a table at the underwhelmingly shit Steak and Lobster, instead of Burger and Lobster.
Before I dive into the actual review, just for comparison, Steak and Lobster has a near identical (although slightly less interesting menu), obviously is based around the same ‘surf ‘n’ turf’ concept, but the interior is weird and sterile, the service was a bit shit, and the food was dead. Literally of course, the steak and lobster were dead, but going beyond that. Dead af. Bland and uninspiring. I’m not sure I could paint a less glowing picture.
So after this unintentional restaurant visit, I’d been pining for the real deal. Pining for two years in fact. And today was finally the day that I got my Burger and Lobster.
This is not acceptable lighting.
I can probably concede that the only thing Steak and Lobster did better was the lighting. I have a thing about poorly lit restaurants. Really does my head in, and the Burger and Lobster in Soho at least was like this. That is, however, pretty much where the negativity ends.
To start, the three of us shared the Lobster Croquettes. These were super creamy with a lovely level of spicy flavour from the bed of Chipotle mayo. The little avocadoey blob on top doesn’t add much but it does look pretty. These aren’t cheap. You get 4 croquettes for £9.50, and you can bet that we divided that last one up between us into incredibly precise thirds. But at the end of the day, it’s a lobster restaurant, so if you’re on a budget, just don’t bother in the first place.
I’d always thought that I’d end up having the Lobster Roll here, but ultimately after some intense social media stalking, I decided that the B&L Beast Burger looked exciting. It consists of a thicccc AF beef patty (medium rare ofc) with a solid chunk of lobster meat on top, gooey melting Brie, truffle and tarragon mayo, fennel and Chinese cabbage. It is such a satisfying burger. Part of me thinks the flavour of the lobster gets a bit lost when it’s served like this, but despite that I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It really is a bit of a beast.
I was super tempted by the melty Gruyere Spinach on the side, but decided to be slightly less naughty, and opted for the tenderstem broccoli instead. As far as veggie sides go, it was nice and buttery, but obviously there are more interesting options. I did however, have to try one of my friend’s Truffle Chips of course. I was surprised that they were proper thick cut chips rather than fries, and if I’d known I might have been tempted myself, although we all agreed that despite the truffle smelling quite strong, there wasn’t much actual truffle flavour from them.
Finally we come to dessert, which I had told myself I wouldn’t have. But why stop myself if I change my mind? Gutted I didn’t get there last Easter for their Creme Egg Cheesecake, but rather than going for their plainer White Chocolate Cheesecake, I was taken by the Cranberry and Hazelnut Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream.
First off, it definitely ticks the gooey box. It was super soft and melt-in-the-mouth. The hazelnuts and cranberries were both really nice additions, both in terms of texture and flavour. My only complaint would be the warmth of the brownie. Normally when something is served with ice cream on the side, it’s so hot that the two kind of melt together, and the hot-cold contrast works beautifully. With this dessert, the brownie seemed to be kind of lukewarm in the first place so that delicious contrast wasn’t quite there.
Service was great, super friendly, and the menu has a decent selection of mains combos.
There is probably a gimmicky element to the lobster craze, which accounts for the high cost of the food, but if you’re willing to look past the food as a trend, for me at least, it was a good quality, tasty meal. £25 for a burger with a small amount of lobster in isn’t ideal, but I’m in London, I know what I’m getting myself in for, so there’s no use in complaining.
As I often tell people with a sickly sweet smile at my place of work when they scoff at the pricing,’It’s fine, you don’t have to buy it.’ 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m back with another review, and this one’s fully vegan.
You’ll get the full lowdown of all the vegan cooking and eating out I’ve done during week 3 when I write it all up in the next few days, but for now, we’ll just focus on this one specific feast.
From my flatmate, to work colleagues, to strangers on Instagram, Temple of Seitan had been recommended to me so many times. They have two sites – their main location in Hackney and then another one in Camden.
The Camden one was slightly closer to me so I headed there, but it is quite hidden away; you’d have to actively seek it out because there’s no way you’d accidentally stumble across it.
It’s got a kind of fast food set up to it. You order at the counter and then wait for your name to be called to collect your food, and there are a number of tables dotted around, but it’s not massive inside. It is however, a light, open space that’s not overcrowded, and so although I didn’t eat in, if you were to, it would be a chilled experience.
I only had to wait 5 minutes or so for my food, and the menu is pretty extensive without being overwhelming.
And here’s where you get to take a look at what I got…
Burger-wise I wanted to stick to ‘chicken’ as opposed to the beef substitute as I feel like that’s what they’re more known for. Even so, they have a few different Chick’n combos to choose from so I ordered the Nashville Hot. This comes as a hot dipped Chick’n fillet with ranch mayo, lettuce and pickles. Overall I really enjoyed the burger – it was indulgent and tasty in a decent quality bun, but the only slight disappointment was the patty. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good, but it was very very thin – like half the thickness of a standard slice of bread (other than the particular side you can see in the photo which got a bit thicker), meaning that you got a lot of crunch from the outer shell but not much texture from the Seitan itself. What with all the lettuce and pickles in the burger, everything just kind of lumped together in a big crunch-fest, rather than being able to note a clear difference between the texture of the patty and the relish. Still would recommend as I reckon this was just an anomaly in the kitchen.
To reiterate what I often mention, I don’t always see the point in ordering standard fries as a side (unless I’m at Mcdonald’s) because they’re never really that exciting and I’d rather try something different, however, the exception to this is if they offer some kind of loaded fries or an interesting twist on the classic. This time I went for the ‘Döner’ Snack Pack – regular fries with vegan doner meat, mayo and spicy sauce.
It’s a pretty big portion, so definitely a sharer (or something to freeze for another time like I have done), and there are a decent amount of toppings. The sauces weren’t bad but I wasn’t a fan of the vegan Döner. The texture was pretty convincing but it didn’t really taste of anything and so I don’t feel that it enhanced the fries in any way. I’d definitely try their other Animal Snack Pack loaded fries if I were to go again.
As this is breakfast, lunch and dinner in one go I’ll move onto the next part of the meal- the Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
You can’t fault them on how much they can cram into this pot, and this is just the regular size. For me though, it just wasn’t creamy enough. The ratio of pasta to sauce was completely off, although that’s not to say it didn’t taste good. The macaroni were very small, meaning that more pasta could be packed in tightly, which in turn meant that the sauce literally just covered a few of the bites on top rather than coating every single piece. It was also quite salty, and so this wouldn’t be my first recommendation, but again, it wasn’t bad at all.
I do love to save the best until last, especially when it’s an unexpected one like this. The BBQ Wings were probably the thing I was least excited about ordering but I was still intrigued enough to try them.
Whereas the quality of the Seitan as a chicken substitute in the burger didn’t really do it justice, the wings really showcased why it’s such a good match. There isn’t really anything here to distract from the Seitan itself, and I found the texture to be very convincing. It doesn’t tear apart in the same way that fried chicken would, but other than that it really is spot on. There’s no oddly suspicious ‘this isn’t meat’ flavour, which allows the bbq sauce to take over without having to mask an unsettling aftertaste.
Some people love eating from the bone, but I find this quite annoying and would rather be able to bite into something freely without having to work my teeth around them so I’m grateful that there’s no dodgy attempt to create a mock bone here (the attempt at this in Biff’s Jack Shack’s jackfruit wings really weirded me out and put me off eating them when I accidentally bit straight into a solid piece of god knows what…)
So these ‘wings’ were my absolute highlight and I insist that if you’re reading this, you try them at some point, whether you’re vegan or not.
The four items together were £23 in total, which I think is pretty decent for London prices, especially as some vegan food I’ve had in the city has been the same amount for half the food.
I enjoyed trying a variety of ‘dishes’, and will definitely be trying the popcorn Chick’n next time.
This kind of food is not just for vegans. It’s indulgent and tasty, and even if you’re the biggest meat eater, you should try to overcome the psychological barrier of thinking ‘but this isn’t meat’ to decide for yourself non-judgementally if you could enjoy this instead of meat from time to time.
And if you hate it? Oh well. At least you’ve been adventurous and tried something new. I don’t even know if I’d choose this over a chicken or beef burger but I’m still really enjoying opening my mind to this new kind of cuisine.
But ultimately if you’re happy and healthy with what you’re eating then all is well; meat, veggie or vegan…
One month has flown by, and so we’re already at week 2 of my mission to reduce my meat and dairy intake.
I’m gonna go straight in there and say that I enjoyed this week a lot more. I think the meals I ate were more varied, and I focused slightly less on beans and pulses; my body ultimately thanking me for this as I felt less heavy and bloated.
I’ll kick things off with one of my absolute favourite things that I snacked on at work nearly every day.
I saw this recipe on @mrshollingsworths Instagram account and they looked amazing – peanut butter energy balls filled with raspberry chia jam. You never know if these kinds of things are going to work for you in the same way that they miraculously do on Instagram and recipe books etc, but I can confirm that these came out perfectly. Basically just a combination of oats, peanut butter and dates blended together. For the chia jam you can either buy it or make it yourself but you need to freeze it in an ice cube tray so that the little blobs are easier to work with. Once they’re frozen, you take them out and press the dough around the frozen jam in a little ball. The jam will then defrost so that when you bite into them, this happens…
Just delicious. And with the same Rachel Ama raspberry chia jam recipe that I used for her pancakes last vegan week. I’m looking forward to trying other variations of these little energy balls next time round.
Along with these snacks, I needed a more substantial main meal for my week of packed lunches and decided to take a risk, following a salad recipe. Just to emphasise, I am really not a salad person and just the word alone makes me shudder. But, being open-minded and all, I went straight to Jamie’s Veg book (which seems to be absolutely everywhere recently) and tried his Bhel Puri Salad recipe.
Biggest shock of my life. It was amazing.
First off, it was so vibrant in colour – I think perhaps the fact that it wasn’t such a green salad helped me to find it less off-putting. It’s certainly not a traditional leaf-based salad.
You’ve got red onion, radish, peanuts, pomegranate, and a whole load of crunch from the Bombay Mix and crushed poppadoms. Add all the spices and this really does form a solid meal that tastes as exciting as it looks.
A couple more Rachel Ama recipes followed, one a bit meh, one an absolute winner. I had a brunch of her Nut Butter Toast which was okay but quite basic I guess, but at least it’s something you can customise yourself in terms of toppings and flavours.
What did really impress me though was her French Toast. I’d never really thought of french toast as something that could be vegan, as I’d thought that the egg was a key component. The substitute for the beaten egg mix worked perfectly though and visually created the same yellow-brown hued appearance on the bread. The recipe also used sourdough which I was sceptical about as I thought (bare with me on this one), it might be too ‘bread-like’. As in perhaps a bit crusty etc but it turned out super soft and spongy.
Ngl I would gladly eat this in a restaurant. Credit where credit’s due.
So after this masterpiece and the PBJ balls, I felt like I was on a bit of a roll, but I did take a few steps back again with my attempted Mango Cococnut Chia Pudding breakfast topped with granola and coconut shavings. I made this the night before as Rachel suggests, thinking it would be ready to go, perfect for the following morning and giving me an extra 15 mins in bed as I didn’t have to make anything from scratch. However, this ‘pudding’ just didn’t do it for me. A question of taste I reckon. I’ve never enjoyed mango that much but I’m always determined not just to write off recipes containing it. But that, along with the coconut milk that had soaked into the chia seeds forming an almost gelatinous slime really didn’t go down well. I don’t think the recipe is bad by any means but it just didn’t work for me.
From one coconut recipe to another, her simple, straightforward recipe for Coconut Rice was a winner, and pairing this creamy, delicious side with Jamie’s Stuffed Curried Aubergine worked a treat.
Doesn’t look massively appealing here, but it was absolutely packed with flavour – I highly recommend trying this recipe.
Back to Instagram, and the vegetable I have a love-hate (like-hate is probably more accurate) relationship with, it’s @elavegan ‘s recipe for Kung Pao Cauliflower.
This didn’t end up being bad, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I boiled the cauliflower beforehand to soften before pan-frying and roasting.
Then came the evening when for once I didn’t have a plan. It was my opportunity to wing something. I had some filo pastry that needed using up so decided to try a filo pastry pie. Instead of egg wash I used coconut oil which I read was a half-decent substitute, and so after lining the dish with a couple of layers of the pastry, I filled it with chopped walnuts, mushrooms, vegan pistachio pesto (featured in my last Meat Me Halfway post), and @iamnutokay ‘s vegan black truffle cheese. The end result actually turned out pretty well, and it was really tasty, despite the photo looking like an absolute mess.
I bought a couple of things from @iamnutokay at Victoria Park Market in Bethnal Green a few weeks ago. All their ‘cheeses’ are plant-based, and although the texture doesn’t particularly resemble actual cheese, it’s a great substitute that comes in a range of really tasty flavours. Along with the black truffle, I also bought a chipotle cheese, and both of them are delicious. Vegan ‘parmesan’ also seemed like an important staple so I grabbed a jar of that to keep me going for a while, to add to vegan pastas and risottos.
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Some of you may know that yesterday was actually World Vegan Day, and the evening before, on Halloween, I got last minute tickets to the Vegan Nights Festival at the Trewman Brewery in Shoreditch, London. I am going to do a separate post about that shortly, but I tried quite a few different vegan street food style meals with mixed results! A couple of amazing finds and some to be avoided, but more to come on that soon!
Restaurant-wise, I’ll take it back to Itsu, which is really great for vegan lunches. I also find their food so refreshing and energising, and they make rice box salads that are super filling. I don’t have any photos this time, but I still adore the vegetable gyozas which I had for a second time, and also was massively surprised by the mini avocado maki rolls. Not a huge fan of avocado, but for some reason, encased in sticky rice and nori sheets it tasted great.
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I still love the fact that two of the best biscuits out there (Oreos and Lotus biscuits) are both vegan, and so these make a great base for vegan shakes. From Ed’s Easy Diner, I got an oreo milkshake which was creamy and indulgent, and kept me going through a long night shift.
Again, not the most appetising-looking but I promise it tasted great!
Last but not least, I finally got round to trying Arancini Brothers, whose burgers I had first noticed on Instagram a while back, being astounded that they were vegan. I ordered a ‘nudie’ arancini pot along with a chorizo burger. Other than the arancini arriving cold which was disappointing, I loved everything about the food.
I didn’t get any chorizo flavour or texture from the burger to be honest, but the flavour was still beautiful. It was pretty spicy, and the whole concept of an arancini patty is amazing, especially if you’re not a fan of typical plant-based patties made from soya/beetroot/mushroom/lentils etc. The ‘cheese’ was just oozing everywhere, and so for me, this is the perfect example of how vegan food can be utterly indulgent. We’ve come a long way from immediately associating a vegan diet with greenness and health-obsessions.
So that’s pretty much everything. Like I said I found this second week a lot more exciting food-wise than the first week and there are a few meals here that I would actively choose over meat/dairy-based meals which is a good sign. It’s given me a new burst of enthusiasm for all the recipes that I’m going to try next time around at the end of November when week 3 comes calling.
Stay tuned for the Vegan Nights post coming as soon as I have the time. In the meantime why not research vegan eateries near you and set yourself the challenge of eating out at one of these plant-based spots this month. Go in with an open-mind, and…
The ‘Rankings’ heading has been floating around on my blog
ever since I started it a few months ago, but until now hasn’t actually
featured any writing.
The idea of ‘Rankings’ is that I group together my favourite
dishes in a range of categories, ie, ultimate cake, ultimate chicken burgers
etc etc.
Obviously it takes me a while to have tried enough of any
one kind of dish to establish a solid top 10 or so, hence why it has remained
blank for all this time.
But now I’m ready with my first in the ‘Ultimate’ series,
and it’s my absolute favourite category – Street Food. Now what I mean by
street food in this context is anything I’ve had literally in the street, at a
food market/food truck, or even a food hall where the trader wouldn’t necessarily
be considered a restaurant, but more like a small pop-up style eatery (think London’s
Seven Dials/Market Halls etc).
This list is in no particular order – it’s hard enough
whittling it down to a top 10 (or 15 in this case) let alone then having to
decide which ranks as the absolute best of them all.
You’ll find their Instagram handle in brackets – do check
out their amazing social media content to see more of what they do best!
So enough of the rambling, here are my favourite street food eats…
The Athenian (@theathenianuk)
Location: Boxpark Shoreditch
Cuisine:
Greek
Dish:
Lamb Gyro with Halloumi Fries
I’ve tried a few Greek places in and around London and The Athenian has to be my favourite. Their Gyros (finally worked out it’s pronounced ‘yeeros’) are second to none, and are absolutely packed with all the essentials i.e. meat (lamb in my case), chips, halloumi and salad. The pitta wrap was super soft and the halloumi fries on the side were delicious with a creamy, slightly sweet salad cream style sauce. An absolute winner.
Kottu Lanka (@kottulanka)
Location:
Victoria Park Market
Cuisine:
Sri Lankan
Dish:
Mutton Curry
This was one of the first street food dishes I tried after moving to London and I was blown away. Rarely for me, I hadn’t had a look to see what traders would be at the market and so hadn’t decided in advance what I wanted to try. I think it was the idea of Sri Lankan food that intrigued me in the end – I’m always interested in trying new cuisines that I don’t know much about. I had their mutton curry and it’s difficult to put into words how much I loved it (to be honest if I had ranked these in order starting with the best, this may just be Number 1). The photo really doesn’t do it justice, but the meat was incredibly tender, the sauce on top was beautiful, and I loved the fact that there wasn’t a heavy curry sauce; the flavour just came from the spices and the way everything had reduced down and infused with the meat.
A Pie Party (@apieparty)
Location:
Victoria Park Market/Greenwich Market/Canopy Market
Cuisine:
Desserts
Dish:
Toffee Popcorn Pie
I won’t say too much on this one as my last blog post was entirely dedicated to this amazing business, but as a reminder, my highlight is 100% the Toffee Popcorn Pie with its indulgent blondie-style base and sticky, sweet popcorn topping. A Pie Party is unique on this list, as an original and exciting dessert street food stall. The menu is regularly switched up, meaning there’s always something new to try, and you won’t see any pies like this elsewhere in London (or the country for that matter!).
The Mac Factory (@themacfactorylondon)
Location:
Camden Market
Cuisine:
Mac and Cheese
Dish:
Pesto Mac and Cheese
Okay, so ‘Mac and Cheese’ is not typically considered a ‘cuisine’ in itself (lol) but the heading ‘cuisine’ sounds better than ‘type of food’ etc, so we’ll stick with that. The Mac Factory’s mac and cheese is my favourite that I’ve had so far and I’ve tried quite a few. They have lots of exciting combinations and toppings, making it quite difficult to choose but I went for the Pesto Mac and Cheese in the end. It was so creamy with salty pesto, and mozzarella balls to top it off. It’s as appealing visually as it is flavoursome.
Rice Brother (@ricebrotherlondon)
Location:
Spitalfields Market
Cuisine:
Chinese/Asian Fusion
Dish:
Char Siu Rice Roll
I’d been on the hunt for sushi burritos for a while, and was struggling to find a mainstream option within London’s food markets. This isn’t technically a sushi burrito, as the recipes and ingredients are Chinese-inspired rather than Japanese, but it’s a similar concept, using sticky rice and nori (I think?) to fill out the roll and hold everything together. The Char Siu Roll had so much flavour – the meat was delicious and with the gelatinous rice, worked as a really filling, but not overly-heavy lunch, not to mention they’re super colourful.
2 Lads Kitchen (@2ladskitchen)
Location:
KERB King’s Cross (and various other locations)
Cuisine:
Afghan
Dish:
Chicken Flatbread Wrap
Much like my experience at Kottu Lanka, it was the idea of Afghan cuisine that drew me in, having no idea what that really meant. As I approached the stall, the smell of the grilled meat wafting towards me was incredible. My first bite of the wrap consisted of literally just the flatbread, but even that in itself had so much flavour. After that, it was absolutely packed with chicken, a small amount of relish and lots of hot, spicy sauce (although you don’t have to have it so hot!).
OINK (@oinklondon)
Location:
Various (I went to City Point)
Cuisine:
Pork Burgers
Dish:
Notorious P.I.G and Pepper Pig
Notorious P.I.G
THE best burgers I’ve ever had. Genuinely. You know when you eat something so good, all you can do is close your eyes and savour that deliciousness, hoping that it’ll never end. The Notorious P.I.G consisted of bourbon glazed bacon, a pork patty, bacon chilli jam, mozzarella, bbq sauce and apple slaw. Dreamy. And the Pepper Pig, Sriracha streaky bacon, pork patty, Monterrey Jack cheese, jalapeño salsa and avocado mayo. I loved that these two burgers were very different, as I sometimes find with street food burger stalls that they have a few different burgers that look and taste pretty similar. Can’t recommend these guys enough – life-changing food.
The Bucket List (@chipbuckets)
Location:
Various/Cromer (I ordered via Deliveroo in Norwich)
Cuisine:
Loaded Chips
Dish:
The New Yorker
One of my rare experiences of street food outside of London,
this ironically became the complete opposite of street food when I ordered it
via Deliveroo to my hotel room in Norwich. I didn’t have time to eat out
properly when getting ready for an evening out, so basically went by how
interesting the pictures and descriptions looked on Deliveroo (which I now am
no longer using due to them being useless when my account got hacked and orders
were placed using my money. They failed to delete my account on 3 occasions to
prevent access and I’m still waiting for my refund but more on that fun story
another time!!!).
This was the unhealthiest thing I’ve ever eaten and admittedly I did feel gross after, but it was so incredible that it was worth it. The New Yorker is a bucket of chips (very decent ones at that, with a crispy, crunchy exterior) topped with umm, everything. Chicken nuggets, gooey, fried Brie, cheese fondue, bacon, bbq sauce and aioli (garlic mayo). If you haven’t had a heart attack just reading that then, congratulations. I’m still salivating.
Bill or Beak (@billorbeak)
Location:
Camden Market
Cuisine:
Chicken Burgers
Dish:
American Fried Chicken Burger
Still my favourite chicken burger that I’ve had in London, they do both grilled and fried options, in case you want something a tad ‘healthier’ lol… but when would I ever choose grilled over fried?? It looks a little squashed because I refused to eat it until I’d taken it on a 45 minute journey home but this didn’t affect the taste and it looked wonderful when I first got it. The chicken fillet was huge and with a super crunchy fried batter. It was very simple, with American style cheese, lettuce and crunchy pickles, but in this case simpler was better. Really impressed, and great service from these guys.
Truffle (@trufflelondon)
Location:
Seven Dials Market
Cuisine:
Truffle???
Dish:
Beef Shin Croquettes
I did have a couple of lovely burgers from Truffle, but what really blew my mind were the Beef Shin Croquettes. These were insanely delicious, with shredded, stringy beef with a crunchy exterior. I don’t actually know what the dipping sauce was but it was beaaautiful. These were heavenly. And I don’t think I have anything else to add.
Hanok BBQ (@hanokbbq)
Location:
Victoria Park Market
Cuisine:
Korean BBQ
Dish:
Korean Chicken and Beef BBQ Bowl
This was an unexpected one. Hanok BBQ had never really been on my ‘desperate to try’ list, but after seeing a few amazing looking photos I decided to give them a try. Everything about this dish exceeded my expectations. I absolutely love sticky rice and so anything sitting on a bed of it gets off to a great start. I decided to indulge in the best of both worlds with chicken and beef, and the meats were sticky, smoky and super flavoursome. The kimchi on the side added that burst of flavour, unique to Korean food, and the side sauce (why do I literally never know what the side sauce actually is???) was AMAZING. It was probably some kind of sriracha mayo, it had that kind of feel/flavour to it, but who knows?
Breadahead (@breadaheadbakery)
Location: Borough Market
Cuisine: Doughnuts
Dish: Salted Caramel Honeycomb Doughnut
I’m labelling this as street food based on the fact that I got it from a stall, in the street, at Borough Market. Breadahead’s doughnuts all have a very uniform look, and their signature trading point is the way they really focus on the actual bake of the doughnut. Their dough is not heavy and is super soft. The fillings are generous and the salted caramel was delicious. The only thing I would say was that the honeycomb genuinely nearly broke my teeth so I couldn’t eat it, but the actual doughnut itself was beautiful.
Motherflipper (@motherflipperuk)
Location: Victoria Park Market
Cuisine: Burgers
Dish: Breakfast Muffin
I think I’d been scarred for life by the Mcdonalds breakfast muffins, which despite all the hype, I thought were kind of gross, but the Motherflipper one looked so good I was willing to try it. I was really pleasantly surprised – delicious sausage patty, oozing cheese, slightly crispy bacon and the perfect fried egg with a gooey yolk. Definitely worth the calories.
Seasoned: Street Food (@seasonedstreetfood)
Location: Hatch, Manchester
Cuisine: Various
Dish: Beetroot and Feta Fries
Fries are never my favourite side. I often leave them out in favour of more exciting options such as croquettes, mac and cheese, things like that. But these fries just sounded incredible. I really love beetroot and so the idea of beetroot flavour fries was really intriguing. The portion was huge and even I couldn’t finish them, but the beetroot dust was delicious, they looked incredibly striking, and the feta sauce on top added a creaminess that enhanced the flavours and textures.
Tarricrii (@tarricrii)
Location: The Market @ University of Manchester (open to anyone – when I visited they were located at Hatch in Manchester)
Cuisine: Arancini
Dish: Butter and Ham Arancino
The best arancino I’ve ever had. You can see how cheesy the centre was, and the rice cooked through beautifully. Massively creamy with a thin, crunchy outer shell, not to mention the size of it! This is really huge and would be a good side to share between two (unless you’re me and you eat it all to yourself).
WILDCARD
I’m going to finish with a Wildcard option, which will be a
regular feature of my ‘Rankings’ post. This will be something that doesn’t
necessarily fit in with the other options for whatever reason, but absolutely
still deserves a mention.
Sai Woo
Location: Jalan
Aloor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ciusine: Malaysian/Chinese
Dish: Singapore
Vermicelli Noodles
My top 15 have all been within the UK, but the irony is that the majority of the street food we see in this country, is inspired by cuisines from elsewhere in the world. A highlight on my trip to Malaysia was eating the fantastic food on Jalan Aloor, a street full of amazing freshly-made street food. This is also another kind of cheat, as actually this place was more like a restaurant, with the food cooked inside and brought out to you. But I’m going to treat it as street food, as the street itself is full of small stalls cooking dishes before your very eyes, and the restaurants are not restaurants in the typical sense. We ate here 3 times in a row, each time the food was absolutely beautiful, but my favourite of the dishes was this Singapore noodle dish, which I often have when eating Chinese at home. Deliciously spiced with the addition of pork, egg and veg, this street, and restaurant in particular are definitely one to watch if you ever venture to this wonderful country.
So, my round-up is complete. No doubt that week by week I’ll
be frustrated at all the amazing new street food I’ve eaten but that I can’t
add to the list, all for it being too late, but who knows, I may do an updated
version in a year or so’s time! Definitely check out these recommendations,
even if you’re not someone who would typically try this eating-in-the-street
street food malarkey. Casual dining is becoming huge so stay tuned for a
further post in a few months focusing a bit more on some of London’s most
popular food markets and halls, rather than the individual dishes.
¡Comemos! 