Bian Dang

Bian Dang
Various locations, this from KERB Kings Cross on a Tuesday

My dad is from Taiwan - so this lunch box is pretty nostalgic for me as he loved pork chop rice accompanied by soy sauce eggs and preserved vegetables. I had a chance to swing by KERB one lunch time and took the opportunity to order the Beast - which is the Bian Dang's stall dish where they put pork chop, chicken and oyster mushrooms all together in one box. I figured since it would be hard for me to ever get to them again, I should go all out, and I'm glad I did - every element was fantastic and I wish I worked in the area so I could treat myself to this lunch more often.

Le Marché du Quartier

Recently my brother J and his wife A came to London for a visit before heading off to France for the rest of their holiday. This meant that I wanted to show off some cool things about London that I thought they would enjoy, and one of those things was Borough Market. I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding the changes that are being made to the market traders there and you can read all about them elsewhere - it's still a nice place to bring visitors since you get to see and try so many strange foods in one place, and the potential for deliciousness is high. I saw a few people go by with duck sandwiches, which meant I was searching for where to buy them while walking around, and finally when we made it over to Brindisa, I saw it - a giant pan (much like those enormous paella pans) filled with duck confit. The shop is called Le Marché du Quartier and I think they sell imported French goods. I went straight for the sandwich and asked for some extra crispy bits, which the guy manning the pan was happy to oblige with. Salty, fatty, crunchy ducky bits on a roll with some rocket and a swipe of mustard - my idea of heaven for a measly 5 quid. Others complain that the duck is dry - I did not have any issues with its juiciness and would highly recommend it if you love duck.

Kimchi Cult

P and I had bought tickets to go to the London Zoo Lates. This was exciting because 1) cute animals and 2) no children. Alas, the day we were scheduled to go, it was raining. Pouring. But we are hardcore, and went anyway. A different P had been a couple of weeks before and told me there were a lot of food options, so we did a quick scouting trip, sloshing through puddles, and then decided on kimchi sliders from Kimchi Cult. Of course, my vision was blurred by the water streaming everywhere and I mis-read the sign and ordered what I thought were bacon and kimchi sliders (i.e. bacon and kimchi on top of a hamburger slider) but was instead just bacon and kimchi in a tiny bun. I say "just" but bacon and kimchi is totally enough to make a great snack, no need for beef. Anyway - of course the kimchi burger at Hawksmoor is better, but if you just want a tiny bite to take the edge off a craving for kimchi, this works too.

Street Kitchen

Street food is all the rage, as I've noted before, and even fine dining chefs are getting in on the action. Lucky for me, Street Kitchen was located in Covent Garden for a little while, meaning I could try them out on my lunch break. The excellent chefs (Jun Tanaka and Mark Jankel) behind this operation want to bring well-sourced, gourmet food to the streets and I think they have succeeded. I tried the hot smoked salmon with beetroot, crushed potato and horseradish, which came in an environmentally friendly cardboard box with wooden utensils, rather than the usual styrofoam and plastic. It was a modest portion for £6.50, but every bite was so delicious that I didn't mind and it was still enough for lunch - I'd much rather spend money on good food than buy large portions of terrible food. The care that the chefs were taking with constructing each lunch box was lovely to see and I hope this encourages more people to take to the streets for their food.

Choc Star

The Choc Star van is one of several street food trucks getting raves from people - something about getting your food from a passionate cook on the move makes people go nuts. Since I was at the Towpath Festival, waiting for my burger from the Meatwagon, I figured I could spend some of my waiting time in the line for Choc Star as well. I was thinking about what could be wrapped up and saved for a post-burger sweet, so settled on their ultra dark brownie, which is as fudgy and decadent as it sounds. My only complaint is that the top of the brownie was quite dry - but aside from that minor flaw, the rest of it was smooth with a high quality deep chocolate taste. I'd like to try their ice creams if I ever run into them again.

The Meatwagon

The Meatwagon has received quite frenzied attention among food-lovers in London. I made a mental note to try and find them somewhere in the depths of South London, where they are usually based, but never quite got my act together. While running along the canal, I was pleased to notice that they were making an appearance for the Towpath Festival, so I made sure to catch them while they were in my 'hood. A and I showed up on Sunday a little after noon, and the festival was clearly off to a slow start. The only guy around said that everyone got sh*tfaced Saturday night, so they probably wouldn't be up and running until after 2pm. We trudged home sadly, but I ventured out again around 4.30 to try once more, and got there in the nick of time to snag two of the last fifteen burgers of the day. I think I waited for about an hour and a half before my order was called? Then I quickly snapped a picture and shoved the burgers into my bag, racing home on my bike to make sure they were as fresh as possible. A and I chowed down on these and they were certainly excellent burgers, but I'm not sure I'd ever wait that long again (mainly because I don't really see the point in waiting that long for food). At 6 quid each, the bacon cheeseburgers were fairly priced for the quality of ingredients, and I'm glad I tried one - if they can get the wait down to 30 minutes I'll certainly think about trying another.

Haddon Gold and Berkswell Cheeses

While roaming around Soho's new farmer's market, I picked up cheeses from two stalls. The top one is Haddon Gold from Crudges Cheese. The description reads: 'Beautifully smooth & creamy, with a bit of bite, Haddon Gold is made with raw Organic Jersey milk from Hutton Grange Farm, Great Rollright, deep in the rolling Oxfordshire countryside.' A remarked that this cheese was incredibly buttery, and I have to agree - best eaten in small quantities, but lovely.

The other cheese is Berkswell from Neal's Yard Dairy, which is a hard sheep's milk cheese. Here's the description: 'Rich, sweet, fruity and nutty. Sometimes with a fruity acidity that reminds us of pineapples, sometimes creamy and biscuity, but the flavours are always, long, deep and mouth-filling. The texture can be slightly grainy and depending on age varies from quite firm to moist and relatively soft.' This was tangy and nutty, and my favorite cheese of the day.

Strutton Ground Street Market

Now that I've started working around the corner from this street market, expect a few more posts as I try my way through the stalls! First stop was the Caribbean stall where I got a curry mutton lunch with rice and peas. There were whole scotch bonnets floating around in there so you know it's properly spicy. This was wonderfully savory and spicy, with a heat that built up gently and left my mouth tingling for a good 20 minutes after finishing. It was a bit too much food for lunch (I know, I almost never say that!), so I unfortunately had to throw away some of it. In the contest between this place and Peppers and Spice, I think this curry mutton just edges out the competition - it seemed a bit more complex to me. So I expect I will be back to try their rotating lunch menu - jerk chicken or ackee and saltfish next?

French Farmer's Market

Avenue Daumesnil, 12e
Paris, France

Every Sunday morning, there's a farmers market outside of T & A's flat. We went out for a wander and I took these pictures of some of the many beautiful items for sale. T & A get their vegetables here each week, and A & I obviously couldn't go to a French market without picking up some cheese (Comte to be exact). It was nice to see a lot of people out doing their shopping - I would love for a market like this to be on my doorstep. 

Bisbrooke Ostrich Farms Burger

Market Street
Cambridge

Surprise, surprise, there's a market on Market Street. Bisbrooke Ostrich Farms had a stall there, selling ostrich burgers, hot dogs and ostrich steak sandwiches. Having never tried ostrich before, A was curious so we ordered one to share. The signs said these were low fat, and the way they were being cooked (smashed, poked and prodded on the grill) made me worry that they would be overcooked and dry, but I was wrong - it was juicy and full of flavor. Definitely different from beef, with a bit more of a coarsely ground sausage texture? They were very well-seasoned, and we heard them tell someone in front of us that there were some breadcrumbs in the burger mix. I'd certainly have more ostrich if it ever came my way...

Mince Pies

We were out in Berkhamsted visiting G and C and new baby L, and once we heard that they were doing the village Christmas lights we headed out to the main street to have a look. Of course, we were immediately distracted by a stand selling mince pies, mulled wine and hot chocolate. I didn't think I liked mince pies, and after this one, I still don't like them - I think it's the raisins and sultanas, both of which I'm not fond of. Anyway, A said they were pretty good for mince pies - they were served slightly warm which helped - though the pastry was a little thick. Has anyone heard of mince pies with no raisins and sultanas?

Cheeses

A trip to Broadway Market inevitably results in some cheese buying - the stalls are just too tempting! We were initially drawn in by the Comte (upper left), but ended up picking out some Cropwell Bishop Shropshire Blue (upper right) and Crottin de Chavignol (bottom) as well. The Comte was delicious as expected - the nice man that was giving us tastes explained that they age their Comte for 16 months (which is probably why it tastes so much nicer than the cheaper stuff at Waitrose). The blue cheese is apparently very mild (my aversion to blue cheese meant that I could just about handle this stuff, but the blue cheese lovers at the table complained that it wasn't blue enough). The little round of goat cheese was fabulous - the tangy sharp goat flavor really came through but it was tempered by the creamy quality of the cheese. Next time, we'll check out the stalls for Italian and French cheeses too.

Shanghai

41 Kingsland High Street

London

E8 2JS

Rain ruined our day trip plans with F&C so we ended up doing a little tour of East London instead. We went to a vintage jumble sale at The Victoria, then ambled along Columbia Road and saw the flower market, and ended up at Shanghai for their happy hour dim sum (most dishes are 1.90 between 3pm and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday). Long list of dishes: har gau (steamed prawn dumplings), steamed pork dumplings, char siu buns, spare ribs in black bean sauce, chicken feet in black bean sauce, pan-fried turnip paste (pictured above), roast duck congee, chicken and chinese sausage rice pot, prawn and chive cheung fun, BBQ pork cheung fun. Most of it was quite good - I'd skip the spare ribs next time though as they weren't as good as the rest of the dishes. All this plus tea for four and service came to 28.50, which I think is a pretty awesome deal for a dim sum feast.

Luardos (revisited)

Whitecross Street Market

I've been on a little hiatus from eating out, and while I'm eating well at home, nothing has been exciting enough to blog about, really. There was a pretty decent apple and summer fruits crisp, which I made before but still haven't taken a picture of, and a simple pasta dish with tomato sauce, quorn mince, mushrooms and courgettes (zucchinis!) - side note, I have noticed pasta sauce is way better if you have the time to cook it for a long time over low heat, letting it thicken and concentrating the flavors - but anyway, I just remembered that I had a burrito again with W last week at Luardos, but this time I got a different kind. Considering that the last 20 burritos I ate there were the same kind, this is actually quite exciting. So here's a picture of a Luardos burrito with SPICY BEEF rather than pork. Yummy, though I prefer the pork. Still, I wouldn't have known I prefer the pork had I not tried the beef at least once...

The St Ann's Square Fine Food Village

St Ann's Square
Manchester
M1

While in Manchester, we decided to take advantage of the Food & Drink festival. A lot of stalls were set up, and of course I have managed to completely forget to take notes on where we ordered food from, but the pictures show a fine game pie (which if I recall correctly included pheasant, duck, venison and a few other choice meats, along with red wine and garlic) and a chorizo sausage roll. A also picked up some blackberry liqueur, though we haven't tried that yet. H enjoyed her paella which looked like it had lots of nice chicken chunks in it (including a tiny little wing drumstick) and G had a roll stuffed with lamb sausage, blue cheese and onion chutney, which he said was tasty. F's chicken breast in a bun was apparently quite spicy but he scarfed it down, and C picked out a beautiful mint chocolate cupcake with a nice green swirl of icing on top - I don't think there was a single dud in the bunch.

The Roast of Sherwood

Whitecross Street Market

The Roast of Sherwood shows up on Thursdays and Fridays at Whitecross Street Market. I took A there today since he had the day off and he wanted to try a burrito from Luardos (which he liked!). I had just had a burrito the night before so I tried something different - a pig roast sandwich. I'm not fond of sweet things with my meat so I passed on the sweet chili sauce and applesauce, leaving me with a plain sandwich of roast pork, lettuce and some rosemary olive oil. There would have been rocket (arugula) as well except we were there quite late and they were out of it. For four quid, this was an incredibly yummy and filling lunch and even though there were tempting sweets at the market, I passed on everything as there was no way I could eat another bite.

Brazil Flavor

Went to Whitecross Street today in an attempt to get a burrito with W but the burrito truck wasn't there! They're probably on their summer vacation or something - so instead, I decided to try the Brazilian stall - I think it's called Brazil Flavor but could be wrong. They had feijoada, a traditional Brazilian stew made with black beans, pork and sausage - this is served with rice and a sprinking of cassava flour on top. Mixed it all up and it was delicious! Really hearty and flavorful and the beans were cooked really well. They also offer sandwiches but why bother with that when they've got something so much more interesting to try?

Jerk Chicken

Whitecross Street Market

I was forgetful today and 1) didn't take a picture of my lunch, which was a container full of salad, rice and peas and jerk chicken, with some hot sauce drizzled on top and 2) also forgot to check the name of the Caribbean stall it was purchased from. It was wonderfully spicy though I was probably a bit too enthusiastic with the hot sauce which resulted in relatively slow progress when eating. The chicken was chopped up into little cubes which made it easier to mix with the rice and peas so that you could get a bit of everything in each mouthful. Not sure how authentic it is - the peas in the rice and peas looked like kidney beans to me, and I haven't had much jerk chicken before so the spicing could be totally wrong for all I know, but it was tasty. I'd eat it again.

Broadway Market

Broadway Market, Hackney, E8

J and D have their own bikes now so A and I rode with them to Broadway Market to pick up goodies for an impromptu picnic. Tomato focaccia, garlic sausage, avocado, cherry tomatos, peaches, spinach quiche, tomato and pesto quiche, comte, smoked cheese (gubbard?), fresh pesto, olives stuffed with almonds, and a dense chocolate brownie later, we were in London Fields lying in the sun, stuffing ourselves. Perfect way to spend a few hours on Saturday. Apologies for the lousy picture though - we ate everything so quickly that by the time I remembered to take one we had eaten almost everything.

Luardos Burritos

Whitecross Street Market

So this is the burrito truck that tipped me off to the fact that there was a street market on Whitecross Street - I think it was summer 2007 when I ventured off with fellow burrito-lover W to see if the rumors were true. A bright sea green truck with "Luardos" painted across it greeted us and it was like all of our burrito dreams had come true - burritos are one of the things that made me constantly miss Texas (and even New York, sometimes). While these may not be the most amazing burritos I've ever had, they are certainly satisfying enough to quell the burrito cravings and at five pounds, pretty reasonably priced considering that they will fill you up for the entire afternoon. I always go for the carnitas burrito with guacamole, no sour cream - plus you can get a loyalty card stamped so you get your 10th burrito free. There are loads of other places to eat on Whitecross Street now but it's hard to choose anything other than the burrito once you're there.