Alchemy on the Southbank

Looking for something to do this Bank Holiday Monday? Perhaps just to celebrate that our trains are running or to grab a spicy hangover cure? Head down to the Southbank Centre to their Alchemy event (an annual festival showcasing the best of dance, music, theatre, design, fashion, comedy and literature from the UK and South Asia). 

Street food heavyweights - KERB (@kerb_) are providing a fantastic pop up market celebrating the best of South Asian food - cuisines from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afganistan.

Here are a couple of highlights that we tried today. 

I am obsessed with Dosas - a thin, crispy pancake made from rice batter and black lentils, and Dosa Deli always deliver on the goods. Today we had their Chilli Cheese Dosa, which is so moreish and delightfully crispy!

Ladle & Skillet had a great Afghani offering -  Bamyan Lamb or Kabull Chickpeas. We went for the lamb box (griddled lamb neck, slow marinated in garlic, lemon, coriander and chilli with peppers and onions), which was served with a gorgeously soft organic flatbread. The lamb was beautifully tender and even the salad was soaked in rich lamb juices.

One of my favourite dishes came from The Peckish Peacock in the form of a Pakora Snack Box. Most delicious pakoras I've ever tried - crunchy, buttery, rich and lip smackingly good. 

There's a great selection of drinks to finish your May bank hol - a cocktail bar, a selection of refreshing beers, coffees and Square Root sodas. If you're a tea lover like myself, there's Good & Proper Tea or Teala to choose from. With today's warm weather, I tried Iced Teas from both stalls. The Classic Southern Iced tea from Teala was refreshing and tangy with black tea, whereas the Iced Tea made with Darjeeling and a splash of Elderflower from Good & Proper was sweeter and milder.

We finished off with a couple of sweet treats. Good & Proper Tea have a nice little selection of baked goods - we went for the Coconut Barfi, little squishy morsels of coconutty goodness.

Spotting the words VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE, we also grabbed ice lollies from The Ice Kitchen. Their Vietnamese Iced Coffee lolly was the best ice lolly I've ever had. Rob had the fresh mango lolly, which he described as frozen squished up mango. Win win.

So get yourself down to Alchemy tomorrow and try the fantastic food and bevvies they have to offer! Special mentions also to Kothu Kothu, who do incredible Sri Lankan Rotis - try the Mutton, and Horn Ok Please who offer a great selection of delish veggie street food.

 

Street Feast London at Hawker House

I have to admit something. I'm not a trendy person. I wear jeans from GAP and my boyfriends fleece and I binge watch early 2000 US teen dramas. I barely ever leave South West London, let alone venture East. So when my good friend suggested we try out Street Feast London at Hawker House on a *gasp* Saturday night, I could feel my slippers begin to fuse to my feet.

But also as a youthful person in this country's vibrant capital, it would be a crime not to throw caution to the wind occasionally, take my slippers off and leave the house. I will do it for you food, my love.

Hawker House in Hoxton is a new venue for Street Feast London. An indoor night food market where you can sample a great variety of street food and cocktails. Running from 5pm til late with free entry before 8pm, we arrived at 7pm and Hawker House looks a little like a homeless shelter, complete with hipsters crowding around a burning oil drum. But inside, it was already full of people eating and enjoying cocktails such as Hot Buttered Rum.

On Tonight's menu was Hawker House cocktails, where we sampled margaritas and hot toddys. The classic margarita was lifted by fresh orange, bringing a different dimension to the usual version. At £10 a pop, they do provide you with quite large portion. I personally headed to the Whisky Bar where I discussed my options with the knowledgeable bartender. Talking me out of the regular buffalo trace and into the buffalo trace reserve whisky, the reserve had a much smokier taste with a more complex depth of flavour than its cheaper counterpart. Later we sampled the Whisky Bar Old Fashioned made with Wild Turkey Rye. A treat.

Food was provided by Smokestak - a moist, smoky selection of ribs with tender meat, which left you with gloriously sticky fingers. Then The Slider Bar, where we ordered 3 Chilli Cheeseburgers. I'm yet to find my ultimate chilli cheeseburger (MeatLiqour comes the closest by far), and although these looked like little bites of heaven, they only had one taste - GARLIC. I usually love garlic. I will eat raw cloves when I'm poorly, but this was so unexpected. No chilli flavour... Was there cheese? If there was it must have been GARLIC CHEESE. We were all left with perplexed expressions.

Then there were the tacos, also done by The Slider Bar. Petite little morsels of juicy goodness. Chipotle beef and Chicken tacos were both flavoursome yet a little sloppy. I suffered through the drippings of Caitlin's juice onto my arm while she munched and I held the tray.

For dessert we indulged in a couple of Apple Crumble Sundaes from Sorbitum. These were perfect for a winters night and a really innovative way to use ice cream in colder weather. The caramel bourbon sauce was the highlight.

The best dish of the night was Baba Gs Lamb Biryani. This was bought by Rob (lover of Biryanis) as a 'still hungry' afterthought. But it turned out to be the dark horse at Hawker House. Fragrant, soft meat that melts like butter, the best lime pickle I've ever tasted and more layers of Biryani goodness. I'm not usually a fan of rice based dishes but this was so delectable that I will definitely be tracking them down again. Best Biryani we've ever had.

So Hawker House is worth a punt. Providing you get there early and are prepared to spent a bit of hard earned cash exploring their culinary delights.

FEAST in Battersea Park

Foodies Feast – LONDON’S BIGGEST PICNIC

Battersea Park – Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August 2013

"Foodies Festival is delighted to add a NEW festival of food and drink to their UK calendar – FEAST at Battersea Park, this summer’s essential celebration of food and drink.  The exciting new event invites London’s foodies to experience an exclusive picnic extravaganza featuring the UK’s largest selection of restaurant, street and artisan food available in one place."

With a weekend of entertaining to do, what could be better than a foodie excursion to Battersea, to sample some great street food, experience some live cooking and generally take in all things culinary? We started with a general tour of the park, assessing what was going to be the first stop on our food adventure. Alex decided to sample The Glorious Oyster and ordered a £10 bucket of seafood. This included BBQ Oyster, Mussels and Crab Legs with a generous helping of Samphire and Seafood Sauce - all grilled on a Barbecue. They also had £25 and £40 bucket options including fantastic looking lobsters. 

 Rob went straight in for the barbecued meats with a helping of Gaucho. Although we live so near the Richmond Gaucho, it's not a place we've ever been able to afford to eat at. So this was a great opportunity to sample some of their steak without the huge price tag. Rob ordered an "El Grande", which at £9 consisted of a burger, two thick and juicy slices of steaky beefy goodness and a fresh salsa verde sauce. It was great to get your teeth into. Although the burger was standard, the beef slices were delectable and I savoured every scrap I was thrown.
 

We then settled down to watch Shelina Permaloo, winner of Masterchef 2012, cook a couple of recipes from her new book - Sunshine on a Plate. She was so down to earth and warm and it was great to learn more about Mauritian food. She is also planning on opening a Mauritian restaurant, which is very exciting! She made Egg Rougaille, which is a rich, creole tomato sauce with a poached egg (similar to huevos rancheros I thought) and a Mango, Rum Syllabub, which just looked amazing. Both very simple, homely dishes but no less enticing.  She also gave away a couple of her books but my geographical knowledge let me down and I missed out. Disappointed? Yes, very.

Not the most flattering picture.

Is anyone else obsessed with coconut water? So many different flavours and it tastes to rich and creamy. Although I got my dad to try it, and he is a lover of coconut - he was not particularly impressed. There was a big coconut stall where they were slicing off the tops with a machete. How could I pass on the opportunity to have coconut water FROM A COCONUT. It was extremely heavy and about the size of my head but it was awesome.  I basically chugged it.

Then we watched Larkin Cen, Masterchef 2013 finalist. Alex and I became unhealthily interested in this years Masterchef and Larkin was a favourite of ours from the start. He was innovative and boisterous and his Welsh/Bristol accent mix is just the best. With a cavalier attitude, he cooked Pan Fried Seabass, in a clear asian broth with Pork Wontons and Enoki Mushrooms, as well a BBQ Lamb dish. His asian, surf and turf inspired dish was incredibly beautiful and the lamb smelt wonderful. I even worked up the nerve to ask him a question (much to the panic of Alex) and asked what he liked to eat himself at home. He told us he was a bit of a fast food junkie. He is developing a Masterchef book with Natalie (winner) and Dale and has included a recipe of this nature in his section. He told us that at university, the Rugby lads would try and take on the Triple Crown (finishing a McDonalds, Burger King and KFC in one go), so Larkin has decided to take this idea and create a Masterchef worthy starter! 

We had a quick drinks break in the Dorset Cider House tent. I had a half pint of Dorset Nectar (Of course! Dorset represent!) and Alex went for a pint of West Milton. Then it was time for another round of foodie delights!

Rob went for Calzone Fritters from Cheeky Italian. Deep Fried Calzone bites filled with Beef Meatballs, Fontina Cheese and a Tomato Sauce. These might have been my favourite thing that I ate all day. Really crispy and crunchy on the outside, with a soft flavourful and often cheesy filling. Too much Nutmeg for Rob and a bit too much Fennel Seed for my taste but they were a real textural and flavourful experience. 

Alex went for The Well Kneaded Wagon's Sourdough Pizza (think Franco Manca in a van). With toppings of Chorizo, Mushroom and Mozzerella with Rocket and Parmesan, this was great value at £7. Alex thought that "it was quick, well made, generously sized, tasted great and the person serving me was the friendliest person he spoke to there which always helps."

Then it was time for a spot of Afternoon Tea from Vintage Feast. They had such a beautiful selection of cakes that it was extremely hard to choose. I went for the Passionfruit and Coconut and Rob opted for the Lemon Drizzle. At £4 for a pot of tea and a slice of cake, their slices were extremely liberal. I couldn't even finish mine. The tea was by BrewHaHa Afternoon Blend and it was pretty average. It all felt very civilised until the true British weather set in. Calling Feast London's biggest picnic was going to jinx it wasn't it? The heavens opened.

 

Alex went for a third round of street food from The Banger Shack (created by The Shack Revolution). He went for a footlong (£5), which was served with mayo, rocket and fried onions.

The man himself said: "The sausage was good, tasted nice but wasn’t anything special. I’ve had nicer bangers in my mouth plus the staff weren’t exactly great, one of them looked like he really didn’t want to be there and it took him ages to even acknowledge I was waiting."

I got back on the tea train by engaging with We Are Tea, a brand I hadn't heard of before. I tried a couple of their more fruity infusions and they tried to sell me their new 'Slimming Tea'. The cheek. I went for a loose leaf English Breakfast tin to try against the loose leaf Waitrose English Breakfast I have at home. We brewed a pot when we got home and I found it extremely difficult to brew. It told me that I should use one tsp per cup and brew for 3 - 5 minutes. I brewed for 5 minutes and it was still way too weak. It took me three goes to get two decent cups of tea. We decided that the flavour was actually a bit bland compared to the Waitrose blend, so that was a bit of a disappointment.

 

After a nice walk along the river to alleviate some full tummys, we headed back into the festival to an Appleton Estate Rum and Chocolate tasting. Whilst waiting, it was clear that most people had gotten a bit pissed by this point and had lost of bit of their common decency. The rum tasting was interesting and we tried 4 different aged rums (along with one small piece of dark chocolate...). We all agreed that it was not something we could drink straight with ice but it had been a good experience. Exhausted, satisfied and a bit sleepy with rum, we headed home to a nice cup of tea and a pair of slippers. 

To Market.

With the abundance of America style diners opening up in Central London and the return of my sorely missed other half from his feature film shoot in Dunstable, we decided that it was time to go and indulge ourselves. With meat. And cheese.

You may remember Valentine’s Day 2012 fondly, as that night Rob and I explored the newly opened Meat Liquor (Fangtasia crossed with a butcher) and enjoyed some dirty US cuisine at its best.  Instead of revising as we have already done many times, we decided to check out another of Yianni Papoutsis’ creations – Meat Market in Covent Garden.  

With a rather secluded entrance off Tavistock Street, you head up the stairs to a small, rough and ready diner style set up overlooking Covent Garden’s Jubilee Market Hall. We arrived at about 7pm and managed to squeeze ourselves onto a newly empty table. There’s no table service here and you collect your food when you hear your name called. Like it’s sister, Meat Liquor, Meat Market has great style. It’s a toned down, simple version but its personality is still shining through.

Even with its small menu, it was hard to choose what to have. We both opted for the Maple Bourbon Shake (£6), which was the most incredible drink I have ever had. There was nowhere near enough of this to keep me satisfied. Rob even toyed with picking up another for the road. To eat, Rob chose the old faithful ‘Dead Hippy’ burger – just as good as usual, whilst I went for a Chilli Dog. The hot-dog itself was the star of the show – well flavoured with a good meaty texture, and stood out against the large amount of toppings that it was fighting against. The bun was soft and light and the chilli, cheese and jalapeños topped the dish off nicely.

We were in and out in about half an hour. As we left, I felt sated and exhilarated. I can only imagine that this is what it must feel like to visit a top of the range escort. 

The Real Food Festival 2013

Yay! Food! Festival! Sunshine! All is right with the world. Okay, perhaps sunshine was a bit optimistic (the one day I go out without my coat) - we did get battered by hailstones at one point... But the food part definitely lived up to expectations. 

"Taking over the whole Southbank Centre site in the heart of London, along the river Thames and around the Royal Festival Hall, the Real Food Festivals showcases some of the finest small producers in the country plus the best street food vendors on the scene, top chefs, live animals and music!" - The Real Food Festival.

So I wanted to share some of our lovely day with you...

We began with a demonstration by Omar Allibhoy (of Tapas Revolution fame), where he cooked six tapas dishes. He did Chorizo braised in Cider (which we promptly had for dinner that evening), Spanish Omelette, Gazpacho, Pan Con Tomate, Marinated Spanish Olives, Gambas (prawns) a la Plancha and Mussels. We picked up some really good tips from him and he has a book coming out in August! Yay! I shall add it to my Amazon wish list. At the end there was a tasting session but it was more of an aggressive free-for-all scrum of people grabbing for tasty morsels. I think I was elbowed in the boob several times. 

Then we explored...

Now we had a good idea of what was at the festival, it was time to start eating. Rob went straight for Barbecoa's pulled pork (£5). Apparently Terry Wogan also enjoyed one of these yesterday... Disappointingly, Rob found it overpoweringly sweet and said that it didn't have the texture of something that had been properly smoked and roasted dry for many hours (as a good pulled pork should). It felt more like it had been stewed in a slow cooker for a day. 

I opted for tapas from Donostia Social Club's food van - An Iberico Pig Cheek with Celeriac Puree (£5).

It was very, very nice. Plus the guys in the van are super friendly. The celeriac managed to deliver both a bitter and sweet accompaniment to the melt in the mouth meat. The sauce was rich and it was a treat to mop it up with a soft, fresh slice of bread. They had plenty of other things that I would have loved to have tried and as they visit Kingston quite often, I feel I will be making a return visit very soon. 

Rob, being the growing boy that he is, decided on a second course. A Black Pudding and Apple Sausage Roll from Little Jack Horner.

I had a conversation with a fellow foodie recently as to the underrated value of a good sausage roll. When treated with love, good ingredients and care, it is a noble and delicious food. Something that Little Jack Horner are definitely doing right. It was impossible to choose just one - I was temped by the Pork and Smoked Chilli.

Time for pudding. I'd spotted Crumbs and Doilies from a mile off. Their selection of cupcakes were to die for. Both full size and miniature - what could be cuter than a mini cupcake! Having trouble deciding, I went for the Popcorn Cupcake - a rum butter sponge with salted caramel icing and laced with crispy popcorn topping. A speciality for sure. It was so tasty. I was tempted to go back for a box but knew that my stomach wouldn't thank me for it. Rob went for a brownie from Outsider Tart. It took him more than a few hours to eat it.

It was a really nice day and I have to be honest - I am not at all hungry this morning. I had my fill. We enjoyed a nice post lunch walk in the sun in Richmond - our home. I just wanted to share with you how beautiful it is. Having serious Richmond love right now...

Think we're off out again in the sun today so I shall bid you adieu! Got a few tasty recipes lined up so stayed tuned for those fellow foodies!