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London's Small But Promising Street-Food Scene |
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Food
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Wednesday, 28 March 2007 |
If you're craving fresh soybean milk, oyster omelet, or the infamous but addictive stinky tofu in Taipei, everyone knows that the best place to get it is in the street markets like Yong He market. If you're seeking roti canai or satay in Kuala Lumpur, your best bet is also in the streets. And if you're in the mood for chicken rice in Bangkok, you'll be directed to the stalls on Petchburi Road.
The street food scene is ubiquitous and always buzzing in Asia. It is not only where you can find some of Asia's best food, it is a way of life. Take away the street food scene in some of these cities mentioned above and you would strip away the soul of the city. It is where friends, family, lovers, and colleagues congregate for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner or a midnight meal. It is where memories of childhood and teenage love are sprung. For the visitor, it can the highlight of any trip to Asia.
When I visit Asia and come back to the West, even to buzzing cities such as London and New York, this is the one aspect of culture and life that is glaringly missing to me. I feel empty and a bit down.
 It is with this feeling now that I decide I'm going to try to cheer myself up by looking on the small but bright side of London's food scene – its very own street food. There is one phenomenon in recent years that have in one stroke, given London a street food scene – the farmers market.
The grand-daddy of this trend is none other than Borough Market. I read somewhere recently that Borough Market has now become London's number one tourist attraction. This once very 'farmers market' is now not so much a farmers market but gourmet food emporium.
It is here that I fell in love with Brindisa's grilled chorizo sandwich (it's grilled right in front of you so you are hooked) and find myself waiting in the always ridiculously long queue for one of these babies. It is here where I discovered the heavenly raclette that Neal's Yard cheese shop serves from its traditional cart equipped with a cheese melting device to ensure that the quality cheddar they use oozes all over the new potatoes. It is here that I tasted the plump juicy seared scallops with bacon. And it is here that I fight through the crowd to get my dose of the most addictive hot chocolate on the planet. There are many more stalls here serving food what may be the best of its kind in London: roast pork sandwich, falafel, kebabs, ostrich sandwich, and more.
Other farmers market that serve good food include the Marylebone Market on Sundays behind the Waitrose on Marylebone High Street, Spitalfields Market, Queens Park Farmers Market, Exmouth Market Farmers Market (look for the paella from Moro and the wild mushroom risotto from the mushroom stall), and the Notting Hill Farmers Market.
Aside from such markets, there are also standalone street food dotted around London. Here are a few of my favourites:
- Creperie de Hampstead: authentic Brittany crepe served by a very French staff in a small cart just 2 minutes from Hamsptead tube station (turn left outside of the station).
- Chinatown: there an old woman on Gerrard Street selling homemade steamed sticky rice with savory and sweet fillings wrapped in banana leaf. The Feng Shui restaurant has a stall outside selling authentic Chinese bearded candy with a peanut/sugar filling.
- Leather Lane: in Clerkenwell, this long lane snakes between Clerkenwell Road and High Holborn with tons of street stalls, including some selling Thai food, Indian curries, and the only Mexican burrito stall I've seen in London.
So if like me, you want to rid the coming back to London from Asia blues, seek out one of these stalls. Please also add to this list if you know of other places by simply adding comments below.
Bon appetit! |
