WeFeast

Tobacco Dock, London

The Long Table was the first night market I visited in London. I would never have thought people in London would queue up in the cold, on a rainy day, to go to an uncovered venue for food. Not everyone loved the idea but there was certainly enough demand to start the ‘night food market trend’. And a few other bigger food markets such as TheStockMKT and WeFeast have proven to be highly successful since then.

A few weeks ago I went to WeFeast at Tobacco Dock – a converted warehouse in Wapping. The venue was 80% covered, and set up with several communal tables. More than 20 street food vendors had participated in this event. They were evenly spread out on the ground and first floors, leaving plenty of room for the guests to explore, and more importantly to form queues. At first I found the entry fee a bit pricey (starting at £8 + booking fee), but in return we got a line-up of some of London’s best street vendors and restaurants. Together with the entertainment and the very helpful on-site staff, the price seemed reasonable.

So, as the name of the event stated, it was a feast so we ate a lot. Besides my favourites - Elliot’s Café, Bone Daddies, The Bowler and Pizza Pilgrims - I also had my first tastes of Patty and Bun, Meringue Girls, The Last Days of Pisco and Hix Fish Dog. Among those, the sea bass ceviche by The Last Days of Pisco and the ginger and rhubarb Eton mess by the Meringue Girls were the real highpoints of the night. I even convinced Pizza Pilgrims to make me a custom oyster pizza. I know it sounds disgusting but with the addition of nduja it tasted SO GOOD.

Full set of photos here. Keep your eyes peeled for the next Feast!

WeFeast

The Young Turks At The Ten Bells

The Young Turks, Spitalfields

The Young Turks at Ten Bells is definitely one of the most exciting pop up restaurants in town. Two talented chefs, Isaac McHale and James Lowe, have taken over the first and second floors of the Ten Bells pub (yup the Jack The Ripper one) since November 2011. The weekly changing modern British menu has won them many happy customers since their opening. It is so popular that they now have extended the pop up till the end of April.

It was a bit of a challenge to find our way to the first floor dining room on a Friday night. You might have thought that people tend to stay at home during the Christmas aftermath, but no, the bar was jam-packed. After fighting our way through the bar and climbing up a narrow staircase, we saw this:

Loved it.

Our meal started with a canape of goose and oat cracker. It was a thin oat crisp, topped with a silky smooth goose mousse and chutney. We then had two small plates - devilled crab and cauliflower cheese. Underneath the grill-finished crumbly layer I found fresh crab meat in a creamy spicy sauce. It had a kick but not too strong, I could not stop myself from wiping the plate clean with their homemade crusty bread. Having seen and eaten so many variations of cauliflower and cheese, I think I have found ‘the one’. Each individual floret was covered in cheese, breadcrumbed and then deep fried. Excellent texture.

The highlight of the three mains was the pig's head. It came with strips of salted turnip and a thin apple slice. I love a bit of fat on my meat. The richness from the charred pork fat together with the slightly pickled vegetables had taken this simple dish to a whole new level.

Next up was chunks of beautifully smoked haddock with kale and herring roe. I feel bad for saying this but I really think that this dish, particularly the saltiness from the roe, would be ideal with a bowl of steamed rice. We were then served a charming plate of pan fried pheasant, parsley root, onion and chestnuts before dessert. I am a big fan of chestnuts, they were toasted and sliced to accompany the tender breast of pheasant. A true winter treasure.

We ended the meal with a heart-warming plate of baked brioche, custard, marmalade and segments of fresh clementine.

We were well fed by this fixed price £39 menu, and it was great to dine in the buzzing, neon light filled dining room. Unfortunately the dining room was quite dark so the food shots were not great from my humble camera. You will just have to go and try it for yourself!

The Young Turks