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

Tonkotsu Ramen PopUp By Tsuru

Tsuru Sushi, Bishopsgate

I am a huge fan of ramen, especially Tonkotsu. The cloudy white broth of Tonkotsu is achieved by simmering pork bones and vegetables for many hours. Traditionally a soy sauce based sauce and some chicken stock are added to the serving bowl, together with the pork bone broth. The ratio of those ingredients are the best kept secrets of some of the best-selling ramen shops in Japan.

London has never had a proper ramen restaurant before, let alone one serving Tonkotsu. Most of the Japanese restaurants here serve ramen on the side, unfortunately none of them have even been close to what I’ve eaten in Japan. It was a pleasant surprise when I found out Tusru was planning to open a ramen restaurant in London this year, but deep inside I still had doubts as to whether they could meet the challenge to deliver the standard we are all longing for.

Luckily Tsuru have reassured us, the ramen lovers, with a series of ramen events. All four ramen pop-ups - Tokyo Shoyu, Tokyo Spicy, Hokkaido and Tonkotsu, were held successfully at their sushi restaurant on Bishopsgate in the last few months.

I attended the “Tonkotsu 2” pop-up. It was also the first ramen event after the Tsuru team came back from a research trip to Japan. I love the fact that we were given a printed menu with the background of their ramen adventure so far. We ordered a portion of pork gyoza and kara-age (deep fried chicken) each while we were waiting for the ramen.

So here it came. The collagen rich broth and half of a perfectly cooked nitamgo (marinated soft boiled egg) put a smile on my face. Tsuru had nailed the noodles. They were fresh and bouncy, totally different from the brittle ones in Wagamama (sorry I have to mention Wagamama because some people really think their noodles are okay!). The broth however was somewhat different from what I had in Japan before, which was a little darker in colour. Later I found out they used a salt based sauce instead of soy based, explaining the difference in colour. Tsuru is also working on more varieties of ramen toppings. I would love to see some menma (bamboo shoot), black sesame oil and seaweed. Slurp!

I really cannot wait for Tsuru ramen to open. The pop-up event tickets are on sale here. For £10 you get a bowl of ramen and an alcoholic drink. What are you waiting for?

Tsuru