It is shameful how I’ve lived in London for 7 years without visiting Maltby Street market until now. As much as I like Borough Market, it’s just so busy all the time. By comparison Maltby is laid-back and quirkier. I love the deep tunnels… and it sure looks pretty with the patriotic flags out for the Jubilee!
Oh Bea’s, you so pretty…
Hasslachers hot chocolate is so, so tasty.
Wonderful jamon from Tozino:
Jason, Selina, Giulia and Dini – hi y’all.
Believe it or not, last week was National Doughnut Week. What better way to celebrate than with dreamy custard doughnuts from St John’s Bakery? So I met the Doughnut Gang (ha) on Saturday morning at Maltby Street market for breakfast.
Oh-ho-ho, there the beauties are…
The early risers of the foodie lot, Jason and Selina:
And Giulia. I have many photos of the Gang eating doughnuts, but I shall resist publicising them and losing friendships. Oh well, maybe just one…
We then joined lots more foodies at Bea’s Of Bloomsbury for buttermilk pancakes and French toast. It felt like a big family breakfast, especially with the long wooden table.
Seventeen hosted a wonderful bloggers’ event tonight. As a Sichuan girl, I intended to judge the food harshly against the ultimate – my parents’ cooking – and I came away feeling reasonably satisfied.
When asked if I wanted white or red wine, I struggled for a moment. Then I realised that I never order wine with Chinese food, because there’s always white meat, red meat, fish, and a zillion conflicting spices. Beer is a good option, which helps if the chilli gets too much, but I usually stick to green tea.
The first course was lamb skewers seasoned with cumin (羊肉串). Always a favourite, and this did not disappoint. The only minor issue is that Seventeen is a classy establishment, and there is no possible way of eating these gracefully. Just sayin’.
Next came the beef shank in hot and spicy sauce (麻辣牛健). This was authentic and flavourful, and I believe it was a universal success among my fellow bloggers too.
Sichuan-style fish (水煮辣椒鱼) literally translates to ‘water boiled fish’. Don’t let the deceptively-mild name fool you. This is usually a beast of a dish, swimming in a fluorescent sea of chilli peppers. The one that Seventeen served to us was milder than a fully authentic one would be… but I genuinely thank them for that. I have Sichuan blood, so occasionally I do enjoy eating a chilli dish so hot that I have to take regular breaks to let my tongue recover. But this dish had the right balance of fragrant chilli oil, but not too much of a kick so we didn’t have to sit there sweating.
Not much to say about the green beans with chilli and pork mince. Or the Chinese broccoli with garlic (清炒芥兰). Both were nice and fresh, but they’re pretty hard to get wrong…
To be honest, I rarely choose chicken when there’s other meats available. But the Chongqing chicken (重庆口水鸡) had me picking at it until there was no more, so they must have done something right!
Okay, now the twice-cooked pork belly (回锅肉). I got excited when this dish was announced, because it’s one of my all-time favourites. Not least because my parents make the best one in the world. I still maintain they do, but Seventeen did a very respectable alternative.
After dinner came tea with dessert – black sesame mochi and mango pudding. I can’t actually name a single dessert that I associate with Sichuan. Come to think of it, I never even have dessert when I go out for Chinese food. This is because I will have already stuffed myself silly. (The same goes for carbs. I only eat half a portion of rice or noodles, to leave maximum room for the meat, fish and veg!) But I do admit it was nice to have a bite of sweetness to soothe that chilli fire.
It was great to meet so many other bloggers too – here’s a shout out to Ken, Selina, Dini, James, Alice, Giulia, Jason and Tiffany. And finally, a big thank you to lovely Mark for hosting us. The service was just as impeccable as the food, and 加油 for your business!
Well done, Siebe, you chose the wettest weekend in the wettest April since 1910 to visit London! As we walked through the rainy streets of Brick Lane, an unexpected ray of sunshine came along in the form of Tom.
What a damn small world we live in. Tom was only in the city for one day, and Siebe was only in the country for one weekend… yet somehow one recognised the other, and it turned out they already follow each other on Twitter. Cue a photographers’ geek out.
Yesterday I went to the London Coffee Festival in the Old Truman Brewery. Wow. There was so much to see, learn and taste… it was a little overwhelming! Too bad the lighting was awful for photos, but I did the best I could.
Look, it’s Siebe!
Oh Dishoom, what a treat you are! I’m not particularly good with words, so I’ll let my photos do the talking…
Happy Easter, y’all! If you’re near Covent Garden this weekend, have a wander through the impressive collection of Fabergé eggs. I still can’t pick a favourite.
Last night I tried out Wimbledon’s newest sushi restaurant, Sticks n Sushi. Loved it; seriously loved it. The restaurant has only been open a few weeks, and it was easy to see how it has gotten such great reviews. The decor was somehow both spacious and cosy (very Nordic!) and the staff were super-friendly.
The food centred mainly around yakitori (sticks) and sushi. I was curious about how Denmark and Japan would fuse together food-wise. The answer: splendidly.
These ebi bites were sensational:
The marcel chocolate cake with raspberry foam was a slice of heaven. Really. M wouldn’t let me talk to him until he finished his piece (“don’t you dare ruin this by talking!”)
Oh I will most definitely be back soon.
I'm Char. I live in London and like taking photographs. 
