Trip to England

I had the chance to visit England with Erin and Margaret (my mother-in-law) the first week of September, and one of the first places we went in London was food related. The Borough Market is part farmer's market, part food hall, part pub and all GOOD.


I can't remember its fillings, but Pieminister had only local ingredients, including tender beef. I also stopped by a cider place and had lukewarm, "medium" cider, not quite dry (re: bitter), but not sweet either. We also stopped in Neal's Yard Diary, where it's a cheese blitz of heaven.


Oh, and speaking of heaven, a traditional English breakfast will set you right for a day of exploring (or after a night of heavy drinking). Here I am at our hotel near King's Cross, where things were served up fresh every morning. Baked beans and tomatoes with eggs and fatty English bacon (more like country ham to a Southern palette) are just wonderful.



The night before we flew up to Edinburgh, we made our way to Sheba, on Brick Lane, which is the heart of Banglatown. Erin had Sulemani Chicken; chicken marinated in spices cooked with mango puree, yogurt, almond, green sauce and a hint of cream. Overal, it had a hint of sweetness with the yogurt's sourness. Margaret had superb Tandoori chicken, accompanied by Saag Paneer, stewed homemade cheese in a spinach-based sauce. I ventured into something new and had Rupchanda Bhuna, a Bengal sea fish from Bangladesh marinated with fresh herbs and then fried with onions. The flavor and heat (re: spice) were intense, but delicious.


Oh, I almost forgot, before dinner, we stopped by Harrods to check out the food halls. The store really is "All things to all people all the time," no wonder it's SO expensive, but hey, we couldn't help ourselves in the confections section.