Street Feast - Dalston Yard

On Friday evening I was getting a much needed pedicure at Nails 4 u on Dalston Lane when right opposite, the sign reminded me that Street Feast had moved from Haggerston back to Dalston. I had been to Street Feast when it was right opposite mine at Hackney Downs Studios, and then I also popped into Gin Stock at Haggerston but Friday was opening night at Dalston Yard. Perfect time for a quick dinner. 

I rallied the troops and headed straight to the Rotary Bar for a Negroni. Perfect for the hot summer's evening. The new location is massive with a few different rooms to explore. As per usual many a tour was done before I could commit to any dinner choice. 

Amelia went for Yum Jungle and more specifically the Blackened Calamari and chips. The calamari was not at all chewy as some can be especially in some chain restaurants. It was nice... but nothing ground breaking. 

As usual the atmosphere was amazing and the sun was making everything appear more and more cheerful. Everyone was having a great time. The sun did get a little too much for this young lad who decided the floor was the coolest place to be. 

Tom decided to go to the gyoza box from Rainbo. At £4.50 you get 3 dumplings, some edamame and coleslaw. Probably perfect for the summer. 

And for me... Well after months and months of reading about him and meaning to try it I finally caved and went to The Rib Man. Possibly not weather appropriate but I couldn't resist. 

Once they pile the rib meat into the massive roll you have the choice of BBQ or hot sauce. With my chilli additiction, hot sauce was the only possible answer, especially as the Holy Fuck sauce is legendary. And let me tell you... it's hot. The first bite hits you with a big old spicy whack.. but its not unpleasantly hot. Just warming. The meat is ridiculously tender. Definitely worth all the fuss! 

As it was opening night at the new location, a few things hadn't quite been finished off. 

As usual Street Feast lived up to their reputation as one of the best street food markets in London. I will definitely be popping in again before they move again to get the full line up. 

Street Feast
Dalston Yard
Hartwell Street
E8 3DU

Broadway Market & Netil Market

One of my favourite Saturday activities is to have a wander to Broadway market before settling on some lunch from one of the many great street food stall there. This weekend, the sister, Tom and I went prepared for the heat with the plan to sit in London Fields with our lunches of choice and let the rare English summer do its worst. 

Broadway is probably one of my favourite markets as its not quite as manic/ busy as Borough and makes for some really good people watching. There are also so many cafe's and bars lining the street that there are endless choices of things to do/ eat/ drink there. 

After walking having a brief walk around I noticed everyone was carrying iced coffees. We headed straight to Ca Phe - the Vietnemese stall and grabbed ourselves a couple. 

Sweet, strong, icy bliss. Exactly what we needed in that sun. 

After cooling down slightly we headed to Netil Market to have a walk round there before we could make that almighty important lunch choice. Netil Market is just around the corner from Broadway Market, run by the guys at Netil House. 

They have a selection of stall with trinket, jewellery and flowers as well as a few resident food stalls. 

Amelia went and joined the queue for the Breddo's Tacos guys and chose a selection of 3 tacos for £6. I didn't deprive her of any of them as they are pretty hard to share but don't they just look pretty! 

The newbies on the block were Bao, who have set up a really cute little hut which even has about 2 or 3 stools inside to eat. I had been wanting to try them ever since I saw enormous queues at the last Feast. I passed. Tom went for the meal deal - a sweet pork bao, 4 bits of fried chicken and their pomelo coleslaw for £8. 

I did get to try a bit of the chicken and I'm just going to say... good chicken! 

So what won my vote? What beat those 2 strong contenders... well the stalwarts who are Fin and Flounder. Fin and Flounder have a fish monger on Broadway market so you know their stuff is fresh. I have tried their amazing fish and chips but this time I went for something a little more weather appropriate. The crab roll. 

Just look at it. Carefully assembled (by a very hot and topless young man) cold crab mayonnaise with some salad, pea shoots and lemon. It was the perfect refreshing snack. at £6.50 - this bad boy could have fed 2. Delicious and a bargain! Good choice. 

We took our spoils down to London Fields, chose a picnic spot. A perfect Saturday afternoon in the sun! 

Broadway Market

Saturdays

Netil Market

Saturdays 11am-6pm

13-23 Westgate Street

E8 3RL

Feast - Brick Lane

Another season, another Feast. After the last visit to Feast at Tobacco Docks at the beginning of March.. I quickly scooped up tickets to the next one when they became available. This time, the location was Brick Lane Yard just off Brick Lane and they transformed the space into a happy carnival/ festival type atmosphere with deck chairs, coconut shy and some astroturf and hay stacks to sit on. 

This was the sister and my second visit but this time Tom (sister's boyfriend) was dragged along for the ride. After arriving and doing the initial tour (I always insist on doing a full round before I can make any food decisions) - it was time to start munching. 

First stop - When Mac Met Cheese. At the last Feast we had tried Anna Mae's Mac and Cheese - so this was the battle of the street Mac and Cheese... And the winner was... drum roll please...... When Mac Met Cheese! 

These guys seriously know their cheese. Each portion is freshly made to order where they make up the cheese sauce.. and there is a heck of a lot of cheese followed by adding a few scoops of cooked macaroni at the end. We went for the 'Carlos the Cactus' as we like a bit of spice and added some chopped tomato and rocket to it. 

Just look at that cheese gooey goodness. And for £6 the portion was pretty big. An amazing way to start the night and all evening the queue for When Mac Cheese was seriously long... 

Next there we went for the Venezuelan corn bread filled will chicken, avocado mayo and they added some black beans for us from Ricarepa. 

This dish wasn't life changing but dam tasty comfort food. The corn breads were being cooked there and then so you know it was fresh. 

Spanish restaurant Moro was next to make the cut. They were serving up sardines with salsa on home made cornbread and a shot of spicy gazpacho on the side. The general consensus was that it would make a great starter in the restaurant but they possibly weren't ideal for the setting as it could only really be eaten with a knife and fork sitting down so slightly fiddly. 

Copita drew us in next with their interesting sounding tapas menu. Amelia and Tom wanted to try the pork tongue with quince picalilli. I was slightly dubious but up for trying something brand new. Plus at only £3.50 what a bargain. The plate was so pretty (and went very well with Amelia's orange dress) - food styling success. The pork tongue was just like a type of cured ham and the piccalilli was seriously sweet and tangy which went perfectly. I definitely will be trying their restaurant as the other dishes including a spanish black pudding one looked amazing. Although I did want to punch a toff in a gilet who was waiting and asked 'how am I supposed to eat this?'. My response of 'well you could use a fork or just stuff the plate into your face?' - probably didn't go down that well. 

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To take a quick break from food I decided to try and win myself a coconut by playing Coco Face's coconut shy. Safe to say I didn't win... But there was a lesson learnt - don't try and play coconut shy whilst carrying an open bottle of Cava in a canvas bag. No good comes of this. 

Kimchinary was the last one to make the savoury list. Tom being a kimchi fan was keen to give it a try. We went for the kimchi and aubergine quesadilla which I had spied other people walking around with throughout the evening and thought looked pretty damn good. And it came in 3 slices - couldn't have been handier sharing food for us! 

Amelia wasn't a fan as she decided it was too... kimchi-ey for her. Thanks for that helpful explanation Amelia. Tom and I really liked it though. The sour cream-esque sauce on top was a nice plus too. 

Amelia, Tom and their sweet tooths decided to round things off with a pudding from After Hours who were serving up 2 different types of pudding pots. They chose the chocolate and mandarin pot which had yoghurt parfart, chocolate moose, marshmallows and mandarin jelly with some hot chocolate sauce to pour on top. I had a little taste and have to say it was bloody good. The contrast between the sticky hot chocolate sauce and frozen parfait at the bottom was a treat. 

Feeling pretty full and happy we decided it was time to head home. I grabbed a coconut for the journey (begrudgingly paying for it after my earlier shy disaster) and we all made the walk back to Dalston to work off the selection of yummy food. All I can say is Feast so far has always been a fun night, full of bloody good food. Let's see what they come up with next! 

Feast 

4th-7th of July

Brick Lane Yard

Buxton Street

E1 5ER