Pad Thai

Posted on May 25, 2013 by BKR

My little mini-tour of the regulars at Edinburgh Markets concluded, today, with a trip to the Pad Thai stall, run by the chef from Bluerapa Thai, on Torphicen Street.

A street food staple, and one of Thailand’s foremost national dishes, pad Thai is a noodle-based dish with which you’ll all likely be familiar.

On offer today, we had chicken or king prawn varieties, cooked freshly to order, before my very eyes, in a large open pan.

I opted for the king prawns, so chef was soon at work frying the prawns, then cracking in an egg, before adding the noodles, bean sprouts and shredded veg, all the time mixing and stirring, then adding a richly dark sauce mix, before finishing with a little shredded spring onion.

Once spooned into a carton, I was invited to top it with crushed peanuts and chilli, before handing over a fiver and being on my way.

I didn’t go far, choosing to sit on a nearby bench and contemplate the ebb and flow of the other market stalls. They were doing pretty decent business, considering it was a rather fog-bound morning.

I briskly shovelled the noodles towards my face, enjoying simple, satisfying mouthfuls of savoury goodness. The prawns were nicely cooked, and the dish had a good array textures, making it a very enjoyable eat.

I’ve not visited Bluerapa, as yet, but have heard good things. Today’s experience made me move it a good few notches up my priority list.

So overall, I was pleased by my visit to the Pad Thai man. This street food classic is being given a good rendition, and it’s done with a good little touch of theatre, in the fresh preparation. It’s a substantial and filling feed, and given the location, at the foot of Arthur’s Seat, it’s just the thing to fuel you on a little jaunt up the hill, of a Sunday.

Scores
Blythe scores Pad Thai
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 14/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: king prawn pad thai

I wore: action footwear

Total bill: £5

Edinburgh Markets
http://www.edinburghmarkets.co.uk/
Saturdays, 11am – 5pm Outside St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral
Sundays, 10am – 4pm Outside The Royal Commonwealth Pool

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Bespoke BBQ

Posted on May 24, 2013 by BKR

Having started my Saturday lunchtime market feast with a delightful bowl of soup from neighbouring Land Foods, I turned my attention to the meaty delights of Bespoke BBQ, with my eyes firmly set on one of their pulled pork rolls.

Menu

Menu

Relative newcomers to the street food circuit, Jones & Son, the folks behind Bespoke, specialise in long and slow pork, cooked in smokers they craft themselves. They’ll even make one of their wood-clad oil-drum beauties for you, if you ask them nicely.

Their Saturday lunchtime offerings are simple: either a pulled pork roll; or a pulled pork pasty. I opted for the former.

Pulled pork

Pulled pork

On to rolls from Manna House, the first thing applied is a homemade slaw, then a generous layer of the pork, with a lightly piquant chilli jam topping things off. The finished product looked grand, and gave the impression that it was going to be a gloriously messy eat. And so it proved.

The pork was moist tender joy. Alone it would stand as a delicious filling, but the crunch of the slaw and the sweet heat from the chilli rounded things out in to a really smartly constructed, deeply satisfying sandwich.

Roll

Roll

Oink’s hog-roast rolls have been a big hit with Edinburgh patrons, over the years, but have never really floated my boat. Bespoke’s pork is prepared differently, with a stronger influence from the Carolina barbecue tradition. The result is truly outstanding porky sandwich goodness.

So overall, Bespoke BBQ is an impressive stall, serving a high quality product. The guys running the show are full of good cheer, clearly very passionate about their craft, and fired with enthusiasm to develop their product and bring it to a wider audience. I’d strongly recommend you pay them a visit, to sample their excellent sandwiches, soon.

Scores
Blythe scores Bespoke BBQ
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: pulled pork sandwich, with slaw and chilli jam

I wore: waterproof jacket

Total bill: £4

Edinburgh Markets
http://www.edinburghmarkets.co.uk/
Saturdays, 11am – 5pm Outside St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral
Sundays, 10am – 4pm Outside The Royal Commonwealth Pool

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Land Foods

Posted on May 23, 2013 by BKR

It was a thoroughly horrid day, weatherwise, so it seemed like the ideal opportunity to go and sympathise with some of the stall-holders at one of Edinburgh’s Saturday markets, as they bravely stuck it out in the lashing rain.

Market stall

Market stall

I chose the one outside St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral. I’d swooped through it a couple of times, recently, but not yet got to grips with what they had on offer, in terms of lunchtime grub.

I alighted upon two stalls, side by side, that looked likely to sort my lunchtime needs, very nicely. Tomorrow, you can hear about Bespoke BBQ, which served me my “main course”, but today’s focus is on Land Foods, who provided me with a lovely starter.

Salad

Salad

Focussing on fresh, local, seasonal food, Land Foods serves a weekly changing menu of delights at the market, and has recently also begun trading at the Sunday market outside the newly refurbished Commonwealth Pool.

Today’s selection was three vibrant and delicious looking salads, which were begging for a sunny day, and a warming sounding potato, butter bean and tarragon soup. I opted for the latter, which came with a fun looking bread-stick.

Soup and bread-stick

Soup and bread-stick

The spirit of the women who run the stall was undimmed by the distinctly dismal weather, and they were full of sunny banter.

The soup proved to be very good. It was everything the soup at Bia Bistrot should have been, actually. The rustic texture was velvety, and the judicious use of tarragon, which can be sometimes be brutally overpowering, was expertly judged. It brought warmth and comfort, which was much needed on this soggiest of Saturdays.

So overall, I was very pleased with Land Foods. The wonderfully friendly owners are doing excellent work, and even on this pig of a day, I was left feeling heartily replenished by their lovely soup. I’d recommend you pay them a visit, soon, at either one of their regular weekend market haunts.

Scores
Blythe scores Land Foods
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: potato, butter bean and tarragon soup; breadstick

I wore: saturated trousers

Total bill: £2.50

Edinburgh Markets
http://www.edinburghmarkets.co.uk/
Saturdays, 11am – 5pm Outside St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral
Sundays, 10am – 4pm Outside The Royal Commonwealth Pool

Posted in Coffee shop, soup, Street food | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cafe Wander

Posted on May 22, 2013 by BKR

Having completed another early morning train journey to Glasgow, and feeling much in need of sustenance, I strode the short distance from Queen Street station to Café Wander, a little basement café on West George Street, with a considerable urgency in my step, not least as it had begun to rain.

Exterior

Exterior

Breakfast was my requirement, so once the attentive counter woman had invited me to take a seat, as they do table service for sit-in customers, I was contemplating a nice selection of options from their menu.

I was hooked by their breakfast rolls, and decided that some black pudding was the order of the day. I thought a nice espresso would be a good plan to jolt me in to life, too.

Roll and espresso

Roll and espresso

Both items appeared swiftly. The single slice of black pudding on the roll looked a little lonely, but once I’d applied a generous dollop of brown sauce, it looked much more contented.

The roll itself was really good, with a lovely light crispness to it. It came together well with the black pudding and sauce to make for enjoyably restorative mouthfuls.

Lovely farewell steps

Lovely farewell steps

The espresso, a Matthew Algie blend, was pretty good, too. It was nice to see it delivered as a short double, as there seems a real fad in Edinburgh for serving this particular brand in vast measures (such as it was in the short-lived Drop).

After this brief but enjoyable interlude, I was on my way to face the slings and arrows of outrageous Glaswegian fortune for another day.

So overall, I rather enjoyed my visit to Café Wander. It’s a smart little place, with a warm welcome, serving good food that’s likely to please a range of tastes. I’ll certainly be back, as I found it very charming.

Scores
Blythe scores Café Wander
3.5/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: black pudding roll

I drank: water, espresso

I wore: stripy scarf

Total bill: £3.70

Cafe Wander on Urbanspoon

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Bia Bistrot

Posted on May 21, 2013 by BKR

There are lots of places that fall in to the category of “been meaning to go there for a while”, but Bia Bistrot is probably top of that list. Not only have many people sung its praises to me, but I’ve also walked past it countless times on my travels.

Exterior

Exterior

Today, I timed it perfectly to arrive in its vicinity when its smart bistro stylings were exactly what I was after, so was delighted to take a corner table, rest my feet, and contemplate the menu.

With attractive looking value, in the shape of their lunchtime set menu, offering two courses for £9.50, I liked what I saw. Indeed, I had quite a task to make my choices, as I would have been happy to eat any and all of the starters and mains.

Soup

Soup

The lovely waitress helped me out, by offering more detailed descriptions of each dish. I settled upon the soup, a potato and rosemary, then a gnochhi dish, featuring butternut squash.

The soup soon arrived. A rather thin potato potage, the promised notes of rosemary were completely obliterated by fresh tarragon shredded on top, theoretically as a garnish. It was a little under-seasoned, too, so left me very unconvinced.

Gnochhi

Gnochhi

The main course was similarly underwhelming. The homemade gnochhi had been rather unevenly crisped, with some of the little, soft potato parcels verging on the burnt. The creamy sauce and sweet squash came together for quite tasty mouthfuls, but again the seasoning was too light, and lacked the required boldness.

So overall, so much of what was on offer at Bia Bistrot, from their menu, to the delightful service and smart surroundings, said that this was going to be an enjoyable and perhaps excellent restaurant experience. However, the execution of both dishes I sampled was very sloppy, and entirely let things down.

I’ll need to come back before reaching a firm verdict, as I’m almost certain that what I had today was not a representative experience. Next time I’ll bring MJ, who, like me, will be lured in by the sound of the dishes on the menu. I hope we find the kitchen on much finer form.

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: potato and rosemary soup; gnochhi

I drank: water

I wore: walking attire

Total bill: £9.50

Bia Bistrot on Urbanspoon

Posted in Bistro, Bruntsfield, soup | Tagged , , | 1 Comment