OUT AND ABOUT | BELGRAVE STREET FEAST PT. IV

Street feast pt. IV flooded the Belgrave Music Hall this Saturday with an ever expanding lineup of the North's finest street food vendors as well as a pop-up arts market and music. An event not just for the eaters like me but also one for families (and dogs too!) with lots of kid-friendly activities on offer.

I however was there for the FOOD!

I set off early to help Sarah from Noisette Bakehouse set up with her wonderful spread of cakes, which also meant I got first snaps of all the sweet treats on offer.

The hot cross bostock I had been lusting after since I heard it was going to be on the menu. It was an elegantly fluffy and light fruity brioche with a generous slaver of marmalade and flaked almonds which was extremely delectable!

With such a great array of traders to choose from and with a limited time period and stomach capacity I was eager to try as many newbies as I could.

After hearing great things about south east Asian traders Street Fodder, I headed straight to them for my first taster. I went for the wild garlic summer rolls which were made with wild garlic from their very own garden.

These were served as two rolls on a bed of fresh Asian 'slaw salad and a tamarind and chilli dipping sauce. These were lovely and fresh and were long and thin compared to the short and fat ones which I have eaten before from Pho. The sauce complimented the rolls beautifully and with the salad it made for a nice light and healthy meal.

They also had chicken satay and pork meatballs grilling away which looked and smelled amazing.

On the roof terrace was a neat little set up from Leeds favourites Hepworth's Deli with an interesting selection of variations on the scotch egg, as well as savoury pastries and quiches. They also had a salad station on hand so you could make a deli box of your choice for a more substantial meal. Cakes, macaroons and sweet treats were also on offer.

Next up was a dish from Tasty Thai Deli who are based in Newcastle. Their menu featured a selection of Thai classics. As a lover of Thai salads, my friend and I shared a plate of their satay chicken pieces with papaya salad.

I was however quite disappointed with this dish. The chicken was perfectly moist but lacked flavour and the salad tasted of nothing but chilli. I can handle my heat so that wasn't a problem but it ruined the taste or flavours that might have otherwise been in the dish. You win some you lose some!

On my wanders I also stumbled across Fu-Schnikens and Fish& who I have both had food from before. Fu-Schnickens were selling their Gua Boa and with a special new option for the event with a Salmon Bao (which looked incredibly tasty!). 

Fish& were selling their beach burgers (pan seared fish cakes made with cod, capers and parsley then slow cooked in a spicy tomato sauce) and sweet potato fries which was a bit of a change to their usual twist on the good old classic fish and chips.

The highlight of the day for me was Arepa!Arepa!Arepa! who reign from Manchester and were treating Leeds to Columbian arepa's and plantain 'nacho's.

The arepa's are flatbreads made from maize flour and are cooked on the grill then stuffed with fillings. I went for the Sobrebarriga arepa which was basically described as a beer steak sandwich... a combo that wins my heart hands down! Recommended to douse it in chipotle sauce I settled down to chomp into this handheld goodness. 

Not the easiest things to eat, this got messy pretty quickly but BOY was it good. The beef was lovely and tender (like a pulled brisket) and the arepa was lapping up the juice and soaking in all the beefy beer flavours... mmm! Despite being a street food snack this was incredibly filling and was the last of my street feast endeavors for the day.

Before I had to nip off (I had a train to catch!) I managed to fit in getting a few snaps of the fish tacos from the Belgrave's in-house Street Food Lab experiment for this month... The Taco Wall!

As a first time at trading these looked super impressive. I didn't get to try one of these (my stomach was not having it after that arepa!) but the presentation was very pleasing to the eye.

Yet another great belly busting street feast at the Belgrave Music Hall and you can find the next one on Saturday 10th May... see you there!

OUT AND ABOUT | AMAZING GRAZE

Last weekend saw the return of Amazing Graze for its second year. Amazing Graze is a two day festival featuring an array of authentic street food traders taking inspiration from around the world.

Devised by Manjit’s Kitchen in conjunction with Leftbank Leeds, the event offers a space for all to come to celebrate all things good about the street.

Featuring traders new and old from Leeds, Yorkshire and beyond, the street food line up held many great surprises in store.

As per usual, Sarah from Madeleine Express put on an impressive spread of cakes but also trialed her new dessert menu to the public. With three desserts on offer, including a vegan cheesecake option there was something for everyone.

I had a little taster of the lemon madeleines with blueberry compote whipped cream and lavender salt crunch and also the honey almond cake dessert – both were really lovely but my particular favourite was the lemon madeleines. The crunchy addition to the whipped cream added a really nice texture and the whole dish just made you go MMM.

Next up I went for the Flemish beef stew from The Grub & Grog Shop. I had been eyeing up trying this stew for the past few weeks as it had been made specially in conjunction with the Lowlands Beer Festival where they had been serving it at North Bar. With just one stew left, a friend and I shared it and it was proper feel good food. It reminded me of the beef stew that my Mum makes, but the addition of the Flemish beer gave it extra body and umph. I would very much like the recipe for this one!

On to Manjit’s Kitchen, Leeds favourite vegetarian heart breakers with their delightful menu of Indian street food classics. A few new variations which I had not seen them serve before at previous events were on offer at Amazing Graze, including one of my favourite dishes… Bhel Puri. I leapt at the chance to try their take on it and I was not disappointed at all. Full of amazingly fresh flavours of ginger and coriander with a great texture form the puffed rice, pomegranate and tomatoes. A real treat and definitely up there at the top of the bhel puri list!

I also got a taste of their aubergine fritters which were served in a stack on a bed of salad and drizzled with a spicy sauce. Such a simple dish but tasty none the less. They were surprisingly light and fresh to eat even though they were deep fried.

 Newbie to the Leeds street food scene, Banh Mi Booth was also serving food. A friend tried their Pork dumplings and gave a very satisfactory nod and I was given a taster of the ‘No Name Vegetable Fritters’. I struggled to find any taste in the batter for these and as the name suggested these were rather unidentifiable, however the dipping sauces were very tasty and the fritters were obviously not meant to be eaten without them.

I was also given a taster of the Tortillas de Camerones…. From Las Paelleras, Spanish street food traders. Prawns in batter disk which were deep fried and served with a garlic and chili aioli sauce. These were a bit greasy to deal with but they were of course deep fried! The sauces were thick and rich and had a strong flavour. The shrimps inside the batter were delightfully fresh and I really enjoyed these.

Last but not least… we have perhaps the highlight of the whole weekend. Leeds favourite breakfast/brunch-meisters The Greedy Pig brought a rather controversial Nose to Tail tapas menu to the table. With 6 tapas dishes made with lesser used cuts of pig they created an air of intrigue and awe which no food blogger could resist!

After several recommendations I opted for the tongue tacos. These were extremely interesting with a fleshy taste but strong flavour. It was genuinely like nothing I had ever tasted before and with every bite I was more and more satisfied.

Other traders were also present however I didn't get round to fitting them in!

Overall, a great time at Amazing Graze and a massive thank you to Manjit and Michael from Manjit’s Kichen for organising the event and for the work that they do with supporting the street food scene in Leeds.

OUT AND ABOUT | TRINITY KITCHEN - ROTATION #5

Last weekend we said farewell to the traders who had spent the month in Trinity Kitchen (see my previous post here) and this week I was invited along to come and check out the new traders who are in for this months street food offerings until April 27th.

Coming in we have newbies Rola Wala, Happy Maki and the Cake Doctor, plus two traders who have traded on previous rotations, Bangwok and Fresh Rootz.

First up is Rola Wola, a delightfully excitable team on board with outgoing food to match putting a vibrant twist on authentic Indian street food.

Serving 10" rolled naans with a filling of either coriander chicken tikka (it takes 48 hours to marinade!) or beetroot and paneer dal... or if you want you can even have a bit of both together because they are just that nice. There is also the option for you heat-seekers out there to have a sprinkling of  the cheek tingling Moruga Scorpion Chilli (this stuff is HOT!) on your wrap.

I went for the combo option combining the coriander chicken tikka and beetroot paneer dal, but I also went for a good sprinkling of the scorpion chilli to see what the fuss was all about!

It was bloomin' good. Very tasty and a great combination of fresh and spicy flavours, which is not surprising when their food is all based around using high quality fresh produce.

I also got a taste of their new creation in conjunction with Leeds kulfi ice cream producer Indie Ices and their new worlds HOTTEST ice cream. Mango, lime and moruga chili have been combined to make a delightfully refreshing treat with a big chili kick. I absolutely loved it and urge you to give your tastebuds a run for their money and do the same too.

I am looking forward to venturing back to see these guys for more lunch time or post-work treats this month and feel that they are going to be a big hit with the people of Leeds. I'm also hoping to be doing a spot of naan rolling myself so watch this space!

Next door are Fresh Rootz, vegetarian and vegan world street food traders which offer dishes using fresh, local ingredients which provide not just your 5-a-day of veg but a whopping 7 portions of fresh veg per dish, which funnily enough fits in nicely with the medical reports released in the news last week!

I have tried Fresh Rootz food before from when they were trading in Trinity Kitchen before Christmas and I had thoroughly missed the wonderful flavoursome yet somehow homely dishes that they offer.

I opted for their gambian style groundnut stew which was served with lightly spiced cous cous and a raw slae citrus salad. We were very kindly given some of their pakoras to try as well.

Just as I had remembered. Good quality, flavoursome stews with that feel-good hit. Their pakora were nice and crispy without feeling greasy. Perfectly light and fluffy and really complimented by the generous drizzling of sweet chilli sauce and yogurt.

Following on is Happy Maki. A first for a sole-sushi trader in Trinity Kitchen and a welcome addition too. Healthy and honest food with forward-thinking flavours is the idea with a menu offering futo-maki varations of hoisin duck, thai sweet potato and teryaki chicken...  you might however be asking where is the fish?

Anna who started up Happy Maki has sustainability at the core of her business. By serving fish-free sushi she is aiming to raise awareness of ocean stock issues and help to aid the situation. The sushi on offer is also futo-maki which is made in thick rolls and serves as a wrap in itself making for minimal packaging. This is guilt-free sushi at its finest!

On to Bangwok! Returning for their second time, these guys have come back with a crazy new set up which is impressive in itself. Serving from giant woks placed on painted oil drums alongside their well-loved Tuk-Tuk!

Their menu consists of rice and curry and includes options of beef massaman, green chicken curry and a honey roast pork dish with all dishes served with their roasted rice and fresh Thai salad.

If you can't decide on which curry you want then you can always dip into their great offer of trying all 3 curries with rice and salad for £7 - bargainous!

 

 And last but not least... we have the Cake Doctor! Run by James, a recent graduate who has combined his love of baking with his passion for vintage vehicles. The baker served homemade cakes and sweet treats from his 1979 Ford Transit Mark 2 ambulance (which unfortunately I don't have a picture of!).

 With the public getting through James' cakes like wildfire he is already bouncing along nicely and adding a nice little addition to our afternoon cups of tea.

All in all it's not a bad month ahead for us hungry people and I urge you to get along to try a taste of whats new. These traders are in Trinity Kitchen until April 27th.