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 | BELGRAVE STREET FEAST PT. II

Yesterday the Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds played host to the second Belgrave Street Feast. A delectable affair offering some of the finest independent street food vendors on offer.

Current foodie residents, including Dough Boys Pizza, Patty Smith's, Fu-Schnickens and Laynes Espresso were joined by outsiders Noisette Bakehouse, Bundobust and Fish& for the delicious street feast that lay ahead.

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Joining my friend Sarah who runs her own bakery business Noisette Bakehouse (you may have also seen her in her lovely van Madeleine Express), I went down to help out on their stall for the day and to get stuck in to all the great food on offer.

Noisette Bakehouse provided a generous selection of freshly baked cakes, tarts, brownies and preserves which indeed got the crowds eyes oggling and mouths watering. Situated next to Laynes Espresso, who couldn't resist a cup of fine coffee with a delicious slice of cake?

With salted caramel brownies flying out left right and centre, there was also high demand for their decadent peanut butter chocolate cake and rhubarb and quince tart.

A vendor I was particularly excited to try was the long-anticipated Bundobust. A collaboration between highly famed Prashad restaurant and The Sparrow Bier Cafe in Bradford.

Having missed them at previous street food pop up events I was eager to try some of their vegetarian Indian street food after being teased with pictures of it all over my Twitter feed.

I went for the Pav Bhaji which came in at £6 for a generous sized portion. An original Mumbai street food, it consists of mashed veg, tomatoes and butter seasoned with spices and served with bread. It was truly delicious and warming with a great spicy kick. It was just what I needed to cut through the stinking cold that I currently have.

Bundobust will be opening a craft beer bar serving Indian street food on Mill Hill in Leeds City Centre very soon so watch this space.

Next up we have Fish&! Leeds street food favourites returned to the Belgrave after their residency here last Autumn. Serving up with their usual Fish& twist I just could not resist trying out the Brooklyn Brewery Lager Steamed Mussels on offer.

Served in a bread bowl, the mussels were steamed in Brooklyn Brewery Lager and finished with a chilli and parsley garnish. At £4 this was bargainous. I shared this with a few friends and we were all super impressed. Juicy mussels with lots of flavour and a bread bowl drenched in sweet beer and chilli was a fantastic moppable treat.

Belly bursting at this point I was sadly unable to try out all the food vendors yesterday!

Patty Smith's burgers were rolling out and so was the Taiwanese street food from Fu-Schnickens.

With a permanent queue, Fu-Schnickens were in high demand yesterday and sold out before close.

Serving up Taiwanese favourites Guo Bao, everyone was intrigued to sample something a little different. With three flavours on offer, steamed buns were filled with braised belly pork, crispy panko chilli chicken and a vegetarian option of glazed portabello mushroom and a tasty selection of toppings and garnishes.

But as the street feaat ended and Noisette Bakehouse had a near-sell out success we settled down to a pint of Saltaire Blonde and a slice of what's nice with a serving of the vegetarian pizza Paul and Linda from Dough Boys Pizza. With it being half price for a slice (totalling £1.40!) before 7pm it would have been rude not to. 

A great day of creative foodie talent in a fabulous setting.

I cannot wait for the next one on March 8th were I shall indeed be returning with Noisette Bakehouse!