OUT AND ABOUT | BELGRAVE STREET FEAST PT. V

After my holiday I was left feeling a bit out of the loop on the food front in Leeds. Belgrave Street Feast came to the rescue however, returning last Saturday for yet another fabulous monthly installment celebrating independent street food vendors, breweries, local artists and music.

Having eaten from the majority of the traders there were a few new showcasing this month, one of which I was really looking forward to try (to see the full lineup click here).

I had been eyeing up the food from Discovery Bay. These guys are better known for their restaurant serving up traditional Caribbean food in their restaurant in Huddersfield. With their business leading to ventures all over the place, they also embark on setting up camp as a street food business.

Venturing over to their stall we could feel the love spilling its way through the crowd. Head chef Barrington Douglas smile was radiating across the room. Lots of friendly talk and interest led to some sampling of the food.

On offer were two different wraps. Tortillas topped with crunchy white cabbage and onion and then either a portion of their Jamaican Jerk Chicken or their Caribbean Sweet Pumpkin Curry.

I was with a vegetarian friend and we both wanted to share one of their wraps. I wanted to try a bit of jerk chicken on the side so asked if this was possible. A little bit of confusion occurred and we ended up with both curries served as one wrap. They saw the horror on my friends face and quickly made up a fresh vegetarian wrap without batting an eyelid. Not letting us pay any more than £5 we ended up with both wraps to eat. 

For me these guys epitomise what street food is all about. It doesn't necessarily translate to money and making dolla but it's all about making sure everyone is happy, the vibe is right and people understand you and your food.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our wraps and went crazy with the HOT sauce they had, alarmingly red in its colour, which had a great chilli hit.

The jerk chicken was moist and flavourful, blackened from the sweet rub and skillet pan, just how it should be. The sweet pumpkin curry was tangy, spicy and robust in its seasoning. Both were extremely satisfying and a nice little change to the usual street food fair on offer.

Moving on to round #2 we went for a bao from one of the Belgrave's in-house vendors Fu Schnikens. These are Taiwanese street food called Guo Bao consisting of steamed dumplings which are usually filled with pork belly.

In the last five months that they have been on offer I have never managed to get round to ordering one to myself (I don't even know why myself?). Having a tried a nibble here and there, I had been hankering for one of their portabello glazed mushroom bao's for a while.

At the last month's street feast they had a salmon special on and I was hoping it would be back on this time. Unfortunately not! They did still however have their three regular bao's on which were more than enough to please me.

We ordered two of the Portabello Mushroom Bao's for £6. I think this is quite a steep price personally but we were still willing to pay it.

The bao's came topped with pickled mooli, cashew nuts, sesame seeds and hoisin sauce. The mushrooms were firm, beefy and there was no need for meat here. Chomping into these little fluffy dumplings we were very happy with the taste indeed. Lots of rich Asian flavours soaring through and the firm texture of the mushroom made it a substantial light bite to eat.

Needing a little bit of a break, we settled up for a pint of the Ilkley Brewery Tour de France ale which was on cask at the bar. Marie Jaune is the name, a blonde biere at 4.5% brewed with French hops and French yeast. Designed to commemorate Le Tour and showcase Yorkshire brewing, this is going to be a big hit in bars in the run up to Le Grand Depart taking place in Leeds on July 5th.

Perfect timing if you ask me. By this point Ginger's Comfort Emporium were back up and running after selling out as we had arrived. Usually served from an ice cream van (in the picture below), they serve ice cream for grown ups in brioche buns and several other wonderful desserts.

With a more simple set up at the street feast, only ice cream was on offer but that did not translate to being a bad thing.

We shared a scoop of their Plum, Gin and Juniper ice cream (£.2.50) which was served in a little pot with a waffle ice cream cone placed on top. I loved their way of serving it. Simple yet effective and made for a good sharing portion without having to swap a load of saliva!

With two mini spoons we stuck in. Super creamy and subltely sweet. The flavours of the plum came through and the gin and juniper gave it a good distant flavour to anything I have ever tasted in an ice cream before. The cone was also great... a proper ice cream cone! Waffle style and none of this cardboard wafer business.

Feeling very satisfied and well-fed we spent a few hours just lapping up the atmosphere inside the Belgrave. The rain was on the verge of torrential outside and was not giving any signs of letting up. With a slice of Dough Boys Pizza, their basic Silvio (£2 a slice), we prepped for the rain and soggily squelched our way home.

The next street feast is on Saturday 14th June at the Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen in Leeds. It's going to be a Brazilian themed special with lots of street food traders speciailising in South and Latin American food, as well as a few extra surprises and the chance to watch the Brazil football match on the big screen upstairs.

See you there?

OUT AND ABOUT | KRAKOW #2

On to round #2 of my favourite foodie finds in Krakow. 

4. Ambasada Śledzia

As a student in Krakow, I used to hang out here pretty much every evening... It was the watering hole for my friends. At the time, it was open 24/7 and we'd start the night here and then somehow end up returning on the way home to sober up with their hearty grub.

Ambasada Śledzia translates to 'The Herring Embassy' as it is situated just across the road from the American Embassy in Krakow (look for ul. Stolarska). Noise was always an issue and the bouncers would tell us to "spokój" or we would get kicked out.

Whilst this bar is still open, it now shuts at 12. There is however a new offshoot bar which has opened just a bit further in a courtyard down the road which is open til the very early hours.

With a series of vodka and herring bars popping up all over the city, Ambasada Sledzia is still #1 for me! A small unpasteurised beer (300ml) or a large shot of vodka will set you back 4zl a pop (that's 80p!).

Raw pickled herrings are a Polish delicacy and can be purchased in all manners and forms. Popular choices are herrings in sour cream, beetroot, curry and oil and are just 8zl each (£1.60). They serve other food round the clock too, including some traditional Polish snacks and light tapas dishes.

On to the food! The beast that got us going was this devil below. The Potato Pie with Spinach (10zl - £2). A cheesy mass of potatoes and spinach. So simple but an almighty dish in all its glory.

The garlic spinach was pungent - you can smell this dish when it's being made in the kitchen - but that's just the sort of thing that gets me pretty damn excited. This may just be a rather haphazard take on the potato dauphinoise, but it is surely comforting and will leave you wanting more.

5. Horai

This was another old favourite of mine. I absolutely love Thai food and this is the one place that did it very well in Krakow.

With an extremely over-imposing menu (at least ten pages!) you might initially be put off. If it was any other restaurant I would. How can one restaurant make good dishes for several Asian styles of cuisine? I've never ventured outside of their Thai menu, but I can tell you now that their Thai food was and still is very good.

Situated in a rather derelict square in Kazimierz, Horai is found on Plac Wolnica. The staff are attentive and the service is very good - I was also remembered by the same waiter on my return this time round! 

On this occasion I opted for the Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce (22zl - £4.40). The chicken was moist and the sauce was a good consistency - it looked and tasted fresh - no gloopy sauce here. Tossed between al dente onions and peppers with a garnish of coriander this peppery dish was a pleasure to eat and at a very good price too.

My counterpart ordered the Pad Thai with Tofu (23zl - £4.60). This came as a highly piled portion of fried egg noodles laced with vegetables. A good strong flavour and we loved the addition of the crispy onions as well as peanuts to lace the dish.

As a side we shared a portion of Thai Fried Vegetables (19zl - £3.80). This is actually a main dish in itself but I couldn't resist it. I love vegetables when cooked in a Thai style and this dish contained an interesting combination of ingredients, including seaweed and pineapple.

6.  Antler Poutine&Burger

This is a new joint in Krakow that has opened in the last year. I had seen pictures and heard good stories about it which made it high up on my to-do list of places to check out this time round.

A very small bar indeed situated on ul. Gołębia just off of the Main Square. There are stools and raised shelves to eat at around the corners of the room. It could perhaps seat no more than six people at a time.

We went twice in one day...! The first stop was to get our hands on some Poutine. I had never tried this dish before but had heard about it a few years back from a friend who studied in Canada.

Fat chips, mature cheddar and lashings of fresh gravy where the style in this place and we ordered a large pot (9zl - £1.80) to share. The chips did not seem overly fresh, but they had a bizarrely nice soggy yet crisp consistency to them. More stodge, more comfort food and good lethargic vibes all round.

We returned later that evening. My veggie cohort is always on the look out for interesting and exciting vegetarian fare. Earlier that day we had spotted a Vegetarian Burger (the only one on the menu) which we then could not stop thinking about for the rest of the day...

For all you cheese lovers out there I hope you are ready for this.

In comes the game changer of all vegetarian burgers! This burger was 16zl (£3.20) and contained a WHOLE mini grilled Camembert of oozing goodness. The burger was cooked fresh before us. A lightly toasted brioche bun, topped with a spread of mayonnaise, lettuce, rocket, a mini Camembert, sun dried tomatoes and lashings of pesto. 

This was rather exciting to eat and all the different ingredients worked in harmony. We were not even back from Krakow for a week before an attempt to recreate this at home took place.

Their other burgers also looked very good. From your basic beef burger to your all singing all dancing crazy poutine filled burger, they certainly had an interesting selection. I also liked the fact that you could choose how you wanted your meat cooked and their emphasis on sourcing locally their ingredients where possible. 

7. Everything else...

Lody! Aka ice cream. Fresh ice cream is served from little vendors down most of the side streets leading off of the Main Square. At 2-3zl (40-60p) a scoop you'd be silly not to get some.

We were also snapping away at all the street art we stumbled across. If you take a wonder down through Kazimierz or even further along to Podgorze you will find tonnes of the stuff. These were my favourite pieces.

Cars! I love old cars and there are plenty of them about in Krakow. This Ford Capri racer got a good perving on by my camera.

Whenever you go to Krakow, there is ALWAYS something going on in the Main Square. It doesn't matter whether it is a public holiday (it was Labour Day whilst we were there) or whether it is the annual pierogi festival - you will always have some form of entertainment to watch. For us it was this lovely military brass band and an opera singer driving in on the back of what we could only describe as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

...and to finish it off... the beer!

This picture was taken in a little hidden den in an underground bar with mezzanine hideouts. I would tell you where it is but it's my favourite hiding place.

Why haven't you booked your ticket yet?

OUT AND ABOUT | KRAKOW #1

After a very busy year my holiday time was definitely overdue. A place I am always happy to re-visit and like to call my second home is the truly wonderful Polish city of Krakow.

As a student, I spent my year abroad studying in this city and it holds many memories dear to my heart. I have been back to visit since, but I knew another visit was in order. I returned a few weeks ago to frequent some old haunts, hunt down new ones, for food inspiration and of course to do what I do best which is... eat!

Returning with a friend of mine who had also visited the city before, we were on a mission to eat our way round the city sharing plates and street food. Below is round up #1 of our favourite finds and eats in Krakow.

My main mission of this trip was to try several different types of Pierogi. Pierogi are a traditional handmade Polish dumpling which is made from unleavened dough. They are semi-circular in shape and filled with various different ingredients.

We successfully managed to work our way through a few different varieties including pierogi filled with fava beans, cheese and potato, sauerkraut and mushroom and garlic spinach.

However... on to the round up we go!



1. Milkbar Tomasza

Our favourite pierogi was from a lovely modern take on the traditional Polish milk bar (Bar Mleczny). The traditional ones are self-service cafeterias which were establised after World War I to provide cheap but nourishing hearty food. These are still going strong today and you can expect to buy a three course meal for the price of £3-£4.

Milkbar Tomasza was just over the road from our apartment on sw. Tomasza . It is modern in style but still retains the intimate cafeteria feel to it.

We loved this place so much that we went back three times during out stay... and on three times we ordered these INCREDIBLE Spinach Pierogi (pierogi ze szpinakiem) because they were indeed the best pierogi I have ever tasted. Light and fluffy dumplings filled with an intensely flavoured (but highly welcomed) garlic spinach which were boiled then fried and served with golden onions and chives. A portion of eight pierogi came to 13zl (£2.60).

The staff were super friendly and polite and extremely flattered to see us return. This was the star of the trip for me.

We also sampled some of their Potato Pancakes with Creamy Mushrooms (placki ziemniaczane z sosem pieczarkowym) which are also in need of a mention. These were potato cake fritters which were moist and delicate on the inside but crisp on the exterior. The mushrooms came in a creamy garlic sauce which was not too rich but was incredibly moreish. This is another popular dish in Poland. This was a mere 14zl which sets you back £2.80.

2. Zapiekanka from Plac Nowy in Kazimierz

Zapiekanka are one of the most popular Polish street foods you can get. They are halved baguettes which are served open faced like a pizza. They are usually topped with mushrooms and cheese and then whatever other toppings you desire.

Zapiekanka's are available from most of the kebab shops on in the Main Square (Rynek Główny) in Krakow but I highly recommend taking a walk over to Kazimierz, the Jewish district of Krakow and venturing to Plac Nowy where you will be greeted by an array of zapiekanka vendors. The usual rule of thumb is to join the vendor which has the biggest queue and eye up the zapiekanka's which are served whilst you make your decision on your toppings.

We tried a few different ones. Our favourite by far was this beast below... a vegetarian special with kidney beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes, tomato ketchup and topped with crispy fried onions. These come with an extremely messy warning though!

 On our next venture down we went to a different vendor. I was desperate to have some kielbasa, a smoked Polish sausage so I ordered one with spinach, kielbasa, tomato ketchup and crispy onions.
My vegetarian sidekick went for a similar one (minus the kielbasa) with spinach, garlic mayonnaise and crispy onions.

I also couldn't help but share a picture with you of some extremely popular food which we saw several workers ordering on their lunch break from the vendors. It's a pork knuckle served with sauerkraut and half a loaf of bread. The real hearty deal right there!

3. Chimera

When I lived in Krakow this was my favourite haunt. I could never get bored of eating here as the menu changes daily and the food is fresh and tasty, but also extremely healthy and good value for money. It is situated on sw. Anny and a nice hideaway just a stones throw from the Main Square.

There is a cellar restaurant in this establishment but the part that has me hooked is their salad bar based in the main courtyard. You can buy a small plate which means you get three different salads priced at 13zl (£2.60) or a large plate with five portions at 17zl (£3.40).

It is a cafeteria style salad bar where you choose your plate size and then walk along the counters and point at salads saying "proszę" to the staff serving you as they pile your plate high.

There are always at least a selection of ten cold vegetarian salad options to choose from and usually a few meat and fish ones too. They also serve up hot portions of stew, grilled potatoes, tarts and savoury pancakes.

All salads come with the option of a dressing on the side in a little tub and unlimited rye bread. Portions as you can clearly see are also overly generous!

I would also recommend trying their cake... We tried their Szarlotka (a Polish apple cake) and also a rhubarb version of this too. Both were very good and like a cold slab of buttery crumble. Mmm.

***

And on that note we have round up one of our feasting in Krakow. My next post features the delights of Antler Poutine&Burger, Horai and Ambasada Śledzia (plus a few sneaky extras).