Le Bun x Kelis

Pop will eat itself

Leicester Square - July 2016

It’s not every day you get your dinner cooked for you by a multi-million record selling, Grammy-winning musician. But when Kelis Rogers, of Milkshake/Boys/Yard fame, linked up with French/American street food stars Le Bun for a two week London pop-up (with additional nights at Standon Calling festival), that’s exactly what we got.

There’s no denying Kelis’ cooking credentials. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu part time for 4 years while knocking out albums & having a kid. She’s run a food truck at SWSX. She’s presented a show on the Cooking Channel. She’s released a range of sauces & she’s published a cookbook. Baby, she got this. 

In order to help her bring her passion project over to London (something she’d been wanting to do for years, apparently. I bet she says that to all the food scenes…), she teamed up with Le Bun, who have been growing steadily in reputation since starting up a few years ago at Street Feast, and whose beef bourguignon bun deserves to be on the pantheon of great London street eats.

So this was no mere gimmick, no half-arsed celebrity endorsement. And the lady herself was sweating it out in the kitchen. But was it any good?

In parts.

There were some moments of true brilliance – a sticky, soft, soul-satisfying ox cheek poutine with super tender meat and deep, rich gravy, served over crispy yukka wedges was bowl-licking stuff. 

The off-menu bahn-mi came with dipping gravy we enjoyed straight from the glass (even if the sandwich itself wasn’t setting the world alight). Her chilli & cornbread was a winning combination of deceptively spicy meat and sweet crumbly bread (addition of stem ginger gave it a fiery kick). 











And the truffle-aioli & parmesan coated corn is a mix of sophisticated and homely; the perfectly browned sweet corn matched against rich truffle and salty cheese. Even if the lack of available toothpicks meant the rest of the meal was spent working the bits out.

Then everything else is pretty average. There was a ‘Pho Get Me Not’ that was fragrant, but lacking in any depth, and only two pieces of rubbery chicken. It was pretty phogettable. The sea bass ceviche is pleasantly citrusy and slightly spiced, but the best in the game aren’t merely pleasant; they’re up to 11 with the flavours. (see Lima Floral for details). The arepas have their moments, with the pork being the best of the bunch, but there's nothing in there to convince me they're just inferior tacos.

The most obvious Le Bun portion of the meal was actually a little disappointing. Our cheeseburger was overcooked, the truffle mayo lacked any real truffle hit, and while the flank steak was perfectly  slow cooked and tender, the cherry barbeque sauce coating it was just too sweet like hoi sin for my tastes. It’s a shame, because as we’ve hinted, their food is usually top drawer.

And finally; a word on dessert. Half a fig with some warm almond milk and almond flakes is not ‘A Happy Ending’, it was more like a limp handshake.

As a one-off, I’m glad we tried it. But at £40 it seemed over-priced when you consider the places you can get top quality tasting menus for under £50. Perhaps there’s an element of the Leicester Square location and the nature of the event in that price.. And fair play to Kelis for actually running the service, rather than just landing her name.  Overall, we enjoyed the food, but would we go back if it was on again? Let me put it this way: Might trick me once, won’t let you trick me twice. Whoa-a-oh-a.

Bo & Bun

Proper Bo, I tell thee.

Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia - July 2015

Without wanting to brag (too much) we recently went to Bali. The 3kg weight gain suggests we ate pretty well, so it’s time for – an international post!

We stayed in Seminyak, where there is no shortage of great restaurants I could write about. More upmarket than neighbouring Kuta, it’s all designer boutiques, sunset cocktail bars and beautifully presented places to eat. Understandably, it was mostly of an Asian persuasion, with highlights including Conde Nast Traveller’s ‘hottest new global restaurant 2009’ Sarong (no longer new, but with stunning location, presentation and flavours), the colonial stylings of Café Bali, seafood restaurants as far as the eye could see on Jimbaran beach, and anything the brilliant staff at out villa churned out.

But the one place that deserves a write up, was the right on point ‘Asian Eatery’ Bo & Bun. A place so good we went four days in a row…

And the main reason we kept coming back was the life-affirming bulgogi fries. A flawless dish; like a high class Asian chilli fries, combining perfect fries, sour kimchi, crispy fried beef and what may be the greatest condiment in the history of the world: sriracha aioli. Every taste-note hit, and always gone in about 60 seconds, they’d be worth the trip back to Bali alone. Best fries we've ever eaten, hands down.

Elsewhere, the food was nearly as banging.

A bahn mi filled with the naughtiest 18-hour pork belly that was tender fatty delight, and which was apparently better than anything one of our party had eaten in Vietnam. And presented with a mini frier basket of crispy wonton skins that were like a quaver’s badass cousin.

While the buns of the bao gao weren’t the lightest ever, the pork was so packed full of flavour – you could taste that it had just come off the grill. Less sauce and marinade than your standard London bao – here the meat was the star.

I would also recommend trying “The 12 Hour” Pho – cooking a broth that long is only going to load it with flavour, and it’s as clear as day. Piled high with fresh salad for crunch, it’s a real delight.

Add in a great drinks menu with the freshest of fresh mint cooler & Vietnamese iced coffees, and this place would be a smash hit in any city Mr.Eatings can think of. Loved it.

Bravo, Bo & Bun. Bravo. Shame it's so bloody far away.

Bo & Bun
http://www.eatcompany.co/boandbun/
Jl. Raya Basangkasa No.26, 
Kuta, 
Kabupaten Badung, 
Bali 80361, 

Indonesia

I Should Be Souvlaki

Greece is the word

Nunhead - May 2015

I Should Be Souvlaki might have the best street food name in the northern hemisphere (no-one is ever going to top Perth's Toastface Grillah). As a frequent visitor to Greece on family holidays as a much smaller (ea)Tings, a greek street food seller rocking up in my favourite South East London boozer for a pub residence meant investigation was required.

For those that don’t know, souvlaki is essentially the Greek version of a shish kebab; meat grilled on a skewer (souvla) and then served up in a pitta, usually with tomatoes, onions and my favourite Greek offering ever, tzatziki. Seriously, I bloody love it – what’s not to like about creamy yoghurt packed with fresh mint and cucumber and a big garlicky hit? When I was a kid with those usual childish suspicions of any food that wasn't sausages, I used to live off tzatziki and pitta bread when on holiday. To this day I can eat tzatziki by the pot-full, and have been known (somewhat heretically perhaps) to put it in bacon sandwiches. Allow democracy & medicine, this is Greece’s greatest gift to the world.

Back on point – souvlaki. Hugely popular in Greece, it’s somewhat overshadowed here by the Turks and their kebabs. I've had amazing souvlaki in Athens (Thanasis in Monastiraki being the prime example), that isn't readily available over here. But with branding as on point as I Should Be Souvlaki, perhaps this can change.

But how good is the food? 

Well, I'll get the one disappointment out of the way – I can't rate the tzatziki. Not enough garlic for my tastes: it needs more oomph. There is a decent twist of pepper adding some warmth. But more garlic, please.

Everything else is pretty damn decent. Best are the courgette fries; seasoned with a crunchy, semolina-like coating. They're slightly flaccid, but then a courgette is watery, so unless you're putting on more batter than vegetable (a la MEATliquor's deep fried pickles), it’s going to be a tricky ask to make them properly crispy. They’re so moreish we packed in a second portion.

The bifteki instantly tasted like holidays. The meat is well seasoned, with a hit of oregano through the meat that evokes every Greek grill ever. It's cooked well done in an age of pink patties, so is dry in places. But this is eased by the feta stuffing as well as the accompanying ‘Greek slaw’; sharp with vinegar, fragrant with mint and oregano. Fresh, light and crisp. Even the gf, who is usually pretty underwhelmed by sides of slaw, rated it.

So to the main attraction; we opt for the chicken Souvlaki.  The pitta is excellent – souvlaki pitta is closer to the classic flat-bread concept; thicker, fluffier and spongier than standard pitta pockets. They hold together much better and do a bang up job of soaking up meat juices. The meat itself is tender and moist, marinated in lemon and seasoned. And they’ve thrown in chips for added carby goodness. All the constituent ingredients are great, but I've been corrupted by the Turkish and feel it lacks something. Maybe extra heat from the missing garlic, perhaps a pickled chilli? It’s tasty, it's well made, but it could do with a little to lift it. It's still the best souvlaki I've had outside of Athens. OK, I've not had much souvlaki outside Athens, but the fact it bears comparison means they're doing good work.

And that name is genius.

I Should Be Souvlaki

https://twitter.com/isbsouvlaki

Thursday & Friday @ The Old Nun's Head

15 Nunhead Green

SE15 3QQ

#FryHard

Yippee-Fry-Aye.

Shoreditch - April 2015

Lent. Traditional time of penitence and abstinence, before we all hail the chocolate rabbit god laying eggs from whence the baby Jesus hatched  (I think I have that right). Basically, no badness is the general rule for many. Clearly Messhead (aka Chef Jim Tomlinson and Miss Cakehead) didn’t get the memo.

Last seen trying to recreate the taste of human flesh in a burger, this Easter holiday weekend they’ve been down at Boxpark in Shoreditch armed with a couple of deep-fat fryers and “a load of things you can just buy down the shops” (to quote the chef). The premise is simple: deep fry the shit out of stuff.

Abstemious this is not. Take that, Lent.

It’s hardly haute cuisine, but it takes a certain type of mad genius to think ‘what’s missing from a crème egg? Batter.’ And given they’d all sold out of those when we rocked down late on the first day, clearly the masses agree.

In fact, after a three & a half hour lunchtime rush, about half of the 100 options on the coronary-inducing menu were gone. No pancakes, no sausage rolls, no donuts (I totally love the idea of deep frying a deep-fried snack). 

But from the selection of what’s left, the best proved to be foodstuffs with a low melting point; cheese-strings and babybels become gooey treats and a rocky road is pure filth - now a squidgy warm cake filled with oozing melted mallow.

I don’t think frying improves a shop-bought scotch egg (but a fresh made one, with a warm runny yolk could be amazing). And in the case of jaffa cakes, the orange jelly melts away too much – leaving a mere disappointment of sticky orange essence.

It’s Willy Wonka meets Chip Shop. A fondue party in the age of austerity. And props to them for trying to answer a classic pub debate – what else would you, and what else could you deep-fry? Now, roll me to the cardiac ward.

Beer & Buns

I like big buns and I cannot lie...

Liverpool Street - 27 February 2015

Buns are big business. London’s premier steamed bun slingers, Yum Bun have a pop up in Harvey Nic’s (dahling), and their main rivals in delicousness, Bao, are about to open up in the heart of Soho. 2015 is the year Hirata hits the heights.

And joining them (on a temporary basis at least) are Beer & Buns, a six-month pop up near Liverpool Street that does exactly what it says on the tin. And a little bit more.

The location doesn’t immediately scream ‘exciting food pop up’. Above a sushi train in an outside-of-office-hours deadzone. But persist. Once you’re through the quiet & empty, up the blackboard painted stairs (with chalk for adding your own bun-based bon mots), you find yourself in perfectly on-trend Narnia of cool. The rock soundtrack speaks to my child of the nineties sensibilities, there’s table football & pinball, and more scope for wall-scribbling. And most importantly; beer and buns.

And wings.

The menu reads short and sweet; three types of buns (well four, but one was vegetarian), three flavours of wings.

The buns themselves are excellent – soft, fluffy, and pretty damn big; certainly the biggest buns I’ve eaten (that’s what she said). The star of the show is the signature bun; filled with chicken katsu and yuzu coleslaw. The chicken is moist and tender, the coating crunchy, the slaw creamy. It’s a winner.

The pork bun is nice enough, a thick slab of belly meat, but the pickled cabbage a touch bland and the whole thing lacks any punch – there’s allegedly some mustard mayo, but I didn’t notice it. The gf hit upon the perfect trick by dabbing her bun through the leftover sauce from the wings and said it was immediately improved. The duck is well cooked, but the supposed caramelised spring onions and advertised sauce add nothing to elevate it beyond good. In both, the base is there for something special - some bottles of Sriracha (or similar hot sauces) on the table would lift everything. 

And it’s worth reiterating that the chicken buns (with self-saucing slaw) are spot on.

The wings are great; deep fried, beautifully crisp and liberally coated in super-sticky sauce. And it’s satisfying to bite into a meaty, manly, whole wing, than the pitiful twiglets some places pass off as wings these days. This meat is tender and comes clean off the bone. The whole dish is three or four napkins messy. Yes, the 3 different sauces all taste similar; the sweet and spicy, and the Korean hot are virtually indistinguishable, but who cares, it’s delicious and filling.

The beer part stacks up well also, with an interesting selection of Japanese craft brews I’d never heard of. I’ve now added Hitachino Nest to my list of must-try again beers.

Beer & Buns is a tasty little find. Go there with a bunch of mates, get on the table football, grab some brews, smash through the chicken buns and wings, and you’ll have a banging night. BYO Sriracha.

Beer & Buns
'Upstairs @ K10'
3 Appold Street
London
EC2A 2AF

http://www.beerandbuns.co.uk/

Oh My Dog!

Where My Dogs At?

Nunhead - 19 November 2014

They say every dog has its day. At The Old Nun’s Head, that day is a Wednesday when Oh My Dog! takes over the kitchen.

It’s my favourite pub in London with a relaxed atmosphere and a strong selection of ales and craft beers. Moreover, their revolving door of kitchen residencies allows a variety of fine street food vendors (including the incredible Burger Bear) to hone their skills and develop an eager south-London following. OMD have been in there for a couple of months so we were probably overdue a visit.

I have to admit up front, I’m not really a dog person. Despite the hot dog’s growth in popularity over recent years, a hot dog will never be top dog in my eyes… My first love will always be burgers…That said, we thought these were tasty. The imported German franks have a porky taste, with the skin giving way with a satisfying ‘snap’ when bitten into (hours of Man vs Food having taught me this is the key to a good frank). Their demi brioche buns are dense, but they hold up well under the toppings.  And those toppings are excellent. 

On the Chilli-Steak Dog, the beef chilli is soft, juicy, with the spices balanced well so the flavour of meat isn’t lost; and the jalapenos and onions add twang. The Deputy Dog’s pulled pork is soft and smoky, touch dry, but the barbeque sauce is banging with a real kick to it.

The dogs are winners and have set my benchmark to judge other hotdogs. What actually got me more excited was their sides... First we had a portion of Meaty BBQ Beans packed with pulled pork (no worries about dryness here), at a strong 60:40 ratio. Now that is how you make beans – stick a ton of meaty goodness in there.

And then we had the Deep Fried Mac n Cheese; wow! Three monolithic blocks of fried mac n cheese with a BBQ dip. The mac is perfectly cooked; not a hint of stodginess or heaviness. The cheese holds everything together well, whilst the coating is crunchy, not at all greasy. Again, the BBQ sauce is sweet, smoky and spicy. Loved it.

While I will never love a hot dog anywhere near as much as a burger, these are fine examples of the genre. At £9.50 for the dogs, I think they’re also perhaps a bit on the pricey side, but I guess it boils down to one question; would I go back? Yes. For the Mac n Cheese alone. And while I was there, I’d have some Meaty Beans and then, well, it would seem wrong not to have a dog…

Oh My Dog!

Wednesdays @ The Old Nun's Head

15 Nunhead Green

SE15 3QQ

https://www.facebook.com/OMDhotdogs

theoldnunshead.co.uk

Auction Against Hunger

Who says famine has to be depressing?

22 May 2014 - Dalston Yard

What a difference a couple of weeks (and flushing toilets) can make… After the gripes we had with Chilli Chilli Bang Bang, we returned to Dalston Yard for the Street Feast/Action Against Hunger charity food-fest that is Auction Against Hunger. And it was a-bloody-mazing.

The event was, as the clue in the title suggests, ostensibly about an auction to raise money to help end child hunger around the world. Chefs, restaurants and celebrities donate their time and expertise to form unique experiences (lunch with Wogan at Merchant’s Tavern, anyone?) that the great and good bid on in both silent and live auctions that form part of the evening’s entertainment, which included a DJ set from Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

And this being a Tweat Up shindig, that is only part of the story – the evening is also about getting in an exciting line up of chefs to cook up a street food storm, all included in the ticket price, along with a healthy dose of vibes (and/or booze) on the side.

This time we were among the first through the doors.  That was even half an hour before food was served, so it gave us a chance to scope the lie of the land, enjoy a couple of drinks and secure ourselves prime position to get stuck straight into the food.

Just a couple...

And that involved sitting next to Ben Tish serving up the Opera Tavern’s Iberico Ham & Foie Gras burger to beat the inevitable queues. 

The burger was a previous occupant of Young & Foodish’s London top ten, so we were excited to give it a bash. Based on the patty, I can see why this was on that list – beautifully browned on the outside, perfectly pink inside, with the foie gras adding richness and juiciness, if not a huge amount of flavour. It also had a tangy sweet onion relish and parmesan shavings adding savoury saltiness. Plus, it was served with a pickled chilli. And I love those things. However, the bun was hard and dry. Maybe that’s one reason why it’s no longer on Y&F’s list… But that said, we were off to a strong start.

Next up we had the Korean pulled pork with apple kimchi by Neil Rankin, fresh from his stint on Great British Menu. And this was possibly the savoury dish of the day. Soft and juicy pork that was sweet and spicy, with strong smoky notes. This was contrasted by the sour and crunchy kimchi. A delight of textures and flavours.




Mr. Eatings has been a big fan of Neil Rankin’s work since his days as head chef at PittCue, and had one of the best roasts ever at Smokehouse N1. The pork is a side dish on the menu there, so would be well worth checking out if you find yourself in the area.

Mixing it up with seafood next, we had krupuk-coated soft shell crab in a Singapore-style sauce with pickled cucumber by Anna Hansen from The Modern Pantry. We had never heard of ‘krupuk’ before, turns out that they are deep-fried Indonesian rice crackers. And on this evidence, we hadn’t missed much. It was like eating something (exactly what, was up for debate as the delicate sweet seafood flavour you expect of crab had gone AWOL) covered in stale Rice Krispies and cardboard - exactly as tasty as that sounds.

But, onwards and upwards. And another strong taco from Breddos: 10hr chipotle Dexter short rib with bone marrow pico, smoked morello cherry jam on a blue corn tortilla with pickled habaneros. 

The beef was tender and, well, beefy, with the smoke-notes you’d want from anything cooked for half a day with chipotle. It had parmesan stirred through it when re-heated here, which added depth and an extra-savoury saltiness, offset by the sweet jam. There wasn’t much chilli fire throughout the meat, but adding the pickled habaneros laid out in a fiery bowl for personal taste and adjustment, fixed that - and the gf went big with these - so our tacos were pretty piquant, which made me happy. And made us hiccup. The blue chip tortilla added a visual twist, but could have used a few more seconds being heated through on the grill, as it was cold and stodgy. Overall, this was reminiscent of their Taco Wars 2 winner, but didn’t quite hit those heights. However, there’s no shame in being outclassed by your own champ.

Then came a crab doughnut from Nuno Mendes of the Chiltern Firehouse. The crab was well executed, but the doughnut wasn’t much to write home about in our view – just a bit bland and dry. We’ve since heard people rave about these on twitter. We weren’t enthused. Horses for courses.

Sat Bains’ Chicken Liver Muesli up next. We'd first come across Sat when he was on Masterchef: The Professionals (the thinking man’s Masterchef), challenging the preconception that in this country, to be a head chef you must be a temperamental dick. 

Here he was showcasing one of his signature dishes: nitro-frozen chicken liver mousse mixed in with crunchy oats, grains, and cranberries, with a little apricot jam hidden underneath. ‘A deconstructed liver pate and toast – all the ingredients of a dish you recognise but yet somehow different’, Bains described it as to Mrs. Eatings. A mad mash-up indeed of textures, temperatures and tastes that was a confusing yet rewarding experience. 

Our final savoury dish was 'Marmite Royale' by Pascal Aussignac of Club Gascon. Top marks here for the presentation, dishing up a duck flan that was as light as a (duck) feather, smooth like silk and creamier than, um, cream, in a marmite pot with crusty brown bread fingers to dip. This was an indulgent delight. The yeasty, iron-rich marmite sauce layered on top adding an umami unctuousness to the mousse (which is what it was more than a flan, IMHO). Mr. Eatings is usually ambivalent about marmite, but this was special.

That rounded off our savouries nicely, and the first part of dessert was by far and away the best: 1235 Donuts. 

In an unusual twist they were square. Square? Those crazy fools! And some of the best donuts I’ve had the pleasure of stuffing in my gob. In your face, Krispy Kreme! Soft and light like square sugar coated clouds, and also almost completely grease-free, so maybe weren’t quite so bad for us. Maybe..? Unfortunately, the salted caramel was too close to being burnt with an unpleasant bitter after-taste. But the lemon curd was creamy with a real fresh citrus punch.

And then to finish; Paul A Young’s chocolate creation, which we heard someone describe as being a pub in a tub.

The best part was the perfectly executed chocolate sauce poured on top (if a little meagrely); it was glossy and loaded with cocoa. The chocolate covered pork scratching was also enjoyable – very similar in idea to a turbo-pretzel flip. But porkier. Less mind-bending was the lolly. Given the power of its peanuts, we really weren't feeling it. Then, finally, we come to the BrewDog 5am Saint ganache, which we’ll file under ‘must have seemed like a good idea at the time’. After a life-time of experimentation, Mr. Eatings is yet to be convinced beer and chocolate works. Instead, here he was just reminded of a time at a party aged 17, he thought he’d invented the next big thing by sticking instant hot chocolate in cans of lager. And then woke up the following day to find the house littered with open untouched cans of chocolate beer-shake.  Not a food memory he particularly wanted to relive…

So that was our action at Auction Against Hunger. All that was left was to soak up the vibes, and in the process we learned a couple of things: first, Sophie Ellis-Bextor taught me that if standing around playing on your phone looking bored is DJing, then we must be the next Carl Cox; and the second is that the going rate for dinner with Wogan is £3,000.

We're still not sure there isn’t something intrinsically ironic about trying to fight global hunger by getting a load of chino’d Londoners together to eat and drink themselves stupid. But as the night raised over £100,000, we'll gloss over it. And the eating and drinking was a lot of fun. Which is what really matters, right?

Oh, and this finally happened:

Chilli Chilli Bang Bang

More Fire! 

10 May 2014 - Dalston Yard

Round two of our season of Big Eatings saw Tweat Up & Street Feast join forces with Wahaca chief Thomasina Meyers for a celebration of the mighty chilli - Chilli Chilli Bang Bang. The event promised more capsaicin-crammed street foods than one could point a spiced-stick at, chef's demos and the usual meeting of booze and vibes that usually make Tweat Ups so great. Plus, we were promised the Big Eating cards that will certify us as stone-cold legends (kind of).

Unfortunately, for us at least, this bang bang went off like a damp squib.

Ignoring our better instincts, we decided not to be some of the first through the gates and arrived mid-way through the afternoon session. This may have had something to do with the fact we had entry to both sessions taken care of, and thus could double our booze allowance. However, it turned out to be a fatal error.

Being conscientious carnivores,  we had fully pre-planned our afternoon's eatings, but by 3pm - a good two hours before the end of the session - everything on our list had sold out. Well, not everything; more on that later. Clearly there is a lesson to be learned there, always go early. But I'd also argue that lots of vendors running out of food mid-way through the event suggests that the planning could have been better - something I've never been able to say about a Tweat Up event before. Maybe they'd over-stretched this time. It did seem very busy in Dalston Yard, with massive queues and some really bad bottle-necks in the labyrinthine venue, meaning you were constantly pushing past people. The weather probably didn't help here - the occasional biblical shower forcing people to cower under the roofs and leaving large puddles in their wake, and also resulting in fire 'pits' (read tubs) being placed around the venue, filling the place with smoke. And the girlfriend's view of the toilet situation was 'absolutely rank'.

In addition, the promised Wahaca margarita & bottle of hot sauce included with entry turned out to be vouchers redeemable at another time and place, and the Big Eater cards STILL weren't ready.

So as far as we were concerned, the vibes quota was lacking (and given how many others were over-heard pissing and moaning, it seems we weren't alone). Which was a shame: like I've said before, these things are usually amazing so I'm certain this was a one-off mis-step.

OK, rant (almost) over - it wasn't all bad.

While all the stuff we wanted to try before hand turned out to be unavailable, what we did eat was all good. While I was in the queue waiting to be told SmokeStak had run out of everything but pulled pork, the girlfriend was discovering Nanban had run out of the curry-pan donuts. But following a nice chat with chef Tim Anderson & his lovely wife, she came away with one of the final few servings of the pulled pork yuzu curry that went into the donuts (that Tim assured her was better anyway). And that was an absolute delight.

The pork was incredibly soft and juicy - melt in your mouth meatiness. The cheese on top was a great, and unusual touch, adding a salty gooey-ness. The onions on top added a different texture, and the whole dish had a subtle heat to it. Also, the perfect curry to rice ratio, meaning it was great value for money. Take note, food sellers everywhere:

Next up, I went and secured a bit of sweet Thai pork belly from Som-Saa, served on a betel leaf with some peanut and 'mouse-shit' chillis (sold out: flank steak with chilli jaew, and crispy pigs ears). I liked this - it had a great balance of hot, sour & sweet that is the corner-stone of Thai cooking. The girlfriend's piece of pork was too tough for her, so she was less impressed.

We then hit up Bao for their classic slow-braised pork belly gua bao with dou ban jiang pickles and peanut powder, and a pigs head terrine (sold out: the lamb gao bao with aioli and jalapenos, and their amazing fried chicken). Incredible - the pork sweet and sticky, the bun light and fluffy, and the pickles and fresh herbs really shone through. Dish of the day, no doubt. I'd like to see a cook-off between these guys and Yum-Bun. That would be awesome. A proper bun fight.

The terrine was a bit of a non-event, though. I liked the crisp pickled daikon that came with it (I do love a good radish), but the terrine was bland and just a bit fatty. Oh well - the bun was so good, this can easily be forgiven.

Our final food was the indian slider trifecta from Rola Wala, served on mini naans, each with a different heat level. Mild was shredded BBQ mint chicken with crispy Kashmiri chicken skin - a 3/10 heat rating. Medium was beetroot dal with scotch bonnet and coconut crusted corn kernels - 6/10 for heat. Hot was goan-style pulled pork with carolina reaper crackle, a 10/10 heat rating that promised 'a wave of fire'.

Overall, they were good. Even though the heat-ratings were probably oversold: the pork 'bad boy' was more like one of the fire tubs than a towering inferno. And the naans were maybe a little too crispy. But that's by-the-by; the key thing was the excellent flavours. The beetroot one wasn't overly beetroot-y (just as well as the girlfriend thinks it tastes like wet earth), and the corn kernels added crunch to what was otherwise a bit mushy. The chicken was nice and fresh, juicy and the mild spice was refreshing. While not as hot as I was expecting, the pork was definitely the best of the three - it had a rising heat, and... Definite shout out to the pickled onion garnish on them all, which added a vinegary sweetness to proceedings.

After that, we had space for one more dish, so headed over to Slider bar to see what magic the taco wars winners could produce. But despite it being just gone 4pm and there still being food left, it seemed the Breddo's boys had decided to knock off early and were shutting down. Which was a touch annoying. Then after being told by the barman they'd run out of chilliback juice, we decided to bring an end to a slightly disappointing afternoon.

Look at what you could have won...

On our way out we walked past the SmokeStak guys prepping for the evening service. The beef ribs they were pulling out looked and smelled amazing. Which kinda just rubbed a little salt in the wounds.

Oh well, roll on the 22nd and Auction Against Hunger. That sounds like it's going to be epic, and we'll get there for the opening time. We might even have our cards by then...