It was early evening and we were amongst the first in the cue at Red Market in Shoreditch, to attend the Just Eat Food Fest last night. The weather couldn’t have been more inviting, the sun was coming down leaving us in a warm atmosphere, made only better by the dj playing, the food-loving chilled crowd and a gorgeous selection of food stalls to select from. We were there to try it all (or most) – and I would like to say it was for your sake, but I would tell a lie: I enjoyed every single bite of it. Also with £4 for one token (which buys you a full portion of any food form the stalls) and £8 for three tokens, what can go wrong? But let’s start the food talk.
Whaam Banh Mi
I must admit I ran to this Vietnamese food stall, usually based in the heart of Soho, hoping to get the caramelised pork belly rice bowl, which was recommended on the invite we got. Turns out, they only had baguettes, and there was not such a thing like pork belly in the menu. So I had a spicy grilled pork baguette instead: the sauce and the spread they used was very flavoured and tickled my tongue. However, the bread was a bit dry and you could barely tell the meat was pork. But don’t worry, it only went better from here!
We got a full platter from this Jamaican stall: jerk chicken, splendid rice with beans, a fried dumpling and some fried plantain – isn’t that amazing? The jerk chicken was absolutely delicious, and the sauce used for the rice really made it special. We are definitely clicking on Just Eat to get some of that back home! Pandora Brown, Panda Berry’s chief, is based in Finchley and will be also happy to book you a table.
I can declare with no problems that this stall was the absolute winner of the evening. This American barbecue stall impressed us with its barbecued rib – just one giant rib with a brush of their ever so special sauce, which they explained, “it’s a bit sweeter than the usual barbecue sauces and also has a bit more of a smoked flavour”. I cannot wait to have more of that in one of their restaurants. We also tried the Buffalo wings: decent sized wings in powerfully spiced sauce, these were also very tasty, and even better with their blue cheese sauce.
I had the pleasure to meet Giuseppe, Sapore Vero’s founder and he explained to me the meaning of “friarielli” featured in one of their pizzas: they are a Calabrian way to call rapini, or broccoli rabe and they added a sour flavour to the deliciously meaty pizza bianca (meaning without tomato sauce) with Calabrian sausages. I wish these guys served pizza outside my office, for one of those emergency orders, but they are in Kent – go find them or click on Just Eat to get some of this Italian goodness!
I had tried Dum Dum before and absolutely loved their baked donuts! Once again, the strawberry cheesecake donuts advertised on our invite were not really there, so don’t get too excited to find those: you can order them on Just Eat instead. But you’ll find cros (and you get two for a token) which are a mix between a croissant and a donut…and, the king of the cros: the crone! A cone made of cronut dough, served with delicious ice cream. I recommend the chocolate and coconut one.
You still have till 11 PM tonight to enjoy the Just Eat Food Fest, and pretty much all day tomorrow!
Friday 22 July 5.00pm – 11.00pm
Saturday 23 July 12.00pm – 11.00pm
Sunday 24 July 12:00pm – 9:00pm
Located in the heart of Shoreditch at the join of Great Eastern Street and Old Street. Red Market, London, EC1V 9LA
Blender & Basil 