london | Veg Food Geek

Hawker House – Street Food Heaven

Posted on October 16, 2017 by BeckyJC

I’ve been to a few street food markets in the UK, but my visit to Street Feast’s Hawker House in Canada Water, London was my favourite of all. It was Saturday evening, we’d had a day drinking at a rum festival, so were in need of food! My sister and her boyfriend lead the way to Hawker House, an old warehouse that’s been transformed by Street Feast into a street food heaven.

There was close to 20 food traders to choose from, and I’m pretty sure I counted 8 different bars, I’d had a lot of rum but I wasn’t seeing double!

So first things first we needed a beer, draft Sierra Nevada, to bring back fond memories of California. We found a cosy candlelit table up on the mezzanine which housed the Tequila vs Rum bar, the shots happened later in the night! As me and my sister sat and had a drink and a chat, the guys went off in search of food, they came back with brisket burgers, clearly not my kind of thing! It was our turn to go and check out what was on offer.

Loads to choose from, almost all of the stalls had at least one veggie or vegan option. We did a lap first, checking out all of the menus so as not to make a snap decision and miss out on something.

My sister, who’d been before, said we had to get the tofu steamed buns from Yum Bun, so they were a must. We decided to share so we could try more things. Along with the steamed buns we got yuca fries from Petare, a Venezuelan stand. The fries were good, super spicy from the hot avocado coriander salsa. But the steamed buns were definitely my favourite, silky buns, crispy tofu, garlicky choy sum with sweet fruity chillies. A perfect combination. Definitely seek them out if you’re in London. I’ll be hunting them down next time I’m there and trying to replicate them at home in the meantime!

We chilled out with a drink for a bit then decided we were ready for more, we decided on something classic and went for wood fired pizza. Plum tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, simple and tasty.

After a shot of something that tasted like apple pie crossed with popcorn, we were done! Full and ready to find our way home.

If you’re in London on a Friday or Saturday night and hungry for street food, give Hawker House a try, you won’t be disappointed. Loads of choice, chilled out atmosphere, pool tables and beer pong, fire pits outside, an all round great place to spend an evening.

Veganuary – Week Three

Posted on January 25, 2016 by BeckyJC

I’m still finding it all fairly easy, I think being at home and cooking fresh helps though. My experience of going out for vegan food from last week was that it might prove a bit more challenging, and not very exciting.

This weekend I went to London with my husband, my sister and our friend. After a smoothie in the morning at the train station to start me off, my sister and I went over to Spitalfields and Brick Lane, we went for coffee, no problem, I have my coffee without milk anyway, have for years. Though there was almond milk on offer if I had wanted.

We wandered around the markets and shops. Our noses followed an amazing smell which lead us into a chocolate shop on Brick Lane! We walked in and looked at the great selection on offer, I was feeling a little disheartened as they all had dairy in, this was until we went through to the other side of the shop where everything was vegan! A guy who worked there asked if we’d like a sample, the ones on the counter to sample all had dairy in them, my sister piped up and said I was vegan, the guy went off and fetched me a vegan truffle to try, it was beautiful! That was it, we were definitely convinced to buy some. Armed with some tongs and a packet we both walked round and carefully chose some to savour with a coffee back at home. If you find yourself in London, definitely check out the shop, Dark Sugars, they sell online too but you don’t get the joy of the amazing smell and samples!

I’d only had my smoothie for breakfast so by 12, I was feeling peckish and didn’t want to break into my chocolates yet! There was lots of chain places but we opted for the street food stalls, there were a few options but then I spotted a wood fired pizza truck, I love pizza, so much so we had a truck at our wedding. I was happy to see there was a vegan option listed on the menu already, no need to fuss and ask. So I ordered and after 5 minutes wait it was ready, Marinara pizza, a very simple pizza with tomato, oregano, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Delicious. I didn’t miss the cheese and my sister enjoyed a piece too and even said the same.

Next we headed over to meet the guys, we were meeting them at one of my favourite spots in London, Borough Market. I love it, it’s great for people watching, finding new exciting food and the atmosphere is always good. We spent a couple of hours there, buying bits to take home and buying food to eat there. Just before we left I decided I was ready for something! As a vegetarian I’m never spoiled for choice there and this weekend was no exception, I found a stall where all the food was vegan, perfect. There was rice and three different curries, you could have them all so I obviously did! A mung bean dhal, which was my favourite, I love dhal, a cauliflower curry and some spiced potatoes all piled on top of some well cooked nutty tasting rice. I was happy!

Full and armed with shopping bags it was time for a few drinks before the train back!

A great day in London as always and a great day of vegan eating that changed my mind about how difficult it could be to eat out. It’s just about where you go.

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