Our feet found their way to the top of the Borough Market stairs. We descended, expectant, into the courtyard surrounded by ancient walls where stallholders were making their first sales and unpacking their crates. I liked it immediately. The joyful spirit is not contrived- the sellers are truly laughing inside, and the customers are curious and giving. The sound of trains rambling loudly over the bridge above adds a sense of surreal drama. You feel as if you are caught in a dry thunderstorm, but with tasty morsels to sample all around you.
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To curry or not to curry?
This is far removed from Cape Towns’ Biscuit Mill market- (a flurry of fashionable woman in bitter heels, leaning up against hay bales and sipping organic strawberry daiquiris on a Saturday morning). We did not come here to be seen. We came here to behold, to taste, and to shop for the week. |
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| Heavily laden with delectable treats |
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| Juicy and nice! 1 pound a slice! |
And behold we did. We saw the first, powdery purple figs from Europe. We saw vegetable treasures- Yellow courgettes and green ones in flower. We saw organic carrots in unimaginable colours. We saw heaps of eggs, and barrels of beer. We saw an array of olives and heartening flowers. We saw tiger tomatoes, green and ruby. Then yellow ones, tiny ones, organ- shaped ones. We saw cheese. We held out our palms for slithers to taste. We ate our way around in a manner that startled us at lunch time (our bellies were already full, you see). We nibbled biscuits, and cakes. We drunk the finest Darjeeling tea. We ate breakfast on the sidewalk- a cherry tart. Oh! It moved us to eat more, to taste more. To buy more ( I confess).
We saw outlandish creatures at the fish stall. Razor clams still breathing and fresh squid, their bulging eyes begging you to buy them. We saw truffles. I lifted the lid off the jar, inhaled the earthy scent.
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| Breakfast as it should be on Market day |
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| B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Borlotti |
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| Pure and subtle first flush tea from tea2you |
We saw candy. I gave in to my sweet tooth. I walked away with pistachio baklava nests and Turkish delight. Callebaut chocolate and sweet cherry tomato sauce. But it was the intricate elephant that I loved the most.
My minor disappointments were Baxter’s cappuccino, a bit of over-pricing here and there, and a lack of local food ethos. Organic is everywhere (never have I tasted muesli as wholesomely delicious as
Mini Magoo's,) but except for a few British Berry punnets and some noteworthy butcher stalls, there were a
lot of things unseasonable and imported at high cost. Those figs were gorgeous, but I felt too guilty to buy them. Anyway, they will taste better when they are ready.
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| The great thunk of my fave Callebaut that I got from Chocolicious |
We ate our slippery soft La Tua pasta on our knees on the Church grounds beside the market. Everyone else had the same idea. The air smelled like a terrific mix of flavours- From east to West. Pizza and pesto plus fish and chips and German sausages and mustard with fried onions. There was definitely some falafel in the air too.
Borough Market is a feast.
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Our wonderful lunch from La Tua Pasta
Borough market is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I recommend getting there by 10 . See more at the official website |
1 comment:
Beautiful pictures :)
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