I heard about The StockMKT via Twitter and was instantly intrigued. A pop up market with lots of street food-style stalls sounded very much my sort of thing. So great was my resolve to explore this event that I battled a heavy cold in order to attend. Thank goodness the weather held out.
Today The StockMKT took place in Bermondsey square, to which it will be returning in the coming months as well as popping up in other locations around London. I’d done my research before attending and had a shortlist of vendors I wanted to sample. However, I went there open to there possibility of being tempted by other’s wares.
My first stop was Pom Pom for delicious takoyaki. I’d previously sampled these at The London Foodie’s supperclub in January and was delighted to have the opportunity to indulge in them again. There were three varieties on offer:
• Octopus with spring onion, ginger, and tenkasu,
• Teriyaki chicken, and
• Curried potato cheese and peas
Fortunately they were being sold as three for £2.50, so I was easily able to partake in one of each. Regular readers will be in no way surprised that the octopus was my favourite. I also really liked the way that vegetarian takoyaki emphasised the taste of the potato, with the curry becoming a subtle background flavour that brought a level of complexity to the dish. The chicken teriyaki was good too, but outdone by the other two in my opinion.
My next stop was Horn Ok Please. I was drawn in by the opportunity to sample the bhel puri. All sorts of yummy wonderfulness went into this gorgeous salad. A fabulous combination of different contrasting flavours and textures and yet the overall experience was entirely refreshing. While the temptation to try a full portion was great I instead opted for the samosa chaat. This consisted of a samosa filled with spiced potato with a chickpea side (which was actually served on top of the squished samosa) with chutney, yoghurt, some sort of mint and coriander sauce, pomegranate seeds, red onion and sev. It was fantastic! Again a beautiful contrast between the richly spiced chickpeas the freshness of the coriander, the sweetness of the pomegranate and the crunchiness of the sev. I really liked that the samosa was not in the least bit greasy. It left me wanting to taste everything Horn Ok Please had to offer. Another time, I’m sure.
There was one more place I wanted to try and that was Egg Boss. I know, I don’t eat eggs. However, having read about his diverse range of scotch eggs I thought if anyone could convert me, this would be the man. His offerings today included lime pickle, spicey creole, and black pudding to name a few. I even heard rumours of a dessert scotch egg made with ferrero rocher. However, my challenge was eggs, real eggs. From the options available I selected the St George, which was peppered with chilli. The eggs were served halved with a delicious sauce on the side. Bravely I gave it a try. Unfortunately this is the point at which my cold got in the way. Unlike everything else I ate today it was served cold, so I just couldn’t taste it properly. However,what I could taste was good, so much so that I ate half and saved the other half for tomorrow. I’m going to try and heating it up in the oven to see if this can convince my taste buds to work properly. So frustrating, but I’m looking forward to giving it a proper try. The fact that Egg Boss has succeeded in getting me that far, is no mean feat!
I’m just going to add a little update here because it’s breakfast time the next day and I’ve just tried my re-heated half scotch egg. I wish I’d saved the whole thing! Nice hit of chilli without being too overpowering. Good meaty flavour and I have to admit I even enjoyed the combination of the meat with the egg centre. Egg Boss, congratulations!
At this point I was ready to go home, but decided to peruse the cakes on my way out. I had no intention whatsoever of buying anything, honestly. Then I got to Bea’s of Bloomsbury and discovered decadence on a stick in a cardboard food container. Read it and and begin salivating: deep fried chocolate brownies. There was a choice between the plain chocolate “valherona” brownie and the “killer” brownie which was made with peanut butter, coconut, pecans and praline. The brownie was coated in a light doughnut batter and deep fried until golden. Interestingly, the batter stayed soft and the brownie melted slightly and becomes warm and slightly fudgey in texture. The brownie was served with warm maple caramel sauce and and optional (but why wouldn’t you?) dollop of vanilla ice-cream. It was just too decadent to resist! Upon recommendation I opted for the plain brownie. Words cannot describe how delicious this was. I think I might have actually scared people nearby with my near-orgasmic cries of “Oh my god! Oh my god! That is fantastic!” after the first bite. To think, they came up with the idea for this event! Although I still feel stuffed three hours later even after having exercised for an hour in between out of sheer guilt and concern at the number of calories I must have consumed, it was still totally and utterly worth it!
What a way to spend a Friday evening! Can’t wait until the next The StockMKT event!
A Question of Taste 