Vic Maket Time [On The Road: Melbourne]

I love markets, so the first thing I did the weekend in Melbourne was going to the Queen Victoria Market. A landmark of the city, 17 acres, largest open market in the Southern Hemisphere, opened in 1878, tourist destination, and a good place to find, vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, seafood, delicatessen, and even clothes, arts, and crafts. 

Queen Vic

Products

I wandered around for a while, and ended in the Food Court, several vendors trading traditional cuisines from India to Italian, with the popular meat pies loved by Aussies and Fish and Chips. The Fish and Chips stall Funk Fish took my attention so ended having crab nuggets. Not good at all, ok flavour but extremely saggy, nothing memorable. 

Fish & Chips

Funk Fish

Crab nuggets

Kept walking until I found the Deli Hall, art deco vendors, with marble counters, dips, pates, cured meats, meats and poultry, sweets, and cheese, lots of cheese. So if you fancy crocodile meat that’s the place. I found some wraps I couldn't resist, the stall Dianne's Delights, selling dips and antipasto, stuffed olives, and salmon and prosciutto wraps, a New Zealand smoked salmon with cream cheese, and a prosciutto with goat cheese, both were excellent, nice flavours. 

Deli Hall

Bacon

Dianne's Delights

Wine

Wrap time

Salmon and Prosciutto

Great place the Deli is my favourite part, have to come back for some sausages, apparently are quite famous and a Didgeridoo. 

Markets remind me the Seinfeld episode "The Pez Dispenser"

Jerry: What is that, a Pez dispenser? 

Kramer: Want one? Yeah, I just bought it at the Flea Market 

George: Hey, what goes on there, exactly? 

Jerry: You don't know? 

George: No, I know... I know... 

Jerry: You think they have fleas there, don't you? 

George: No 

Jerry: Yes you do, Biff, you've never been to a Flea Market, and you think they have fleas there 

George: All right, I think they have fleas there, so what

Queen Victoria Market

T: +61 3 9320 5822

Market

Neighbourhood: West Melbourne

Melbourne

Twitter: VicMarket

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Poppies has a chippie joint

One of the favourite take away options in Britain is definitely fish and chips. Churchill referred to them as the good companions. Thanks to the steady supply of the north sea and the British love for deep fried battered fish chippers are all around, the first chippy to open in London was thanks to Joseph Malin in 1860 located in the East End. Nowadays there are approximately 10k shops a third of the 1929 high of 35k shops. 

Traditional fish & chips

A place that caught my eye and wanted to try was Poppies Fish & Chips, located in Shoreditch near Spitalfields market. Restaurant / take away, big counter at the front but if you preferred you can sit, relax, and order inside. The newspaper chips are a big seller, every time I passed by I have seen people enjoying their chips served in a newspaper cone. 

The place

Poppies

Take away

I got there after a night out in Brick Lane and ordered a cod and the newspaper chips. Loved the presentation, from the bag, the box, to the absorbent paper to catch the excess oil of the fried goods. The cod was surprisingly excellent, nice seasoning, good flavour, perfectly battered, on the other side the chips were not good, completely saggy, some sort of disappointment with that. 

Bag

Sneak peak

Fish and chips are definitely a national institution, plenty of options around town. Poppies is giving a nice battered fish, yet there is still room for improvement with the chips.

Cod time

Fish reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Watch” 

Jerry: I can't believe I'm doing this. I never do stuff like this 

Naomi: Really? I give out my number to just about every customer who comes in here 

Jerry: Oh really? You don't seem that desperate 

Naomi: Oh yeah. Actually, I'm a little disappointed. I kind of had my eye on uncle Leo 

Jerry: Uh huh. Well uh, I'll give you a call, and thanks for the fish. By the way, you know why fish are so thin? 

Naomi: Why? 

Jerry: They eat fish

Poppies Fish and Chips

T: 020 7247 0892

Fish & Chips

Approx Damage: £10pp

Area: Spitalfields

Borough: Tower Hamlets

Twitter: popsfishnchips

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Randall & Aubin is the English Way

The other day I was in Soho and a tourist asked me what was the best place to have fish and chips around there, and struck me out that I didn’t have any clue, simply unacceptable. So I did my research and a good friend and colleague recommended Randall & Aubin.

The Place

Originally a butcher shop, opened in 1911 being one of the famous butchers at that time. But in 1996 James Poulton and Edward Baines saw a huge potential to transform the place into a restaurant keeping some of the original atmosphere, the result one of the best places to eat seafood in the British capital.

Inside 

Memories of a Butcher

Went with an old friend who was visiting, as starter we got the Calamari frites with pimento salsa, one of the best I have had, delicate and succulent. Then for main it was a no brainer for me bring me the traditional fish and chips with the mushy peas, again the flavour there, exquisite. As a side we also got zucchini frites which were quite good.

Calamari

Fish and Chips

Zucchini

Amazing diner, one of the best, and R&A is now one of my favourite restaurants in the capital for seafood. The only complain of my friend was the street view from the restaurant, but she should be used to it as she lives near Amsterdam, nothing more entertaining like an alfresco diner in a hot night in London with a sex shop and the diversity of Soho in front of you.

Menu on the Wall

R&A street view a classic Soho style

Fish reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Burning”.

Elaine: Hello boys.
George: Hey, so, did you give that radio the old switcheroo?
Elaine: I did.
George: And the Christian rock?
Elaine: Ressurected! And look what I pried off of his bumper, a Jesus fish!
George: Jerry, do you have any fishsticks?
Jerry: No. So you're disappointed he's a spiritual person?
Elaine: Well yeah, I got him because he seemed so one-dimensional, I feel misled.
George: I think it's neat. You don't hear that much about god anymore.
Jerry: I hear things. Hey, so Sophie gave me the "It's me" on the phone today.
Elaine: "It's me?" Isn't it a little premature?
Jerry: I thought so.
Elaine: Hah. She's not a "me". I'm a "me".
George: I'm against all "it's me"s. So self-absorbed and egotistical, it's like those hip musicians with their complicated shoes!


Randall & Aubin
T: 020 7287 4447
Seafood
Borough: Westminster
Area: Soho
Twitter: randallandaubin

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Crab House Café: Hidden Pearl of the South West

Our second stop during the Jurassic week was the acclaimed Crab House Café. A small restaurant in the coast of Dorset, exactly in Ferrymans Way Portland Rd, Wyke Regis. The place is run by Chef Nigel Bloxham, offering fine flavours, a relaxed ambience looking over Chesil beach, unpretentious surroundings, or as they define themselves a hidden pearl of the South West.

The Place

Staff in Action 

How to get there

We tried the local cider, ale, and a selection of starters including oysters au natural, oysters italiano (which come with pesto and parmesan), home made porkpie with piccadilli, and pesto herb crumb scallops on their shelf which was my favourite. I want to highlight that they have their own oyster farm, and you can even choose your crab or fish from the tank room.

Menu

Local Cider

Porkpie

Oysters 

Scallops 

Local Ale

Then for main, I couldn’t resist the temptation to order a full crab to literally hit the crab out of it, and cod fillet with pesto crumbs and aubergine mayo (their version of fish and chips). What can I say? UNBELIEVABLE! The food was spectacular, one of the best seafood restaurants that I have had the pleasure to eat, the cod was perfect, and the crab laborious task but fun and tasty.

Spicy Chinese Crab, the sauce is great to dip your chips 

Cod with pesto crumbs

Whole Crab to crack

Nothing more relaxing than 30 minutes hitting the crab with a hammer in a wooden board, using all the utensils including nutcracker, bib, picks, and forks to eat that succulent meal.

Ready to Crack

Crab reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Soup Nazi”.

George: Medium turkey chili.

Jerry: Medium crab bisque.

George: I didn't get any bread.

Jerry: Just forget it. Let it go.

George: Um, excuse me, I think you forgot my bread.

Soup Nazi: Bread? $2 extra.

George: $2? But everyone in front of me got free bread.

Soup Nazi: You want bread?

George: Yes, please.

Soup Nazi: $3!

George: What?

Soup Nazi: No soup for you!