Ideas for the weekend...

Still stuck for something to do on Saturday? Why not wrap up warm and wander over to Borough Market? Yes, it's full of tourists and much more expensive than most neighbourhood markets, but it makes for a great afternoon out if you combine it with a visit to nearby Maltby Street and polish off your day with a locally brewed pale ale at Bermondsey's Kernel Brewery.

Speaking of tourists, this is exactly what I did with some Dutch friends visiting London recently and they loved the cross section of London on show. The photos below will take you on our journey around South London:

Borough Market. At the top - a tower of brownies. Not much risk of running out at least. 

Above - More cheesecake than you can shake a stick at and those are cinnamon doughnuts at the top there. YUM. http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

The ever-busy Monmouth coffee. Still haven't had a drink from there - I can never face the queues. 

Bermondsey Street - a quaint little street with boutique shops and trendy restaurants. Families with small children eating tapas and drinking wine at midday. You know the sort. 

Maltby Street market - although this is actually along an alley called Ropewalk. Looks like a cute little cafe? Nope. That is a gin shop. Had a very tasty pulled pork bun (not from the gin shop).

More on Maltby Street (from Nigel Slater no less) 

http://www.maltbystreet.com/

The Kernel Brewery - yes it's hidden away in a housing estate but it does sell tasty ales brewed on the premises and you can sit on a lovely long communal table sipping your beer (exhibit A below). There's also a butcher and green grocer next door. Who knew?

Unit 11, Dockley Road Industrial Estate, London SE16 3SF

http://www.thekernelbrewery.com/index.html

A review of The Electric Elephant

186a Crampton Street, Camberwell, London, SE17 3AE

There are times in life when emergency cake is called for and The Electric Elephant was there for my sister and I on one such occasion recently.  Although they usually close around 5pm, the weather was nice and they still had a few customers so obliged us by staying open an extra hour.

My sister works in Elephant and Castle and had come across the place with her colleagues. Knowing I'm always on the prowl for new material (and rarely manage to branch out from east London), it was the perfect recommendation for after-work, pre-dinner, tea and brownies.

The cakes are homemade (there was also a rustic looking bread pudding), there's pastries, and a full lunch menu including soup, sarnies and paninis in the day time.

The cafe backs onto a really pretty little yard and there's some outside seating if you want to catch a few rays. What a little gem.

The Electric Elephant has a website.

A review of the Market House

30 Broadway Market, London, E2 4QJ

It's not often that a place completely misses the point of breakfast, but it does happen. And unfortunately, the Market House seems to have done just that.

Branded as a pub/restaurant, I was prepared to be quite forgiving if their morning offering wasn't quite up to scratch. But, as my other half pointed out, given the standard of the competition near by, if you're not going to do it right, why do it at all?

First, the good points: the ambience is relaxed and there are quaint little touches like buckets of flowers and jars of cutlery on the tables. The staff are attentive and the coffee was tasty and well poured.

However: I ordered scrambled eggs and salmon with toast which arrived extremely overcooked within about 3 minutes of ordering. How can you overcook scrambled eggs in 3 minutes? You can't. But you can ladle it out from a pre-cooked batch and then attempt to pass it off as edible.

It was a similar story for the full English my fella ordered. The component parts were fine, it was just painfully obvious that it had been sat drying out in a Bain-Marie or oven for an hour or so. Like a fair but honest parent, I wasn't angry, but disappointed.

To give a balanced account, the poached eggs, which appeared to be the only element cooked fresh, were done to perfection and the table next to us that had variations on eggs benedict, florentine etc. seemed happy enough. But if you only do poached eggs well then, surely, only serve poached eggs?

The other disappointment was the apparent misunderstanding of what it is to have a leisurely weekend brunch, spread over several hours, coffees and magazine supplements. I don't want my breakfast thrust in front of me within 10 minutes of walking through the door.

When a new eatery opens on one of your favourite streets, you can't help but imagine all the good times you will spend together. Instead, I was left with the empty feeling of not really wanting to return. No matter how 'eclectic' the decor, I won't be back for brunch in a hurry.

The Market House have a website, they're also on Facebook and Twitter.

A review of Amandine

Image from amandine-cafe.tumblr.com

176 Victoria Park Road, Victoria Park Village, Hackney, E9 7HD

If you're looking for somewhere to slow down the pace and escape the crowds on a sunny day in Victoria Park, then Amandine could just be the perfect spot. Slightly away from the main strip, it's a short walk around the corner from Lauriston Road and well worth the few extra yards.

As well as being dog friendly, they have a lovely outside seating area to the back of the cafe so we made the most of the sunshine by taking a table in the garden.

Image from facebook.com/Amandine-Café

The menu only appeared to be up on the chalk board inside, and was written in such small writing that I struggled to read the detail of what I was ordering. However, I am coming to realise that foregoing my contact lenses is probably not the most sensible of lifestyle choices so can't really complain.

With sandwiches, salads, soups and daily specials there's plenty of choice, and lots of sweet treats to tempt your taste buds too. The fridge was stacked with cold drinks which hit the spot on a hot day, so I'll have to return for coffee and cake later in the year in order to give a balanced review of all that's on offer (I'm sure I can handle that...).

We had toasted ciabattas and a salad:

The food was really tasty and generously proportioned, the staff friendly and attentive (although we ordered separately they clocked we were sitting together so brought the food out at the same time). I'm sure a little gem like this gets busy at times, but for us it was a haven of calm in the chaos of an East London summer and I'll definitely be back for more. 

Amandine is on Facebook, Twitter and Tumbler. 

Bashing out bagels

Having finally mastered bread, I got a bit lazy and sat on my laurels enjoying loafs and rolls and not bothering to branch out for a bit. Until, that is, the Great British Bake Off graced our screens for the third series and I was abruptly snapped out of my reverie and reminded that there's a whole world of bread-related goods out there. One of the contestants is actually trying to make this whole world of breads it seems - Brendan to win!

Suitably chastised, I took some inspiration from episode 2 and had a bash at bagels. I didn't use their recipe, as I wanted to start off with some plainer varieties than the ones shared on the Bake Off website. Instead, I found this BBC Good Food recipe which is really straight forward and gave me splendid results (if I do say so myself).

You'll need to be vaguely familiar with bread making, and confident in your kneading technique as you need a rise from the dough to get the right texture. But if you are a relative novice  it's still worth giving them a go. What's the worst that can happen (seriously - if you mess these up I want to see pictures).

I prepared the dough, whacked it in the airing cupboard while I went to the gym for an hour then came back, shaped, steamed and baked them in about 40 minutes.

Plugging for plain bagels with fennel seeds sprinkled on the top, as well as some cinnamon and raisin ones I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture. The shape was definitely a bit 'rustic' but I reckon that's the best way (or you might as well get them from the shop...).

Having mastered bagels I now feel I can rightfully claim myself as a 'proper' east ender. If you don't know why, watch the 'short history of bagels' bit 45 minutes into episode 2.

A review of Strangers with Coffee

Strangers with Coffee, 31 St Cuthberts Street, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2AW 

It's not often that I'm quick enough off the mark to review a place that's recently opened, so I love when it happens by accident. On our recent country jaunt staying at The Swan, Wedmore, we ventured out into the rainy west country to the 'smallest city in England' - Wells. There's a massive Cathedral (hence city status) and buzzing food/antiques market on Wednesdays and Saturdays so we had a bit of a nose round and then sought out somewhere for lunch.

A little off the beaten track, Strangers with Coffee is opposite St Cuthbert's Church which is really near to the main visitors car park. There's a big A-board pointing you in the right direction. Opening at the end of June, they were welcomed on to the local cafe scene by none other than the Mayor herself.

The first thing we noticed was that they serve Allpress espresso, from the New Zealand roastery which has more recently set up shop in London's East End. Having visited and reviewed Allpress before, I was pretty excited to see the brand outside of London and we headed inside to try it out.

Although pretty compact on the inside, there's seating outside under a small shelter with bright scatter cushions and not too many smokers. We made the most of a brief interlude of sunshine by sitting outside and, unlike in some places, were not forgotten. The friendly proprietor saw to our every need and I will from now on always demand my apple juice in a wine glass - how very civilised!

The menu was brief but balanced with a range of sarnies, salads and breakfast options. My other half went for the cheese salad sandwich, and I opted for the croque monsieur. Both were tasty, generously proportioned and came served with crisps and salad - a nice touch.

It's great to see ambitious start ups making the most of the blossoming UK cafe culture and using trendy coffee brands like Allpress to really carve out a niche for themselves in their local coffee scene. I'm sure that by serving such a great espresso brand, Strangers with Coffee has already trumped many surrounding businesses.

The quality and taste of the coffee really came through in the cappuccino enjoyed by my other half, but I must say the pour was a little 'wet' for my liking. I like my cappuccino to have a good head of foam on it to really differentiate it from a latte, and on inspection there was only a few mm skimming the surface.

All credit to Allpress for taking the leap to supply other independent coffee houses, but I guess every extension of your brand leads to a little less quality control. Strangers with coffee - hone your pouring skills and you'll do Allpress proud. For now, I'll stick with the apple juice.

Check out Strangers with coffee on Facebook.

A review of The Swan

Picture from www.theswanwedmore.com

The Swan, Cheddar Road, Wedmore, Somerset, BS28 4EQ

What with it being the Olympics and all (hopefully that small fact hasn't escaped anyone's attention...) and living in East London, we thought it might be wise to 'jump ship' for a few days. Head out to the country and away from all the chaos.

Discovering The Swan on i-escape.com ("a hand-picked portfolio of beautiful boutique hotels, B&Bs and houses for rent, in some of the world's most stunning locations..."), we were easily persuaded by the pub's luxuriously giant beds and baths, posh smellies and decadent River Cottage inspired grub. Our room was supposed to be the most modest of the six on offer, but there was plenty of space for us to spend a very comfortable three nights swathed in luxury, playing at being grown ups.

Picture from www.theswanwedmore.com

As well as having dinner at the incredible in-house restaurant which serves all seasonal, local ingredients the breakfast part of the 'B'n'B' was a real highlight of our trip. Regularly lumbered with the 'continental' option or a greasy fry up, we were spoilt for choice with their selection of yoghurt, granola, muesli, buttery scrambled egg and home cooked bread or full English. We tried something different almost everyday and, being tardy risers, were pretty much tided over until dinner for the most part.

Even the coffee was expertly poured and in the appropriate vessel (glass for a latte, cup for a cap) - pretty impressive for a pub more used to pouring pints.

They have a really laid back ethos at the Swan - "you can eat where and when you like". There's no set meal times and you can have the restaurant menu in the pub, or the bar snack menu in the restaurant - they really don't stand on ceremony. Cakes are available at breakfast if you're that way inclined, and there's always a newspaper or magazine lying around to flick through.

It was this relaxed approach to eating and drinking which really made the difference to our stay. Seriously refreshing in a world of intimidating holiday itineraries and 8am check out times. I would definitely recommend. 

The Swan has a website, Twitter and Facebook page.