One thing I will certainly miss when I leave London is the incredible choice of street food from all over the world, particularly in the markets around Camden and Brick Lane.
There’s a choice of Ethiopian, Brazillian, Peruvian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Burmese, Mexican, French, Greek, Moroccan, South African, Jamaican, Sri Lankan, Indian and just about anything else you can imagine.
Here’s a few snapshots of the vendors and food on offer around Brick Lane to get your mouth watering:
An interesting mix of the Chinese community who live and work in the area, other locals passing through Soho and curious tourists, the atmosphere alone makes Chinatown worth a visit.
There is central London rubbish to step around on the pavement, roasted ducks hanging in windows and the occasional waft of polluted air from dirty alleyways, but there’s also an amazing array of Chinese, Korean, Thai and other Asian goodies in the local supermarkets and corner shops, restaurants with dim sum and buffets galore. Like Banglatown in the East End, the street signs in Chinatown are written in two languages.
I passed through the other day and thought I’d share a few photos from an ordinary Chinatown day.
After checking out Sherlock Holmes (excellent) at Vue cinema in Fulham last week, K treated me to dinner at the lovely Thai restaurant, the Blue Elephant around the corner.
Image from Blue Elephant website
“Sawatdee,” we were greeted at the door where we could leave our coats before walking through a welcome blast of warm air into the main area of the restaurant. There were Thai handicrafts and rustic roodwork, a small bridge we crossed over a pond full of huge koi fish. We were seated next to the fish pond and the sound of a trickling fountain with lush green plants trailing down the walls. (In case you’re interested, they feed the fish most days around 6pm.)
It was pretty, relaxing, with friendly professional staff and, most importantly, excellent food. Pricey drinks, but the main courses were only an average of about £15. Their website has a lot of information on main dishes (I had tamarind duck and royal fried rice; K ordered crispy lemongrass chicken and morning glory) and more about the restaurant itself. Check out their classic menu and the rest of the site for more details.
Definitely worth a visit or two for the whole experience.
BLUE ELEPHANT LONDON
3-6 Fulham Broadway
London SW6 1AA United Kingdom
TEL: +44 20 7385 6595
EMAIL: london@blueelephant.com
Little London Observationist 