Empanadas |

Ahhh London. I absolutely looooovvve going home and London when it’s warm, dry and sunny is the absolute BEE’S KNEES. Two words: Borough Market. One of the most blissful places to roam around, especially on an empty stomach. A glutton’s dream. The first time I went, which was maybe 6 years ago, the market wasn’t quite the commercialised hub that it is today. There were more rough edges and a less polished charm which I adored. Today Borough Market has been discovered by shedloads of people and anyone who has sniffed out its delicious, wafting aromas and has, somewhat sadly, developed into a tourist attraction in itself but it’s still fantastic. I’m just dismayed that the amazeballs raclette stall that was my all time favourite seems to have disappeared. Boo.

Borough Market

I went with my parents last Friday and by some miracle were blessed with dry weather and a positively balmy 16 degrees. We wasted no time trawling through the market in search for lunch and first stop was at Portena for a heavenly beef empanada. Juicy, packed with flavour, ugh..I wanted more, more, more. You can pour their homemade Chimichurri sauce on your empanada too, which gives it a punch.

Beef Empanada

Chimichurri sauce

Brindisa, a Spanish gastronomy company, has a glorious shop selling Serrano and Iberico hams, cheeses, olives and of course chorizo. But the best part is that Brindisa has a little stall selling the most kick-ass chorizo sandwiches. Get in my belleh. Bit pricey though, damn inflation. £3.75 for a ‘single’ i.e. 1 chorizo piece, and £4.75 for 2 chorizo pieces. Luckily they are fat chunks.

Brindisa chorizo sandwich

YUM

Brindisa

More meat next- the German deli stall is extremely popular, and for good reason too as their Bratwurst roll is ridonkulously good and large. Difficult to cram in my mouth but somehow one manages. Packed with sauerkraut and with lashings of ketchup and mustard, this £4.50 roll is sensational.

Bratwurst

German Deli

Bratwurst

Bratwurst roll- doesn’t look that attractive but it was stupendous.

The carb feast almost over, I spotted a gorgeous cake stall called The Free From Bakehouse with a display of beautiful baked goods, some with interesting combinations of flavours. I spied this drool-worthy Parsnip, Pear and Sea-Salt Caramel cake which was wheat and gluten free as well. The caramel icing was hypnotic to look at. My stomach was pretty much bursting at the seams but I sunk my teeth into a rather large slice and was rewarded with cake nirvana. Ooohhh.

The Free From Bakehouse

My Parsnip, Pear and Sea-Salt Caramel slice

Parsnip, Pear and Sea-Salt Caramel cake

We couldn’t manage anymore food, but wove our way through the markets and finally ended up at one of the best coffee shops- Monmouth. A coffee institution that serves smooth, rich coffees and a must for coffee-lovers. The coffee of the day was a Kenyan coffee bean- Gichathaini, which was quite intense and had hints of fruitiness. Perfection in a cup.

Waiting for the coffee to be filtered

Monmouth

The rest of the photos below are just a few stalls I passed by that interested me, and may catch your eye too if you ever go. If only our stomachs were as big as our eyes.

Chutneys by Temptings

Artisan chocolates

Owl cookies!

Lamingtons and eclairs and cakes galore

Bread delights

TRUFFLES

An invitation to smell a bowl of truffle

Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street, London. SE1 ITL. Tel: +44 (0) 207407 1002 Email: info@boroughmarket.org.uk

Opening Times: Full Market: Wed-Thurs 10am- 5pm, Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 8am- 5pm. Open for lunch Mon- Tues 10am-5pm

I like a big slab of beef now and again, so it’s great that new Argentinian Steakhouse, Tango, has opened its doors on Wyndham Street.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse (Admiralty) or Morton’s Steakhouse at the Sheraton Hotel (Kowloon) are often lauded as being the best steaks in town, but if they are a bit pricey for you, then Tango could be the place for your next red meat fix.

Boasting a lovely Parilla fireplace, the interior in Tango has been designed to inspire a homely, rustic feel with a plethora of dark-wood and exposed brick. At night, the light is dimmed to create an intimate atmosphere, the expanse of windows give customers a fun view of the passersby below and your eyes are drawn to the fireplace where plump cuts of La Pampa beef are grilled.

I went for my birthday, and as we had a group of 10, we were offered the Tango Function Package, which included appetizers, sides and desserts to share, with a choice of main for $468 per person excluding service charge.

There was a good selection of starters, with Yellowfin Tuna and Watermelon Ceviche, hand cut Beef Sirloin Empanadas, Chorizo sausage served with chimichurri, hearts of palm salad with tomato, avocado and basil and a platter of Tango’s cured meats. The traditional Argentinian beef sirloin empanadas went down a treat; savoury pasties stuffed with beef, basil, olives and sweetcorn were wolfed down quickly and left us wanting more. The salad was a good compliment to the meat heavy appetisers and the cured meat platter was also a winner.For mains, we had a choice between a 12oz sirloin steak, lamb chump steak and seafood spaghetti. Most of us opted for the sirloin steak (of course) but the two who chose the spaghetti were unfortunately disappointed, saying it lacked flavour and flair. The cuts of prime sirloin were huge. The frankly gigantic portions plonked on our plates meant that even the guys were left struggling to ingest all 12oz of protein. However, the 6 salsas served with the steak, (Criolla, Chimichurri, spicy tomato, Dijon mustard, grained mustard and horseradish), evened out the meat sweats most of us suffered afterwards! My steak was a well prepared medium, juicy and plump on the inside, with a good, even searing on both sides.The side dishes- French fries, sautéed mushrooms and peppers were average. The fries were a little overdone but that didn’t stop my fingers reaching into the bowl every few minutes.

Three desserts were brought out- Helado’s icecream, Churros con Chocolate and the absolutely amazing Leche Flan which doubled up as my birthday cake. Leche Flan is a crème caramel served with Dulce de Leche, a caramel-like milk based sauce made from sweetened condensed milk. A heart attack on a plate, but way too good to resist! The waiter cheekily brought out a massive jar of Dulce de Leche which they sell at Tango and tried to tempt us (after hearing all the gastronomic groans of delight emanating from us girls in particular), but we were strong. Instead of buying a jar….we demanded two extra bowls of the stuff to eat on its own. Disgusting I know.Tango has a vast selection of Argentinian, Spanish and Italian wines for all wine lovers to choose from. We were certainly pleased with our choice (don’t quite recall what we ordered, I believe it was a Spanish red) but we were happy.

Argentinian chef, Ignacio Elizondo has whipped up a variety of lamb, chicken and fish dishes as well as preparing all cuts of La Pampa beef. If I were you, I’d stay away from the seafood and go for the meat. After all, it is a steakhouse.

Chopstixfix rating: 3.5/5