Since moving to Bombay, one of my favorite things about visiting London is playing tourist. Even though I know London like the back of my hand, I’ve been exploring areas that I otherwise took for granted while I lived here such as Borough Market.
It’s a gourmet food market in Southwark with various stalls and stands, both from across the country and all over the world. With a variety of fresh, high quality fish, meats, vegetables, ciders, cheeses, cakes, coffee, patisseries & produce (to name a few), Borough Market is essentially a foodie’s mecca! Fortunately pictures were more than welcomed so get ready for a feast for your eyes…but first grab a snack as chances are this post is going to make you huuungry ;).
Apparently water is so passé when it comes to refreshing beverages…at least when pitchers of sangria and iced tea are on the menu:
Although I am not overly adventurous with my meats, hardcore carnivores can choose from kangaroo, crocodile, horse, ostrich and zebra meat. My friends raved about the duck confit sandwiches, chorizo rolls and bratwurst hot dogs:
I played it safe with a chicken wrap. Although I’m not big on mayo at all, it seemed almost wrong to alter a dish in this kind of setting. I told the server to go easy and fortunately it actually tasted pretty fantastic with the chicken, rocket, salsa, and sweet chili sauce
My favorite dish was undoubtedly the Spanish scallops with bacon bits- my only qualm is that we should have bought more than one portion 😉
Plenty of vegan & vegetarian options were also available. One that particularly caught my eye was the salad/burger stall. After picking from a selection of salads, you could either eat it straight up out of a box or the servers could assemble it into a patty, grill it and either serve it in a multigrain bun or lettuce wrap.
Meat aside I was a bit adventurous with the desserts, especially goat’s milk ice cream. Fun fact: Goat’s milk ice cream is actually lactose-free, and lower in fat than cow’s milk ice cream but just as creamy! The server was SO nice and kept offering samples. I tried the salted caramel (obvi) & rum ‘n’ raisin…if only I wasn’t too stuffed to get a full scoop.
I know fruit and vegetables don’t really scream “exciting” but just look at this spread:
How can you NOT want to get in your 5- a-day?? If I wasn’t leaving so soon and didn’t plan on eating out for my next few meals, I would have walked away with more than just 1 box of jumbo strawberries. I would have also walked away with other ingredients like freshly baked bread, mushrooms, and flavored vinegars:
Don’t even get me started on the number of dessert stalls- brownies, cookies, salted caramel peanut butter squares, mille fleurs, lamingtons and that’s just the start of it:
To round up the afternoon, my friend and I shared a strawberry tart a.k.a. one of my favorite summertime desserts:
And now for the money shot:
And to whoever suggested adding more color to your diet, will these do?
I am not much of a macaroon fan, but these looked too pretty to not photograph. In case you’re wondering about the flavors, they are (from right to left): peppermint, strawberry, lemon, lavender, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, and pistachio.
Along with plenty of food and ingredients to buy, there were SO many free samples…so go hungry ;)! As it’s right next to Borough Market, I couldn’t leave without taking a picture of The Shard a.k.a. the tallest building in the EU as of now:
What’s the best thing you ate all weekend?
What’s the most exotic meat you’ve tried?
That market looks epic! Disappointed you didn’t sample some kangaroo while you were there 😉
Best thing I ate this weekend was a salmon salad…which then gave me food poisoning! Regarding exotic meat, I regularly eat kangaroo so maybe crocodile jerky? It was…chewy!
Ooh how would you describe kangaroo meat?? I am not so adventurous but I make up in intrigue 😉
Omigoodness… foodie mecca indeed! I had a pretty good weekend exploring the farmers market and a few local bakeries, which is probably the only reason that I’m not feeling -extremely- jealous right now… just a little bit 😉 Not that I’m that adventurous with my eats (zebra, kangaroo, and crocodile? oh my!), but it’s always fun to see those kinds of things being offered. As for the best thing I ate all weekend? This is going to sound ridiculous, but it’s honestly hard to choose between some of the local veggies that I got (SO flavourful) and a chocolate chip scone from a local bakery. Both were divine for different reasons…
Chocolate chip scones?? These really exist?? The only flavored scones I ever seen are filled with dried fruit- not as fun! 😉
Oh my GOD! Heaven on Earth!!
I LOVE markets and especially when you get samples 🙂
I would totally want to try that goat milk ice cream.
I ate some pretty delicious and huge scallops this weekend, I love them!!
Love the meaty texture of scallops 🙂
Oh wow, what an amazing market! One of my favourite things about visiting new cities is checking out their markets – I like how each market is so unique! Isn’t goats milk ice cream awesome? I had the chance to try it at a food festival last summer and loved it!
I’m pretty adventurous with trying different meats – the most exotic one I’ve had is ostrich. I would try alligator if given the chance, but the idea of it kind of skeeves me out a bit. 😛
The best thing I ate this weekend was arctic char from Blacktree – the chef cooks his fish SO perfectly and it seriously just melts in your mouth!
Ostrich is on my list of meats to try- apparently it’s a lot like chicken?
I didn’t take your advice and didn’t get a snack – now I am ravenous!
This market is a dream indeed! WOW! I need to put this on my “trip thru London” list!
Best thing I ate this weekend were some scones I made with rhubarb and blacberries 🙂
Do you have a trip to London planned anytime soon?
I so wish! But, unfortunately not this year… maybe in the summer of 2014 🙂
Fingers crossed 🙂
Such a gorgeous market! I love exploring farmers markets in new cities…especially if they have dessert displays like that 😉 looks amazing!
I’d like to say that I’d try anything if given the chance – so I think I’d try ostrich or kangaroo if I could. Zebra and horse, I may struggle with a little bit.
Best thing I ate over the weekend was froyo with an insane amount of toppings – of course 😉
Not sure if this is too adventurous for you, but I recall seeing cat & dog meat on menus in China when I visited last year!
Love the Borough Market , the hubby and I were there a couple years ago and spent half of our saturday there. Such a fun market. Great pictures, looks like you had a lot of fun 🙂
Komal
Thanks Komal- pictures are all courtesy of my iPhone 🙂
I want everything from that market. I am not that adventurous with meats but duck confit sounds good to me..Best/New thing I tried this weekend- baked kale chips 🙂
Love kale chips although it’s been a while since I made some up!
Oh that market!!! I want to go there so badly!! A great excuse to go back to London (don’t I ALWAYS say that when you post about something in London?! I guess I really DO need to go back there. 😉 ) I was sure to take you advice and make some pancakes before reading through the whole post and I’m so glad I did or my tummy would have been very upset haha. And goat’s milk ice cream?! I really need to try that! I love goat milk cheese. 🙂
Haha you really need to visit London ASAP ;)! Hope you enjoyed your pancakes- great way to kickstart the week 🙂
I love Borough Market!! I have to go back soon 😀
Best thing I ate over the weekend? Too many to count! Pasta, pizza, a burger, a meat platter, fresh fish and veggies, crepes, ice cream….hmmmm I sound like a big fat guy haha
Haha orrrr you sound like a body builder with good taste in food ;)!
This looks so amazing! I’ve never been to Borough Market, but I do love walking around the Union Square Farmer’s market in the summer and fall 🙂 So nice to buy fresh, local ingredients!
Best thing I ate this weekend – hmm, a hard choice. Maple soy salmon grilled with a baked potato, or the truffle edamame dumplings from Yauatcha 🙂
Oooh this maple soy salmon sounds rather fabulous 🙂
The chorizo sandwich and the bratwurst hotdog were amazing!! When u r back in london we must make another trip to borough market!
I can’t wait for round 2 🙂
That looks incredible! I can’t wait to visit London just for this place!
This weekend i ate my own veggie burger creation (from a diners drive ins recipe) that was awesome!!! I’m never going back to the packaged variety.
For a vegetarian having tried calamari and chicken was exotic enough.
I totally feel you about homemade burgers..SO much for satisfying than the packaged kind!
OH my gosh, I would be in Heaven! I want some Earl Grey Iced tea! And everything else… 🙂
Definitely a glimpse of heaven 😉
This looks like an amazing market, I just about died over that macaroon photo!
Borough Market…another one to add to the bucket list. I love outdoor markets and this one sounds amazing. It may not be exciting as some of the other things, but I thought the fruit was gorgeous. Stunning even. I’m a fan.
Safe travels.
Thanks Meghan 🙂
Oh i LOVE being a tourist in cities I used to live in. Like I lived in NYC for about 5 years, but now when I go back I do those touristy things i never did while i was there, and they’re always a blast. that food market looks DELICIOUS! and im a huge macaroon fan, so I would have ordered 1 of each (at least). most exotic meet ive ever eaten.. hmm.. actually i dont think ive ever had anything all that adventurous, I’m going to have to start.
Ah I would love to play tourist in NYC- hopefully soon 🙂
Ummmmmm this market looks like the best thing ever. I’m dying to try that salty caramel goat’s milk ice cream! I actually really like goat’s milk yogurt, but I’m never tried it in ice cream form. And all those fruits and veggies on display….heaven!
Khushboo, I too moved to the other side of the world from London (to Pakistan) and I felt like I could have written that first para of this post! I’m back for the summer and recently discovered the Whole Foods Market in High St Kensington, and felt like I totally wasted YEARS of living here and NOT going there regularly! Similarly, I’m yet to go to Borough Market. This post had given me a massive shove to do so a.s.a.p 🙂
Welcome to my blog, Habiba :)! Hope you are having a wonderful stay in London- I’m glad you share my sentiments! Putting up a post up tomorrow on some restaurant recommendations so hopefully you will get a chance to check a few out during your trip!
That looks like my version of heaven!!! The most bizarre meat… probably alligator. It wasn’t awesome.
Haha do I dare ask how it was served??
As sausage balls! LOL!
Hahah crocodile balls- sounds lovely 😉
They were salty. 😉
man, not a good idea to have read your blog at work, at 5 pm. 🙁
So hungry!
Everything looks so good, next time I visit London will need to visit Borough Market, kinda reminds me of our Chelsea Market.
That tart looks so delicious.
So sad you are leaving.
Most adventurous meat – so on a press dinner 2 months ago, I ate foi grai (duck liver – something like that). I had no idea what it was but it looked gross. I took a bite and that was it. The main press lady was like ooh and ahh, but it was so gross. I hate everything but fish and chicken. I’m boring.
🙂
Hahaha you definitely get points for branching out- the idea of eating duck skeeves me out 🙂
This place is making my mouth water! I’d like a scoop of that goat’s milk ice cream 😀
Mmm I could do with a scoop right now too 😀
On my must do list! I’m headed to London for the bank holiday and will see if I can get there – looks AMAZING!
Ohh I hope you manage to go- let me know what you think 🙂
Whoa, zebra meat?! I never even thought about trying that! I’ve had pork belly before…I didn’t really care for it but I later found out that I got a bad piece so I’m willing to try again! I’ve also had alligator chili! Oh, and I tried bone marrow once too…not bad, just tastes like butter! I really want to try elk, rabbit, and duck…I’m a bit adventurous! 😉
Love the macaroons! I would LOVE to have tried one of the lavender ones! And that strawberry tart looks amazing! Love the “money shot”! Lol
Bone marrow tastes like butter? Time to get my hands on some bone marrow then 😉
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