broadway market

Welcome to broadway market, a market like no other in london. Every saturday it becomes the epicentre of Hackney’s hipster scene. It is too cool for school and each time i visit i end up staying all day, meeting friends, talking to the locals and simply watching the world go by. It is fascinating on so many levels and i try and limit how often i go as not to ever tire of it!

Apart from great shopping, be it antiques, books, clothes, haberdashery and so on, i mainly go for the food. The atmosphere is unique and i dare you to plan a visit one saturday and not be enthralled!

Today i will concentrate on one of my visits, introduce you to some of the magic of being there on a saturday. You must forgive me for not listing everything because there are simply too many great shops, cafés, bars and restaurants to name. And sometimes, it’s great to make one’s own discoveries, right?

Let’s go.

Just opposite the market you’ll find london field, a glorious park.

As you approach the market you’ll find all sorts. Even the ambulance guys are hip, you don’t think? I wonder whether they have been especially assigned:)

Let’s get a feel of the market.

A lot of the cooked food there is incredible. I mean where do you get persian food? I remember the first week they started at the market a couple of years ago, they were so nervous. For those who don’t know persian food, it’s absolutely delicious.

I particularly like the way they cook crispy rice. It’s a delicacy. Here’s a recipe.

So, sometimes i’ll have some persian food but mostly when i visit, i go for the one and only mushroom risotto. It’s totally yum! Take a look:

Wild and exotic risotto with truffel oil, accompanied by rocket salad and grana padana cheese. I ask you, can you not smell it? It’s intoxicating.

I always say it doesn’t cost much these days to start a business. You need a good idea, mix in some authentic passion and a little innovation and voila, you’ve started a new venture. On the day i went to the market, i saw these 2 guys perched with an ingenius table against a bar making and selling fresh sushi. They had only started the week before so were still new to this. I had a longer chat with them and found out that their friend, the guy behind in the blue shirt, is an industrial designer and had designed this table for them. It’s still a prototype. Basically it’s small, slanted and fits perfectly against the wall of any bar or restaurant. I believe the initial idea was to avoid market stall costs as they would be ‘so to speak’ attached to the bar/restaurant and therefore exempt from paying fees. That plan didn’t work out as the market stall landlord told them that if they are selling food they need to pay the same as a market stall holder. Shame!

Late in the afternoon i ordered the usual freshly squeezed lime juice with some sparkling water. As i was watching the girl behind the bar prepare some cocktails, i noticed she was using these interesting juice extractors. The speed and foremost the amount of juice that was coming out intrigued me. I just simply had to ask her what they were and where they were from.

I was on a mission and in the end we involved the owner of the bar. He immediately offered to help and googled ‘mexican elbow‘. Yes, people, I’m now the proud owner of the yellow (lemons) and green (limes) one. The orange one (oranges) was out of stock and is on order. I kid you not, if you use a lot of lemon and lime in your cooking or making drinks, you will not go wrong with these. They extract every single bit of juice and there won’t be any lemon pips! Also, now i feel like a cocktail maker:) I’m seriously in love with them. Aren’t they fun and colourful, as well as being practical? 

I hope you enjoyed the virtual visit to broadway market and who knows, i might bump into you there one day. I hope you all have a great weekend.

London is busy with the london design festival starting this friday and my calendar is full. What are you all up to? Are you going to any events of the ldf? Which ones? The lovely people at camron pr have put this invaluable festival guide together. Thank you:) Hope to see some of you at #ldf12