LONDON Borough Market: Shopping Haul + Street Photography

At the heart of a genuinely delicious meal is its raw ingredients. I've had a list of things I've been wanting to make for awhile including truffle mac and cheese and marinated mozzarella, the latter inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi. Knowing I wouldn't do either recipe any justice without the perfect set of ingredients, I took a 15 minute tube ride to London Bridge,  desperately hoping the overcast sky would hold back its rain until I'd done my shopping. 

My truffle mac and cheese craving was triggered when I saw Courtney Lapresi's version on Master Chef 2014. Sadly I couldn't find the recipe online but I did find the exact clip on youtube. Because I am, after all, a mere student prone to the occasional bout of laziness and not a gourmet chef, I'll be making attempting the dish without the lobster; and instead of three cheeses I'll only be using one cheese (see said cheese in the photo below). Edel de Cleron is a mild, light and creamy cheese which I hope will go well with the intense truffle aroma on my mac and cheese. The vendor at "The French Comte" was extremely helpful when I told him I wanted a mild cheese I could melt into a sauce.

At £7, the tiny bottle of white truffle oil from "Tartufaia Truffles"  seems like a lot to pay until you actually dip some bread into it and try it for yourself. With flavour so intense, you won't need a lot of it to suffuse your dish with the nutty, mushroomy aroma of truffle. 

I've always wondered why burrata costs so much in restaurants. After all, it doesn't appear to me (though I might be wrong) like much skill is required in prepping a marinade and garnishing a plate. Either way, I've had a recipe from Lottie + Doof for Marinated Mozzarella bookmarked for ages so I got myself some creamy, velvety burrata from "The Parma Ham and Mozzarella Stand" to try the recipe out with. By far my favourite type of cheese, burrata is light, delicately flavoured and simply amazing with cherry tomatoes. 

Since this is a post about Borough Market without any actual photos of Borough Market, I thought I'd post the ones I took as part of a photography course assignment a while back: 

Shopping List: 

White Truffle Oil.................£7

Burrata 250g......................£5
Cheese wedge....................£3

Mushroom Pate (Pate Moi)......£4

Custard Buns (Bread Ahead)...£2.50 each

Total: £24

Borough Market 

Tube: London Bridge

8 Southwark Street

SE1 1TL

020 7407 1002

LONDON: Brunch at Lantana

Toasted banana bread with mascarpone, banana custard and salted chocolate crumb   

While my brunch partner and I squeezed into a little wooden table at Lantana between a group of indie hipsters (did I get that right?) and a sweet old couple, I wondered how I was going to snap my food shots with my huge camera without embarrassing us. Then again, it helps to be Asian in Europe. I could easily be classified as an over-enthusiastic tourist. 

I learnt two things from my trip to Lantana. 1. The devil is indeed in the details. 2. A few minutes out in the open can be lethal to a freshly toasted breakfast.  

My toasted banana bread (see first photo) came not only with a healthy dollop of velvety banana custard, but also salted chocolate crumbs. These artfully sprinkled sugary flecks gave each bite a lovely crunch that ever so subtly elevated the whole dish. What distinguishes Lantana from other brunch places isn't its service or interior - both of which have some room for improvement - it is the thoughtfulness that has gone into the planning of each dish. 

Nonetheless, with the slowly decreasing temperatures, I feel the food could have been served steaming hot rather than simply lukewarm. With the kitchen so far from the seating area this can be a difficult task but a plate warmer or heat lamp could go a long way. Eating french toast (see third photo) crisp and fresh from the toaster oven is infinitely more satisfying than eating it after a few minutes out in the open. While I enjoyed the banana bread at Lantana, I couldn't quite appreciate the maple french toast until I heated some of it up in the toaster oven at home and tried it again piping hot and devoid of the veritable sea of maple syrup it had previously been swimming in. 

My advice? Go to Lantana with an empty stomach and a craving for something rich and substantial. 

Corn fritters stacked with streaky bacon, fresh spinach and slow roast tomatoes served with smashed avocado, a poached egg and crème fraiche   

Maple French toast w streaky bacon, grilled banana and toasted pecans    

Lantana Cafe

13 Charlotte Place
Fitzrovia
W1T1SN
020 7637 3347