The Street Food Takeover continues. The market scene is booming, stalls and traders are  coming together everywhere.Not just in London, but all over the UK. The Time Out markets in Europe will come to London next year and there is news of the old BHS building on Oxford Circus becoming a food market venue too.

Add to this, KERB are fully taking over London.
Their latest adventure sees them come to Central London and Covent Garden with the Seven Dials Market.
I have been waiting for a while. The space had been abandoned for almost a year by SuperDry etc and a food market near the office was always the ideal scenario for me.

I'm still trying to figure out the juxtaposition in the Food Scene at the moment. With the rise of both food markets, coupled with the growth in food delivery boxes too, what does this all mean?

The likes of Farmdrop, Hello Fresh and Gousto, are seeing more and more people cooking great meals at home. But then, on the other hand, they want to go out and eat all the time.

My only guess is that people want good food all the time, as well as a variety in what they eat. Both of these options are able to provide that and for every day it seems that people cook, they want to NOT cook too.

The other added benefit of the food market/street food vibe is that as a group, people can eat and choose whatever they like. OPTIONS is King.

Walking into Seven Dials Market is an adventure in itself. When you enter, you go via Cucumber Alley and this is like a grocers with fresh fruit and veg, alongside a florists too.

From Cucumber Alley, you then venture into Banana Warehouse, where the foodie fun really begins. There are about 10 different options, including the longest Cheese conveyor belt in Europe (MADNESS). 

I haven't tried them all (YET), but the ones I have are pictured above.

Clockwise from Top Right:
Pasta from Strozzapreti (A great amount of Garlic in this cauliflower pasta)
Doughnut from Big Shot (Poor indulgence, up there with Doughnut Time)
Truffle Burger and Parmesan Chips from Truffle Burger (rich and delightful, the chips were a fan fave)
​Rueben from Monty's Deli (A place I had been dying to try for ages and it lived up to the hype)

As per usual:
GOOD TIMES: ALL, Options are the best and gives me plenty of reasons to go back

WATCH OUT: Seating and Queues. My Ink Fish experience wasn't the best.

​OMG: The Parmesan chips from Truffle Burger were amazing. I had to share them unfortunately.

One reason why this dish took so long to make was because of the recipe. For some reason I was put off by the fact that it had different elements to it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and looking back now, the dish was easy to create, but did need some time to make.

The element which needed time was the soaking of the fenugreek seeds overnight. Besides that, this dish is easy to make and is a dish where you let the ingredients come together and create the magic.

I used the amazing resource of the 196 Flavours website and their recipe for Saltah.

I am thankful that I had the chance to both cook and eat this dish. 40 or so minutes in the kitchen, then slurped over and finished in five minutes. The blend of protein and veg with the fragrant cumin and coriander allow many different flavours at one time.

I didn't taste the Saltah whilst cooking and wasn't really sure what to expect. Fenugreek is not an ingredient I use too often, but with the lamb and the herbs and spices I was confident that it would be a dish I would like (or at least be able to eat). The dish doesn't look great in any of my pictures, however it was something I would have again.

One thing that is clear with this challenge, is that it has allowed me to try new things, learn about new cultures and share my experiences with all. One more to go.