Borough Market, London UK

Last last Saturday, I went to Borough Market (London's oldest and one of the best food markets in the world!) with my parents (my sister opted out....!). I meant to put up this post a while ago, but it took me much too long to sift through my photos... We left after a light breakfast (I regret eating anything at all!) and took the tube to London Bridge. We walked into Borough market at 10:30 am and it was already packed. We had no idea what we were in for. 

Note: this post is definitely more pictures than words, but I think they speak for themselves.

Another note: this post is dedicated to a dear friend who once told me she would consider getting married in Borough market - a true sign of a foodie and one of the many reasons why we're friends!

We walked into Borough Market and were first greeted by an amazing fresh produce stall. The fruits and veggies were bursting with color and we were tempted to pick up so many things, but limited ourselves to some strawberries, bell peppers and spinach. There's only so much food we can eat, keeping in mind that we were leaving London for a few weeks on Friday (I am in Mumbai now!).

Just look at those colors. And the brussel sprouts below... On that note, I've only eaten brussel sprouts twice - the first time I absolutely hated them, the second time they were part of my Cambridge Christmas dinner, and they were alright. At the moment, I'm pretty indifferent. I'm mentioning this because I know that there are definitely some strong views on brussel sprouts. It's funny how much discussion can take place over a tiny cabbage-looking vegetable.

Brussel sprouts galore.

We kept meandering our way through the market. My mom almost picked up some truffle oil to drizzle on pasta but resisted. We tried some delicious fresh buffalo mozzarella but didn't think we would use it, so resisted once again. Coincidentally, we ended up making a caprese salad last week and regretting not buying the mozzarella. The next half hour was filled with gawking over the various foods on over and sneaking ever sample we could possibly get our hands on. 

However, once we reached the section with the bakeries, we just had to pick up something. There was everything - literally - on offer: feta spinach stuffed croissants, foccacia, ginger tea cake, spelt loaves, bread butter pudding, apple cinnamon almond tarts... I could keep going on. We planned to make some tomato soup the next morning so picked up the foccacia to accompany that. The bread butter pudding was too tempting so my mom and I decided that would be breakfast one morning - who doesn't like cake for breakfast? My dad decided the spelt and seed tin loaf was something different from the regular breads you get, so convinced my mom it was a good idea to buy it (which it was!).

Brownie tower. Need I say more?

I'm going to stop explaining our every move right about now and just give you some other highlights. We were attracted to a fresh pasta counter giving out free samples and absolutely fell in love with the fresh ricotta spinach ravioli... Yes, we did buy some and ended up eating it for dinner that night topped with a tomato cream sauce I made.

Oyster bar WITH champagne in classy flutes!

#selfie with the sweetest and coolest parents in the universe!

Moving on to the main things we ate AT the market itself. On the left are pictures of a stall selling hot food cooked in huge pans. The dishes included a Thai green curry, a Vietnamese fish stew, another Caribbean curry and "Bomba Paella". The people manning the stall kept filling spoons of the different dishes and offering them to passers-by. We succumbed to the delicious, fresh, piping hot and hearty paella. We bought one box to share between the three of us.

Next stop: Kappacasein. Type in "best grilled cheese in the world" and I can assure you that Kappacasein will come up several times on the first page. It's THAT good. The Montgomery cheddar cheese is distinct, tangy and just oh-so-good. This stall is not optional during a visit to Borough market. It's a must. The grilled cheese is two slices of delicious crusty Poilane sourdough bread stuffed with piles of the cheese and as a twist, a few chopped leeks, onions and garlic are added. They are all grilled right there - the cheese inside is melty and gooey and the bits that spill out form a lovely crust. To. Die. For. Kappacasein also does a delicious raclette with a spin off of the original. A generous helping of melted Ogleshield cheese on a pile of new potatoes, baby gherkins and pickled onions.

That cheese.....Mmmmm.

Wait for it - all this is coming from someone who is not a cheese fan whatsoever. In fact, I usually don't like cheese unless it's on pizza. Parmesan and buffalo mozzarella are exceptions!

My parents and I bought two grilled cheeses between us. We all ate half and took the last remaining half home for my sister.

One last thing to note - be prepared to wait for at least 30 mins for either of the two items... Emphasis on the at least.

It's worth it. For grilled cheese!

View of The Shard while waiting in

line for Kappacasein grilled cheese!

Close up of that outstanding grilled cheese.

My favorite people enjoying their grilled cheese!

It was around 2 pm at this point. We finished our route with the dessert section. Stalls filled with cakes, candies, meringues, cupcakes, pies, tarts, chocolate, ice cream... and everything of the sort. 

I had wanted to eat banoffee pie (an English dessert pie made from bananas, cream and toffee from dulce de leche, either on a pastry base or one made from crumbled biscuits and butter) for the past two years but was waiting for the right one. The one I bought at Borough market was that one. As my first slice of banoffee pie (shame, I know!) it was too good to be true. I don't thing I'll have another for a long time, because I assure you, I'll be disappointed. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture.

Obligatory picture of cupcakes.

Borough market is a must for any foodies (or not) visiting London. Whether you go for the food or the atmosphere, you won't regret it!