Eating Our Way through London’s East End

For our last full day in London, out of all the ways we could have chosen to spend our time, we decided on a Food Tour. Wow, what a good pick that turned out to be! We met our tour guides along with the other 9 participants in Spitalfields Market in East London a little before 10AM. For the next 3.5 hours, we ate our way around this culturally diverse, quirky neighborhood while learning about its fascinating history.

First up: a Bacon Sandwich on artisan bread – served with homemade ketchup of all things! – YUM!  I was so excited that I forgot to take a photo before I took a bite. Then, at the next stop, when we tasted traditional Bread and Butter Pudding, again, I dug in before remembering to get out the camera.

     

We tasted both ale and cider at a traditional pub. Bill & I were both surprised at how mild the ale was; we both liked it, as well as the cider.  At another eatery, we sampled arguably the most famous English dish: fish ‘n chips, which had mushy peas on the side. Delicious!

     

We were surprised to learn that curry is Britain’s national dish. There are more curry houses along Brick Lane in East London than in all of Mumbai, India! We tried three different curry dishes, along with naan bread, and enjoyed them all. We also visited a cheese shop and sampled three varieties of English cheese, accompanied by dried fruit and nuts.

At the end of the tour, the guides asked us each to name our favorite food. It was really, really hard, but Bill and I both named the Salted Beef Bagel (served with hot English mustard & pickles). Many others chose the Salted Caramel Tart, which happened to be a close runner-up for me!

    

As Bill said, we’re leaving London with a good taste in our mouths!