With open air market being allowed to open in the UK soon I thought it would be a good time to share one of my favourites. Broadway Market in Hackney.
This bustling street has plenty of shops, books stores, cafes and restaurants during the week but on a saturday – it thrives! The market is along this one street – it has a whole range from little gifts, to oils, butcher, baker, (didn’t see a candelstick maker), as well as a whole range of food stalls.
It may only be one street but it a perfect place to stop for lunch for something different. Out of the centre of London the trasnport links are still not bad a short walk from Hackney overground station for me.
From la tua pasta, also found in Borough Market, to oysters, burgers and pad thai. There is something for every craving and if you are not in the mood for street food then the restaurants and cafes offer more staple options.
Sweet treats well represented here with vegan and gluten free options clear. Which is great those who have alleriges and intolerances – I was very impressed by the information available at the street food stalls in references to what was in their food – just shows the true quality there!
Fresh fruit and veg has a couple of stalls if you prefer to get your fruit and veg really fresh. . Even butchers and cheese for those who prefer local artisanal goods. I love this markets for supporting small local businesses. As with most of the these markets there are some. Unique bits too, a oil stall, jewelry, Scarves, vintage clothing. Some places take card others are only cash – again this is clearly indicated at each stall.
And as if the food and these goods were not enough there is the bonus of live music at the mid point and end. Truly a local experience, local businesses and local artists all in one place – one of the many pockes in London but definitely worth a visit for a few hours.
These muffins are super yummy, low on the calories and freezeable for on the go breakfast – all of my favourite things.
Ingredients
2 bananas (overripe the better)
1 eggs
1 tbsp chia seeds (soak these in 3 tbpn of water 15 mins before)
2 tspn baking powder
3 tspn Cinnamon
1 cup Lacto free greek yoghurt
1 cup lacto free milk
3 Cups oats
1/4 Teaspoon salt
Toppings you can add are mixed – nuts, blueberries, apple.
Method –
Preheat Oven to 180c or 350f
mash the bananas and then add all the ingredients other than the oats and milk to the bowl.
Add the oats and the milk to the bowl
Whilst the oats are soaking – line the muffin tins with liners.
Add one and half spoons fulls to each liner – they should be about 3/4 full.
Put the in the oven for 30 -35 mins
Let cool and then..
Om NOM nom – 5* reviews from all those who had one. warning though they disappear quickly. They can stick to the casing so not always delicate eating. 🙂 ENJOY
Spitalfields in a covered marketing in central London. Found at: 16 Commercial St, Spitalfields, London E1 6EW. It has been on the same spot for 350 years – impressive right. Who knows when it will re open but wanted to make sure this travel tuesday it was on your radar.
With a whole range of stalls – it is worth going for a walk around even if you are not looking for anything. I found some lovely unique earrings which were like branches. So there are a whole range of different local businesses and local vendors – there are some chain shops in the permanent fixtures around the outside of the market – but that is not why we come to markets right!
There are two reasons I come to Spitalfields – the food and the books. The food is amazing. I could spend all day there eating sweet treats and lunches from all over the world. There is a whole section of the market kept just for the food stalls with old school benches and table to sit at and enjoy your food. There is a whole range of options, from asian, italian, middle eastern through to some of the more ‘traditional’ options. The sweet treats are a must… just be careful with how many to try and get home – they might now survive.
As I said the other reason I go to Spitalfields is the book stall – I love this book stall! There are the traditional reads to some different ones and all at affordbale prices. Around £3-4 a book – always end up buying a few. The choice is endless as you can see from the image above, there are a range of topics and it stretches across all of the stall, there are shelves behind and the owner is just sat on a stall on the outskirts of the stall. Generally they prefer to take cash (this might change) however it is a great place to pick up a new read or something you have always wanted to try.
This post seemed to post without the images loaded properly so I wanted to re post with some more information.
Whilst in Johannesburg last year I took a tour of Soweto. And what a day it was.
If you want to go the same tour please contact TKD Tours – TK works with local schools and international communities to help get school children from local villages the uniforms they need to go to school. He is very knowledgeable about the area as he grew up here and is willing to share all of his stories – not to mention he gave a tour of Kliptown to Prince Charles and Camilla.
Moving on, so TK took me for lunch in Soweto at Sakhumsi which is a traditional african buffet type places. I was able to try all sorts of food, and have a local beer as well. It was just down the road from where Nelson Mandela lived and therefore easy for tourists passing through. It does get quite busy there but they turn the food over quickly so you know you are getting fresh food.
TK drove me all round Soweto showing me every corner I could ever want to see and more. He is a really lovely guy and I would recommend him to anyone and everyone. After walking round the main parts he took me for a walk around Kliptown.
Kliptown is a township within Soweto – it really showed me the “how the other half live”. I was really impressed with their resourcefulness, the kids seemed happy and were playing around in the streets. The houses were simple but the people were welcoming – although I have to say some of the children seemed confused seeing a white lady around – but always interesting interactions. TK helped to translate between me and the children and prompted their interactions. It was such a rewarding experience.
If you are in Cape Town or Johannesburg I really would recommend going to one of the townships to see how they live, interact with local people. It makes such a difference to a trip. I truly enjoyed it and found it really rewarding – talk to your tour operator about township tours.
Wine flies is the tour company that do Wine tours around Stellenbosch. If you are in Cape Town and are looking for a wine tour then these are your guys! Legend was our guide, yes that is really his name. He was wonderful.
They pick you up at the hostel/hotel you are staying at in the morning and drive you to the first winery, Villiera. Here we do a brief history of wine and see the moving parts behind a wine farm, the full story from start to finish. The entire process for white and red wine. Legend gave it in such a relaxed way, made sure we are listening and taking it in. Even through we were definitely all waiting for the wine.
The tasting consists of 2 Sparkling, 3 white wines and 1 red, there was biltong and kudu sausage to eat as well. The wines were enjoyable and good to start the day with. We had a chenin blanc from a steel barrel and one from and oak barrel – the different was outstanding! The winery was nice and big, so we could sit out side and relax in the shade.
There was not too much pressure but we have time constraints as we needed to move onto the next place. This was definitely one of your more boutiquey wine farms. Cheese Pairing at Mitres Edge. 1 white and 4 reds. The pairings here were really surprising, a cows milk feta with white wine. Blue camembert with a red. For someone who doesn’t normally enjoy red wine, this was my most surprising tasting of the day. The tasting room was in the cellar which was lovely, it was a family wine place as well making it all the more special to have the wine maker with us to explain every element of the wine.
Lunch and the third stop was Middlevlei, lunch was a Braai which was lovely. Sausages and chicken which a whole range of salads and sides. It was delicious and I enjoyed the wine so much I bought two bottles of it. It was a chilled lunch, Legend making sure that our glasses were topped up with different wines every time they were empty.
After lunch we headed into the cellar, which was actually a separate building. We saw the old concrete barrels they used to keep the wine in. And we went into one of the barrel rooms where we could take wine out of the barrel itself! It was great. The wine they had deemed was not quite good enjoy to be sold and so needed longer in the barrel. The guide explained putting fake oak sticks and logs into the barrels when the barrels were older in order to increase the oakiness in the barrels.
By now we are well plied with wine, but still enjoying ourselves, nothing too rowdy. We head to Lovane – this is the only place you can buy their wine, they do not sell in anywhere else. This is where we had the wine and chocolate pairing – again something I didn’t quite understand to begin with. Mostly red wines and even a port style wine was well! Some of the chocolates were well paired others were more debatable. It was interesting to understand their process and the story behind their wines. This was a boutique little place. Such a lovely stop on this tour, beautiful images to be taken with the mountains in the background.
Heading to our next stop we had a quiz to see how much we had learnt. Luckily I was in the front so I didn’t get involved, just laughing at the answers and being the DJ – naturally. The two teams tied so we all shared a small bottle of wine for the whole bus.
Our 5th stop was Vergenoegt, home of the runner duck wine. They actually have a duck parade here three times a day to teach the ducks to walk together. They use them during the growing season to keep the bugs away from the grapes- reduces the use of pesticides. The geese walk amongst them to keep them in line and stop other animals or vermin getting into the group.
The wines – lets move on – the wines where we had a white, rose and a few reds. I enjoyed the wines, but the rose and red were not quite to my taste. I preferred previous ones. I did however buy a bottle of the white wine to share with my family.
We did visit one final winery Peter Falke, this was extra and so we had to pay for it. It was R65 for 8 wines, only one or two white. By this point we had had so much wine. We were happy just chilling out in the gardens chatting to one another watching the sun go down. I don’t think we were paying too much attention to the wines, more to the conversation and if we enjoyed the wines or not.
We had a party bus on the way back, some golden oldies and good dance tunes – songs you can dance along to. All in all it was a lovely day, I really enjoyed myself and that is not the wine talking. I would highly recommend these guys and this guide. I would take another one of these tours again without hesitation.
Probably like me you are thinking what on earth is a Food Jam. These things are starting to become more and more popular in South Africa and in Cape Town. Food Jams are sort of a social come dine with me. You cook and eat your own four course meal. That is the basics.
So I arrived, I am the only single person at a valentine’s day social food jam – who could have guessed it. Immediately Lulu puts me to ease, telling what exactly is going on that I am not the only foreign person in the place. I soon move on to the Sauvignon Blanc the nerves getting the better of me.
We all picked a spoon out of a silicon jar, I am on team Venus. You then head to your table. All becomes clear, every table/team is making a course and then we combine it all at the end for the meal.
Team Venus was on dessert duty. Three recipes, chocolate fondant, macaroons and ice cream. Yes we had to made ice cream from scratch and spun sugar! The recipes were easy to follow and with the extra help if was hard to get anything wrong. The couple I was with was lovely, they were really friendly and chatty. Apparently I am a good sergeant major, making sure everything was done on time, and to the recipe – well as much as we could… not as easy at it looks.
Throughout the entire process we had help, Lulu, Jade and the others were around to help with everything we needed. I ruined the first lot of spun sugar however we just did it again. It was easy to ask for help, piping macaroons is no joke on your own.
The results were delicious, pasta, fresh veggies, beef wellington, salads galore. It was fantastic, and there were doggy bags if you want to take any home with you. The spun sugar, see below, was the most fun, I wish I could show you the food and the boomerang but this platform is not quite ready for that. The food went so quickly and it was quite dark by this point.
Yes that is Lions Head above those clouds. Yes that is me in the Blue Kayak.
So my friend and I went Sea Kayaking with Kaskazi. It was R400 for a couple of hours. I really great experience. The office is in a shell garage in Sea Point. There are lockers on site for your stuff. They recommend not taking anything you.
So you get a small briefing before hitting the boats. You climb in and adjust the pedals at the back or the footrest at the front. The person in the back is in charge of direction and the one in the front is in charge of the power.
The morning I did this you can see it was a little cloudy and misty – made for an interesting experience. It was eerie when you lose all aspect of where you are paddling to just into the middle of the sea.
On these experiences you can sometimes see some wildlife, we spotted a seal for a short time and there were some dolphins in the vicinity but they were elusive to us. So we were paddling up and down along Sea Point and back to Granger Bay and the Waterfront trying to keep an eye on the wall as well as maybe finding some animals.
The guides and the staff at Kaskazi were great, I would highly recommend this experience. It was something completely different and amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this. My arms not so much I was very very tired! Definitely want to do it again in the sunshine.
The Southern Most Tip of Africa is a short drive from the Struisbaai, about 10 mins. There is parking at the bottom of the hill and it is free. There are bathrooms at the parking lot, these are the only ones in the area so if you are walking around a bit make sure to use them.
The Lighthouse is 33R to do the Museum and climb the tower. The Museum goes through the history of the lighthouse as well as the history of South African lighthouses. The museum is small room with boards all over the walls. Then you head to the central area to climb the 71 ladder steps to the top. The view is lovely from the top but it is imperative you know that they are steep ladder steps. One up and one down.
It is a 1km walk down to the Southern most Tip of the continent and then another 4km to the Meisho Maru shipwreck beyond. If you would prefer; you can drive to both of them, it is down a gravel path. It is an easy walk under foot in good shoes, gravel and stony just like the drive. It is not shady however, so ensure enough water and you are covered up.
The southern most tip is marked by a stone, and where the two oceans meet. In front of it, you can see a map of Africa with the mountain ranges highlighted. It is huge and the photos can not do it justice.
After this I suggest you head on a 30 mins walk, 4km you reach the Meisho Maru Shipwreck it is so close to shore, you can almost walk to it, but the rocks are a little sharp and slippery. – Good at sunset apparently. I didn’t venture down that far at suset.
It is a lovely morning out and about; Agulhas has a few nice restaurants again mainly fish is available, but it is all fresh fish which makes it so worth it.
There is a lovely beautiful drive down to Hermanus, please do it, and do it slowly. You can look over the city up on the mountains. The roads are easy to drive, and well kept.
This is a small town, a perfect day out of the city. There is a charm to it. A few boutique shops and stalls as well as other general shops. Plenty of food places, most of them overlooking the sea. Fish is done very well here. See my review of Fusion if you are looking for something to eat.
Mainly this place is a good stop during the Whale Watching season from June to December. There are plenty of places to stay in this little town as well, so don’t worry about accommodation.
Hermanus is well signposted coming out of Cape Town. Parking is easy, my advice would be to always park where there is an attendant, they can keep an eye on the car for you whilst you go around the shops. I parked for an hour or so and paid R6.
Can even just put in this into Uber and they will take you as close as they can get – the parking lot outside. It is convenient near the V&A Waterfront.
When: Saturdays and Sundays: 9am – 2pm. (3pm on a Sunday)
This is lovely thing to do on the weekends, it is quaint little markets just outside the V&A waterfront. It has some artisan little stores with bags, clothes, sauces, a few trinkets. The major focus of this market is the food. If you walk through based the fish monger, butchers, cake shops, bakery and sauces, you come to a wide space straw covered floor.
This is a fruit and veg market – all done on the number of things or the weight that you buy – cheaper than your local supermarket! It is awesome, it is teeming with people who can help you, traditional wicker baskets to collect all your food, before going to the weigh station.
Beyond this there is a compact little space with food stalls – flatbreads, sandwiches, juices, crepes, spring rolls – so much food. I warn you if you go later in the day it is likely everything will be sold from the fruit to the food in the stalls. The downside to this is that it is busier.
I went when it was a hour or so before it ended and it was still amazing. So much stuff there regardless, the choice was limited as to what was available still. The brownies are incredible and the brie and bacon sandwich from Brie on Bree Street just perfect! The next time I went I had a smoothie with a cheeseburger – so filling! Followed by brownie again – what can I say.. I’m an addict.
Helpful Haz 