So after the sedate Christmas mood of Norway, it was good to be back in London where you can’t avoid Christmas – lights on every street, trees, decorations, lovely! I am not big into the material/spending side – I’m more about the food, so where else to stock up on a few Christmas pressies than Borough Market? It was suitably decked, as expected.
We wandered around, and yes, there were lots of people and lots of stalls. The free samples were mainly for cheese (nope), deli meats (nope), oils (yep). I can’t write too much about the stuff I bought – but it was on the lines of nuts, chutneys and oils. There is so much variety there, it is possible to buy something for everyone! So presents done, we decided to fill our bellies. Thankfully there are so many options for me, but today I was feeling like a spicy stir fry, so I made a beeline to my fav place, L’ailOlive.
There is a standard meal that I always order – vegetarian rice noodles with veggie gyoza. Served piping hot with some fried onions on top. This came to about £7.50, more expensive than Mr. A’s Ethiopian box that was jam packed with meat, veggies and rice for only £5. 
I should also say that they were served by a very Christmas-y lady, decked in a jumper, tinsel, baubles – and she had even done her nails – loved it!!
Now L’ailOlive specialise in garlic and chilli products, and they always have a couple of sauces to pimp our food with. One contains dried shrimp, but the other one…ho ho ho (pun intended). The Super Hot Garlic Peperoncino is dynamite, literally as the name suggests, super hot – and that comes from someone who can handle her chillies! The kick is spectacular – and I’ve learned from experience to use this oil sparingly – amazing flavour, but definitely use with caution! The stir fry was super delicious – hitting the spot on a cold London day.
Next – dessert. Keeping with the Thai theme, Mr. A spotted a place selling coconut pancakes – dairy free! Made with coconut milk and rice flour, they looked like little discs of snow, dotted with black sesame seeds.
Crunchy on the bottom, soft on the top, lightly set – they were very moreish and so so yummy. 8 to a portion for about £3 I think – I could have had about 32. A must try for sure. All in all, a good day out – I always come to Borough market with a plan when I want to buy foodie pressies, however on the eating front, anything goes! I always leave full and happy 🙂
PB Eats, PB Travels 