Fortnum & Mason, often shortened to just “Fortnum’s”, is possibly one of the most famous stores in the world, has held many Royal Warrants for over 150 years and is the shop most closely associated with the British Royal Family. It is an upmarket department store situated in Piccadilly, London, established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason.

Its fame rests almost entirely on its magnificent food hall, (though only two of its several floors are devoted to food), stocking an extraordinary variety of exotic, speciality and also ‘basic’ provisions. It is also the location of a celebrated tea shop and has Britain’s only hair salon dedicated to long hair.

In 1761, William Fortnum’s grandson Charles went into the service of Queen Charlotte and the Royal Court affiliation led to an increase in business. The store began to stock speciality items, namely ready-to-eat luxury meals such as fresh poultry or game served in aspic jelly.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the emporium supplied dried fruit, spices and other preserves to the British officers and during the Victorian era it was frequently called upon to provide food for prestigious Court functions. Queen Victoria even sent shipments of Fortnum and Mason’s concentrated beef tea to Florence Nightingale’s hospitals during the Crimean War.

In 1851 Fortnum & Mason first created the Scotch egg and in 1886, after having bought the entire stock of five cases of a new product made by a Mr Heinz, became the first store in the world to stock baked beans.

I went there on my first day in London visiting Nicky, and decided to drink this famous tea. I felt like the Queen! Great Tea, ok only cakes. I have eaten much better cakes.

My rating :- 7/10

The office mates wanted to make sure we try some of the best food around the office before we go back and the first item on this weeks list was a Latin American place. I ordered churrasco queso, which is basically rump steak, melted cheese and tomatoes in chilean village bread. They also had amazing soups and apparently the best cheesecakes though I was too full to try them. Its not a big place, so come early before the lunch time crowd gets there. There is not much seating capacity, but its worth waiting for a seat if you really have to. Yum.

El Vergel
8 Lant Street,
London SE1 1QR,
England
T : +44 20 7357 0057
F : +44 20 7357 0058
W : http://www.elvergel.co.uk/index2.html

I have a goal, to try every single stall at Borough Market, which is only open Thursdays - Saturdays. Last week, I had the famous lamb burgers. I say famous because the queue to this place is unbeleivably long. People line up for a good 30 minutes to eat them, and they are not cheap. A single patty cost £4.50 and a double is £6. They are served with grilled onions and your choice of mustard , relish or ketchup. And so when I arrived early and saw that the line had not yet started, I quickly ordered a double lamb and took some photos The taste? Quite tender and rather tasty, though I don’t think its work £6. Next week, the Wild Boar Sausage

“Pub grub” is food that is typically found in a pub. A British pub menu tends to include items such as beef and beer pie, steak and kidney pie, shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, bangers and mash, hot pot, Sunday roast, ploughman’s lunch, pasties. Some dishes that are almost unique to pubs include chicken or scampi in a basket, and meals served in plate-sized Yorkshire puddings. In addition, international dishes such as burgers, curry, lasagne and chilli con carne are often served.

A typical Australian pub will serve (often with salad, mashed potato, chips or potato wedges) steak, bangers and mash, chicken schnitzel or parmigiana, battered fish and a typical pub-style hamburger. Such food tends to take the form of traditional fare consisting of hearty meals that can be conveniently made in large quantites. This has also led to many pubs offering a “$5 menu” with large meals being served at a relatively low cost.

Typically pub food is ordered at the bar and paid for in advance. In keeping with British pub custom, tipping is not expected. Customers traditionally seat themselves, and are often given a number, or a unique table marker, to assist the barstaff in delivering their food. More commonly found in Australia now are electronic pagers which alert the patron when their meal is ready, allowing them to pick it up from the bar or kitchen.

It was one of the directors birthday last friday and a few of us who were in a meeting with him were asked out for a drink and a meal at the local pub. Something of a tradition, the pub is a place where most UK people go after work and sometimes at lunch for a larger and some grub. At this particular establishment we went, there was not really a whole list of choices, and thus i decided to go for the traditional bangers and beans, served with Chips. Quite nice actually. It was not that expensive when you compare some of the other food I have had here. I drank a mug of lager, which did not have any bubbles and was not served via a chilled tap. Not to bad actually, I did enjoy it, though I turned down an offer for a second mug. Something unique to be tried. Still need to try bangers and mash.

Fish and chips (sometimes written “fish ’n’ chips”) is a popular take-away food originating from the United Kingdom. It consists of deep-fried fish (traditionally cod) in batter or breadcrumbs with deep-fried chipped (slab-cut) potatoes.

Popular tradition associates the dish with the United Kingdom; and fish and chips remain very popular in the United Kingdom and in areas colonised by people from the UK in the 19th century, such as Australia and New Zealand. Fish and chips also have considerable popularity in parts of North America (New England, the Pacific Northwest and Canada generally), the Republic of Ireland and South Africa. Establishments in Denmark and in some coastal towns in Norway serve fried fillets. In the Netherlands, the popular deep-fried, battered fillet dish called lekkerbek sometimes appears served with chips.

You can’t come to England and not eat fish and chips! I have been waiting to try it for a while now, especially since I grew up reading Dandy and Beano comics, and you always see the Characters eat Fish and Chips, and you wonder how does it taste like? It must be good, right? It was the national dish for many a year, but has been taken over by Curry and Rice (Go Asian Invasion).

I tried to eat this last Thursday, but the queue at the restaurant was ridiculously long. This week however there was nobody, and hence I took my chance and stood in line and ordered the Haddock instead of the Cod with Chips. They asked if I wanted Salt and Vinegar and I said, sure. It cost me £7.95, the most expensive lunch I ever had here, but then again, Borough Market is not cheap.

Went to join my co-workers in the park and then dug in. My first thoughts where, this is one big portion. Then I took my first bite and it was not exactly the best tasting fish nor the nicest chips I ever had. The chips didn’t even taste nice actually rather bland, and the fish? Well, it was ok. Not exactly a great meal, but I will not let one fish and chips decide. I will try it again in another stall.

Fish! Restaurants Ltd
Cathedral Street,
Borough Market,
London SE1 9AL
site : http://www.fishkitchen.com/