Taste of London: post show review

We had the privilege of attending the Taste of London 2012 event at Regents Park on its opening day, and luckily it didn't rain once when we were there (although we both realised we were wearing slightly inappropriate footwear in a muddy Regents Park).

Taste of London 2012, Regents Park

The atmosphere was full of fun, food and frolics.  As we only had limited 'crowns' (raffle-type tickets to pay for food and drink) we had a walk round of our surroundings carefully selecting what would be our best choices to sample whilst getting to grips with the wind and mud.


We came across a stall with various types of sake.  Hayley had never tried sake before so the friendly woman kindly let us try two types.

Left to right - Genmai Aged Sake - can be hot or cold, or to cook with; Honjozo Genshu - more of a dessert drink.

In desperate need for something to fill our stomachs, we found the pulled pork dish from Jamie's Barbecue.  It was almost unavoidable as the smell of the barbecue wafted into everyone's path.  It was by far the busiest stall, however, we were left slightly disappointed with the lukewarm dish we were served.  

Thailand

Not to be deterred, we made our way through the continents; Thaliand, Italy, the Far East (ironically with no far-easterns working at the stall), Whisky... We also inspected some durians and had a debate with a fellow foodie about why they have been banned from from Australia - give it a smell and you will know why; whilst Kate tried some exquisite spicy dip at the Malaysian counter.

We have to say, Gaucho's grilled thin skirt of steak with a humita cake and smoked garlic hollandaise was magnificent.  Between the two of us, we could really taste the quality of the meat.  That's when you know you are eating good food, it doesn't depend on the size of the plate, it's what is on the plate that counts.

For dessert we decided to go for some traditional ice cream from Simply Ice Cream based in Kent.  Kate had the Heavenly Honeycomb Crunch flavour, while Hayley had the seasonal Apply and Blackberry Crumble.  We're sure if the weather had been right, the ice cream would have suited us perfectly, it was just unfortunate Taste of London took place on a cold day in Summer.

On our way out, we came across some very friendly waiters from the West Country Cream Teas, and of course we couldn't resist.  As soon as we approached them, the cream teas flew off the trays like wildfire.  The jam was good, but the scone itself was a little bit dry to get through.  

All in all, we both enjoyed our time at the festival.  The only minor things we noted was that the entrance could have been better signposted when getting out of the tube station, and the queuing system could have been a lot more efficient.  It was just a shame about the weather as it really does have an effect on people's moods especially as it is an outdoor event.  The 'crowns' you had to buy in order to buy the food was slightly confusing, nor practical as the wind would have very easily swept them away (we thought coins may have been a better option).  The mood of Taste was very friendly and inviting, with the range of food available interesting, as well as learning about different ways of cooking with foods; it was a very worthy time for us!

Range of sake