Correct me if I am wrong ━ there are world cuisines that don’t travel well outside their home country, and I believe British food is one of them. Saying that, or maybe even because of that, I made a point to try it while in England. Even though I didn’t get to try the top dishes on my list (Jellied Eels, Haggis and Spotted Dick, to name some), the British food I ate in England exceeded my expectations. It was also a (delicious) lesson to keep my prejudice in check.
Five traditional British dishes I ate and enjoyed
Mushy Peas
Mushy Peas are made of cooked peas, mashed and lightly seasoned. It’s a quintessential side dish to various traditional British food. Admittedly, when presented in front of me, the sound and the image of Mushy Peas were far from delicious, but I had to. If nothing, at least to report back here.
I remember taking a deep breath before dipping my single fries into it and scooping up as much Mushy Peas as I could because I thought if I hated it, at least I tried it properly once.
It turned out I liked it. It added another layer of flavour to the fries.
I could see myself snacking on fries, dipped in garlic chilli sauce, and double dipped in mushy peas in the future.
The Classic Fish and Chips
Another classic Brit, Fish and Chips served wrapped in newspaper from the iconic Poppie’s Fish and Chips in Spitalfields, East London.
The founder, Pop, started his career in the fish and chips business at 11. Poppie’s Fish and Chips always had a big crowd whenever we passed it, so we decided to try it. It was okay for me, someone who’s not into fish and chips generally, but Fafa loved it. He said it was one of his favourite meals in London.
Poppie’s Fish and Chips is located in6-8 Hanbury St, London E1 6QR, United Kingdom.
Worcestershire Sauce on Bread with Bacon
One morning, I started my day in Spitalfields Market with a breakfast of bread and bacon drizzled with Worcestershire Sauce which tasted like a saltier version of smoke-y-less BBQ sauce. It was a simple British breakfast and tasted much better than its’ plain-jane look. I only wish the food truck had a chilli sauce instead of Heinz tomato sauce, but it wouldn’t be English food, would it?
British Pub Food
Honestly, I didn’t expect much when I placed an order of meat pie in a traditional English pub in Lacock, England.
Firstly, we were on tour and, aside from a few exceptions, you know how much I despise tour food.
Also, I came from Australia, the land of artisan meat pies, so I already have a set standard that would be hard to compete with when it comes to meat pies.
Or so I thought.
But the gravied meat pie with a mashed potato side I had on that day was so delicious that I didn’t even bother asking for salt and pepper for the table. It was a perfect plate of British food to chase away the chills from being drenched by rain in Stonehenge earlier that day.
Eton Mess
Eton Mess is a traditional British food made of layered meringue, berries, and strawberry sauce; topped with whipped cream. I had it in a British Pub in Notting Hill, London, which I wrote about before.
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