Having had my fill of East London at the Toast food festival, I decided to head to the centre and have a stroll about. I stumbled upon a sign for Soho Flea Market being held on Dean Street, followed by neon barriers closing off the road. In my head, I had visions of a
Marche aux Puces or, a little closer to home, the giant flea market in
Shepton Mallet; second hand books, vintage clothing, beat up threadbare furniture, mismatched china, bric-a-brac and junk.
Rooting around dusty boxes, leafing through old books and finding treasure in things that other people no longer want, gives me real joy. M, I think on the other hand would prefer I did not do this. M's preference would be for a streamlined, clutter free existence, where everything has its place, and doesn't really understand my system of organised mess and need for ceramics.
Alas, the Soho Flea Market wasn't really a flea market but actually a maker's market, although none the worse for it. There were some lovely stalls: illustrators; printers; accessory designers; jewellery makers; soft furnishings; stuffed toys; handmade toiletries, to name but a few. The one that stood out for me the most, was that of
Meringue Girls.
Alex and Stacey of Meringue Girls have been making waves on the London street food scene for a little while now with their colourfully striped meringue 'kisses'. The stripes, a result of painting the inside of a piping bag with colour, before filling with meringue and extruding, made them a delight to look at. There were a variety of
flavours to choose from, such as Matcha green tea, pistachio and rosewater, lemongrass and ginger -more than enough excuse for me to try them.
I tried an Ultimate Eton Mess: four meringues of your choice; vanilla whipped cream; fresh strawberries and raspberries; a mixed berry coulis and freeze dried pieces of raspberry scattered over the top. Crisp on the outside with a gooey mallow heart, the meringues were subtly flavoured. Generous amounts of fresh fruit and coulis meant that it wasn't as rich and cloying as Eton Mess can sometimes be. A definite hit with me and, I might even give this piping malarkey a go.
To find Meringue Girls, check out their Twitter Feed.Labels: Baked Goodness, Beyond Bristol, Street Food
