Borough market is delicious

It wasn't too bad 😛

Random Observation/Comment #159: Food truly bridges gaps between cultures.  I live to eat, not the other way around (well, I guess also the other way around, but you know what I mean).  I am not a chef, but I do love cooking and trying new foods.  Tasting the famous cuisines in each of my traveled countries (and also reading my brother’s personal bucket-list), I’ve decided to add an empty checkbox for: travel the world and make a living reviewing food.  Throughout college, my roommates and I had a few experimental dinners that fit the typical hungry-college-student-with-limited-time-and-no-money.  Although this wasn’t exactly fine dining, many of the tastes worked themselves out.  Hopefully, my stay here with the diverse group of cooks in the apartment here in Germany will improve my cooking.

 I’ve tasted a large variety of meats, but I’m always open to finding “the other white meat.”  Borough market really fit my criteria perfectly.  Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the market is open from around 10AM to 4PM.  During this time, the little area is packed with shops selling the best goods from every country.  Locals and tourists alike flood the market for fresh goods and delicious lunches.   I would take a train for an hour, even if it’s just to smell the mixed aromas of a large variety of local dishes.  I wish I had more time in the area to try more foods, but the three lunches that I had were mouthwatering.

The kangaroo burger was delicious. After watching countless seasons of my favorite Food Network shows (Bizarre Foods, No Reservations, Hell’s Kitchen, Iron Chef, Man v Food), I’ve found that the descriptions of meat tastes are very difficult.  Sometimes a new type of meat starts its own category – Kangaroo, in this case, is just one of those meats that has this odd grass-y taste.  It doesn’t taste bad, but it is very unique.  I was expecting something different, but then again, I could have had any random percent of kangaroo in the burger.  It’s important to try it without any sauces to get the texture and real flavors, but burgers are never a pure indication of the meat.  I was really searching for that generalization for the taste of kangaroo, but I really must try it in different preparation settings to get a solid opinion.  Grounded meat that’s mixed and grilled sometimes loses an original flavor, but it was very tasty, none-the-less.  If I wanted a more thorough angle, I think I would need to have a grilled, broiled, and baked.  The kangaroo burger in itself was very good, especially with a mix of mayonnaise and cranberry sauce.  The tangy zing really compliments the flavor well.

This kangaroo stand also sold ostrich, which I will try next time.  Lunch was such a difficult decision because everything looked and smelled so delicious.  The spices all contributed to a different side of my tongue.  I wanted salty meat, but then I saw huge truffles which immediately tickled my sweet tooth.  I was like a little kid running around this huge market, having the most difficulty deciding what to get (I guess that was a terrible simile).

All of the different types of foods are cooked in front of you, so I really had to restrain from overflowing my stomach (or spending all my money – whichever came first).  Not to forget mentioning that everyone eats their purchases on the street.  I saw so many slow chews with lightly closed eyes and pursed lips; puckering to maintain the flavor for an extra second.  For some reason, everyone looked like an expert taste tester and just made the facial expressions that begged me to have what they were having.  It was almost embarrassing to watch me ask everyone what they were eating and where they got it.  I should really learn to use some restraint when speaking to strangers, but I figured I’m not doing anything wrong until I ask them for a bite of it (which I didn’t do, but really wanted to).

This is definitely a must-see in London.  Enjoy the atmosphere and try not to spend all your money on food.  I’m glad my taste-buds also had a chance to enjoy the trip.

~See Lemons Eat Everything

Yay, Truffles~