Address: 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER

Telephone number – Store: 0207 734 8040 Ordering: 0845 300 1707

Website: http://www.fortnumandmason.com/

Date of visit: 13 July 2010

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10-8, Sun 12-6 or shop online 24/7

Summary:

This remains one of the “top” grocery shop for the gentry. Increasingly, the shop is full of tourists as most of the gentry will order over the phone or online.

The shop has had a refit several years ago and the “food” shopping is now over 2 floors – ground and basement. The rest of the floors are occupied by cooking equipment, bric-a-brac, clothes and restaurants. The fountain restaurant is still located on the ground floor where you can have cakes, welsh rabbit, salads etc.

On the ground floor, you can purchase, jam, mustard and various condiments, wine, tea, coffee, chocolates and cakes.

In the basement, you can still get pies and various smoked fish, pate at the deli. They also have a rack of green grocery – why anyone would come here to buy leeks is beyond me.

The various oils and vinegars located at the back of the basement still contain all sorts of wonderful stuff including proper aged balsamic vinegar and single estate olive oil. I was not so impressed with the spice and herb section – they only have the basic stuff (years ago, they had a wonderful selection like Dean and Deluca in New York).

They also have an unusual counter that sell insects from chocolate ants to deep fried tarantula – apparently a delicacy in Indonesia.

On the ground floor, they have various types of coffee and tea – The Algerian Coffee Store has a better selection at a lower price. Mind you, I don’t believe people shop here for anything other than the label as whilst I was there, people were going for all the pre-pack stuff in containers which bear the shop’s name.

Prices here are astronomical - for example, a caddy of this year’s Darjeeling First Flush (Spring tips) is now £25 for 100g – it does come in a nice box. When I  first started drinking this several years ago, it was £17.50 for 100g. A 250g box of Chocolate is £20 (c.f. a box of Leonidas is around £20 for 800g. Well, you get the picture.

They also do a roaring trade in wine. Their own label wines are usually quite good. On the whole, please nopte that F&M does not manufacture anything – its all sourced in and most are re-labelled under the F&M brand to “add values and price”.

From a shopping point of view, it’s worth going because it is a well know historic institution. However, nearly all their products can be purchased elsewhere at a lower price – under a different label.

By the way, they do not sell wet fish. You have to go to Selfridges or Harrods or a fish monger for that. 

E

Address: 52 Old Compton Street, London W1D 4PB

Telephone: 020 7437 2480

Website:http://www.algcoffee.co.uk/scripts/default.asp

Opening time: Mon-Wed 9.00-19.00, Thur and Fri, 9.00-21.00, Sat 9.00-20.00. Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Datre of visit : 13 July 2010 (please note prices were correct on 13 July 2010)

Summary:

If you like coffee and tea, this is THE place to visit. They have been trading for over 100 years and is a key supplier to restaurants in and around London. I have been coming here for over 20 years.

They have over 80 varieties of coffee and 120 varieties of tea. You can also order online.

The shop front is painted red (the only one in Old Compton Street) so you can’t miss it.

They sell coffee, tea, coffee and tea making equipment and chocolate ONLY.

The selection of tea is amazing – you are talking about tea from around the world. My favourite chinese tea Dragon Pearl Jasmine (white tea) is available here. In fact they do a bigger range of chinese teas than any shop in China Town, Harrods or Fortnum and Mason. I used to source my tea from Hong Kong, Singapore and Vancouver until I discovered this place.

On the coffee side, they have the famous Copi Luwek at £12.50 per 100g. They also have Jamacan Blue Mountain ……

My favourite coffees are:

Formula Rosa – a house blend which is usually on special offer at around £15 for 2.5 kilo (beans – vacuum packed). This is a strong robust coffee which is used in most restaurants. My other favourite one is the Columbian High Roast decaff. They offer 2 versions, the water treatment or “chemical” treatment. I always take the “water” version which retails at £21.00 for a kilo. By the way, they are happy to sell you any quantity in the shop. However they only offer vacuum packing at 500g and above when they are busy.

The shop also sells a variety of coffee pots, cafeteria and tea pots. They are not as good valued compared with the coffee beans.

If you are in the area, try to visit Dennys and The French House – both on Dean Street, just round the corner – Shaftesbury Ave end. Denny has an amazing collection of kitchen knives – this is where chefs go to buy knives. The only type that tehy are poor at is cleavers. You will buy better cleavers in China Town.

The French House (bar and restaurant) is famous because the French Cabinet (in exile) used to camp down there during the second world war. Many famous artists drank there and this is one of those landmark place that all Foodies should pay a visit to once in their life. There is a restaurant upstairs which I dined in about a year ago – it’s pricy and the food is ordinary.

E

Address: 14-16 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4PH

Opening hours: From 10am till 9pm, Monday-Saturday. On Sundays 11am till 7pm

Telephone:020 3405 1246 (shop), 020 3405 1151 (online shopping)

Web site:http://www.japancentre.com/

Date of visit: 29 June 2010

Summary:

If you are into Japanese food etc, this is probably the place to come.

It used to be sited on the Piccadilly but has moved here since early on this year.

The centre has taken over one wing of the Mitsukoshi Department Stall http://www.london-mitsukoshi.co.uk/top_en.htm. The department stall is well worth a visit – it makes Harrods look cheap (price wise). There is a Japanese restaurant within the department stall.

Within the centre, there is a restaurant, bakery and supermarket. The sushi, rice and noodles are very reasonably priced but they do not sell alcohol with the meal.

Within the supermarket, they do sell Japanese whisky, sake and beer. Lets start with the sake – they range from under £10 to nearly £100. For explainations on sake see my previous article (2009).

The bakery sell all sorts of Japanese bread and there is a fresh food chiller for take away food and vegetables.

At the back of the store are a mixture of things. For non food, they sell good knives, cooking pots and electric rice cookers etc. There is a small stand that will sell you cookbooks – Japanese and English but all on Japaneses recipes.

There is a tea counter where you can buy all sorts of Japanese teas including 100g packs of Sencha at £10 a packet.

The best counter is the sauce counter. Here you can buy hundreds of cooking sauces, vinegars and oil – definitely my favourite. Try the seasme salad dressing or the Udon dip.

There is a frozen section at the back.

They also sell everything online so there is no need to carry that 50kilo sack of rice on your back.

E

Address: Oxford Road, East Hanney, Wantage, OX12 0HP

Direction: On A338 between Wantage and Oxford. If you are coming from Wantage, the farm shop is on the left after the turning to West Hanney. Plenty of parking outside the shop.

Opening Hours: 8.30- 17.00 Monday-Saturday. 18.00 on Friday. They have a stand at various farmers markets in the Thames Valley. They also deliver – see website.

Website: www.dewsmeadowfarm.co.uk

Telephone: 01235 868634

Date of visit: 9 June 2010

Summary:

Dews Meadow is a pig farm. The pigs are reared out door and no growth hormones or routine antibiotics are used. They do not claim to be organic.

I have been buying their products – especially the faggots – from their stall in the Reading Farmers’ Market for sometime. Their faggots is more meatier than Baines and so has a more meat ball like texture. Try using minced faggots and beef mince in a shepherd pie. It works really well.

The farm shop also offered lamb and beef (sourced locally). Apparently they are not allowed to sell anything other than their own products in the various farmers’ markets (http://www.dewsmeadowfarm.co.uk/markets.php) unless it is pre-ordered.

There were several types of sausages on offer as well as offal (kidneys, liver and sweet bread) and various cuts of pork and gammon. Vegetables were available on a stand and pates and cheese (only Gould from Somerset) from the chillier.

The chap that served me was very helpful and offered various types of advices including the offer of roast bag to cook the gammon in. I was also told that their cure is not too salty and there is no need to soak the gammon prior to cooking.

Other products available through the farm shop – sorry, no mail orders – are gluten free salami, hogg pudding, black pudding, pork pies, Cornish pasties, sausage rolls etc……

E

http://blog.japancentre.com/2010/05/12/recipe-hiyayakko-chilled-tofu/

You can also buy top quality tofu on Japan Centre’s web site.

E

May 2010

Love this1

Couple of stores mentioned in the video:

Spices etc – Raja Brothers :   http://rajabrothers.com/

Address: 494-504 Green Lane, Small Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands B9 5QH. 01613390908

Cooking equipment – Uncles

Address:148 Ladypool Road, Birmingham, West Midlands B12 8JA

01217 711682

E

Address: 55 Albert Park Road, Malvern, Worcs, WR14 1RH

Telephone number: 01684 578588

Website: N/A

Summary:

A nice little French deli that is also a Boulangerie/Patisserie sited in the middle of Malvern Link. What is even better is that you can park outside.

On the day I went, the cheese section was a bit low but they claimed to have 20 plus cheeses from Roquefort to Tomes/Tommes. The prices were pretty good. I had a trench of Morbier at £3.50 which I would easily pay twice that in a shop in London.

The shelves were lined with the usual tins of confit , soupe de poisson , escargots andnd,  jars of vegetables – why do French eat “tinned” (ok, I mean jarred) vegetables?

The bakery was the best bit with all sorts of French bread  – spelt (only on Fridays), campagne etc. There were all sorts of tarts and quiches available and pies – they were bought in : sausage rolls, Cornish and chicken Jalfrezi…….

All I can say is that I don’t expect this sort of shop to be around here – in the middle of a resident road. By the way, you can also get French coffee that you can only buy in Calais.

Eddie

Feb 2010

Address: 395 Edgeware Rd, London NW2 6LN. This is on the A5 just south of A406 (North Circular). If you are coming in from the north, do a U turn by the Murco garage and then first left.

Telephone number: 0208 450 0422 (store)/ 0208 452 2333 (restaurant)

Website: http://www.wingyip.com/

Date of visit:  20 January 2010

Summary:
Wing Yip started in Birmingham’s China Town and have over the past decade expanded into London (Crickwood  & Croydon) and Manchester.

The Crickwood store was re-built in 2009 replacing a slightly smaller one on the same site. This is probably the largest Chinese Supermarket in the UK.

It now occupies a huge trading area: fish counter and various cold room for vegetables and meat. You can also get bottled sauces, rice, oriental beers,wines etc…….

With the vegetable sections – there are 2 – display and cold room, you can get anything from the usual pak choy to fresh turmeric, fresh banana leaves and fresh pandanus leaves (essential in Malaysian cooking). Banana leaves are great as a wrap for BBQing fish.

The fish counter is amongst one of the best around. You can have diver’s scallops, fresh lobsters, sole, brills, turbots etc and it’s nowhere near the price Harrods or Selfridges charge.

The store have a huge frozen section and contains most dim sums, 20 varieties of prawns, pigs maws, trotters etc including a range of SE Asia snacks that are hard to come by. At one end of the store, they have a section of kitchen equipment/utensils. So, if you want to marinate half a dozen ducks, you will get a pot to fit but these pots are at the cheap end of the market and the metal is quite thin.

On the otherside  of the store are new businesses that the old store did not have – a professional or restaurant catering equipment department, a café which offer bakery and Chinese cooked meats – ducks, char sui…..

There is also a restaurant on site which can take 200 covers. Its called Wing Tai (tel: 0208 452 2333). It serves the normal cantonese fare – dim sum at lunch and a more substantial menu in the evening. The dim sum menu have all the old favourites there. I ordered the prawn spring roll and was surprised to see that its made on site – not the frozed ones in the supermarket. I can tell because the shapes were irregular. I also had chow kwai tew which is essentially mee goreng using flat rice noodles. Both were pretty good. The dim sum starts at £2.80 and goes up to £3.80. My meal including 2 bottles of tiger beer and a salt and pepper squid (dim sum size) came to £21 including service. Yes, they do have table clothes but its a serviette not a proper napkin.

Best of all, there are now 2 free car parks – an underground and an above ground that can take 200 cars.

So you can shop and have a meal. This is one of the few authentic chinese restaurants that will allow you to park on site. The other one is in Croydon. From a food perespective. The Cricklewood restaurant is better. I ate at the Croydon branch a year ago – they may have improved.

The Croydon branch is similar and there is also a huge car park on site. There are also restaurants, shops and a bakery in the complex. 550 Purley Way, Croydon, London CR0 4RF.  Tel: 0208 688 880

Birmingham branch is at 375 Nechells Park Road, Nachells, Birmingham B7 5NT. Tel: 0121 327 6618

Manchester Branch is at Oldham Rd, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 5HU. Tel: 0161 832 3215

Eddie

January 2010

Location: Birmingham City Centre (from New Street all the way up to Council House)

Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm from mid November – 23 December every year.

Website:http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/frankfurtmarket

Summary:

This is my second vist to this market – came last year. Its a hugh market with around 100 stalls selling anything from craft to food. The arrangements seemed identical (who and where) to last year.

There is a food court at the Colemore Row end of Council House. There you can eat  (hot food) and drink beer and wine.

The hot food stands include: burgers or mushrooms with fried potatoes – not McDonald and chips, crepes, flamed grilled hams with coleslaw etc – this is a very impressive stand jsut to watch, pretzels filled with various fillings, garlic bread, grilled german sausages in buns etc…

The drinks stands offers a variety of german beers (which you will not easily get here) on draft. There are also a variety of mulled wines. With drinks you pay a deposit of £3.00 or £3.50 on your glass or mug which you will get back when you return your glass. You are also encouraged to walk away with the glass as a souvenir. The food range from about £3- £7 depending on what you are buying.

At the otherend of the Council House, you can sample German wine and if you go right up to Paradise Circus, you can find a few interesting non German stalls selling organic cider and various crafts.

There is also another “pub” selling beer half way up New Street. You can also find a baker (various type of country and rye bread with a selection of cakes) and a German Deli up this end of the street. The Brockwursts are excellent – £20 for 20 – I buy them every year. They also sell cheese.

Throughout the market you can get all sorts of sweet things from chocolates to stollen etc……

Most of the shops are craft shops selling games, pottery and art deco type products.

This is a fun place to come – if it stays dry, as its all out doors.

Eddie

Dec 2009

Address: Unit K2, Birmingham Bullring, (outside on Park St) Birmingham

Telephone number: 0121 633 9853

Website: www.mountfuji.co.uk

Date of visit: 17 December 2009

Approximate cost per head: Less than £10

Comments on wine list/beer: None on the menu but the loyalty card offers Asahi beer

Summary:
I was killing time in the Bullring when I came across this small restaurant.

There are no individual tables but long bars with bar stools.

The menu has all usual “common” Japanese dishes: bento box, yakisoba, deep fried cutlets with penko, Japanese curry and rice………sushi and tempura.

I tried the chef selection of sushi at £5.95. It turned out to be thin slabs of fish on a lump of vinegary rice. The fishes were prawn, eel (both cooked) , raw salmon and a white fish – no tuna. It was ok – much better than the packed stuff you buy in supermarket and significantly cheaper and about the same quality as Yo! Sushi in the basement floor of Selfridges (also in the Bullring).

The mixed tempura – vegetables and prawn – was a bit greasy but again fine for £6.65.

The bill with sencha (tea) came to under £15. They also have an online shop (see website)

Park under Bullring or any other city car park.

Eddie