Tag: finzels reach market

Posted on

Duck Takoyaki in my Bento Box

If you are a regular visitor to the blog then you will know I am a fan of the bento box from She Sells Sushi, one of the regular stalls at Finzel Reach (and Temple Quay) street food markets.

On a recent visit to Finzel Reach, it was raining, so the queues were shorter, so I didn’t have to wait too long for a bento box for my lunch. This time in my bento box I went with the beef donburi and some duck Takoyaki.

The beef donburi was slow cooked teriyaki beef rib on a bed of rice, topped with crispy onions and pickles.

I have had this dish many times, and it was delicious. The beef is cooked until it is tender. It is served on a bed of rice, and the pickles and crispy onions enhance the dish.

Usually in my bento box, I have the hirata bao bun. Having had that last time, this time I decided I would go for the Takoyaki dumplings. She Sells Sushi offer a choice between octopus and duck, I went with duck. It had been a while since I last had them in my bento box. I had enjoyed them then, so was looking forward to having them again. I was tempted by the XL Bento Box, in which you can add a third dish. I did think about getting a hirata bun alongside the beef and the Takoyaki. However I wasn’t overtly hungry, so I went with the standard bento box.

The Takoyaki were very nice. Nicely presented with sauces drizzled over them and garnished with seaweed and bento flakes.

I really enjoyed my bento box, and it was nice to have a change from my usual bento box.

Posted on

She Sells Sushi, and a really nice bento box

demolished hotel

Bristol had a great street food scene. There are markets every day of the week, most days there are at least two. Across in Whapping Wharf there are cargo containers with some great food places.

I was working in Bristol one Friday and at lunchtime I went out for a walk.  I went to the Finzel Reach street food market, saw what was there, and then walked up to the St Nicholas market. I walked back to the Finzel Reach street food market and bought a bento box from She Sells Sushi. I had my usual beef donburi and the crispy chicken hirata bun. I had to wait a while, as there was a bit of queue, which isn’t too surprising, as the food is excellent from She Sells Sushi.

I sometimes think I should have something different. I have had the crispy tofu katsu curry before, which is tasty, but I prefer the beef donburi. 

The beef was tender and had an intense flavour. I liked the pickle and the crispy fried onions. The rice was sticky and worked well with the beef.

I did think about having the Takoyaki , but in the end I defaulted to the excellent crispy chicken hirata bun.

I had two strips of crispy, well more crunchy, chicken. These were in a charcoal hirata bao bun with some mixed leaves. 

This was a delicious bento box. They also do an XL version of the box in which you can have three choices. I did have this once, I had the beef donburi, the katsu tofu puffs, and a chicken hirata Bun. It was rather filling, I decided that I probably wouldn’t have the XL size again. Well I might, but I don’t think I would have the donburi and the katsu with something else. I would probably have the donburi with a hirata bun and the Takoyaki. Lots of variety, but not so filling as having two rice heavy dishes.

Posted on

Calamari and Fries

I was in Bristol and on my lunchtime walk I headed off to the Finzel Reach street food market. There were lots of stalls to choose from, I got a portion of calamari from King Fin along with some rosemary fries. The calamari (as usual) was cooked fresh to order.

calamari

This was a lovely generous portion of calamari. The batter was nice and crispy, but not too thick to overpower the squid. It was cooked just right, as well as light batter, the squid was nice and tender. The fries were tasty as well.

Last time I said “Must remember next time to ask for less salt though.”  This time I did remember to ask for less salt, they did say that the batter for the calamari has salt in, but it was only the extra salt I wanted to avoid. I was pleased I did, as the calamari was well seasoned and didn’t really need extra salt.

I enjoyed my food and would certainly get it again in the future.

Posted on

Kokodoo Korean Fried Chicken

Kokodoo Korean Fried Chicken Van

The Kokodoo van is always busy when I have seen it before at both the Finzel Street and Temple Quay street food markets. So much so, that I have usually gone somewhere else to get something to eat.

So when I arrived early one time and there wasn’t much of a queue I grabbed my chance to try out the chicken from Kokodoo.

The menu consists of fried chicken bites with a choice of four glazes. There is sweet & spicy, honey glazed, sticky soy, or fiery chilli. The chicken is served with a  choice of chips or rice and a side of coleslaw. There is a vegan option  with fried cauliflower.

I went with the chicken in a honey glaze with rice. I placed my order and paid, I was given a number.

As there wasn’t much of a queue, so it wasn’t too long before my food was ready.

Kokodoo Korean Fried Chicken

This was a good sized portion of crispy chicken, in a sweet honey glaze, with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. There was some rice, and a rather disappointedly small portion of coleslaw.

I enjoyed the chicken, it was crisp and tasty. Though a nice dish, I am not sure if I would have it again. It was nice, but not inspiring or outstanding.

Posted on

Not quite my usual bento box

It was a Friday, the sun was shining, it wasn’t raining, there was no wind, which meant that the Finzel Reach street food market was running. They had cancelled Wednesday’s market due to the weather.

My usual choice when having a bento box from the She Sells Sushi stall is to have the beef donburi and a crispy chicken hirata bao bun. I decided I would still go for the beef donburi, but I would have the sweet potato hirata bun instead of my usual chicken one.

The beef was delicious as usual. It is tasty tender beef rib on a bed of sushi rice and served with pickle and crispy onion.

This a street food dish I have had many times, as this was as good as I’ve had on previous visits. The beef was full of flavour and the garnishes added to the dish.

The hirata bun was nice, but to be honest the sweet potato was just slices of cooked sweet potato. These were inside a charcoal bao bun with some lettuce, pickles and sauce. Not sure that added much, I think I would have preferred the crunchy texture of the chicken.

Overall though, I did like my lunch and it was very tasty.

Posted on

Monkfish Tempura

I was in Bristol and went for a walk at lunchtime. Went to the Finzel Reach market intending to have something from Big Nath’s BBQ stall, but they weren’t there, so went to King Fin instead. 

Was torn between the calamari and the new monkfish tempura. Whatever I chose I was going to have chips anyhow. In the end I went without the chips and went with both the monkfish and the calamari.

The calamari was excellent as usual (maybe a little too salty), but they were cooked to order, so the squid was nice and tender, and the coating was nice and crispy. The and cider vinegar slaw was a nice accompaniment.

The special, monkfish tempura was new to me. 

The pieces of monkfish were deep fried in a tempura batter, and served with a lime and coriander yoghurt, tamarind, crispy sweet shallots and curry leaves.

The monkfish was cooked perfectly, and the batter (on top) was nice and crisp. Alas by the time I got back from the market to the office, the batter on the underside of the fish had got a little soggy from the yoghurt. I think if I had eaten the dish as soon as I was served it, it would have been fine. If I was to offer one piece of advice, I would probably say serve the yoghurt on the side, rather than on the bottom of the box. Or have something to separate the crispy fish from the yoghurt. Even so I liked the lime and coriander yoghurt which added a sharpness to the fish. I also enjoyed the tamarind, crispy sweet shallots and curry leaves.

Overall it was a little extravagant to have two mains, and no fries, however I really enjoyed having the calamari instead of fries.

Posted on

Bento Box Time

It’s been a while since I have had a Bento Box from See Sells Sushi, but as it was Friday, and the Finzle Reach market was on, I headed off in the heavy rain to see what was around, but thinking I would probably have the Bento Box.

It was raining quite heavily, I did think earlier in the day that the market might be cancelled because of the rain and wind. However, it was open, though the weather did mean it wasn’t very busy. There was though still a queue for the See Sells Sushi stall. I did have a look around to see what was around. In the end, I went back and queued up for my Bento Box.

I had my usual choice of been donburi and crispy chicken hirata bun. Service was quick and friendly.

The beef was as usual, excellent. It is tasty tender beef rib on a bed of sushi rice and served with pickle and spring onions.

I’ve always enjoyed the hirata buns from the stall, this crispy chicken hirata bun was tasty. It was a charcoal bao bun with two pieces of crispy chicken, lettuce, pickles and sauce.

Overall a delicious box of food, which I really enjoyed.

Posted on

Not my first choice

Heading to Finzel Reach street food market in Bristol for lunch, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to have. I did see that King Fin has their calamari, which I had enjoyed the other day. However first I walked down the market to see what was on offer. Decided I would go with the calamari, only to find when I got back to the King Fin stall they had sold out of the calamari.

Though I hadn’t been totally impressed with the soft shell crab burger when I had it before, I went with it this time.

The burger was a soft brioche bun with a deep fried soft shell crab, and a coleslaw. I added a side order of rosemary chips as well.

The twice cooked rosemary fries with sauce were very tasty, and crispy.

The burger was as I was expecting. The bun was lovely and soft, and the spicy coleslaw added heat and freshness. The deep fried soft shell crab was crispy, but didn’t have the crab taste intensity I would really like to see in this dish. I also felt the crab got lost in the spicy coleslaw as well. However, as I was expecting the food to be like this, I wasn’t really that disappointed.

Posted on

Time for some calamari

Castle View, Bristol

I was working in Bristol and went for a walk at lunchtime.

I wasn’t really thinking about getting some lunch, but knew that I was out that evening, so might be a good idea to have a bigger lunch. I had brought a packed lunch, but did think that I might get a portion of something to add to it.

I decided to head to the Finzel Reach. There I wasn’t sure if I wanted anything, or what to have. In the end I got some calamari from King Fin. I’ve had some lovely food from King Fin in the past.

This time I got it without fries, you can add fries for another three pounds to make it a more substantial dish.

This was a decent portion of calamari. It was served with a chunk of lemon, garlic aioli, and some slaw. 

calamari

It had been cooked to order, so was lovely and fresh. The coating was nice and crispy, the squid was tasty and tender. I liked the slaw, could have had more of that to be honest.

I think my only real criticism was that there was slightly too much added salt for my liking. I think in the future I will ask for no salt, and then add my own.

Overall I really enjoyed the food and it was excellent again.

 

Posted on

Time for Tau Yew Bak 

I was in Bristol and popped down to the Finzel Reach street food market. Though I do visit other street food markets, the Bristol scene as one of my favourites. My personal challenge though when visiting is that I usually default to stalls I’ve been to before, and don’t necessarily try something new. So on this visit, I was going to go to King Fin, however they had sold out of their calamari, even so I was tempted by their soft shell crab burger. I then thought, there are lots of stalls that I’ve not tried before, so lets try something new. 

So I looked around and I decided to try out the Fat Rice stall which sells Malaysian comfort food.

Fat Rice stall

There were three choices on the menu, a beef rendang, kunyit chicken, and tau yew bak. I went with the tau yew bak. This was pork belly slow-cooked in soy sauce and spices. Served with basmati rice, fried onions and pickled salad.

pork belly slow-cooked in soy sauce and spices. Served with basmati rice, fried onions and pickled salad

This was a good sized meal and there was a decent portion of the main part of the dish, the pork belly. Sometimes I have found that you order a dish and the amount of the *star* of the dish makes you feel like you’ve been short-changed. 

The pork itself was nice and tender and full of flavour. I liked the chilli sauce that was served with the pork. The salad added zing to the dish and the rice was nice. Overall a delicious bowl of food.

The service was efficient and friendly. Thought it was interesting there was no vegetarian (or vegan) options. I certainly think I would visit the stall again and try out some of their other options.