Finally the Western Farmers’ Market has reopened!

Hopefully the market has found a permanent home. Located at Palmyra Primary, the market is now more family friendly than ever – parking is a lot easier plus there is a huge space for the Dogs’ Bar.

How cute!

  

Banjo burger, yum

There’s a wonderful burger stand – Banjo Burgers – selling buns filled with crispy egg, spinach and bacon, with globs of glorious chutney. Our burger had the beetroot chutney which sent scarlet streams down our arms but was well worth the mess. The Fiori cart’s coffee was aromatic as always. There’s no better way to start Sundays than with a great coffee and brekkie burger.

Incidentally the chutney inside the burger comes from a stall around the corner. Pick up a jar or two and also your weekly eggs – farm fresh, free range eggs at $4 a dozen (cheap!).

The undercover area houses the baked goodies – cupcakes, irish bread and a stall overflowing with bread. The breads are fabulous – organic, spelt, wholemeal, sourdough – you name it, the have it. There’s organic pastries which takes some of the guilt out of the butter laden, flakey danishes… We tried the white organic spelt loaf and besides being better for our bodies, it was pleasantly different – nuttier, for lack of a better word. Try it.

Organic jam donut – as healthy as a donut can be!

Ultra fresh spinach, squeaky zucchini and bags of freshly dug potatoes are cheap and bountiful at the farmers’ stalls. All the fresh produce is first class – there’s no sacrificing quality for price at farmers’ markets as you are buying from the farmer direct. 

During the market’s absence, I think a number of stallholders have moved to other markets, hence the market is now somewhat smaller. But I may have come on a day where some stallholders are off rotating their wares elsewhere. Still, there’s quite a range of fresh fruit and veggies, with fresh blooms for the table.

 

 

Western Farmers’ Market, Palmyra Primary School, 60 McKimmie Street, Palmyra WA 6157
Open every Sunday 7.30am – 12.30pm

 

There’s also the Growers’ Green Market, which I have been told is worth checking out:

Growers’ Green Market, South Fremantle Senior High School, Lefroy Road, Beaconsfield WA
Open every Sunday 8am – 12 noon

See my farmers’ market page to find more markets in and around Perth.

- M

 
 

Cooking, Tudor style, at Hampton Court

Just a few bits and pieces for easy weekend reading. After the jump I’ve added some tips for London, for people who are heading over soon.

read: GT’s top 2011 restaurants have been published. My favourite restaurant – Must Winebar – was reviewed by The Australian.

read: The 50 Best Cookbooks list at the UK Guardian. Nice to see David Thompson’s Thai Food in the top ten.

more reading: Not so much hippie hoodoo, more about identifying ourselves with diet choices – read Hunting with Gandhi and its interesting comments at the Mindful Carnivore.

cook: The Perfect Meringue. I’m going to give this recipe a go. If it fails, it’ll be Eton Mess for dessert!

look: A little bit obsessed with French stuff at the moment. There are many blogs devoted to french style, here are some favourites –  fabulously french, french essence and of course – paris daily photo.

look: Want to see a 1 in 30million yellow lobster?

 

London travel tips after the jump! »

 
 

Old people know good food.

I’m not kidding – go to any place with lots of old people (hospitals/nursing homes excluded) and the food is usually decent or good value. My theory: they’ve been around long enough to recognise the good things in life. Plus they have heaps of spare time. Combined with life experience, they just know what’s good.

When my sister told me we were having lunch in the crypt of a church, I just nodded. My feet were too sore to argue and after trekking from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace to Picadilly, then to Soho, I was pooped.

Down we went into the basement of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. (Sounds familiar? It’s church was the previous home of the bells in the Perth bell tower).

I was in for a surprise – along with a glass entrance and an excellent souvenir shop, the crypt was really modern and buzzing. With lots of senior citizens – a good sign. Talk about unexpected. Actually, I had no idea what to expect when faced with eating in a church crypt… the words dark and dank come to mind.

The centuries old vaulted ceiling, juxtaposed with the modern cafeteria gives the crypt a rather utilitarian look. Far removed from thoughts of bodies, relics and saints. Looking down at the floor, there’s no escaping we are eating in a crypt.

In the cafe there’s an emphasis on British food. Produce sourced from local and UK growers are transformed by the onsite kitchen. Fixed price meals to suit every appetite are available for hot meals, cold meals and desserts. Though reminiscent of IKEA, the food here is homely and honest. There’s a huge range of salads, two soups of the day and hot dishes, spanning from stews to pies. Keeping with the homegrown theme, only local drinks line the fridges, so you can have a 100% British meal.

Besides the providing local food at affordable prices, the church’s cafe is a hip and happening place – lunch time and dinner time concerts are commonplace, Sundays are for roasts – and at night, dinners are by spooky candlelight.

Even though we came in from the heatwave, I couldn’t resist having the cream of broccoli soup with a pumpkin seed bun. It was quite good – creamy, smooth and full of broccoli, but my sister had to warn me not to finish it, as we had high tea booked that afternoon. My sister had the apple and rhubarb crumble – the crumble was good – but the custard was amazing. Pale yellow and very runny (quite ordinary looking really) the custard was divine. Paired with the crackle of the sugary crumble topping, the sweet custard was silky and sweet with a hint of vanilla.

I was also warned not to finish that, too. Sisters are so evil.

Unfortunately there is no rest for the wicked and we had to leave in a hurry if we wanted to arrive in Mayfair in time (or fashionably late).  Incidentally, the afternoon tea here is great value – a scone, cakes, clotted cream and tea all for £5.75.

Jazz nights, candlelights and bargain afternoon teas – the elderly know what’s hip and happening! We make a mental note to return one day as we bid goodbye to the crypt and its citizens (alive or dead) and ascended the stairs to the modern world.

Cafe in the Crypt, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ United Kingdom
T: 020 7766 1158
W: http://www2.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/page/cafe2010/cafe.html

Mon – Wed 8am – 8pm
Thu – Sat 8am – 9pm
Sun 11am – 6pm

- M

ps. The St. Martin-in-the-Fields souvenir shop is rather good. They sell a quirky range of British (not China) made products – all lovely to take home. So, skip the tacky street stalls and come here to buy the cutest tea cosies, local jams and celtic tshirts. They have an online store too, just in case you ran out of luggage space.

 
 

Cheap, cheerful and just about the only decent place to eat in Belmont. I’m serious.

They do a decent teriyaki, the large meals are actually large and the dude running the place is so adorably japanese! The interior is a far cry from anything sophisticated (basic tables and chairs), but it’s honest and simple. Their food is consistent and I’ve never had anything on the menu that was disappointing.

Just one of those places I want to keep for myself.

 

Momiji Japanese Takeaway, Shop 6/ 51 Belvidere St Belmont 6104
T: (08) 9477 5440

Lunch Mon – Saturday 11.30- 2.30
Dinner Mon – Sat 5.30pm – 8.30pm, Sun 5pm – 8pm

- M