Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad – Rosie Tate Cafe, Southwark

Refusing to accept that my lunch options is only confined to the vicinity of Borough Market, I went for a short walk yesterday when the sun was out. Started walking towards Tate Modern but not along the river banks and came across a rather new commercial development with the typical high street eateries but also some independent food outlets. My urge to blog has been ignited again!

The Jubilee Line was delayed today due to some person stuck between the platform and the train at London Bridge. Wonder how that could happen as there is a glass gantry which separates the platform and the train at London Bridge. Anyway, London Bridge station was thus closed and had to get off one stop earlier at Southwark. Knew I will pass by Rosie Tate Cafe on my walk to the office and decided to grab something for lunch.

The cafe is very spacious with separate chillers for sandwiches, pick and mix salads and prepacked lunch boxes. Of the lunch boxes, there is a choice of Chinese rice and noodles,  Caribbean style rice and choice of meat, some rice and curry as well as a range of salads.  They are all reasonably priced with the rice and noodles between £4 – £5 while the salads cost slightly less. I decided on the Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad which cost only £3.25! Bargain!

The fusilli pasta is lightly dressed with a pesto dressing and it is topped with shredded cheddar cheese, some black olives, cheery tomatoes, some shredded marinated chicken, rocket and a veg stew made up of courgettes, aubergines and mange tout. The portion was generous but to be honest, the salad is just what it is, nothing special. But for £3.25, how could you complain?

Rosie Tate Cafe
19 Great Guildford Street
Southwark
London SE1 0HS
0207 928 9100

Red Thai Beef with Noodles – Chozen, Borough High Street

Saw this place on my way home last night and thought what a quirky and imaginative name. The fact that they serve sushi and noodles makes it a must try.

Chozen is located along Borough High Street, diagonally opposite Stoney Street, one of the entrances to Borough Market. The name of the joint is a word play on “Chosen” but spelled as “zen” so you know they serve Japanese inspired food. Subtle but rather effective I think.

The set up is very much like Wasabi where you can get hot food from steamer trays and cold sushi from the fridge area. A variety of udon noodle soup is also available. Just pickup a udon container and the counter staff will top it up with soup. Price wise, I think it’s a tad more than Wasabi but not so bad to be obvious.

From a choice of red thai, green thai and katsu curry and also black bean with either veg, chicken or beef, I went with the Red Thai Beef and got egg noodles as carb instead of rice.  Was asked would I like to go large/upsize for £1.50 more, I simply had to say yes. Total came up to £7.15.

The smell when I opened the container reminded me more of satay sauce then red thai curry, strong whiff of peanuts. The beef was thinly sliced and very tender with courgettes, kidney bean and peppers scattered throughout. Taste wise, it’s definitely not red thai curry. I would say this is more like a slightly spicy stew. Not too bad if you are not expecting red thai curry.

I will give their udon soup noodles a go when I’m craving for something soupy next time.

Chozen
59 – 61 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NE
0207 403 0031

Chicken Risotto and Wild Mushroom Ravioli – The Daily Grind, Old Spitalfields Market

Seeing that my tenure in the East End is coming to an end, I can either concentrate on eating the things I love here or I can blog about places I have yet to try. I’m going with something new today.

The Daily Grind is a small little cafe tucked in the corner of the Old Spitalfields Market. I walk by it frequently and looking at the menu, it’s a typical cafe serving toasted sandwiches, a selection of pastas, baked potatoes with choice of filling and some pastries. I went with a mix of 2 pastas as I did not feel like have a sambo. Got the server to make up a mix of Wild Mushroom Ravioli and the Chicken Risotto. At £5.50, not as good value as Mangiare but we shall see how it taste.

Did not have high hopes as most pastas at cafes are a thrown together affair, purely to fill the tum. Was pleasantly surprised though. The risotto was tangy but velvety smooth on the palate with each rice grain still intact and had plenty of shredded chicken scattered throughout. Most raviolis I have tried are either overcooked or with areas of the pasta underdone. This one was cooked perfectly with still a slight chew. If only the mushroom filling has a stronger woody taste and more courgette in the sauce, this would have been perfect.

So, I’m pretty glad I gave this small cafe a go. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to make a repeat visit but I highly doubt that.

The Daily Grind
71 Brushfield Street
Old Spitalfields Market
London E1 6AA
0207 247 2418