OPEN EAST FESTIVAL 2013

Okay, a few days late, but finally found some time to post this!

Another day out with Wilkes, this time to the Open East Festival - a weekend festival celebrating the first anniversary of the Olympics and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park opening to the public. 

I had been inside earlier in the month for the Hard Rock Calling 2013, but as you know, anything with fun, and more importantly FOOD, is always a winner for me.

We arrived just before the gates opened at 1.30pm on the Sunday, when the queues were still manageable.

Did lots of random photo snapping as usual, so I'll let the photos do most of the talking...

Here we have a pop up Surplus Shop assembled by R-Urban Wick. Prior to the event, they basically collected items that people had too much of, which were then documented in the form of posters, put on display, and even sold or bartered. 

Random fact: Eat enough watermelon seeds (1 cup - dried!) and you'll be getting 61% of your daily recommended intake of protein! Pass a cup round and you'll probably get enough saliva-covered seeds to last you days...weeks even?

Took a picture but forgot to buy one to eat! Will probably look out for them at Borough Market...

That Chicken Bastilla was looking pretty tempting...

"THIS is how to cut a sausage..." - tasty pork and tarragon sausages.

Let's feed the entire village!

Ok, we've got the fishbowls, not all we need are some fluorescent goldfish...

Cheeeeese...

HUMONGOUS pork sausages

Half each to save space for more food!

Happy smiles

I wonder if the Care Bear has a special belly badge!

THIS is a fishdog...yum

Bunny chow - no bunnies were involved/harmed in the making of this.

A bouncy stone henge! - more fun than the real thing.

Run little people runnn...

Paper flowers anyone?

A giant robot - wonder how he felt being groped by so many hands...

A...tree house?

Just very...strange.

"A bit hot innit?". "Stop moaning, do you want to be tanned like him or not?".

"That's it, stretch those legs, suck in those tummies!"

Okay, let's not get distracted and try to focus on the menu and food...

 

 And last but not least, B.O.B.'s Lobster - good looking lads ay? ;)
If you missed them at Open East, you can find them at Borough Market, every Tuesday-Saturday 7.00pm-10.30pm until the end of September!

Almost the weekend!

CASSE-CROUTE, 109 BERMONDSEY STREET

Casse-Croute, a small little French bistro recently opened by Hervé Durochat, on Bermondsey Street.

Ditching my ballet and jazz shoes on another beautiful Monday morning, I was eager to check out what this new place had to offer. 

 

It was pretty early when I arrived - skipped breakfast so that I could save space in my tummy...
(bashfully acknowledges the disapproving frowns that breakfast is the most important meal of the day...). Oh wait, I had two Oreos...I'm sure that counts?
 I popped my head into the empty restaurant and double-checked that they were open before seating myself at the little corner by the window. It was too hot to sit outside, but at least I could still people-watch from where I was; watching curious passerby's peering through the windows every now and then. 

 

I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc whilst I perused the menu du jour on the wall; with some French radio channel playing in the background. 

 

The lovely lady (forgot to ask her name!) kindly talked me through the menu and explained each dish - my poor French has unfortunately deteriorated over the years!

 

Considering that it was a hot summers day, I went for the Seabass marine as my starter - well marinated and very light and refreshing.

 

 Braised lamb belly with aubergine caviar. Not very summer-y and possibly not the ideal dish to have on such a hot day...but it's just something about lamb dishes that makes me salivate and go tingly inside... I think I may have caught the lamb addiction bug from Lili.

I did double-check beforehand if it would be very 'fatty' (trying to 'watch the figure' and all that...NOT), but fortunately it wasn't. The meat was really tender and in the middle was a luscious blend of pureed herbs. The sauce was rich and creamy and I was even given a basket of bread to 'clean-up' the plate after - because it was that amazing! 

After all, good food should not go to waste...

 

For dessert - Pêche rôtie, sable Breton, crème fraîche. I was told that it was very French, basically consisted of a classic French cookie, a roasted peach and some soured cream. Not too sweet and quite tasty.

And had a shot of espresso after.

I'd spotted a familiar face in between whilst other diners were streaming in, before I realized that it was Wilkes (aka Wilkes888) - the photo snapping of food was probably the giveaway sign!
So I stayed on to nibble on some cheese and had a nice glass of Pression draught beer.

Here's a few more photos...

 

 

Spanking new slicer

With only 20 covers, it's one of the smallest restaurants in London -  a charming little addition to the extremely busy Bermondsey Street. And located just opposite José, you will now definitely be even more spoilt for choice.
Just don't forget to make a reservation in advance to avoid unnecessary disappointment, especially during peak hours (overheard someone already making a booking for August!). 

The Cheekster, signing off x

THE HAPPENSTANCE

 

The latest site launched by Drake & Morgan in the newly developed No1 St Paul's Churchyard.
Stepping through the main doors, I knew that this was my kind of place, with it's warm, welcoming ambiance, and lovely chic decor.
First impressions always count after all.

 

 

 

We were led through to the back of the building to the main dining area which had an open plan kitchen.

 

 

 

As you can see, the dining area is rather huge!

Now moving on to the food...

 

 

Cappuccino & Flat White

Having spent my entire morning at the Apple Store with the hope of them bringing my poor iPhone 4 "back to life" (unfortunately un-salvageable resulting in my inevitable upgrade to the iPhone 5), I definitely was in need of a coffee...

 

The Courgette shoestring fries sounded interesting and were quite tasty with the dip.

So many vegetable variations these days!

 

Aromatic shredded crispy duck with pancakes and hoisin sauce. Duck was quite dry and hard as opposed to crispy...

 

The salmon ceviche with orange, coriander and chilli wasn't quite what I was expecting. 

I think in my mind I had an image of something similar to the one I had at Ceviche in Soho in the past. 

Lili and I both found it a bit too fishy - more so for Lili that I ate most of her share of the dish...

 

The roasted english lamb rump with pumpkin mash was probably my favourite dish of the lot. Succulent pieces of medium rare lamb and smooth creamy mash. 

The waiter was nice enough to keep it aside in the oven whilst we finished our other dishes so that it didn't go cold.

 

We ordered a couple of cocktails - Lili had the Fairground Millionaire, whilst I ordered the Princess Sparkler.
They have quite an extensive wine list, alongside premium spirits, beers and cocktails.

Feeling rather 'princess-ey'...

And there's just something about pretty toilets that I like...

 

A pink bicycle!

Centrally located close to St Paul's Cathedral and open all-day 7 days a week, it's a great place to pop in for city-goers.

There's even an onsite deli and florist if you decide to surprise a special someone...