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Category: Norwich

Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 16 and Bun Box

Next in our series of visiting every food stall at Norwich Market was Bun Box, which occupies four stalls and aims to offer traditional Japanese food. It expanded from its smaller outlet at the market and has attracted somewhat of a loyal following from what I’ve heard, so my expectations were high.

The clearly laid out menu, which consists of primarily of buns and rice bowls. The service was fast and efficient, with the stall accepting cards and cash. Everything looked clean and organised, but the stall doesn’t have anywhere to stand or lean on to eat the food. They did have some folding ledges, but they weren’t in use when we visited. As an aside, the number of seagulls seems to have increased at the market recently, so I still don’t dare leave the confines of the stalls with food.

I went for the chicken katsu bun which cost £4.50 and although it’s a little difficult to judge from the photo, it is relatively small so they needed to deliver on quality if not quantity. The bun had the appropriate light texture, with the chicken being cooked well and crispy on the exterior. The sauce wasn’t particularly punchy and I couldn’t taste any pickled ginger, so there wasn’t much depth of taste to the whole arrangement. Using the comparison of other stalls on the market, the prices were also towards the higher end of the scale, although not entirely unreasonable.

Trying to be as positive as I can, but I can’t say that my high expectations were met here. JD Wetherspoon, who aren’t necessarily a bastion of food quality, sell bao buns now at half the price charged here and their quality I have to regretfully note as better with a wider range of flavours and tastes. James ordered the same as me so I can’t comment separately, although I wondered if perhaps the pork bun might have worked a little better for me as that seemed to have some stronger tasting ingredients.

However, the stall was busy and they’re clearly surprising and delighting customers on a regular basis. I can’t say that I was ever particularly bowled over with bao buns when I was in China, but I did have higher expectations from this stall. At some stage we’ll revisit all of the stalls and I think that I’ll opt for something like the chicken katsu curry which might have a greater depth of flavour. Hopefully I’ll get to visit them again soon, as I’m always ready to find a different menu item which I might fall in love with.

July 25, 2023
Norwich – Weavers Arms

The Weavers Arms on Muspole Street has recently reopened, so Julian and I felt the need to pay it a quick visit (this post will also be appearing on our web-site at http://www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/). The venue has gone through a succession of owners, as well as new names, but the incoming tenants are also behind Brick Pizza and the Yard restaurant, so they have some considerable experience. There is another Woolpack in Norwich, operated by Greene King, which might be the reason that they haven’t returned to that name, although it’s always a shame when heritage is lost.

There’s some religious heritage to the site, as not only is it opposite St. George’s Church it also stands on the former site of the residential property used by the Prior of the Augustinian Priory of Our Lady Walsingham. It has been a hospitality venue called the Woolpack since the middle of the eighteenth century, hence why its recent change of name feels sub-optimal. The listed building record notes that there is an re-used sixteenth century wooden beam on the ground floor which is likely from 1510 and so it might have been in the Prior’s living room before the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

There were four real ales available and there were a couple of new beers here that I hadn’t had before. The combination of having a local brewery along with some ales from further afield that customers haven’t had seems eminently sensible.

And there were some craft keg options as well, although other drinks such as coffees, cocktails and generic keg are also available as well. For the size of the venue, the choice of drinks seems entirely reasonable and met my expectations.

The back bar arrangement. The service was attentive and polite, with the venue being relatively busy on the Saturday evening that we visited. Julian is excited and delighted about their extended hours on a Friday and Saturdays night, as we both share enthusiasm for longer hours in pubs so that we’re not forced into visiting cocktail bars. Which has been known.

To ensure that our research was thorough, I had half a pint of all four of the real ales, with the prices for these being around £2.10 each which isn’t unreasonable. They were all well kept and at the appropriate temperature, so there’s clearly some cellar knowledge here. The lighting was a little dark when we visited, but that seemed to fit the inviting and cosy nature of the venue, this isn’t somewhere that needs fierce lights. We sat at the bar, carefully ensuring that we weren’t blocking the view of the beers, where the seating was comfortable and the interior redesign has been sensitively done.

I went for the Slap Bang Citra from North Riding Brew Pub, which has a decent flavour to it but really needed more citra with a beer name like that. Brother Rabbit is one of the few beers from Thornbridge that I hadn’t tried, it’s a suitably decadent golden ale. Then comes the old reliable of Encore from Lacons Brewery and the session bitter of the JHB from Oakham Ales.

Although we had arrived too late for dining, the pub is offering food, with some tempting delights including the chicken & tarragon pie and the beef shin & Guinness pie. For those who don’t go straight to the pies section of the menu, there are also salads, steaks and fish options. It feels like a compact and manageable menu, I suspect the food quality is very high given the provenance of the owners. There are three rooms in this venue, but as it was busy I couldn’t easily go around taking photos.

Onto the toilets, which are in a more recent extension to the building. My friend Gordon also visited the pub this weekend and sent me some photos of the venue’s rather more, er, revealing artwork in the facilities although I hadn’t noticed those. One thing they’ll need to resolve is actually putting male and female signs on the toilets, the whole arrangement at the moment is confusing and a customer was commenting about it to a staff member.

Julian has decided to make extra visits to the pub to ensure that his high standards are being met, and I’m pleased to note that his considerable research efforts have confirmed that all seems well. The pub is a little bit tucked away and unlikely to get much passing trade, which all means that it’s going to have to get a solid reputation to ensure that customers go out there. However, from what I’ve seen, it looks likely that they’ll make a success of this pub.

July 24, 2023
Norwich – My Makan

I was surprised and delighted to hear that there was a new Malaysian restaurant in Norwich, located in the culinary quarter that once housed the Westlegate McDonald’s on the ground floor. My Makan opened earlier on in 2023 and they’re attempting to offer authentic Malaysian cuisine, so Bev, Gordon, Brian and I thought that it was only right that we paid it a visit.

The 50% off sale was for next door, although I did have a buy one get one free voucher for a free main for the table. There’s a five star food hygiene rating certificate there for those who require such reassurance.

The menu and it wasn’t bloated in size, which is always a positive first sign for me. When aiming for an authentic Malaysian experience, I don’t want to see chicken vindaloo or something which seems to be a cuisine mission creep that some restaurants fall into the trap of. My one free main meal was slightly undermined by Gordon ordering two main meals, although I pinched a chunk of that so all was well.

It wasn’t packed on our Thursday evening visit, but it did get busier later on. The atmosphere is quiet and inviting, the acoustics work well here so it’s not too loud. It was perhaps just a little hot, but they’ve got vertical fans going which resolved the issue.

The blue butterfly pea flower drink, which I didn’t quite understand from the menu, but as they don’t sell alcohol it seemed intriguing. Bev was going on about it turning green when lime is added and it does appear to be a drink that changes its colour depending on the acidity. It’s not visible in the photo, but I found the streams of blue going into the drink from straw really quite hypnotic. When it was served the drink looked as though it was a weak cordial, but this had a depth of taste to it and a flavour that I’ve never had before. It stayed resolutely blue, but this was one of the better soft drinks that I’ve had. I was also fortunate as I ordered first and when Brian tried to order they told him that they had run out.

The view over the Pig and Whistle pub. I mean, it’s not the Petronas Towers, but watching the denizens of Norwich meander by was suitably calming.

This is the Nasi Lemak with ayam rempah, or spiced fried chicken. Firstly, I’ve never had dried anchovies and they added texture, a salty fishy taste and no shortage of flavour. The peanuts added more flavour and the sambal was moreish and had a spicy edge to it. The rice was well cooked and the salad element added some extra colour to the plate. The chicken thigh was tender, moist and the coating was crispy and packed with various herbs and spices. Dipping that chicken into the sambal was evidence that simple things done well are all that is often needed. In some senses there were an awful lot of things on the plate, but it was a delight to work my way around the plate, and the pledge of authenticity that the restaurant made certainly seemed to have been honoured.

The dessert photos, although they’re listed in plain text on the main menu as well. Photos of desserts usually indicates that they’re bought in and the restaurant has pinched the stock photos, but here it’s more because they want to show what the food actually looks like. We can’t all be Malaysian food experts and I thought this was useful.

Rice pudding is one of my favourite things, particularly on long walks when I need some liquid and solid refreshment at the same time and am too tired to chew. Long distance walking isn’t all glamour, but I digress. This is black, and as the restaurant notes glutinous, rice pudding served with thick coconut milk and vanilla ice cream. The portion size wasn’t the most subtle, but I never complain about too much food. It was served warm, it was light but yet filling and the flavours once again worked beautifully. Bev, who complains about everything, was very quiet on that front and she muttered only that she had eaten too much. There is rarely much more praise than Bev can give than to only complain that she’s over indulged.

I tried to take a photo of Gordon’s banana fritters dessert, but he had eaten most of them before I had chance, so Brian’s meal was instead brought into play for the purpose.

Bringing all things together, this was an exceptional meal. The service was attentive, polite and kind throughout the entire dine. The restaurant was clean, the surroundings comfortable and the prices reasonable. But, the food and drink continued to surprise and delight me, especially experiencing new flavours which I hadn’t had before. I am sure that I’ll be back and I hope that the restaurant continues to get busier through word of mouth, it certainly deserves to.

July 14, 2023
The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell – Model of Norwich City’s Former Nest Stadium

This the museum’s model of the Nest, which was Norwich City’s football stadium between 1908 and 1935 after they had moved from their previous Newmarket Road site. It was squeezed into a former disused chalk mine site and despite the best efforts of the club at the time to modernise and expand the facilities, it wasn’t large enough and in 1935 they moved to their current Carrow Road ground. After 1935 the site returned to industrial, then became Bertram’s Books and is now a housing development called Bertram Way.

The rather hilly and bumpy area before Norwich City decided to build the Nest.

An excited crowd at the Nest in a photograph dating to 1924. The club’s move made a great deal of sense as there’s no way that the site would have been large enough as there was nowhere for them to expand into. If they had continued here they would have ended up with the situation that Luton Town have with their odd entrances in the middle of terraced housing. The Nest site today has a supporting wall on one side where the stand used to be, otherwise there’s no other trace of the site, but there is a statue remembering that the stadium was once here.

The museum’s model shows how the stadium would have looked in 1935, just before their move to Carrow Road. There are surprisingly few facilities, no such treats as the Gunn Club…..

July 13, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 15 and Bodega

Week 15 was one of the stalls that I had most been looking forwards to visiting on my eating quest around Norwich market. I have eaten here once before and it has one of the best reputations for quality sandwiches, so a return visit was most agreeable for the purposes of this market food eating project.

The breakfast and lunch opening hours.

The menu with numerous tempting options, although I had already decided that in tribute to Katz’s deli in New York that I would go for the pastrami sandwich. The fish finger sandwich sounds delightful as well and that seemed to be the option most ordered whilst I was standing there.

I like the subtle humour dotted around the stall.

The stall uses the strategy of having a staff member outside taking orders so that the counter doesn’t become cluttered up. He was welcoming, engaging and knowledgeable, with the option to pay by card. Service was fast and customer names are taken so that they can shout the order out when it’s ready. The stall was busy, but it was all efficient and organised, with food orders taking around five minutes as they’re freshly made.

I very much like pastrami and so this suitably surprised and delighted me. The pickles and sauerkraut added texture, with the sauce ensuring that the sandwich wasn’t too dry. The pastrami was tender and very peppery, just as I like it to be, with the portion size being generous. It’s not necessary cheap at £7.50, but it is high quality and proved to be filling. James had the same pastrami sandwich and was also pleased, although pointed out that it does require some thought to work out how to eat to avoid any spilling incidents. As an aside, he was also keen to discover where on Norwich market they sold biltong, something we never really resolved.

The whole arrangement including signage, ordering, service and the food was all impeccable, so it will come as no surprise that I’d very happily recommend this stall to others. And I look forwards to returning and trying some of the other menu options. Definitely a contender for my favourite market stall and writing this has made me fancy another pastrami sandwich.

July 13, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 14 and Jacket Spuds & More

Next in the little adventure of eating at every Norwich market stall was Jacket Spuds & More. This one was just a little challenging as it’s the only stall I’ve yet encountered, which the exception of Toby’s Beer which is a slightly different issue as it’s a bar, which has customers standing eating where I would usually expect to order.

The menu which doesn’t just have jacket potatoes, but also breakfasts, sandwiches and muffins.

And the drinks menu. The service was polite, but there was little opportunity for the engagement offered by other market stalls as orders have to be shouted over the top of other customers (or at least mine did). I understand it’s a market stall, but it just means that I can’t much comment more here, although they did take cards and everything was polite and welcoming.

I was pleased that they checked if I wanted butter or not, as I’m not keen on it on jacket potatoes. The potato was cooked well, had a crispy skin and there was a generous portion of beans, so everything was as expected. There was apparently black pepper available on the counter, but I couldn’t get to it and nearly every meal is improved with a generous sprinkling of it. James went for a similar menu option, although he went for cheese and beans, as well as having butter. He’s always been much more decadent than me though.

Overall, I felt that this stall offered decent food at reasonable prices, so I can’t imagine that anyone would be disappointed. I didn’t realise until later on that there was also the option of jacket potato with sausages which sounds suitably exciting. As a comment rather than as a complaint, this was the hardest stall yet to order at but everything looked clean and organised. I’d like to try one of their all day breakfasts next time, to see if they can surprise and delight me.

July 13, 2023
Norwich Castle Museum – Old Carrow Gardens by John Joseph Cotman

This is a watercolour of Old Carrow Gardens painted in 1876 by John Joseph Cotman (1814-1878) and it presents me with a little bit of a challenge of trying to understand where it fits into the current urban environment. The tower in the background is the Black Tower which is accessible up a big hill, one I ascend as infrequently as possible. Anyone who thinks Norwich is flat hasn’t had to traipse up to pubs such as the Rose from King Street.

I think the the artwork was probably painted from here, on the north side of the River Wensum. That bridge isn’t there any more, they’ve shoved it down the road a bit nearer to the football ground, with Paper Mill Yard now being on the south side of the river where the bridge once met it. Until relatively recently, all the buildings on the south of the river were part of Colman’s Carrow Works Factory, a site that they only finally left in 2020.

I may well be wrong on this (that does happen frequently), but I know that sometimes the word ‘gardens’ more means an empty space with some bits of foliage as opposed to something more organised, which might be happening here. As a river scene, it has though entirely changed over the last 150 years or so.

June 29, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 13 and Indian Feast

Next on the list of my plan to visit every Norwich market stall with friends was Indian Feast which specialises in vegetarian food from India, although I accept that I likely didn’t need to specify that. It’s very well reviewed and appears to have been trading for several years. The stall refer to themselves as vegetarian and vegan, but every menu items appears to be vegan from what I can understand from the menu.

The food menu and it’s apparent from reviews that one of their most popular dishes is the Samosa Chat. James and I both went for this on the grounds we won’t bother ordering different things for the purposes of this blog post series, we’ll just start again when we’ve gone round and then order something new. I take these research projects very seriously and one visit is never enough anyway.

There are some curry dishes as well, but much of this is just a repeat from the other menu. The service was friendly and immediate, so it felt it was a welcoming environment. The server was engaging and she explained what options were available, with the ordering process being efficient. They accept cards and they also have a seating area of their own, something which always makes things easier. I find limited enjoyment in dodging seagulls and pigeons and they swarm around the area.

The meal consists of two vegetable samosas, chickpea curry, red onion, fresh coriander, a homemade fresh coriander and mint chutney along with a tamarind sauce. Just as an observation, the fork was slightly sub-optimal as it wasn’t strong enough to break into the samosas and it really needed a spoon for the sauce anyway. That minor issue aside, the food was well presented and looked appetising. There was a depth of flavour to the chickpea curry, although it only had the onion to add a little texture. There wasn’t much heat to this dish in terms of spice, but I enjoyed the flavours. The samosas had the suitably crispy exterior which complemented the interior well which was soft and lacking in texture. For my own perfect dish, I’d have quite liked just a little green chilli or something in the samosas to give it some extra flavour, but it was all very pleasant.

Anyway, this is yet another market stall that I’d recommend as it has a friendly welcome and reasonable prices. The kitchen element looked organised, with the seating area being clean and the surfaces were dry. I enjoyed the food and although would have preferred a little more depth of flavour and spice, it was a light and nutritious lunchtime meal. All rather lovely and probably one of the better options for those looking for a vegan or vegetarian lunch.

June 28, 2023
Food from Every Stalls on Norwich Market – Meat & Co (Permanently Closed)

Unfortunately, I fear that this market stall has permanently closed relatively shortly after opening. As part of my plan to eat at every Norwich market food stall, we’ve made multiple visits over different days and it has not only been closed but there’s no signage and there’s no social media.

June 28, 2023
Norwich Castle Museum – The Travelling Zoo

Meandering around the collections of the Norwich Castle Museum, this display of dead stuffed animals is hard to miss and they’re from the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie. This travelling circus was in operation between 1810 and 1931 and when their animals died on tour, they were often given to local museums. No doubt the menagerie was most exciting at the time, especially for children, as I can’t imagine many people had previously seen big cats, kangaroos, monkeys and even a rhino to name just a few.

The above animal doesn’t have a name, or at least not one that has been recorded, but it’s an ocelot which did in January 1893 before it was stuffed and brought to the museum. I hadn’t realised, but ocelots can be kept as pets, although I’m hoping that not too many people decide to do that in Norwich as it would feel sub-optimal for too many of these to be wandering around.

As evidence that these displays were educational, this is a binturong and I’ve never heard of them before so that’s something new to me. It’s an Asian bear cat and it looks very odd to me, they’re apparently noted for their strong tail which helps them climb trees. According to Plumpton Park Zoo they are “normally shy in the wild, but very aggressive when harassed and they may urinate or defecate on a threat”. They sound like just the thing you’d want to traipse around in your menagerie.

The museum notes that in 1812, George Wombwell bred the first lion in captivity in the UK, apparently now stuffed and on display at Saffron Walden museum. This lion cub was born on tour in 1887, dying at three months old when it reached Lowestoft. If he had lived longer, he is unlikely to have had a pleasant life, as Wombwell had used the lions to fight dogs, usually a battle which the lion would win but at some cost to its health and well-being. They were controversial even back in the early nineteenth century and Parliament banned them, which is one of the earlier pieces of animal rights legislation.

This male was caught in Australia and used by the menagerie as a boxing red kangaroo. I’m not sure that zoos or the like would get away with that little arrangement any more, he died in Somerset in March 1896. The museum doesn’t note whether he died in a fight or of natural causes. For anyone who wants to read more about this way of exhibiting animals before the establishment of zoos, there’s a Wikipedia page about them.

June 26, 2023