Category: Norfolk

This is week 29 of James and I eating at every food stall at Norwich Market, this time the turn of the Chocolate Bar Baker. James and I also discovered we’ve got a couple more stalls left than we thought, there really is an incredible depth to this market.

One of the two display cabinets of baked goods. I would add at this point that I don’t really have a sweet tooth, but I was tempted by a few different items here.

The second cabinet and that cheesecake arrangement does look rather lovely.

They also have chocolate covered strawberries for those who aren’t sure whether they want to be healthy or not.

And cake shakes are available for those wanting liquid refreshment. The service here was warm and friendly, with the stall taking both cards and cash. I got a feeling of passion about the product from the stallholder, as if she was just proud of what she sold.

I went for the cherry crumble slice which was £3.50. It wasn’t as sickly as I feared, the cake was moist and rich with the cherry running through it, with generous amounts of chocolate on the exterior. And there was literally the cherry on the cake.

James, who is more decadent and artistic than I am, went for a £4.50 Mars Bar Chocolate Millionaires Tart. He was suitably impressed and, only slightly distracted by someone being arrested by the police nearby, noted the high quality of the product (the tart, not the police). We only had six people in suits saying hello to James today, so a quiet day for him in the city.

Overall, I enjoyed this visit as the prices were reasonable for the quality of the product. It felt like an authentic small trader with a passion for their product and not a local multiple treating the market as just another venue. Definitely recommended and it’s something a little different for the market.

James and I are visiting every food stall at Norwich market this year and we’re very nearly there, with this visit being to the cafe B’s T’s. I think we have an admission here, this unit was trading when we did this same project in 2023 but we don’t appear to have visited. So, this is one of four cafes on Norwich market and they’re the traditional stalls which sell hot drinks, burgers, rolls, hot dogs, breakfasts and the like. There seems to be a constant demand for these stalls as they’ve all been busy when we’ve visited them this year.

The menu board, but I don’t have a comparison from two years ago since we forgot to go there. It’s evident from the stickers on the menu that there have been some price increases though. There was a friendly welcome and the ordering system seemed easy to understand, with the stall taking both cards and cash.

In my helpful way, I asked for a burnt bacon and sausage roll, which the staff member engaged with in a positive manner. Although she clarified that I really just wanted well done, she continued to reference the term burnt. I like this sort of engagement as it makes it easier for customers to return and be remembered by the stall holders. Anyway, it wasn’t greasy and the bacon was satisfactorily cooked and it meant that I had only a minimal need to remove excessive fat. The staff member did forget to add on the sweet chilli sauce that she meant to, although I had some ketchup in sachets with me anyway (it’s essential when travelling….). The sausage was meaty and juicy, although it was under the bacon and so a little hard to see in the photo. The roll was also soft and fresh, so another point there.

James had a cheeseburger and I can’t remember half of what he said about it, but he said it didn’t beat the best one he’s had in the market this year, but it was better than the last couple that’s he had. So, let’s go with he thought that it was above average. I’ll pay more attention to what he’s saying next time but a polite pigeon distracted me during the food testing phase of our visit.

Overall, I liked this stall and the service, it felt informal and friendly. The roll cost £4 which seemed reasonable for the market, although the market stalls are perhaps going to struggle a little with the onslaught of meal deals from national chains at the moment which are mostly priced at £5 to £6. I would repeat though for those looking at the photo and thinking the bacon has been overcooked, that was to my request and now they usually do it….

We’re approaching the end of visiting every food stall at Norwich market and this week’s expedition was to Tasty House, which we visited before when we did this before in 2023. I very much liked the food on this previous visit and everything felt organised and well managed, so my expectations were high. After we waded through the throngs of middle-class people that James knew, first impressions this time were positive as we reminded that the menu is actually rather exciting.

The menu options with most of the dishes already being pre-cooked, although a couple are made fresh to order. There was also a daily special of ribs available as well, so the menu options felt extensive, with a choice of sticky rice, jasmine rice or noodles with each main course. There’s one vegan and vegetarian option, which is listed top of the menu, but all of the others are meat based.

The counter and the stall accepts card and cash. The service was friendly and helpful, although there wasn’t much engagement beyond the minimum needs but there’s a lot to be said for efficiency. We had a wait of around thirty seconds to be served as the customer in front was asking quite a lot of questions, but James pretended not to be annoyed and obviously I’m always calm.

I like the variety of free condiments that can be added to the food, although there’s a sister stand opposite the shop which sells all these raw ingredients. There was quite a lot of general litter on the counters such as abandoned water bottles, coffee cups and other detritus, so that didn’t feel entirely optimal. There’s a small seating area at the end of the stall, but we had our food standing near to the condiments.

I went for the large panang chicken curry with jasmine rice which came to £9.50, an increase of £1.50 from when we last visited. This arrangement seemed a little odd as they were quite stingy on the portion of rice, but very generous with the amount of chicken. However, this meant that the meal seemed a little unbalanced as I had plenty of chicken curry, but nowhere near as much rice as would have been ideal. Given rice is a cheap ingredient, it’s usually the other way around. The curry was though aromatic, rich in flavour, the chicken was tender and moist with the vegetables taking on the flavour of the sauce. I can’t say that the lettuce does much here, but the quality of the arrangement was high and the curry was at the appropriate hot temperature.

James’s food and he went for the Korean BBQ beef, the regular £8 size, but they forgot to ask him if he wanted noodles or rice, but he was satisfied with the sticky rice that he was automatically given. I’m not sure that there was much kimchi which was mentioned in the menu description, but James said that the food was agreeable although the beef a little dry.

I left feeling satisfied with the lunchtime snack, it was filling and had a depth of flavour to it. Ideally they could have packed the large bowl out with a little more rice, but I have no complaints about the quality of the curry itself. The service was friendly, there was a minimal waiting time and I’d merrily recommend this stall to others once again.