Tag: Norwich

This week’s attempt to eat at every food stall at Norwich Market was Bun Box, which we visited in 2023 when we last embarked on this little project. Last time we visited, I wasn’t entirely sure about the value for money when I ordered a chicken katsu bun and I thought that the pricing was towards the higher end of the scale for the market.

The menu board. Incidentally, I didn’t take as many photos of the stand generally as I didn’t want the police to think that I was trying to capture them in my little arrangement. Neither James or I remembered that they did these more substantial meals which are listed on the lower menu, but having checked on the menu board from last time, not a great deal has actually changed. The price increases here over the last two years are relatively small, mostly either 50p or £1 on the price of a meal.

The list of sides. The service was friendly and personable, with the queueing system clearly signed as it might not otherwise be entirely obvious. The stall was busy when we were there and the team member was warning customers that they might face a ten or fifteen minute wait. The stall has clearly built up something of a loyal following judging by the numbers of customers who were coming here, with the menu being quite broad.

We had an eight minute wait for the food, but that seemed reasonable given how busy it was. They prefer cash, but they do accept cards as well. They give customers a numbered ticket and also try and batch together food orders so groups get their food at the same time.

I ordered the spicy chicken don which cost £9. This was pieces of panko chicken with sticky rice, teriyaki sauce, lettuce, spring onion, sriracha sauce, sesame seeds and Japanese mayo. This surprised and delighted me much more than when I had the bun a couple of years ago. The chicken was very slightly dry, but the coating added flavour and the sauce added some extra taste. The sesame seeds and spring onions added texture and the rice was suitably sticky. The large pieces of lettuce covered in sauce were a bit of a faff to eat and could have been smaller, but I felt that the whole meal was filling and represented decent value for money.

James sashayed excitedly towards the counter and went for a spicy chicken bun which was £5.50 and he seemed pleased after ordering. When the two meals arrived, with his looking like a little side to mine, he then promptly spent the next half an hour complaining about how small his selection was. He received one piece of chicken, mayo and lettuce, which didn’t seem to me to be quite as good value. I wonder if they’d be better charging a little bit more and giving customers two of the buns, as James didn’t find his selection as filling as mine. Indeed, he complained about numerous things about the bun, but he was centred on that he finished eating it in about twenty seconds. I think he spent longer taking a photograph of it rather than eating it, but I didn’t say anything. I’m apparently meant to explain that he was disappointed about the amount he received compared to how many chips he got last week, but I feel that I’ve done that now.

Basing this on just my experience, I thought that this was all quite agreeable, with the service being friendly and the food having a suitable depth of taste and flavour. However, for value for money, I’d personally go for one of the larger meals.

This week’s episode of James and I working our way around every food stall at Norwich Market. And, this week, it was a visit to Lucy’s Fish and Chips, where James and I have been going for over a decade and which received the incredible accolade as our second (well, my second as I’m writing it) stall in 2023. James only walked by three people he knew today, although I suspect there were more as he disguises the interactions to pretend he’s anti-social. The stall also has a sister outlet on the market which we’ve already visited this year.

The menu and the prices, with an apology printed on the counter that price increases have been necessary due to increasing costs. The price increases are in keeping with other stalls, with the haddock going from £5 to £6.50 in two years and the cod from £6.50 to £8. The stall accepts cash and card, although there’s now a sign stating that they prefer cash. The queueing system felt suitably logical and the stall was constantly busy when I was there, with a wide selection of different items being ordered.

The specials are visible in the background and a reminder that they use vegetable oil here. There’s also a vegan and vegetarian menu available to broaden their appeal to non-fish eaters.

I decided against the battered cauliflower, though to be fair, anything’s an improvement on plain cauliflower. The service was friendly, engaging and personable, although it helped that they knew James as they probably remembered some odd social interaction he had with them years ago or some joke or pun he made. There’s an informal and inviting feel to this stand, so I felt welcome. I went for the small cod, chips and curry sauce for £6.50, which I thought was reasonably priced. It took twelve minutes to be prepared which seemed a long time as James got him immediately, but sometimes food is worth the wait and they were busy.

The seating area where we were able to get a seat, although James had a bit of a wait to get us one. Not that it mattered to me as I was standing on the other side of the stall excitedly waiting for my number to be called out. The problem with us deciding these stalls on the day is that I don’t know in advance to bring my own ketchup, as I’m too tight to pay whatever the cost is here. The seating area was clean and ordered, with customers sitting here fairly reliably having ordered from the stall and not being interlopers from nearby stalls which don’t have their own executive seating area.

The cod was larger than I expected and they had forgotten the scraps (which I insist on calling them, although they call them crispies at the stall), but willingly added them in a bag on request. The bottom of the cod was perhaps a little soggy, but the fish flaked away and had a depth of flavour. The batter had some crispiness to it and a pleasant taste, whilst the chips were firm on the exterior and suitably fluffy on the interior. The curry sauce was also served as a generous portion and added to the whole delicious arrangement.

James went for his usual and he was moderately annoyed to discover they’d forgotten that his usual was two small battered sausages and not just one. He forgave them though, one of the few stalls where he would. I do remember the butcher’s sausages that they used to have here and I do miss those, although James was content with the quality of his battered option today.

I left the stall feeling that I had enough food as it was sufficiently filling and the value for money was excellent. The cod was of a decent quality, the service was friendly, the surroundings were clean and it was good to be back. This is, once again, one of the best stalls that we’ve visited this year on the market. All really rather lovely.

This week’s visit on our quest to eat at every food venue at Norwich Market was Go Crepes, which we visited when we did all this before in 2023. I must admit that I briefly forgot that we had done it before when the number was randomly drawn to come here, but it was last visit that we did and so perhaps my memory was clouded with sadness that it was all over…. I have to add here that every lunchtime is getting more ridiculous as it’s now turning into a “how many times will someone say hello to James?” as we walk around the city, it’s usually about five different people. This having lunch with a social supernova is getting quite exhausting.

The menu board, which is now a price free enigma, but the increases have been moderate over the last two years and seem to be around 50p for each crepe.

In addition to the sweet and savoury crepe options, there are some pasta options as well which I think might be a relatively new addition and James was tempted to go for one of these, but the pricing was a little punchy. The service here was friendly and immediate, with the stall taking both card and cash payments. There wasn’t the engagement that I remember from the stall holder a couple of years ago, but it was still welcoming and everyone was served in turn.

There’s my crepe cooking and I must admit that I’ve broken my intention of always having something different. I went for banana, Nutella and coconut, forgetting that’s what I had before. It came to £5.50, which is an increase of 50p. There was an entire banana included, along with a generous amount of Nutella and coconut flakes.

And there we go. This isn’t my sort of go to food for lunch, but it was warm, generously filled and it had a depth of flavour. I thought that it represented decent value for money, it was quick and a handy lunchtime snack.

James faffed about getting a classy photo of his crepe with Norwich Castle in the background. Unfortunately, in his eagerness to eat, the strategic intent of the photo failed.

So James has drawn it in. He went for a cheese and a pepperoni crepe and I asked him about the food and he said:

“Upon presentation, the galette délicieuse, a thin farinaceous creation of Gallic origin, enveloped a savory melange of lactescent curd and thinly sliced suine preparations, yielding a surprisingly replete sensation upon consumption. The constituent elements exuded an aura of recent provenance, their individual gustatory profiles harmoniously intermingling to produce a discernible and rather pleasing savor. Furthermore, the entire culinary opuscule was ensconced within a sumptuous and texturally refined cellulose-based towelling, hinting at an elevated level of epicurean consideration.”

He was particularly keen that I mention that he liked the quality of the paper towel that was used, which isn’t something I think that I would have otherwise added here.

I’m not sure that the lunch was quite as filling as some of the other market options, but that’s basically because I’m quite greedy and isn’t a criticism of the stall as their portion size for what I ordered was generous. The service was friendly, the food was freshly made and I felt that there was reasonable value for money.

This week’s attempt to eat at every food stall at Norwich Market is Jacket Spuds & More, which we visited last time we embarked on this same project in 2023. Incidentally, for anyone thinking that we’ve done three visits this week, we have as I’ve been away which has disrupted our dining schedule no end. Since we made our last visit, jacket potatoes have undergone something of a revolution in this country and that’s to a large part down to social media. Operating from his van in Tamworth, Spudman has become something of a viral sensation and he’s been able to build up a large regular trade on the back of that. Following this have been numerous other retailers trying similar things and even Subway got into the action when they started to sell jacket potatoes in a trial that was launched a couple of months ago. I’m not sure whether that trend has impacted this stall on Norwich market, but I’m impressed at how many toppings that they offer here.

The service from the two team members was friendly and I think that they thought I was nervous in ordering, when I was just faffing about deciding what to have. There is a wide variety of choices including jacket potatoes, sandwiches, toasties, breakfasts and omelettes. The reason for my delay is I was debating having something different to a jacket potato, but I decided in the end to stick with that as I’m sometimes not very adventurous. It was clear how to order (unlike last time when we got muddled up) and the whole service was efficient and helpful, with the team members checking if we wanted a drink or anything else with the food. The stall accepts card and cash, with the prices having gone up around £1 an item over the last two years.

I opted for the jacket potato with chicken curry and no butter, which was £6. That heap of black pepper on the top is me and not them, I’ve made that look worse presented than when it was handed to me. I’m not usually one to opt for a jacket potato when dining out (pizzas make quite an appearance though), but this whole arrangement did surprise and delight me. The jacket of the potato was crispy, the inside retained some firmness but was cooked through and the chicken curry was plentiful and actually had some reasonable sized pieces of chicken in it. There was sufficient curry sauce for the amount of potato, with the portion size in general feeling generous.

After standing about taking photos from odd angles, James started to eat the beef chilli jacket potato with extra cheese added that he’d ordered and he noted:

“During a recent midday peregrination through Norwich, serendipity led me to partake of a rather exemplary tubercule en chemise. This was no quotidian spud, but a specimen of discernible, superlative provenance, its preparation evincing considerable culinary adroitness: the integument crisped to perfection, the interior exquisitely fluffy, and the whole presented with commendable aesthetic fastidiousness at an eminently suitable thermal point. Crowning this farinaceous marvel was a generous impartation of piquant bovine concoction – a beef chilli of satisfying depth – further embellished by a liberal cascade of molten caseous adornment. The resultant gustatory experience, an agreeable amalgamation of textures and flavours, represented remarkably judicious expenditure considering the modest pecuniary outlay. One departed thoroughly gratified by this unexpectedly sophisticated rendition of humble fare, acknowledging the substantial contentment derived from its consumption.”

In short, he liked it, even though he managed to spill some on his trousers, nearly choke halfway through and have chats with about ten people he knew. Talk about a social butterfly.

All told, I thought that this was a really decent visit that was really most lovely. The service was polite, the potato and the topping had a depth of flavour, there were a range of textures and it felt like value for money.

Next on our project of visiting every food stall at Norwich Market for the second time was Henry’s Hog Roast. Last time I did this, it was Nathan and I who visited this stall back in 2023 and it did surprise and delight me at the time. I’m not the normal consumer here, I don’t like crackling, I don’t often eat pork and I had the expectations before of a fatty roll that wasn’t inspiring. On our 2023 visit, my fears weren’t realised and I rather enjoyed the food.

On this occasion, I wasn’t overly excited when we randomly drew out this stall, but James was much keener on the whole arrangement as he sometimes tries to overturn the random stall that we’ve selected (but I’m tough, I never cave in). This time, there was a short queue to be served but the team member was efficient and we didn’t have much of a wait. As an aside, I understand that when we visited before we were served by the then owner, Neil Bowman, and he was enthusiastic and keen. Since that visit, he has left the stall and it has been taken over by new operators.

The menu has expanded a little since we last visited in 2023, although when James tried to order the hog roasted tatties they didn’t have them. The price of the roll has gone up only 50p in over two years, with the addition of a new larger option.

The pork ready to be sliced. I went for a white roll which included apple sauce and stuffing with the pork. I refused the crackling and asked if James could have it, but they rejected that which feels a little sub-optimal, but there we go. Next time, I’ll do what I did before with Nathan and just accept it and take it off myself. The service was otherwise friendly and they accept cards and cash, although they state that they prefer the latter. The team member was efficient and they’ve got the service down to a fine art here.

OK, I’m not going to hide around this opinion, this didn’t really meet my expectations although I suppose every winning streak has to come to an end. The pork was fattier than I’d like it, but I set the bar hopelessly low there and so it would be unfair to be critical that there was some fattiness to the arrangement. But, more hard to hide was that the taste was bland and the stuffing was served as such a small portion that it wasn’t discernible. The apple sauce could have been more generous, but the pork desperately needed something more and stuffing would have likely done that. The team member did put pepper and salt on the food (although very little, I would have rather done this myself), but I was struggling to taste this as the pork over-powered it. That meant that the roll was a little dry and lacking in flavour for my liking, although credit is due and I’ll note that they didn’t skimp on the portion size of the pork.

James went for a tiger roll which he said wasn’t just as firm as you might expect, but that it was also a little stale. That made his roll more challenging as it had the same problems of being dry. I won’t give his comments in full (some lunch-related sorrows are private) as I might usually, but he was disappointed as he remembered the stall from years ago when the portions of stuffing and apple sauce were as he recalls rather more generous.

I don’t intend to be negative, but this blog is full of tens and tens of positive visits and so it’d be wrong to mention when I wasn’t surprised and delighted as the roll verged on being, well, a bit arid. On an unrelated note, the local pigeons seemed particularly enthusiastic about sharing our meal, but we were very brave in fending the bloody things off. Ending on a positive, there seemed to be a regular trade here, so they’ve obviously getting a lot right, I think I was just a little disappointed that this wasn’t as good as when I visited before.