Discovering East London

A friend who lives in Hong Kong recently came to stay and brought Australian Belle Magazine for me because there was a section about East London, where we've just moved from Islington, North London. I felt rather smug upon discovering some places mentioned that we already frequent such as Albion in Shoreditch. The article authoritatively informed me that East London is referred to by locals as "Ea-Lo". Well we've been living in this hood for about 8 weeks now and visiting on weekends for far longer and I'm yet to hear anyone call it that. So, rather than take my East London tips from an Australian magazine, I thought I'd ask Londoners - what are your suggestions?
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On the weekend, led by the ever-able and always food-passionate Nicola (of The Shed supper club), we discovered Hackney Wick (East London, in the shadow of the new and very impressive Olympic stadium). Nicola had planned a brilliant tour for our group of 10 - we strolled around the rather derelict looking streets of Hackney Wick; the deserted warehouses, yards of rusting old car parts, the coolest graffiti I've ever seen. And amongst these thorns were three stellar foodie roses (or in one case, a pearl) - The Counter, The Hackney Pearl, and Forman & Field.
We started bright and early with excellent Square Mile coffee from The Counter. This is a very cool space - seats are from an old cinema and there's a ping pong table in the back courtyard - you feel the urge to race out and get some skinny jeans, brogues and a bicycle just being in there. The staff were super friendly and fed us each a half serve of Mumbai scrambled eggs (super spicy and accompanied perfectly with a tomato relish) followed by French toast piled with berries, banana and drenched with maple syrup. I'll be back.
After comprehensively thrashing some of my fellow tour groupies on the ping pong table, it was time to take a further stroll around the Wick before ending up at the Hackney Pearl.I really love the Pearl - the fit out is better inside than out with a mish mash of seating - like The Counter, just a very cool vibe. Once we had our necessary cocktails and other beverages we enjoyed some shared mezze of slaw (no, not the type you're thinking - not at all mayonnaisey and with fennel seeds - yum), a tzatziki style dip and a carrot dip. I can tell you're not convinced but the combination of the 3 flavours was great. Chicken liver pate with caramelised onion relish and fingers of toast was delicious.
But all this food was really just lining the stomach for the main event of the day; a beautifully slow cooked shoulder of lamb - served with a verdant salsa verde which cut through the fabulously succulent meat brilliantly. I think there were sides of roasted aubergine and kumera and maybe even some green beans, but who cares - all eyes were on that lamb. Divine.
Dessert was Eton Mess, and before you could say "anyone fancy dessert wine and a cheese platter at Forman & Field?", we were rolling out the door, waving thanks to our lovely hosts at the Pearl.
Forman & Field is a smokehouse and specialty food providore - check out their catalogue online if you're in the mood for some serious food porn. I've eaten their fresh salmon and it really is fantastic.There's also a restaurant with a view over the Olympic site which sounds & looks pretty good. We shared some boards of Neal's Yard cheese and a lovely Chapel Down dessert wine, Nectar. To be honest, I didn't sample much cheese because I was struggling for breath at this stage, but what I did try was excellent. I would very much like to return to try out more of the food on offer.
Many thanks to Nicola for organising such a tremendously enjoyable day!
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Now if there are 3 such fabulously foodie places in a seemingly dodgy area like Hackney Wick, what else must I be missing!? I would love your East London tips.
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I have loved Broadway Market (now just a 15 minute walk for me!) for a while now and wrote about it last year. Another love is the Columbia Road Flower Markets.
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After a few late night painting and cleaning sessions before moving into our new flat we were revived by the pho and crispy soft shell crab at Song Que, but I'm informed by other people that Loong Kee is better, and also that Viet Grill is excellent.
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I was delighted to discover The Organic Shop on Kingsland Road (Morganics?) which stocks a great range of foods (not all organic) including things like quinoa and tahini. The closest off licence on Kingsland Road (just near corner of Mill Row) is surprisingly well stocked with spices such as sumac and a wide variety of dried beans and pulses.
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I adore the TowPath cafe, although it's becoming far too popular for my liking and is even full at 11am on a Sunday, a time at which I previously thought Londoners were still sleeping. I also recommend the coffee at Climpsons on Broadway Market and at Tina We Salute You. Bitter Taste of Love is on the list!
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We are spoilt for choice with secret supper clubs in East London. My fave is always The Shed, but I recently dined at Fernandez & Leluu which is largely Vietnamese style food in a vibrant and very fun atmosphere. Although I haven't fully explored Kingsland Road's offerings yet, I suspect it will be difficult to find a more fragrant and delicious beef pho than that served at Fernandez & Leluu (my photos from my meal there are throughout the remainder of this post). Shackelwell Nights (formerly Green Onions) is now a supper club neighbour so there's no excuse for not checking it out, and the same goes for Trail of Our Bread supper club.
I love buying my groceries from the markets of Broadway Market and am very relieved that Hubbub Deliveries still delivers to us as we've just snuck into the "N1" post code. I've also been frequenting the Turkish Food Centre at Dalston for supplies. So far we haven't found a local pub serving good food. I've seen the Skolt Head, the Hobby Horse, and the Rosemary Branch nearby but am yet to venture in.I'm sure many of you have a far more extensive knowledge of the area and I'd love to be let in on your secrets. So let me know, where in Ea-Lo do you get a good coffee? buy your fruit & vege? get your cheap & cheerful Vietnamese or Turkish? splash out for a super duper meal? stroll through the markets? get a great coffee? enjoy a Sunday pub lunch? I'd love to hear from you!

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Special thankyou to Y who was the official photographer on the Hackney Wick tour.