I had curated a list of places I wanted to dine, based on foodie podcasts, YouTube Channels, and the restaurant critic for The Guardian newspaper. I managed to hit most of them over the course of the week, although I never did find the Thai restaurant Kiln, in spite of going up and down the same block 3 or 4 times (I know it wasn’t just me – I passed some young business men and heard, “I’m pretty sure it’s along here – that’s what Google says.” and I have to think they were talking about the same place).
Right outside my bedroom window was the Berwick Street market, full of all sorts of international food stalls. Over the course of my stay there, I had the chance to watch these stalls do set up and take down from the comfort of my hotel bed, and I learned a lot about the hygiene of these places. My God, the attention to detail – copious soaps and detergents, constant running water, taps of near boiling water for rinsing, scrubbing and polishing – if you have ever wondered about food safety, well these guys are in a league of their own. I had coffee one morning at Soho Dairy and a salad from Jerusalem Falafel with the silkiest hummous imaginable.
The restaurant I was anticipating most was a Sri Lankan restaurant called Hoppers. My last year at BMO was in Brampton. While I enjoyed all the exceptional North Indian & Pakistani restaurants that my colleagues took me to – it was Sri Lankan and South Indian food that blew me away. Nilgiris and Gurulukshmi became my two go-tos in Peel region for dosas – so good. Of course, Orkney is not exactly the epi-centre of the south Asian diaspora – I mean, the tarka dhal and aloo Bombay were perfectly fine, ditto the Indian restaurant just up the road here in Braidwood. But, like almost every Indian take-away in Scotland, they serve North Indian cuisine. So when I saw the owner of Hoppers on my favourite food channel (Sorted, for anyone interested) making dosas, I had to go.
The owner Karan happened to be there yesterday afternoon, and overheard me talking about how much I love dosas, so he made a point of sending over some chutneys and sides as a wee treat. My dinner was even better than I had hoped – so much so that I have booked to come back for dinner on Sunday.
I wish my niece had been able to join me in Soho; she might not have enjoyed all my restaurant choices, but we definitely would have found common ground somewhere and she would have loved the overall vibe of the neighbourhood.
*I had already taken the first bite when I remembered to take a photo. 🙂