The markets are what I really looked forward to when I came to the UK. I have been told stories of good food and excellent atmosphere and so far I haven't been disappointed. I've been to the ones in London but that was awhile ago before I started this food blog. But I've been to this one in Manchester.
It is called Levenshulme Market and it produces local sourced food and other commodities. My friend and I got lost on the way there and this elderly couple come to our need. They gave us a ride to the market and they told us that the place was well attended. Every Saturday night starting from the beginning of March when it's not as cold, but still cold.
The locals who live there as well visit every week, a person we met told us that he comes every Saturday after walking his dog. He recommends the freshly baked pizza which had a line, actually every stall in the market seemed to have a line. The food there caters to all sorts of diets, vegan, vegetarian, lactose intolerance but you have to asked them first if so. They usually have a sign that tells you whether or not they cater though.
I've been told of this market by friends who visited the place and they came back happy and full. Levenshulme is a little way outside the city of Manchester, it isn't very far, it would take half and hour or so by walking and less with the bus. My bus stops right near the market and I was glad of that, but somehow we managed to get lost even so.
When we arrived at the market, it starts at 10, it still was busy with people. The place was filled with families and grown up walking their dogs. The dogs were adorable, there were babies too but I'm more of a dog person. I can't handle babies.
So the first thing that caught our eye as we wandered, the market wasn't so big so it didn't take very long to get around, was the duck panini. It was a medium rare duck patty, melted blue cheese, with caramelised onions. The man serving it was a very friendly guy, talking to the customers as he cooked. The ingredients all complement each other and the duck meat was soft and not chewy and easily digestible. The blue cheese, salty and not overpowering.
Next door to him was the popular pizza stall, we ended up having a mushroom pizza, with truffle oil. Delicious might I add. The man freshly bakes it in front of us, and grated the Parmesan cheese on top of the pizza once it's done. It wasn't a very long wait, and it was baked in the stone oven in front of us which is impressive. The crust wasn't so thick but it was fluffy and had that slight brownness at the edges, which were crispy to the taste. The cheese stretched as we pulled at it and the truffle oil gave it some scent and taste.
The market was also a place for locals to sell their own products. There were stalls selling trinkets, antiques, old books, clothes, paintings, jewelry.
I bought two rings from a sweet old lady. She told me the ring's stones she found somewhere in another market and bought it so she could use it to make the ring I bought.
I had a green tea latte, which is a rarity here in the UK. If there is green tea latte here though, it wouldn't be a really good as matcha is expensive here. The green tea latte wasn't so bad, I could actually taste the matcha in it.
There was also vegan blueberry waffles, that we ordered. I didn't have the chance to take a picture of it. But it was made on the spot, the ingredients which is mixed in front of us.
The lady was very friendly, chatting with every one of her customers. The waffles were warm and had a good fresh and crisp texture. It doesn't need any maple syrup, it was sweet enough by itself. We finished it quite quickly.
I got ice cream from a woman in a cool ass van. I had a chocolate mocha ice cream. It had a thick concentrate of chocolate and coffee, but wasn't bitter but sweet. It hit the right spots and was delicious.
The day wasn't so bad, the weather was grey but it didn't rain. My friend and I had a really good time.
I really recommend, if you live in Manchester, to go visit Levenshulme Market.
Their website is http://www.levymarket.com/
Address:
Farm Side Place,
Off Stockport Road,
Levenshulme,
Manchester.
Opening hours:
Everyday
10.00 am to 4.00pm
-
This is Sharon signing off on this week's episode. Tune in next week for more.
No comments:
Post a Comment