{Missie Eats} in The Hall, Lakeside

22 October 2019

I love that London has such a huge variety of food halls all over the city; WHY go to one restaurant when you can go to 7? and I guess the (wet) weather and people’s (diverse) hungry appetite here really makes for easy eating out on the fly, even easier now? Well, we’re certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to Market Food Halls here.
We love exploring them and the latest (toddler-friendly) one we’ve visited was The Hall at Intu Lakeside in Essex . The Hall is home to 7 (worldly) street food vendors in the surprisingly light and bright space under one big roof – perfect for the wintry months fast approaching; 2 bars, 1 coffee shop, 1 giant sports screen, and houses a super cute kid’s area which kept Alice occupied (playing at her own little food festival) whilst we stuffed our faces. They also had a super clean and spacious baby-changing facilities, provided accessible high chairs dotted around which made eating out with a lil one easy (brownie points in my books these day), and if we needed anything there were always staff on hand to help.

With so much choice on offer, our eyes were particularly hooked on the big fat Chengdu pork dumplings at BaoziInn. These were VERY simple porky-filled (although veggie options were available) boiled dumplings served with a sweet, aromatic black vinegar, garlic and red chilli oil on the side. I easily demolished two dishes of these and the great thing was, by going on a Monday night, where ALL dishes were only £5 per plate – made eating frugally even easier! :)

Dumplings have always been a firm staple on our family menu. I just (especially) LOVE me mammy Cheung’s homemade ones and the thing is; with dumplings, they’re like pringles, once you’ve started, you just can’t stop.

Do you guys have Market Food Halls like this where you live? It’s seriously one of my favourite things to do in London at the moment!

{Photos by Cindy Cheung}

Missie Cindz