Trinity Kitchen has introduced the latest food vendors who’ll be with them for eight weeks. Robyn Wilson joined Trinity’s Supper Club to try out their wares.
Street food is like travelling the world in your mouth for me. I’ve been able to try out cuisines from countries on my bucket list that I have yet to visit. I love that people create businesses travelling around the country, selling authentic foods for everybody to try, at festivals and even fancy shopping centres. You don’t have to dress up and spend a fortune and you can eat most foods with your hands. (Bonus) I’m a 5 year old, trapped in a 30 year old’s body when it comes to fine dining etiquette.
The bright green van for El Cubano enticed me in first. Cuba is on my bucket list, so why not try out some of their cuisine now. That’s what I love about street food – you get to go on holiday in your mouth for 15 minutes. The truck has a range of Cuban inspired sandwiches, so I asked the guy to recommend me one that’s good with cheese. (I have a problem.)
He recommended I try the beef Cubano. The sandwich was packed full with tender beef and cheese with hints of lime, not as big as I’d have liked but perfect for a quick, hearty sandwich when you fancy it. My partner tried it with a peach and cream IPA and said it complimented it perfectly.
The only option for our second course was the Hong Ba Asian Street food stall. Thai food is my favourite and I’ve only ever had it in restaurants, so trying it as street food was my first. I was welcomed by a young lady offering free beer hats with the biggest smile on her face. I told her I liked spicy food and with little persuasion, I chose the red thai curry with jasmine rice. A big eye closing ummmm! as I had my first bite. The flavors of chillies, lime, ginger and basil were just some of the ingredients I tasted. I was pleasantly surprised at how packed full with fresh vegetables it was. My usual experience is of a thai curry packed full of meat with a few green beans. This had an equal amount of both vegetables and chicken, and the rice was fluffy and tasty on its own. The red curry is perfect for people who love lots of flavour and lots of spice. My partner and I actually gambled heads and tails who was going to get the last bite. I had to thank the lady who cooked our curry. She told me they like to keep it traditional and are so pleased I liked their food. It’s their second year of the family business, hoping for the same success they had in the first. Trying Thai cuisine it as street food didn’t disappoint me.
As our taste buds had already travelled to the Caribbean and Asia, it was only fair we started to come closer to home. I had heard great things about the Eat like a Greek food truck. The couple who own the truck actually bought it from their Greek friends after working for them at Glastonbury last year. They said they use all their friends’ original recipes and home make the koftas and tzatziki. We chose the lamb souvlaki. After several failed attempts at trying to take a good picture to compliment the fluffy pita wrap, we gave up and tucked in. The pitta was full of fresh salad, tzatziki and the fattest, tastiest lamb kofta I have ever eaten. This pushed me over the edge. I was so full. My partner hoped for this, of course, so he could finish my food and I couldn’t talk from my food coma.
Trinity had put two shuffleboards into their space. A lovely man working with the boards kindly explained the instructions on playing to me, which in my current state of food coma was hard to take in. With a simple smile, I took the red and blue discs from him and me and we took to the board. The game needs patience, something I seem to lack. Each player takes it in turns to push their discs (biscuits) across the board, trying to hit the furthest markers. The wooden board is extremely shiny and smooth, with a light layer of sand covering it. My partner won too many times, so I blamed my failures on the slippery board…The same board he was also winning on. I’m a sore loser. I guess it’s a game you need to keep practising, to develop your technique of pushing with just the right amount of force. Apparently, the shuffleboard game has been around in Europe for hundreds of years and Henry the VIII was a big fan of the sport. Imagine having to play against him.
Cheesy chips connoisseur over here had the chance at trying the famous Canadian poutine recipe from the Spuds and Bro truck. Poutine is a combination of cheese and gravy, creating the ultimate string from your mouth to the chip. I only had a few as I was bursting, but it gave me the chance to enjoy the gravy and how cheesy the chips were. The cheese is actually curdled and that sounds horrible but trust me, it works. I will be going back for my cheesy chips fix before the truck goes.
There’s plenty of time for several visits to the new Trinity Kitchen food traders, which is just as well, because return trips are, in our opinion, a very good idea.
