Banh Mi 11 at Berwick Street Market

The banh mi craze swept London last year and I found my favourite, Panda Panda in Deptford. Theirs were chock full of pickled vegetables, delicious pork and encased in a warm, rice flour baguette - what more could I want? I stopped looking. The one downside is, of course, that I don't work in Deptford, or anywhere near it. When I heard that Banh Mi 11, usually a fixture on Broadway Market, now had a pitch on Berwick Street, I couldn't get out of the office fast enough. I crashed into people rushing towards their stall.


And what of the baguette? Light bread was filled with Imperial BBQ pork, coriander, pickled Chinese turnip and was decently spicy. Petra of Eat St was next to me in line and she recommended the fish banh mi, but my eyes were only on the pork. At £5 it's more expensive than my favourite, and I'd have liked a little more (and varied) pickled veg but nonetheless this was an excellent lunch. No more fridge-cold sandwiches from Pret.

Banh Mi 11

Berwick Street Market - Mondays - Fridays 10am - 3pm

Toasted Sandwiches

I don't know anyone who doesn't like toasted sandwiches. What's not to like? Earlier this week, images of Mishkin's Reuben sandwich in the morning paper haunted me for many hours. For me, an absolute must is cheese. Without that oozy, gooey quality you're better off leaving it untoasted.

I was offered a Waring sandwich toaster (£50) to review. It's the deep fill sort, and the leaflet that came with it proclaimed that you could also make an omelette or puff pastry fruit turnovers in them. I tend to have omelettes with something in the centre though so I'm not quite sure how it would work that way, so I stuck to toasties.

The sandwich toaster needs to get to optimum temperature first, which gives you plenty of time to construct your sandwich. Simplicity won over and a cheese and tomato toastie was tested first. Set to high, the dial felt a bit plasticky and cheap, but once toasted the sandwich that came out was a fine one; brown and crisp on the outside, well melted cheese within and the tomatoes atomically hot, ready to surprise you and burn the inside of your mouth out.

Garlicky mushrooms mixed with creme fraiche and spinach also worked well and made a quick dinner in front of the TV. It's convenient too as both sides have a quick release button for easy cleaning. I couldn't help but think though that this was another counter top appliance that I don't have the space for. Once done with, it is confined to wherever I can find to stash it. Although it toasts sandwiches well, I've managed to do the same with a frying pan and a heavy dish on top, squishing the sandwich down, for a while now.

For more sandwichism and where to find the best in London, check out the all new London Review of Sandwiches.