STREET FOOD The Gourmet Boys

Recently, we’ve been delighted to see an upsurge in deliciously creative and culinarily innovative street food style outlets; from mobile units at markets, to small takeaways with sit-in options, here are five of our current favourites.

Scopers

Chef Paul Cunningham, creator of Mourne Larder and famous for his extraordinary secret dining experiences, is the owner of Scopers, a hot food bar in Dundrum, offering a range of dishes including meat, fish, desserts as well as vegan options. The menu changes with the seasons, ensuring that only the freshest food created with sustainable produce, all sourced from within a 15 mile radius, is served.

Paul’s passion for bringing the community together through food and a commitment to zero waste are both more than evident, and in honour of his Grandad, after whom Scopers is named, Paul’s love of locally foraged ingredients is showcased throughout the menu.

We loved the golden Battered Smoked Haddock with cider mayo and fennel salt, accompanied by some crunchy triple cooked chips tossed in a brand new “mussel floss” seasoning: a real taste of the seaside! We also had some crispy Mussel Popcorn with kimchi mayo and pickled seaweed, and a delicious side dish of carrots in brown butter, dukkah, & seabuckthorn caramel.

Paul’s fantastic locally sourced food is an inspiration, and proof of the incredible and abundant larder nature provides right on our own doorstep.

We had a “Damm Oyster Po’ Boy” with beer battered Hearty Growers’ oyster mushrooms on toasted ciabatta with charred sweetcorn salsa, ‘Dragon Claw Whiskey Hot Sauce’, and smoked garlic mayo with salad, and a side of “Beets & Brassica”, a gorgeous hot vegan dish of blackened greens and seasonal veg on grains with salsa verde, mayo, and mixed leaves.

All washed down with Rebel and Ruse and Craft Tea Brew Co.’s Rhubarb & Roots Collab Edition Kombucha, this was a flavoursome, plant-based treat.

Bao Bun Deluxe

We called in to Ballyhack’s BaoBun Deluxe, which has become synonymous with high quality Taiwanese Street Food served in cool surroundings and featuring an exciting new menu, table service, a terrific drinks list, and great options for all dietary requirements. All ingredients are cooked, steamed, baked, & pickled in-house.

The cocktails are excellent, particularly the Sake-Tini, a delightfully dry twist on a traditional martini, and the smooth, velvety Vietnamese Espresso Martini.

We ordered a selection of dishes to share, including crunchy Popcorn Cauliflower with a Ponzu dipping sauce, Corn Ribs with Chilli Butter, Halloumi Sticks with sweet chilli dip, and a refreshing Chilli Soy Cucumber Sesame Salad.

A brilliant little fish restaurant in Trademarket on the Dublin Road, Belfast. Fin has a regularly changing menu depending on the catch of the day, with top notch fish suppers, chip butties, mushy peas, but also lots of daily specials.

We had a wonderful Monkfish Spicebag, with a generous portion of crispy battered monkfish “scampi” on a massive bed of spicy salt & chilli style fries. Fresh, tasty and excellent value. Fintastic!

Rebel & Ruse

Rebel and Ruse serves smokin’ scran at Belfast’s Trademarket, and is a veritable feast for the senses-not only for meat lovers, but the plant-based options are also out of this world.

The Bao are phenomenally good; light cushions of steamed dough, filled with a variety of temptingly tasty fillings. We loved the veggie Black Bean and Chickpea Bao, and we also ordered a satisfying meat-free Tofu Rice dish with a creamy, spicy Katsu curry sauce.

Squid Shack

Squid Shack Ballyhack, another great addition to this East Belfast foodie hub, serves delicious seafood street food: a perfect pescatarian paradise!

Although, if fishy fare isn’t quite your catch of the day, fear not, as there are plenty of choices for meat eaters and veggies alike; the Salted Chilli Tofu, and Beetroot Burger with tahini and houmous both sound totally up our street!

But for our first visit, we had to try the seafood, and what a beautiful bounty from the briny it was; a Salt N’ Chilli Box with perfectly cooked Squid & Prawn, with a refreshing Napa Slaw, Coriander, Chilli Jam and Asian Dressing.

We also had the Fish Tacos with shredded Baby Gem, Curried Mayo, Salsa and Pickles, and a portion of ‘Magic’ Fries, which absolutely lived up to the name; zingy with Chimichurri and fennel seeds, and smothered in garlic sauce, fresh chilli and scallions. Divine!

Squid Shack? Ex-squid-sit!!

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