Remember Tamal Ray, the baker from the Great British Bake Off? Sure ya do…
Well, he’s teamed up with Vivek Singh, the London king of Indian behind such establishments as Cinnamon Bazaar in Covent Garden and its stunning bespoke menu, to create the latest trend in English afternoon tea.
Singh has been around for a while now, turning out stunning Indian flavours the city keeps going back for, but now, the two are trying something new.
Now on the menu at at Cinnamon Bazaar in Covent Garden, the bespoke menu brings fire and spice to the traditional tea-time spread, and is inspired by the duo’s shared family roots in Kolkata, West Bengal.
They’re doing such gastro magic as marrying the flavours of East India with modern culinary techniques, giving afternoon tea a completely new look and taste.
They’re doing away with boring white bread sandwich fingers, subbing them out for things like Kolkata fish finger sandwich with tomato chutney cooked in turmeric, chilli and mustard oil.
Add to that, the likes of a Bengali-inspired Chicken Kathi ‘spring rolls’, yet another take on the traditional street food rolls found in Kolkata. No afternoon tea at Cinnamon Bazaar would be complete without Vivek’s signature chaat, so guests can tuck into Tamal’s favourite Pani Puri – semolina shells filled with spiced chickpeas, mint and tamarind water – and Papdi chaat, crisp wheat chaat with yoghurt, tamarind and coriander chutneys.
It’s the kind of thing that’s so yummy, so now and so very London. See more at the Cinnamon Bazaar’s website.
Cinnamon Bazaar
28 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7JS