Chris “Flamebaster” Roberts’ new TV series Chris Cooks Cymru is one of the best Welsh cookery shows we’ve seen in years. It was so addictive that we binged it in two sittings on iPlayer.
Chris, a former care worker from Caernarfon, is a natural presenter who knocks up delicious looking fire food and clearly loves guzzling Welsh food and drink as much as I do.
Each episode focuses on the food scene in a different Welsh towns or city. Watching the series immediately made me want to pack my bags and set off on a gastronomic tour of Cymru.
Fortunately, Caerphilly, the focus of one the episodes, is just up the road. So, we got off our backsides and headed to Ffos Caerffili, a shipping container street food market and retail court.
Ffos Caerffili is home to a range of retail outlets including a butcher, fishmonger and off licence. But we were there to nosh our way around their compact selection of six street food vendors, which includes Bab Haus Mex, Acme Burgers, Estraneo Pizza, and Bao Selecta.
Whilst Ffos Caerfilli is primarily an outdoor set up, it's useful to know that there’s plenty of undercover seating. The upstairs seating area is the lightest and has the best views of the always impressive Caerphilly Castle.
Whilst Ffos Caerfilli is primarily an outdoor set up, it's useful to know that there’s plenty of undercover seating. The upstairs seating area is the lightest and has the best views of the always impressive Caerphilly Castle.
Ffos Caerffili’s beer selection is better than any other street food market I’ve visited in Wales. With two beers on tap from Caerphilly-based Dark Element, arguably the most exciting new brewery in Wales, we knocked back half pints of their hoppy and easy drinking Earthbound and Nostalgia pale ales. There were also a couple of beers on tap from Cardiff’s ever reliable Crafty Devil.
Food ordering takes place via QR codes on tables and service was impressively speedy, even on a busy Saturday lunchtime.
Leyli Homayoonfar’s Bab Haus are bona fide street food royalty with outlets in Newport Market and Barry Goodsheds as well as a Smoke Shop HQ just up the road in Bedwas. Leyli’s whopping flavoured Mexican, Persian and American flame food always packs in so much flavour.
On the menu at Bab Haus Mex are loaded nachos, burritos, tacos and burrito bowls. But, there’s no getting past their signature smoked beef birria tacos (£12.90) which are as good as any street food dish I’ve eaten in the UK.
A pair of meat juice-soaked corn tortillas were packed to the edges with shreds of super tender, meaty and well-spiced smoked beef birria that were coated with a golden rim of crusty melted mozzarella. Additional pops of flavour come from zingy tajin spice powder, fresh coriander, pink pickled onions, and an excellent haus hot sauce. The kicker was a pot of beef consommé, which was more reminiscent of a thick and spicy beef gravy that happened to be studded with even more chunks of beef.
Acme Burger is a sister to Cardiff stalwarts Dusty’s Pizza and their menu divides its focus between smashed burgers, buttermilk chicken sandwiches, and loaded fries.
This was the second bacon double cheeseburger (£12.50) which I’d eaten from Acme in the space of two weeks, and it was even better than the first one. It was a meaty mess that required at least three napkins.
A golden squidgy steamed challah bun was home to a pair of smashed patties that had a really good beefiness, two types of oozy cheese, crisp smoked streaky bacon, a sweet and savoury onion relish and whipped bacon cream cheese.
It’s been a long while since I’ve eaten a bao from Bao Selecta, who also have a permanent home in Cardiff Market, but their vegan crispy beef bao (£10) were still just as good as a remember them.
A pair of soft steamed buns were loaded with crisp pieces of battered seitan coated in a sweet, sticky and spicy chilli ginger glaze as well as richness balancing pickled cucumbers and onions. The meaty chew of the seitan meant this vegan dish did a very impressive job at imitating Chinese takeaway crispy chilli beef.
On the side, a pot of kimchi slaw (£3.75) was excellent. Crisp, cleansing, delicately spicy and funky it was a lovely bit of freshness in contrast to all the other rich dishes we ate for lunch.
On our walk back to the car we popped into Fablas ice cream parlour, who also have branches in Cowbridge, Penarth and Porthcawl. Their range of creative flavours, which includes lemon curd, Ruffles, crème caramel and jaffa cake, is a refreshing change from the bog standard.
Both flavours in our double scoop tub (£4.75) were enjoyably smooth, thick, creamy – excellent rum and raisin and Dubai chocolate, which combined pistachio ice cream topped with crisp shreds of kataifi pastry and shards of white and milk chocolate.
We had a corker of a lunch at Ffos Caerffili. With its small but well-curated line-up of street food vendors and excellent selection of craft beer, it’s a lovely spot for a bite to eat. Next time we visit I’m definitely going to get the train so we can make more of a dent in the Dark Element beers.
As it is, I had to make do with a few cans to take home from the Lockup Bottle Shop downstairs in the market.
As it is, I had to make do with a few cans to take home from the Lockup Bottle Shop downstairs in the market.
The Details:
Ffos Caerffili
Address - Cardiff Rd, Caerphilly CF83 1FN
Web - https://ffoscaerffili.co.uk/
Fablas
Address - Unit 31, Castle Court Shopping Centre, Caerphilly CF83 1NU
Web - https://fablasicecream.com/
Oh oh oh I was at the filming for that episode, my weirdo face was on screen for (a thankfully brief) moment! I keep meaning to go back to try other vendors there but it's a bit of a distance for us!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! We saw you on the Caerphilly episode. Ffosn Caerffili is really great but if Newport Market is much handier for you then I can see why you haven't made it back.
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