#FtLionAwards 2020 Veggie of the Year shortlist
After the #FtLionAwards 2020 Best Starter of the Year (proudly sponsored by the UK’s original Karak Chai brand and award-winning restaurant Chaiiwala®), we continue with Best Veggie of the Year.
Of course, not only do you have the chance of voting for your favourite on our Instagram and Facebook pages, but you’ll also be entered into a prize draw, with three people chosen at random on 1st January 2021 to win x4 BREAKFAST VOUCHERS (sent via post) redeemable at any Chaiiwala® branch across the UK (T&C’s apply).
So we want you to either: 1) vote for the following nominees, or 2) let us know both your favourite dish and the place you had it, all on our Facebook and/or Instagram pages.
BANANA TREE
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The Banana Tree served us this remarkable Singapore Laksa, with a delightfully powerful sambal chilli sauce (available on request only) that lifts this laksa towards the stratosphere. With the red chillis then becoming nothing more than garnish, the rest of this generous bowl is just laksa gold, with the large segments of tofu wonderfully saturated, the prawns springy and chewy, and the broth deep and heady.
CAFE BIBIMBAP
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Cafe Bibimbap has a number of classic Korean bowls, but it’s their Vegetarian, that’s effectively cooked in a hot pot, that’s varied in flavours, aromas and textures, and one we thoroughly enjoyed. Be sure to also grab their Kimchi too, since the crispy fermented cabbage drizzled in chilli Gochujang sauce helped cleanse the palate.
FLESH & BUNS
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Flesh & Buns have made every category so far and they’ve done so again with this amazing Miso Grilled Aubergine Bao Bun. A thick patty which, to our utter surprise, sported a lick-smackingly tasty, sweet and smoky, caramelised glaze, that offered a crispy-cum-sticky textural contrast to a relatively soft and marginally gooey interior. The acidity of the pickled carrots and cucumbers helped balance things out.
THE LEBANESE BAKERY
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Possibly the best one we’ve ever had!
There was no doubting the quality and execution of The Lebanese Bakery’s luxuriously creamy Baba Ghanouj, whose deep smoky aroma was interspersed by subtle notes of the sweet and sour. Possibly the best one we’ve ever had!
We were then served a supercharged Muhammara. An expertly balanced bowl of goodness, which managed to temper the astringency of the roasted red pepper with just the right amount of spiciness, before tailing off with a sweet-tangy aftertaste. Couple that with the crunch of the crushed walnuts and the occasional burst of the pomegranate seeds, and we were left floored by the pleasant assault to our senses.
LONDON PIZZA DEPOT
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As vegetarian pizzas go, you simply are not going to get anything much better than London Pizza Depot’s wonderfully conceived, well executed and cleverly named Mediterranean Mezza. With a perfectly cooked, crispy thin crust, there was more than enough happening here to have us going right till the end, with no one single bite being the same. There were prominent pieces of baby tomatoes, slices of courgettes, soft segments of baby aubergines, salty chunks of feta cheese, and the iron richness of spinach, all dotted about the surface, and drizzled with a semi-viscous balsamic sauce, which added that familiar touch of tangy-sweetness.
