One thing that has pleasantly surprised me during lock down is the ability of some businesses to rise to the challenge of a crisis, by diversifying and innovating so as to meet the needs of a changing market. I was especially pleased to see this happen as a foodie, who frankly doesn't need the excuse of 'doing my bit to support business' in order to order in yummy food. And let's face it, food is/was one of the few joys left in life during lock down.
So I thought I'd share some of the tasties I've been enjoying during lock down, since my first three entries to this blog have all been political, and it was never my intention to only write about politics. And also because everyone on the internet loves looking at pictures of food. (Or is that just me?)
Please consider supporting one or some of these businesses during this time, or else find out about businesses that are delivering near you - even as we ease out of lock down, with many people still nervous about going places, ordering in is still going to be the go-to option for many. If you're in Cardiff, check out Cardiff Delivers, which is a great directory of some of the businesses delivering to people in Cardiff.
Very early on in lock down, in early April, my partner and I celebrated 7 years of being together. We are extremely partial to cake and tea (as you will see...) so on the recommendation of an old school friend who shared the link via Facebook, I ordered us an afternoon box which comprised of; bara brith, Welsh cakes, scones, cream, jam and tea bags. The box was very nicely packed and presented (as you can see in the photos) and the contents were generous, I think we ate the cake over the course of 3 or 4 meals. We did make our own sandwiches to go with it to make it a 'proper' afternoon tea and so as to stretch out the cake as much as possible. I would highly recommend this as an option for a celebration or as a gift for someone.
We love Nata so we were very excited when we found out they were going to start delivering. We'd often go to the one down the Bay (in the before times) after having breakfast on on a weekend and grab some bread and pastries to see us through the rest of the day (carbs, carbs, carbs). I remember first being introduced to their heavenly custard tarts years ago when working long hours in a campaign office, and I haven't looked back since. We did have some issues with our order, due to the availability of things and having to change what we wanted a few times which resulted in some missing items, but this was back when they first started delivering so I've no doubt those things have been ironed out since. My absolute favourite was the custard tart with chocolate inside it.
Clever Chefs is a company that has very cleverly (see what I did there ;)) gone from being a catering company for events into a food delivery company during these times, and in truth we've ordered afternoon tea from them twice, we enjoyed it that much. Full disclosure, I did go to school with one of the chefs, but I didn't know that the first time we ordered from them. I would describe their afternoon tea as being a bit fancy and a bit different, but without being extortionate in cost. The chocolate afternoon tea in particular, was a really nice twist on what can be seen as a very traditional offering, without being so different that it was unrecognisable as an afternoon tea. I'm going to stop writing about them before I start salivating...
Albany Road Fish Bar
I should state for the record that while we've ordered twice from Albany Fish Bar, we have also ordered a couple times from our local chippie at the Maelfa. But the Albany Fish Bar do these fab fish and chip box meals that come with a drink and minted mushy peas which are just brilliant. Their portions aren't as generous as the Maelfa but they're by no means stingy, and although you finish feeling full, you don't end up feeling like you've eaten too much. Plus there's a nifty newsletter underneath all the food which you can read as you nom away, if you've got sick of the company of the person you live with...and also having it in a box made it that much easier to eat outside on a nice day.
Much like with Nata, when we found out the Grazing Shed were planning to deliver meal boxes, we got very excited. And then nothing came of the announcement for weeks. We sort of lost hope at one point, but it eventually happened! We love Grazing Shed because of how open they are about their supply chain, and we love the locally sourced produce aspect. The only down side of the boxes was not being able to have that delicious diet cherry bakewell cola to go with the food. It was just as messy to eat at home as it is on the premises, which we were extremely happy about because it made the experience feel authentic. We're super looking forward to when they offer more of their burgers for delivery. Disclaimer: the burgers don't come with fries, so we got some sweet potato fires from the freezer to go with them. We also added our own salad.
Again, as with Nata and Grazing Shed, we were very happy to be able to order meal boxes from Pieminister recently. This is our most recent order in meal and oh boy, it did not disappoint. We're having it again tonight and I cannot wait (the box we ordered came with 4 pies). The addition of the crispy onion and the cheese crumb (which I put on top of the warm mash, then plonk the pie on top) just makes it all the more tasty. The portions are extremely generous, and the price is reasonable, with a good discount offered compared to what you would spend in the restaurant for the same thing. And even though it isn't exactly pie eating weather, I am definitely keen to order from them again before this is all over. I especially liked that nutritional information was printed on the reverse of the cooking instructions. Not that it bothers me how bad they might be for me but it's nice to have that information to hand.
The above isn't an exhaustive list of the places we've ordered food from. Oh no. We've also ordered from the below during lock down. Please don't judge. We're supporting business after all.
Da Ling Kitchen
Lee's Chinese Takeaway
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