Ahh Borough MarketThis was my lunch on Friday. The wrap came from Borough Market which is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. Located near London Bridge on the south bank, the market is a wonderful experience. You can get great fresh fruit and veg, fresh meats, fish, cheeses and chutneys along with other items like flowers, food related gifts and more...

I didn't get the name of the fish shop we went to but they had a queue out the door. The shop sells fresh fish at the front and on Friday's, in the back, they cook up and make two types of wraps for customers. The one above is a garlic prawn wrap (prawn=shrimps for the Canuckers) and the second one is a cajun white fish wrap. Mmmm. For £4 and £5 respectively you can get a decent serving of fish wrapped in salad with some fish sauce. It was divine and so fresh - I shall return next Friday for lunch again - this time stopping at Monmouth's coffee as per Diana's recommendation.

Our office smelled like garlic prawn as about four of us ordered the special - next week we will have more recruits as a few other staff were curious as to what smelled so good - am sure some were prob grossed out by the fish and garlic smell too ; )

Oh so 'Special' Norwegian delights
There will be a series of posts on Norwegian food gathered from friends Lars, Trond and Espen who we met in Fiji. We had some long conversations about food and the Norwegian style of food. Trond and Espen are traveling the world for a year, taking a break from their jobs as chefs at one of the poshest restaurants in Norway. And Lars is the Paul McCartney look alike who is Trond's Dad (see pic below).

The trio recommended that one of the things one must eat when they are in Norway is the 'Special'.

This special hot dog is grab and go food for the Norwegians and is very popular for hang-overs. The 'Special' is made with a hot dog covered in shrimp salad (mayo, artificial shrimp and sometimes vegetables). This tops the many condiments you can find on Toronto and NY hot dog stands. Fish and hot dog- what a combo?

And if you get the special, 'Special' it is wrapped in a large flat potato pancake to hold the hot dog , shrimp surprise and all the condiments. This meal in a bun is also topped with mustard, mayo and more in case you didn't have enough flavours - yum?! Don't have a pic but will try and get one from Lars who is back in Norway. They said the best place to get these are in the gas stations. I found an interesting article then on this sausage phenomena in a Norwegian publication.

"During a lecture at a recent conference on obesity the well-known nutrition expert blasted gas station fast food, newspaper VG reports.

I believe that the sale of hot dogs and candy at gas stations should be forbidden. They should sell gas and auto parts," Norum said.

When you go into a gas station you can hardly do what you came for, namely buy gas, because there is a huge queue for sausages," Norum said.

'The total hot dog market in Norway is 39,000 tons a year, with 9,000 tons being sold in gas stations and fast food outlets."
Aftenpolten, Norway news.

Joso's
Fresh fish, cooked to perfection. Decor and ambiance that is tres interesting and a great group of people made an evening here one that will be remembered.

Decor and ambiance play a large part in this establishment. You are greeted by naked photos, busts and other female nude images either sculpted, painted or photographed. They are everywhere. Their website's home page also gives you a glimpse of what the restaurant is like check it out. Not for the conservative diner. The interesting part is that the owner, his daughter and his brother Leo are the artists of all the pieces in the restaurant.

Leo greeted us at the door along with Fergal who was at the bar. It was very comforting to be in the restaurant. Fergal is the latest and greatest Irish man to live in TO. At the end of the evening he turned up with some limoncello shots, thx Fergie.

The wait staff show you the fresh fish of the day on a platter which you then point at and they then cook..so v. fresh and tasty. I had the octopus which was lightly grilled and only needed a pinch of salt and lemon...it was superb. We ordered oysters as an appetizer - excellent fresh east coast ones, of course I do not remember the name of them. Squid, shrimp, and mussels were what was ordered and with great wine and Leo joining us and showing us his portfolio of work it was an excellent evening.

It was the CONTACT & Shoot gang enjoying Shoot UK's last evening in TO. Next Shoot Toronto event is May 27 - spread the word...