A Foodie’s Paradise
I love our annual trip to Edinburgh’s Winter Wonderland. There’s ice skating, a big wheel and even a helter skelter but I don’t go for any of that, I go for the food. The German market and Highland market have the most delicious food, Alex and I made our pilgrimmage on Sunday.
As you approach the markets from Princes St (our equivalent of Oxford) you can see the twinkly lights and smell the sweet and savoury delights ahead. Ignore the naff van selling chips and candy floss and head into the wooden hut village erected especially at the end of November, wander through and on your right hand side you’ll see huge heart shaped biscuits and candied almonds and cashews. Further on, German chocolate and cakes and at the end of the lane a hut selling a potatoes, bacon and onion dish and hot punch which is called fire something or other, it’s all you can smell at that end. Around the corner huge hot dogs and cups of hot chocolate followed by mini donuts. Across the way a ‘health food’ stall that looks desolate.
Turn right into a little throughway and the Highland Market opens up before you. There’s a small hut shredding whole roast hogs and serving them on morning rolls with bramley apple sauce, they were delicious. The same stall was also selling huge venison burgers and next door was cooking up the Scottish favourite haggis. A small street cart against a tree were toasting chestnuts and handing them out in ten pence mixture bags, I’ve always wondered what chestnuts taste like, maybe next year. We wandered past the Aberdeen Angus hut where they were grilling huge handmade burgers.
Finally we doubled back on ourselves and headed for the Belgian waffle stand where we ordered two waffles with lashings of melted nutella thank you very much. As we stood huddled in the freezing cold savouring the waffles there was a momentary power failure and we were plunged into darkness thankfully someone put the plug back in and we were back to the warm twinkly atmosphere in no time.
Photo by Flickr user Jungleboy
Chestnuts taste yummy! Mind you, I quite like the sound of that chip van, too. Darned, now so hungry I’m going to have to have some Marmite on toast. Which isn’t exactly a winter market in Edinburgh, but it will have to do.
I was almost taking a panic attack in the German Market! It was hideously busy on Saturday. I had to run through the Highland Village snapping shots of the big wheel as the smell of melted cheese was making me heave a wee bit.
I think we’ll go back mid-week… when do the Edinburgh schools break up?
Thanks! Now I can’t stop thinking about Waffles with Nutella!! Time to hit the shops!
yummy. I have never been to a christmas market
Mrs W – It was really busy on Sunday too, go midweek. No idea when Edinburgh schools break up but we’re in until Monday 21st.
Paul – Don’t, I could totally go another hog roast roll right now, and a nice crepe to round it off…
The MadHouse – It’s become like a christmas tradition now. Usually buy candles and a tree decoration, this year I just filled my face
I’ve just remembered that there is a Krispy Kreme donut thing in the Tesco’s down the road…..
you make it sound tooo delicious and colourful. We don’t have such a market here for C’mas, I sure would like to try all the food that I have not even heard of until now.
I’d like to propose that they open the market in January and February instead of in November and December. That way I might have time to actually linger over mulled wine and fabulous roast and processed animal products instead of dashing passed for something I’d forgotten.