Jellied Eels!

[motodraconis]

I have consumed jellied eels! I can now hold up my head proudly as a true Londoner! Jellied eel virgins myself and jasonelvis braved the dark streets of Angel to find a Pie and Mash Shop.



Actually, we didn't eat there, it's ex-jellied eel, now multi-meatballs.


We ate here...Clarks Pie and Mash Shop.



Inside the Pie and Mash House, pretty er... traditional decor.



Here's the eels, looking worryingly untouched though perhaps this was because we'd arrived very early, no doubt by the end of the day that bowl will be licked clean!



Um...yeah, right. Here's our portion. We decided to go for pie, mash and liquor each and a bowl of jellied eels to share.



Here's the pie, mash and liquor (parsley sauce, the traditional topping.)



Here's me pretending to eat a jellied eel.



And me actually eating a jellied eel.



Chilli Vinegar



Here's how many eel chunks Jason ate - one! Tha wimp!



Guess who ate all the eels? Me naturally, though by the time you've peeled the skin off and removed the central bone you don't really get much meat. You're probably supposed to eat the skin, but there are limits.



So the verdict? Well. The pie and mash was pretty bland. I prefer chicken pies to mincemeat generally,* the mashed potato was similar to school dinners (though edible rather than utterly loathsome) and the liquor didn't really taste of anything but was gelatinous.

The jellied eels? First impression is that jellied eels are not disgusting, but not especially nice either. Cold fish is never appealing without smothering it in condiment, and even dashing it with chilli vinegar did not improve matters. The jelly had no real taste beyond a hint of fish, and was soft, dissolving on the tongue almost instantly. (I'm not a big fan of jellies but I prefer them firm.) Considering the amount of meat you actually got, 2.70 quid was a bit much to pay in my opinion. I suppose I was a bit disappointed, I'd read that the eels were prepared with herbs and spices but it tasted of nothing really. A better (and stronger) mix of herbs and spice would totally lift this dish.

Overall, the entire meal was very English, in that it tasted of fuck all. On the plus side, it cost us 5 quid each.

Afterwards I insisted on having a swift half to get the taste, such as it was, out of my mouth. So we went to this scary looking pub that turned out to be not scary at all and full of fancy micro-brewery beers such as Kelpie, brewed with seaweed. Though I had a delicious speciality ale who's name escapes me from the tap.



I later found some consolation from a french tart...



Hopefully I'll get a chance to do lunch with jasonelvis again, and we can munch our way through the culinary horrors delights of Olde London Towne. After all, why go all the way to Riga or Oslo for repulsive traditional dishes when one is so ably supplied with such gastronomic delights on one's own doorstep?

* There was no choice, you could have a mincemeat pie, or 2 mincemeat pies. Or mincemeat pie with eels, cold eels with jelly, or hot eels (cooked exactly the same way) without jelly.

Comments

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

It sounds like the liquor was less good than we ate last year at the very chilly pub. How disappointing! But you have at least tried it. Now you just need to find somewhere that adds flavour...

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

The pie and mash in the chilly pub was eminently superior! I suppose it was a semi-gastro pub, but then again, there's no reason why pie and mash has to be shoddy. They might get more takers if it was better quality. (And the one we went to was supposed to be a good 'un.)

[stevek.livejournal.com]

You know my thoughts on seafood... rather you than me! ;-)

There's (or at least was) a pie and mash shop in Tooting I once went to with Lisa, it wasn't anything spectacular food wise. We went for the experience more than anything else.

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

S'not seafood! It's riverfood!

Actually, that sounds much worse.

[stevek.livejournal.com]

Yep! Still not selling it to me. ;-)

[jackfirecat.livejournal.com]

Well done a very quick conversion of wish to achievement & et!

I too like eel on sushi.

I had winkles the other day at the Rose and Crown pub in Oxf. where as picked in a jar you can have them as a bar snack. Never had them before. As a snack with beers they were good. Better than peanuts or crisps, for me. More meaty, while being still, obviously, cold, vinegary, & vaguely fishy, but, yeah, I'd have them again. We got through the jar much more quickly than I thought at first we would.

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

Vinegary winkles! MUST TRY!

[honest-illusion.livejournal.com]

Just gotta say that I love your top and the necklace! Gorgeous! <3

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

Cheers! The necklace is a weird chainmail and amber thing I got in Riga.

[vampyresheep.livejournal.com]

I have yet to try jellied eels. I've no aversion to sampling the eel itself but jellied stuff tends to make me gag - I keep thinking I should try the Belgian version Paling in 't groen (worth ordering just for the name itself!) which is eel in parsley sauce, I think, but I keep getting distracted by mussels instead.
Pie and mash on the other hand - mmmmmmmmmmmm :-) I miss the pie+mash shop which used to be in Greenwich.

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

The jelly is...not great.

I could still go for another pie and mash shop. This one was a bit too "traditional," in other words, a bit *cough* basic in quality.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

If done well, I bet it's a delicacy. Eel is a rather rich fish so Thai style flavours could work really well. Basically, cook the eel in a Thai broth and turn that into jelly.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Never had jellied eel (and the above hasn't convinced me to try anytime soon) but smoked it's superb and the way the Japanese prepare it is, too.
It's just that if you care about sustainability at all, eel isn't something one should currently eat (in this country) so I avoid it.

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

But it tastes so good with the Giant Panda steaks!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

:D