There are tons of ethnic food restaurants along Leith Walk including Bangladeshi, Polish, Cantonese, Punjabi and Italian eateries. Take your pick. Broughton street also plays host to a wide range of pubs, cafes and delis including Artisan Roast, which I hear has one of the best coffees in town, and Urban Angel, which is apparently the place for brunch in the New Town.
I was intending to head down to The Fish Bar at Montgomery Street which reportedly has one of the best fish & chips in Edinburgh - you do not argue with the recommendation of a cab driver. Eventually however, I took a tiny detour off Broughton Street to Barony Street, after spying this:
The Broughton Deli and Cafe is tucked away in a quiet corner. Press clippings are pasted on the window, and practically ooze praise for the deli's selection of crepes and freshly made foods. There was however, another motivation to enter: the nice lady I'd met yesterday at the Red Door Gallery mentioned that she worked here part-time, and urged me to come. "It's really as organic as you can get!" She gushed whilst handing me my Local's Guide to Edinburgh.
So since it was right in front of me - why not?
The deli has a take-away and sit-down menu. In addition to sandwiches and soups, they do sweet and savoury crepes. The latter are stuffed with a selection of deli fillings which look really mouth-watering. In the end, I decided to get something sweet, and settled for one of their freshly baked cakes. A Victorian Sponge with Strawberries and Vanilla cream it was.
I wish I had taken a picture of the cake before I tucked into it, because it was simply the most amazing strawberry cake I've ever had! Sweet strawberries with a little bit of a sharp tanginess to balance out the slight heaviness of the cream. And the cake itself was good - light and fluffy. Perfect dessert to go with a pot of hot tea!
The cafe's sitting area is quite small so you might want to come early to grab a place. It's a cheerful set-up overall - a bright, airy room with high ceilings and smallish tables covered in red polka-dotted table cloths. The atmosphere is matched by friendly and chirpy service. Great for an afternoon out with your girlfriends. I highly recommend!
If on the otherhand, you're on the look out for groceries, consider popping into Real Foods along Broughton Street. They are a supermarket specializing in organic, fair-trade and vegetarian foods, in addition to other products.
It's nice to just browse through the shelves even if you aren't sure of what to buy. They do a lot of organic chocolate including a large shelf of colourfully wrapped slabs from Green & Blacks. Mmmm. I was also very intrigued by their 'Nomato' Ketchup which is ketchup made without tomatoes!
Real Foods also stocks non-edibles including eco-friendly washing liquids, and an extensive selection of Burt's Bees products which I was so pleased to see! I don't really recall seeing any stores in Singapore which have the Burt's Bees range...I've only ever managed to find the lip balm, but perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough...
So to wrap up, I shall slyly throw in another pick, but this one is related not to food, but quite a different primal urge.
How refreshing to see a sex shop which doesn't alienate women but welcomes them with scented votive candles to boot. Organic Pleasures is dedicated solely to women and their, ah, orgasmic needs! Heehee. It's not hidden away by tinted windows, nor is it plastered with sleazy images. The interior of the shop is tasteful and refined, almost a little muted. Anybody can freely walk in and the first thing you'll see are rather innocuous bath products including baby massage oils (for new mothers). They also sell corsets, lingerie, accessories like silk scarves and slips, and a line of female sex toys.
What is most intriguing however, is their shop's philosophy which affirms a dedication to providing good "eco-luxe" products which are "totally organic" and "non-toxic." I had no idea such products could be toxic or in any way dangerous. And I also had no idea that the whole 'organic' craze in shopping had spread right up to erotic shops! Well, you learn something new everyday I suppose.
If you've ever been curious about what lurks within the depths of those shady XXX shops which seem dominated by men or conjoined couples, Organic Pleasures will be a nice change. You can browse openly and freely, without furtively looking over your shoulder. The staff are also friendly and quietly unobtrusive. Makes for an entertaining browse!
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