Alfies London

London SE1...the final sight which I recommended and insist that you absolutely MUST visit whilst you are in SE1 was of course M.Manzes' Pie n Mash n Eel shop wasn't it, but I didn't tell you exactly what pie 'n' mash is did I!...and you're probably now saying that it is a bit obvious what it is...it's a pie served with mashed potatoe's arn't you huh! In a way you would be right , but traditional Cockney pie 'n' mash is nothing whatsoever like any other pie 'n' mash found anywhere else in the world.

This pie 'n' mash as with the pie 'n' mash shop cannot be replicated at home or anywhere else and is only available in the real traditional, state of the art, walk-in old shops that remain today exactly as they were when they were first built in the 1800's. The walls are mainly fully tiled in white antique, porcelain tiles some of which have fancy patterns on and all of which, due to their age, have tiny little cracks in the glaze just as any antique piece of porcelain is upon close inspection. Bare wooden benches are set either side of marble table-tops each upon which are set salt, pepper and brown,2 bottles of brown malt condiment (which is much the same as malt-vinegar), one of which contains a about 10 whole, small, dried chilli's for those customers that like their meal a little spicy, although definitely no heat, just a sweet chilli edge...there are two-type of vinegars and all Cockneys either use one or the other and never the twain shall meet, which means we won't use the chilli vinegar day and then decide we would like the vinegar without chilli's another, no...we are either with or without and never ever swap. I guess it goes back to whichever condiment our parents use and their parents etc as all Cockney's feed their children pie 'n' mash as soon as they're old enough to eat it without choking lol...and we all grow-up on the stuff and then go on to feed our own children on it untill one day there won't be any of the very few still existing shops left and pie 'n' mash will become something to tell our great-grandchildren when we are old.

Anyway, I'm getting back to the meal itself, the pies are a mince-meat pie which as far as i know is beef with a thin gravy encrusted in an oval pastry which has a thin browned crust on the top yet a smooth white base, and which as like the entire meal try as we might, cannot ever be made as it is in the shops, many try to make it but all have failed, why?...because each shop tastes that little bit different than the next and that is because each shop is family-run and uses their own exclusive secret ingredient...and only the cook/chef knows exactly what that secret ingredient is, handed down from father to son for many, many years, try as people might they will never be able to get it the same unless you happen to be one of the sons of one of the owners of the few traditional family-run shops left in the Dockland areas of London. Served alongside this secret meat pie is the mash, plain boiled King Edward old potatoes which have been cooked and then mashed and the odd lump or two...maybe three or four if we're counting but all of which goes towards making it a meal like no other. Then the grandé finalé of this much loved favourite meal of us Cockney's is the piecé dé lá resístancé, thick, steaming liquór, liquór is bbasically a thick green parsly sauce, much darker in colour than that which many people know though, liquór has much more parsly and a far stronger unique flavour to it and again has an added ingredient which is little known ...even to the younger generations that love it as much as their Grand parents did, little known to them is that the parsly sauce is not made using plain water as they think it is, no. the sauce is made using the watery juice which the stewed eels have been cooked in ...stewed eels are quite a delicacy to Cockneys but mostly the older generation above me, and they're not cheap either which is probably why we don't like them as our parents do, it's because they were too expensive to feed to the children that's my guess anyway!, yes, if only our children today realised that they're beloved steaming, thick green liquór contains the juice of cooked stewed eels they wouldn't believe me lol...as no children would even consider eating an eel and all turn-up their noses at their Grand-parents and parents that might sit adjacent to them on one of the long benches to enjoy a bowl of eels 'n' mash 'n' liquór lolol.

Everyone who is anyone eats their pie 'n' mash with all three table condiment's, salt, white pepper and brown malt vinegar. Most people have double-pie 'n' mash if they're adult sized and children have one pie 'n' single mash. I know some people that will eat double and then go up to get a third serving...clearing their plate every time...something you will hardly see in a pie 'n' mash shop is anything left on a plate...that's how enjoyable it is. (to us brought-up on it)...lol as to outsiders it's a case of "they either like it or cannot abide it" but it isn't often that you come across a non-Cocney wolfing down pie 'n' mash I can tell you lol, mainly because anyone who lives outside of London has never heard of it and have no idea what these old-looking café type of shop sells and so never get to taste the stuff. So...out of all the "secrets" of Alfies london which I have given you today on this page, pie 'n' mash has got to be the best, the winner of Alfies London Top Secrets, my N0 1 recommendation to all of you, especially those who plan to visit London, even if you decide against my other recommendations, DO NOT decide to drop-out pie 'n' mash. The meal is cheap, filling, delicious, and cost's less than £3...and that's with a cup of tea or cold drink added. And my final thing for those who do take my advice and decide to try out pie 'n' mash is to make sure that you use all three condiments on your meal...everyone does and it makes the difference between a meal tasting ok and the meal tasting absolutely bleedin' luvverly!