Barley and Buns Pop Up

Spice Market launches ‘Barley & Buns’

This October, Spice Market, Soho’s hottest South-East Asian restaurant will be launching its new, 'Barley & Buns' pop-up, which will run until Christmas.

An evolution of London's burgeoning Taiwanese Bao bun trend of late and tying in with Spice Market's focus on street-food style cuisine, Barley & Buns will offer a simple menu of six bespoke Taiwanese Gua Bao-style buns, paired with six beer-based cocktails.

Having travelled extensively throughout South-East Asia, Peter Lloyd, Spice Market's globetrotting Executive Chef, has called upon his expert street-food knowledge, to create a menu of savoury soft buns. The buns are generously filled, bursting with Spice Market-inspired fusion flavours, which include: succulent soy glazed short rib, apple and jalapeno; crispy soft shell crab with Asian slaw and sriracha; and Malaysian vegetable, crispy garlic, ginger and sweet soy. A selection of sides such as Edamame Beans and Spicy Thai Slaw will also be available.

Diners will also be able to try some sweet buns - a crispy steamed bun which is then deep-fried - filled with kaya (coconut) jam, and sprinkled with soy sugar, providing the perfect combination of sweet and salty. Move over popcorn…

Enzo Mirto, Spice Market's expert Beverage Manager, has carefully devised a selection of beer-based cocktails, specifically designed to complement each bun's exotic filling and highlight Spice Market’s signature spices. The concoctions on offer will include barley infused takes on classic cocktails such as the ‘Spiced Negroni’, a heady mix of Campari, gin, Peroni and Elemakule bitters, as well as a selection of extra special shandys. These will include the ‘Ginger Shandy’, a spicy mixture of Old Tom Gin, fresh lime, ginger lime base beer syrup, and London Pilsner, and, the ‘Citrus Thyme Shandy’, a refreshing fusion of St. Germain, a lemon thyme base, Tanqueray gin, calamansi and wheat beer.

For those that want more than a touch of barley in their beverage, Spice Market has also partnered with British Craft Brewery, Harviestoun Brewery, and curated a separate bespoke menu that boasts four craft bottled beers.

Barley & Buns will be a casual alternative to Spice Market's normal à la carte menu, and the perfect option for a quick lunch or light dinner. Emblematic of the ‘grab & go’ nature of street food vendors, a take-away option will also be available at a dedicated Barley & Buns service station, #BunsAway…

Barley & Buns will be serving non-stop, from 12pm to 11pm everyday, and will run alongside the à la carte menu, now available for dinner only. The buns will be priced between £4-£7, and the beer cocktails will be on offer at £9.