been so swamped with life and its many happenings (may or may not have involved 51% play 49% work :P)  in general that i haven’t managed to find much time to write about all the exciting foodie adventures i’ve been on (huge backlog that i will endeavour to clear over christmas break!!!). but i had the pleasure of savouring something that excited me so much on tuesday night that i decided i had to write about it. pronto.

i hereby present to you *drumroll please*… the glorious FRENCHIE in all its glory.

duck confit in a brioche bun with crispy duck skin scratchings, red onion chutney, mustard, rocket, blue cheese & truffle honey – £6

made the trek to southbank christmas market on a cold rainy night just to have this and i believe it was worth every single step there (along with many other happy patrons who stood in the queue with glistening eyes and later proceeded to stand around the stall mmm-ing and aah-ing as we stuffed our faces in delight). thank goodness it lived up to its hype or i would have been sorely disappointed… i think it has officially made it onto my list of the top 5 ways to spend £6 in london 😉 #heavenisaplaceonearth…

the burgers are made to order and you get to watch hungrily as a mound of duck confit sizzles on a hot plate along with your choice of cheese (blue cheese or goat cheese with truffle honey, raclette or cheddar). the wonderfully fluffy and soft brioche is heated up on the hot plate alongside the duck, and later slathered generously with delicious red onion chutney and mustard before sandwiching the amazingness that is a mini mountain of duck/cheese/scratchings/truffle honey.

the duck was soft, tender, flavourful, well-cooked, and made even better by the occasional crispy edge. topped with melty blue cheese, truffle honey and mayo which provided a real kick, there was an explosion of flavours and textures (from the rocket and scratchings) with each mouthful. oh yessssss the scratchings are surely worth mentioning by themselves… melt-in-your-mouth fatty goodness get in ma belly #YAS. they also added a super nice crunch and were the perfect contrast to the pillowy brioche and soft tender duck. taste-wise, the savouriness of the mustard and cheese were the perfect complement to the sweet honey and red onion chutney. i could go on and on raving about this burger (which i place high up in the esteemed ranks with patty & bun as the closest contender for the title of my all-time favourite burger in london!!!) but i shall stop now and simply urge you to please go try it for yourself!!! (besides being at the southbank for the christmas market, they are also sometimes at brick lane, broadway market and camden lock.)

we also had a serving of duck fat chips with truffle mayo to share. artery-clogging and oh-so-sinful, but very good stuff. i would have preferred them to be a tad crispier on the edges (they were pretty much unabashedly oil-drenched), but they were otherwise very tasty (wouldn’t have expected anything less) and the truffle mayo was fragrant and light, the perfect accompaniment to them chips.duck fat chips with truffle mayo – £2.50

i was so satisfied that i was all ready to head home after that 1 burger (which i refused to share with anyone; thankful for friends who understand my need to have my own serving of certain delectably divine foods… heh), but because the southbank christmas market this year is officially a food heaven, we could not resist getting a few (or more) other things to share. other things on the agenda included:

pulled pork mac n’ cheese toastie (!!!) from grill my cheese
quintessential christmas market food – dutch pancakes with maple syrup (because nutella is too mainstream :P) and strawbz

super yummy smoked polish sausage from the polish deli

NB: copious amounts of hot chocolate and mulled wine/cider not pictured…

the southbank christmas market has seriously upped its game this year and is definitely worth a visit! i loved every bit of it – compared to the glitzy and commercialised winter wonderland, the southbank market is distinctly different – all cosy and warm like you’re in your neighbour’s backyard enjoying some good good warm food in the cold and under magical fairylights ❤