For Australia it had to be meat pie. A quick google led me to Shepherd's Bush (Antipodean territory) and Jumbuck's Café, a restaurant franchise which is part of a wider wholesale business selling authentic Aussie 'Jaffle' pies to hospitals, pubs and bingo halls. Who is this pretender to Pukka's throne?!!....Jaffle pies get their name from an outback cooking utensil called the 'Jaffle Iron', two circular pans which clamp together, oft-used by jolly swagmen to make toasted sandwiches. This campfire technique was later applied to pie making, the idea being that the iron restricts the rise of the puff pastry, eliminating the fluff between filling and crust.
Jumbuck's offers a variety of Jaffle pies, from chicken korma to steak and Guinness. I chose the 'Chunky Steak Outback' with mash and mushy peas. Pie n' Mash is apparently the closest thing to an Aussie national dish and a legacy (perhaps) of naughty Cockney forefathers. The meal reminded me of school dinners, bisto style gravy (suitable for vegetarians), mushy peas (which were just overcooked garden peas) and ice cream scooped mash. The pie itself wasn't bursting with the advertised 'Chunky' stewing steak. Flecks of mince took me back to uni days and the tinned delights of that mysterious Uruguayan, 'Fray Bentos'. With such a lilliputian interpretation of 'Chunks' my only guess is that they gave me the wrong pie.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy the tucker somewhat. I was ravenous at the time and for £3.85 it filled a gap and tasted pretty good (in a cheap way). As much as I adore a tenderly homemade steak and kidney, a football or chippie pie is sometimes a guilty pleasure and Jumbuck's falls into this category. I don't quite understand what's so remarkable about the Jaffle's squashed, flying saucer shape, but the queue of colonials in there on a Friday lunchtime all thought it was bonza. An Antipodean Emporium, as well as pies Jumbuck's can also satisfy all your Vegemite, Tim Tam and Cheezel cravings, should they arise.
Jumbuck's The Aussie Pie Co. 24 Shepherds Bush Green, London W12 8PH
Tel: 0208 811 8111
Jumbuck's offers a variety of Jaffle pies, from chicken korma to steak and Guinness. I chose the 'Chunky Steak Outback' with mash and mushy peas. Pie n' Mash is apparently the closest thing to an Aussie national dish and a legacy (perhaps) of naughty Cockney forefathers. The meal reminded me of school dinners, bisto style gravy (suitable for vegetarians), mushy peas (which were just overcooked garden peas) and ice cream scooped mash. The pie itself wasn't bursting with the advertised 'Chunky' stewing steak. Flecks of mince took me back to uni days and the tinned delights of that mysterious Uruguayan, 'Fray Bentos'. With such a lilliputian interpretation of 'Chunks' my only guess is that they gave me the wrong pie.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy the tucker somewhat. I was ravenous at the time and for £3.85 it filled a gap and tasted pretty good (in a cheap way). As much as I adore a tenderly homemade steak and kidney, a football or chippie pie is sometimes a guilty pleasure and Jumbuck's falls into this category. I don't quite understand what's so remarkable about the Jaffle's squashed, flying saucer shape, but the queue of colonials in there on a Friday lunchtime all thought it was bonza. An Antipodean Emporium, as well as pies Jumbuck's can also satisfy all your Vegemite, Tim Tam and Cheezel cravings, should they arise.
Jumbuck's The Aussie Pie Co. 24 Shepherds Bush Green, London W12 8PH
Tel: 0208 811 8111
i so wish i
ReplyDeletecould walk in and sample jumbuck's delights