50 Abbeville Rd, SW4 9NF

Be quick to get a taste of this Vegan pop up in Clapham

If you’ve contemplated going a bit, or full on vegan, you’ll have heard of tempeh.

Not the diminutive rapper, but the traditional Indonesian foodstuff made from fermented soybeans. A natural process makes it into a solid cake, unlike its relative tofu, and so it can be more creatively put to use.

Like tofu, you get out what you put in. It needs spicing, flavouring and treating to bring out its best.It is, of course, said to be very good for you.

This street food pop up in Clapham’s oh so cosy and wealthy Abbeville Village is showcasing 100% plant based dishes until August 31st and tempeh is on the menu.

A collaboration between New York-born and London-based plant-based eatery By Chloe and their friends at Club Cultured, it’s housed in a cute and incredibly clean and fresh ex shop in the village.

Going in that sense of freshness really strikes you and preps you for a short menu that is clean and green but not worthy or dull.

We had the Kimchini Balls. Stuffed with vegan cheese, gochujang, spring onions and homemade kimchi, they nodded toward arancini, that Italian delight of deep-fried balls of risotto stuffed with mozzarella cheese.

The’cheese’ was good and gooey, although it didn’t of course form the’telephone wires’ that mozzarella does.

The kimchi was perky and the whole thing lively on the tongue.

Not so sure about the Fried Tempeh Wings where the fried tempeh slices are glazed in buffalo sauce and accompanied by maple-butter glazed cornbread.

The tempeh was a bit burnt, it needed the tasty buffalo sauce to cover that. The cornbread was delicious if a little dry, but then cornbread often is and a maple butter glaze fixed it and we liked the griddled kernels of corn scattered nonchalantly about.

Both starters were rather more filling than I’d anticipated, so the arrival of a mega-burger was a bit daunting if extremely good-looking.

The patty was made from quinoa, grown in the mystical far off land of Essex.

That was good to know, as there are stories that our quinoa obsession is depriving South Americans of a staple food.

It was in a soft and billowy bun well layered with all you want in a burger bun – lettuce, onion, ketchup, mustard, pickles and’mayo’. All that and more I think.

A real flavour bomb, which is what a burger should be – nothing subtle and all literally in your face. Oh, and great fries, if a little salty.

Gado Gado salad is a bit of a Balinese classic. Here a big ball of tempeh stuffed with peanuts and flavoured with, ginger and turmeric, sat on top of layers of sweetcorn, shredded purple cabbage, bean sprouts, toasted tender stem broccoli plus kale, and drizzled with a tofu lime crema dressing.

We felt very virtuous eating this one. All kinds of textures from crisp to squidgy and plenty of flavours, too.

And we even had virtuous ice-cream. Non-dairy. It was surprisingly hard to tell it was not dairy and the chocolate was far better quality than many a dairy rival.

Maybe Ben & Jerry could stop virtue signalling on Twitter to increase their sales and try to up the virtue of their ice cream instead?

The pop up only lasts until August 31st and is also available for delivery. Well worth checking out whether you’re veg or not.

Tickets are being sold in 2s / 3s / 4s and guests will be seated together as a bubble.

Available booking times are 6.30pm and 8.30pm and walk-ins are welcome. Bookings can be made online.