Ever-changing lockdown restrictions have forced chefs and restaurants to be creative and create different ways for you to enjoy their food outside outside of a dine-in service, meaning we’ve now got tons of takeaway options and an ever-expanding selection of DIY meal kits. Here are some of our fave new ones to get on order pronto.
Flesh & Buns
Flesh & Buns are finally bringing their baos to our homes with this kit featuring their signature buns stuffed with crispy pork belly, karashi mayo and pickled apple sauce. They even offer the option to add a bamboo steamer into your basket for a proper authentic experience and for guaranteed fluffiness. This at-home kit is truly un-bao-lievable.
AYO by Paul Murashe
Originally planned as a restaurant concept before the pandemic got in the way, Paul Murashe turned AYO into a delivery concept that’s doing some seriously luxe lasagnes. These babies are made with rump steak ragu, hand-kneaded pasta and Neal’s Yard cheeses (he’s also got an aubergine parmigiana for the veggies) and they both come with a molten chocolate chip dessert with malted milk ice cream.
Hello Oriental
If you like cooking Asian food (or you’re just big into the snacks), you need to know about online supermarket Hello Oriental. It’s a one-stop shop for all the Asian ingredients you could possibly need, from sauces and condiments to rice and noodles to dumplings and snacks plus a massive selection of fresh veg. And they offer next-day delivery nationwide so you don’t even have to wait long for your goodies to arrive.
Juici Jerk
It may be cold outside but you can bring some island sunshine to your kitchen thanks to the new DIY kits from pop-up Caribbean kitchen Juici Jerk. As well as perfectly marinated chicken the box also includes rice & peas, plaintain, festival dough, coleslaw, mac & cheese and homemade sauces so you can put on a right spread at home. Every ingredient is helpfully numbered, the instructions are easy to follow, and it’s properly tasty – a real winner of a DIY kit.
Japes
Forget those supermarket pizzas, if you want a deep-dish pie Japes has you covered as the Soho restaurant is delivering its pizza kits nationwide. Kits for either the pepperoni or veggie pizzas include the dough, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings, plus foil pans so you can get that signature deep fill just right. They take just minutes to assemble and 15 more to cook so you’ll be slinging out hot pizzas in no time at all.
Shuk’s Sabich Kit
If you haven’t heard about sabich, then get to know. An Israeli street food fave, it’s a warming combo of roast aubergine, sliced eggs, homemade pickles, chopped tomatoes, fresh mint & coriander topped with creamy amba tahini, and a drizzle of shug and harissa oil to finish things off. For £30, there’s enough for four stuffed pitas and all the ingredients arrive in a perfectly packaged box with illustrated wraps for that authentic street food experience.
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HOP Vietnamese
You’re probably used to grabbing HOP for lunch but now you can get it at home for dins thanks to their new range of meal kits. Each one can feed two or four people and you can choose between vegan and meaty pho and curries – the lemongrass chicken curry with jasmine rice is a good’un – and they take just ten minutes to put together.
Officina 00
Officina 00 has launched a range of finish at home versions of their signature pastas, including pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter & gorgonzola, corzetti with wild mushroom & pork sausage, and occhi with beef brisket genovese. It takes about five minutes to get it from box to plate so it’s super speedy and easy to cook, and the kits are available on demand so you can order one as soon as the pasta cravings strike.
Fidelari
Fidelari is a brand new pasta delivery brand run by Vanessa and Valentina, who are both from Puglia and who met at Restaurant Theo Randall, and it’s all about proper authentic pasta. The kits include handmade pasta and sauces, with combos including pappardelle & beef shin ragu, troccoli with squid & tomato and gnocchi with rocket pesto, and all you have to do to is heat and eat.
Arabica
You’ve always been able to buy spices and pantry items from Arabica but now you can recreate a Middle-Eastern spread from the restaurant at home with one of their feast boxes. This Feast for Beirut box includes hummus, baba ganoush, halloumi, tabbouleh, short rib stew, baklava and more, and 5% of the proceeds get donated to Red Cross Lebanon too.
