Join us on the hunt for London’s best street food!
Despite the eclectic tastes that the team here at YCB has tried and tested all around the city of London, Roll n Rock isn’t your typical food find. But that is exactly what we like about this deliciously fresh eat! We are all about venturing down hidden streets, discovering new markets and gems, and trying new dishes that will win us over.
So, as the weather is warm and gorgeous we don’t need an excuse to go on the hunt for something new, tasty (and affordable), and we joined other happy street-foodies in Chelsea this Saturday to do London and its food scene as a local.
Described as modern Vietnamese street food, Roll n Rock is a young, artisan company that’s taking London by storm. Having already bagged a space at the renowned Partridges Food Market in the Duke of York Square, and attracting return customers left right and centre, we had to see what Roll n Rock was all about.
Founded last year by owner Ge Tan, Roll n Rock describe the aim of their brand as bringing the taste of new, modern Vietnamese street food to the vibrant London streets. The food start-up world is tough, and competitive, especially for a cold food company, but Roll n Rock are making a name for themselves by combining healthy and nutritious foods, an adventurous sense of taste and the freshest ingredients, all being completely handmade. Their mouth-watering rice paper rolls, grass roots approach to business and quality over quantity have London food punters constantly coming back for more.
Roll n Rock certainly have a leg to stand on in the competitive food industry – all of their produce is freshly sourced and artisan – as well as being delicious. Roll n Rock specialise in rice paper wraps with exciting and diverse ingredients inside. As well as being healthy nutritious with the gluten-free rice paper and crunchy salad their wraps feature, Roll n Rock include tasty base ingredients such as pork and prawns, and combine this with zesty additions of mango, mint, sesame seeds and cilantro.
There’s something for the veggies as well, replacing meat and fish with cheese and herbs. The guilt-free nature is a clear strength of the company – Ge Tan and her business partner Elyse Li, founder of Next Generation Hospitality, noticed a clear lack of healthy street foods available at markets. Identifying this gap in the market contributed to their escalating success. Whilst Roll n Rock is described as Vietnamese, there are influences of flavours from all around the world. The adventurous taste of Ge Tan, who enjoys travelling, tasting local food and using those cultural experiences for inspiration, has certainly played a part in this.
Unlike typical businesses, Roll n Rock has a refreshingly relaxed grassroots approach to the food industry. Started from Ge Tan’s home kitchen with the belief that ‘if the people love the food, they will come back for more’, Roll n Rock had their first market trial in January – and the rolls sold out within hour and a half. Relying fully on customer feedback for improvement, the ingredients involved are delivered the evening before, and prep is started that same night. The rolls are then hand crafted on site for customers to see and try. The freshness and expertise that goes into making the rolls, as well as the small but exciting menu, are what makes the start-up our favourite. With only three items on their menu, quality clearly comes first for Roll n Rock.
If you’re curious about Vietnamese street food and experiencing Ge Tan’s modern take on it in an exciting, vibrant street setting, make sure you look out for the Roll n Rock food stall at Partridges Food Market every Saturday. You can check out their website here, or follow them on twitter at @rollnrock_uk.
