Savor British Elegance: Three Must-Try British Dishes

By MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network, Li Xinyi | Compiled & Reported Source / Moleskine Editorial Department

Mentioning "British cuisine" is probably a nightmare for many international students living in the UK. Indeed, British food generally has a reputation for not being very tasty, as traditional British dishes often use methods like baking or slow-cooking, which require long periods of cooking. City-based general restaurants often use semi-finished products to save time, resulting in significantly poorer taste, and the prices at high-end restaurants are not affordable for everyone—this creates the common impression that British food is not good. However, defenders of British cuisine will tell you: "Only by leaving the big cities can you taste authentic British food." With immigrants from various countries introducing and promoting their native cuisines in the UK, there are now more and more choices of international dishes. But it would be a pity to visit the UK without trying authentic British cuisine. Why not become British for a day and start understanding British culture through its food?

British breakfasts are hearty and filling

A breakfast that can be listed as a must-try classic dish is probably only the British breakfast. Only the British would treat breakfast as a form of “cuisine,” offering it all day in cafes, pubs, or restaurants (All Day Breakfast), even displaying it as a signboard. When that large plate filled with food is served, the visual satisfaction alone is enough, bringing a sense of joy from being warmly welcomed early in the morning.

The real British breakfast (Full Breakfast / Cooked Breakfast) starts with a glass of 100% fresh orange juice. In hotels or larger restaurants, other options such as grapefruit juice or apple juice may also be available. At this time, a large pot of aromatic British breakfast tea (Breakfast Tea) is also served. Breakfast tea is a blend of Indian tea, Ceylon tea, and Kenyan tea in certain proportions, giving it a stronger flavor that pairs well with milk or lemon slices. Of course, you can also choose a pot of American coffee instead. Before the main course, there is usually a small self-service area where you can start with some cereals, mostly various types of cornflakes and oatmeal, to which you can add milk and sugar according to your preference, or even diced fruit for added flavor.

Then comes the main course. A standard British breakfast fills a large plate with seven different items: several slices of slightly crispy and savory bacon, soft-boiled or scrambled eggs, juicy sausages (usually German-style), a half tomato seasoned with spices and roasted, some sautéed mushrooms, golden fried bread slices (sometimes replaced with hash browns), and soft, creamy baked beans. If you're in northern England, you might also get black pudding. Black pudding is made from a mixture of pig's blood, grains, pig liver, and other offal chopped into a filling, then stuffed into a pig’s intestine casing to resemble a sausage—it’s essentially the British version of blood rice cake. The importance of baked beans to the British is almost equivalent to that of cheese in France or beer in Germany—they are essential at all three meals. However, because it takes a long time to cook, canned baked beans are more commonly used nowadays. In addition to this full plate of food, triangular slices of toasted bread are neatly arranged on a toast rack, served with butter and jam. Eating a complete British breakfast guarantees you’ll be full of energy and vitality.

British Afternoon Tea: A Taste of Aristocracy

The British love for tea even changed dining habits. Since the British only had two formal meals a day at the time, the "inventor" of afternoon tea, Lady Anna, Duchess of Bedford, began preparing fine tea along with various snacks like sandwiches, scones, and cakes every afternoon to entertain her aristocratic lady friends. This not only relieved their hunger but also gave rise to a new form of social activity among the upper class, which has been passed down to this day as the famous British afternoon tea culture.

It’s not hard to enjoy a traditional British afternoon tea that retains its aristocratic charm. In major hotels across the UK, there is always at least one restaurant offering afternoon tea service. With luxurious decor, exquisite tableware, and the sound of soft music, enjoying a three-tiered plate of pastries and a variety of richly flavored teas is enough to make for a luxurious afternoon. The cost is around £25–40, and it is recommended to make a reservation in advance.

The types of tea you can choose for British afternoon tea are roughly divided into pure black tea and flavored tea. Common pure black tea varieties include India’s Darjeeling, Assam, Sri Lanka’s Uva, Indonesia’s Java, East Africa’s Kenya, and China’s Keemun tea, which was the first to be supplied to the British upper class. Pure black tea is characterized by its strong flavor and intense aroma. Paired with sweet jams and cakes, it magically allows you to enjoy both the taste of the tea and the original flavor of the dessert—bitter with sweetness, and sweet with fragrance. It is the most authentic choice for afternoon tea. Flavored teas, redolent with fruity and floral aromas, are also becoming increasingly popular—for example, Earl Grey tea, fruit tea, rose tea, jasmine tea, etc. Paired with fruity desserts, they can fill your entire afternoon with fragrant memories.

Besides the tea, the most enchanting part of British afternoon tea is the magical three-tiered cake stand. In more refined British afternoon teas, the bottom tier of the three-tier stand holds a variety of savory sandwiches with fillings such as ham, cheese, corned beef, smoked salmon, cucumber, and mayonnaise. The middle tier consists of several British scones. The top tier is reserved for small cakes, strawberry tarts, cream puffs, or small biscuits. When enjoying the sweets, the best order is to take them from the bottom up—from savory to sweet, and from light to rich. Start with the lightly savory sandwiches to slightly appease your hunger and whet your appetite, then move on to the fragrant and elegant scones, and finish with the intensely sweet fruit-flavored cakes and tarts for a satisfying conclusion.

Besides the aristocratic-style traditional afternoon tea, there is also a more casual version known as cream tea, what the British call “Cream Tea.” It consists of a pot of black tea, paired with warm, crumbly scones spread generously with jam and cream—and it’s absolutely delicious. This simple yet delightful treat is offered in teahouses all over the place.