La Pizza del Born – Barcelona

March 7, 2014Leave a comment

La Pizza del Born was recommended by my Spanish professor, so I decided to go there for a quick lunch with N. The Born district is pretty cool and attracts the young and hipster crowd. There are tons of trendy fashion and art boutiques and the area generally has less tourists. I actually found the area more upscale too. At night, the bars in the district are filled with young people.

Anyways, La Pizza del Born is located right on Passeig del Born so extremely easy to find. They offer a large variety of pizzas, which I believe are Argentinian style. They keep their different varieties of pizzas behind the window and reheat them up when you order. Or if you’re lucky, you’ll get ones right from the oven. They claim to have over 20 different varieties and just from the window, it was already difficult to decide which one I wanted! They also have pastas, empanadas and tons of different beverages.

There’s sit in at the shop, and although it was completely filled when we got there, we quickly found a spot. The turnover is quite quick since most people eat and go. Every item is quite affordable with a slice of pizza for 1,90 euros. However, during lunch, they have a special deal where it’s 3,90 euros for 2 slices of pizza and a beverage! Perfect for students on a budget.

So here is what I got. A slice of Smoked Salmon with Caviar Pizza and a Mushroom Pizza. For my beverage I got a can of orange Fanta. The slices look quite tiny, but they are a medium thick crust. The dough is extremely soft and fluffy. I believe it was more like a focaccia pizza than typical American pizza. It was topped with tons of cheese and there was a decent amount of toppings. I liked how they had toppings like smoked salmon which wouldn’t be widely found in North America. Since the dough and crust are thicker, two slices will get you decently filled.

After the pizzas, we walked to the Mercat del Born, which was built in 1878. This was actually the main wholesale market in Barcelona, but it was shut down in the 1970s. I learned in my history class that around 10-15 years ago, they decided it was time to change this building up and put it to use. They decided to change it to a library and while they were preparing the foundation of the building, they dug the grounds and realized the ruins of the La Ribera neighbourhood. La Ribera basically means “The Shore” and they basically found the neighbourhood of the Medieval times. Since it was so important as the ruins show what life would have been like back in 1700s, including 1714 which dates the fall of Barcelona and the end of the War of Spanish Succession, they kept digging to reveal the rest of the neighbourhood and have now changed this to a museum. You’ll get a sense of what the houses looked like back then, and this floor view is free to the public. If you want to actually go down and see the ruins, then you’ll need to pay a fee.

Serrajordia – Sant Cugat

March 1, 2014Leave a comment

Mousse Cups

ESADE is located in Sant Cugat, and honestly, I don’t find food that appealing there. I guess it’s just that there’s limited choices, and the prices are higher than out in the city. However, on our walk to school from the station, we always pass by Serrajordia. K made it almost like a habit, to always grab a small breakfast there. He said their little pastries, like their mini cookies and biscuits were really good! I, on the other hand, always had breakfast at home, so never really got to try their pastries. However, most of my friends said they are a great bakery! One day, C invited us to her dorm for dinner she would cook, and I decided to stop by Serrajordia on my way to get some desserts. They have a variety of cakes, and also individual mini cakes, but I looked in the freezer and saw these little mousse cups. How convenient and cute! They aren’t the cheapest desserts out there, but definitely worth the money when you think about places like Thomas Haas. I got two Lemon Mousse Cups, one Triple Chocolate Layer, and one Chocolate Mousse. Each one were topped with little crispy chocolate balls and some had chocolate or berries on it. Everyone enjoyed them! They were smooth, but because we had fridged them and they hadn’t cooled enough, they were almost like an ice cream texture, which none of us minded. My favourite was the triple layered chocolate! Now I wish I had tried some of their other pastries. I doubt I would come back here since it’s so far from the city…

Anyways, if you haven’t realized, I’m putting a little twits to my food blog and introducing some places I’ve visited while on exchange. I guess it’s a way for me to remember and document some of the things I’ve done and to help others who are traveling in Europe. One of the first places I visited in Barcelona while my sister visited, was Park Guell. It’s basically one of the top tourist destinations for Barcelona tourists. It’s a little difficult to commute here, just because the metro doesn’t take you straight to the entrance. However, if you take a bus, it’ll get you right to the station, and the last bus stop is Park Guell, so not that hard. It’s a garden with amazing architecture designed by Antoni Gaudi, who you must recognize when you visit Spain. I feel like pretty much all architecture Barcelona is famous for is done by him! It’s extremely tourist-filled during the summer months. During September, when my sister visited, it was also free to go in. We got lucky and didn’t need to pay!

Many people refer to this place as looking a bit like Candy Crush or a Candy House. I do agree. Everything seems like it’s sugar coated with frosting. And I absolutely love the mosaic you find at the top. You’ll also see the statue of a salamander that is popularly known. This park is basically one that you won’t experience any where else. It’s not one of those romantic parks you find yourself in London or Paris, but one that is whimsical, artsy and fun. You’ll find yourself taking pictures of literally every angle of this park. There’s so much to see, you won’t even feel tired climbing up to the top of the park with the burning sun on you! A must see!

Pizzas L’avia – Barcelona

February 28, 2014Leave a comment

There are always plenty of things to do in Barcelona, and one afternoon, we decided to visit Montjuic. Montjuic is a hill in Barcelona and very close to the city center. In fact, you can hike up to it just by walking up from Plaza Espanya. From the Palau Nacional, which houses the Museum of National Art of Catalunya, this is the beautiful view you get of the city. If you continue up the hill, or choose to take the bus, you will reach the top of Montjuic where you will find a fortress.

After our mini hike, U took us to Pizzas L’avia. It’s in the El Ravel neighbourhood, which is sometimes known to be a little dangerous at night. Her brother said that the little shop is great for cheap local food, so we took the adventure to check it out before it got dark. The place doesn’t look the most amazing on the outside, but the food is great and cheap!

I love how they actually make their paella in a giant pan. It was the first time I actually saw such a big paella pan in person.

They also have a bunch of other dishes and desserts. Yes, the dishes are not exactly fresh, since they are pre- made, but freshness wasn’t really a big factor in making these dishes delicious.

They are famous for their Empanadas. We chose the Honey Empanada and Spinach Empanada. They were warmed up in their oven and filled generously. A great value for only around 1,30 euros each!

I guess someone also got a Salad… Typical salad, nothing difficult in making this one.

We got the Prosciutto and Cheese Pizza. Their pizzas are quite interesting. They don’t really dig a hole in the middle to put the fillings in. Instead, they just place the toppings right on top, so you don’t exactly get a crust on the side. The pizza was really delicious though! Extremely fluffy and although the ingredients are basic, they really work well together.

We also got two dishes of the Paella. It’s not the best paella I’ve had, but it tasted really local and I liked how it wasn’t too saucy. The rice was a little overcooked, but I actually liked it since I find that some of the other restaurants cook it too al dente. There was an abundant of seafood such as shrimp and mussels in it.

U said that the Bacalao here is amazing. It’s a very common dish for the Spanish, and it’s basically cod fish topped with lots of tomato sauce. This one also had eggplants and other vegetables. I found the sauce to be very similar to a ratatouille. I really enjoyed this as the sauce was actually sort of sweet!

Lastly, we had another fish dish, and I actually found this very similar to the Bacalao, but with less sauce. I couldn’t really tell the difference, other than the fact that it was more deep fried. Tasted like cod to me too…

Overall, Pizzas L’avia is a great place to check out if you want to try some local food and at a cheap price. You can also get some of the items to go.

Cafe Granja Viader – Barcelona

February 20, 2014Leave a comment

Cafe Granja Viader was recommended by my Spanish professor. This cafe has so much history! The family business began in the 1870s and started as a farm. They are also among the first to start the dairy industry in Spain, and they invented Cacaolat, which you will see all over Spain. Cacaolat is basically the Spanish version of our Milk2Go. The cafe is actually located just inside the streets off of La Rambla, so extremely accessible. You’ll find locals eating here with their children, but tourists have also discovered this cafe and has been a popular destination.

The cafe still has such a vintage feel to it! Very basic furniture with the waiters dressed professionally.

Painters are hung around the wall. We came just when the second opening time began, and hence we got a seat right away. The cafe closes from around 2-5, abiding to the siesta. Therefore, many of my friends have found it difficult to visit here, or when it’s open, there are usually huge crowds.

Swiss Hot Chocolate

N had came to visit me in Barcelona, and I decided to take her here after she got off her flight. Another friend had suggested items to order, so I followed. First, we got a Swiss Hot Chocolate. This was basically the Spanish Hot Chocolate, but topped with a huge lump of whipped cream. The whipped cream was actually light and didn’t have that heavy milk taste that cheap processed whipped cream had. You need to realize that the hot chocolate in Spain is literally melted chocolate. It’s so thick! I don’t think they put any milk in it… The whipped cream really helped lighten the hot chocolate and give it a more milky texture.

Spanish Hot Chocolate

My friend suggested we order just a Spanish Hot Chocolate, and because the Swiss one had so much whipped cream, you could just scoop over half of it onto the one without the cream. This worked out perfectly. When we tried the Spanish Hot Chocolate by itself, we felt it was too heavy. They use dark chocolate, and hence it’s not too sweet. But still, imagine yourself drinking a cup of just melted chocolate… It’s quite something. We both agreed that we wouldn’t be drinking hot chocolate in a while… Extremely rich and smooth though!

Churros

We also got an order of Churros. The plate came with around 4 looped churros and there was one that was a bit different. It had a lot more sugar on it and had a slight cinnamon taste to it! The churros were fresh and surprisingly not too sweet. I did find that the churros were a little hard for my liking, so I ended up dipping it in the hot chocolate. It was the best way to eat it, especially since it got a little boring just drinking the thick hot chocolate.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Granja Viader! It’s a nice place to sip on some hot chocolate and grab a snack. I really felt like I had went back in time and was experiencing the true Catalan way of enjoying tea time.

To finish off with some Barcelona attractions, I attended the El Clasico 2013! For those who aren’t football fans, like myself, El Clasico is a football match between the Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The two teams are among the richest and best teams in the world, and Barcelona and Madrid themselves have always been rivalries in football. Also because of other political issues, like independence, the two cities are always heated when they compete. My friends luckily convinced me to attend, and it was the best decision! I’ve never been to any sports game in my life, let alone football being of any interest for me. However, it was so much fun, and the crowds were full of spirit. Never felt so excited watching a game! Camp Nou, the stadium is also the largest football stadium in Europe! It was fully filled and although our seats were almost the last rows, we still had clear vision of the game. And of course, Barcelona won!

Bits and Pieces of Berlin

February 15, 2014Leave a comment

After Munich, we took a midnight bus to Berlin. The bus was around 8 hours long and it was a pretty terrible ride. Bus smelt like beer and the chairs were extremely uncomfortable. But the price was definitely a fraction of what we would pay for a flight. If you’re looking for a hostel, I would suggest the Cats Pajamas Hostel! Extremely cheap and one of the cleanest and friendliest hostels I have ever stayed at. We hadn’t done research for Berlin, but we were recommended to take a biking tour of Berlin. Our friend recommended us Fat Tire, which I would definitely recommend to everyone. It’s a great way to explore the city without going by foot. It was also fun to ride a bike around the city, and it was pretty safe even on large roads. Only downside is it’s a bit difficult to take quality pictures since you only pause for a bit and you also want to listen to the guide explain the history. Anyways, our tour included a lunch break where the tour guide took us to this restaurant near a park. It had outdoor seating with heaters and was a fun way to grab a snack. Of course, we tried some beer from Berlin. I wish I remembered the name of the beer, but it’s been way too long. I just remember it to be really good! Especially after biking on a cold day.

We also grabbed some food and I got the sausage in a roll. I believe the beer garden was called Der Schleusenkrug and it was in the Tiergarten, which is a beautiful garden. The beer garden had a barbeque and grill stall, which is where we got our food. I thought this was just okay. The bread was a bit hard, and the sausages weren’t the most amazing I’ve had. It was also quite pricey since it was in the garden, but the atmosphere made it fun!

On our way back to the hostel, I was getting hungry and stopped by a bakery in the metro station. It’s sort of like seeing a Dunkin Donuts or something and this shop had a variety of German pastries and desserts. I picked up an Apfelkuchen, which is basically an Apple Cake. At first, I thought it would be more of strudel, but the texture was crumbly, so much more like cake. It was topped with slices of apple and almonds. I quite enjoyed this!

For dinner, we had wanted to go to Burgermeister, which was one of the top restaurants in Berlin. To our surprise, it was more like a stand and the seating was outside under the metro bridge. Apparently the stall used to be a public washroom…Interesting…Anyways, it was pouring rain, and there was a huge wait and was probably impossible to find a seat. We ended up resorting to look around for food nearby. And guess where I suggested after a cold rainy day… Vietnamese food! Yes, in Berlin of all places… We found Saigon and More just across the street and settled there as they had free wi-fi. Of course. I had the Beef Pho and honestly, it was great to have some warm soup with an Asian flare. But really, this was probably worse than any 24 hour Pho restaurant in Vancouver. I mean, it satisfied me for the time being, but the noodles were not the typical pho noodles, and they were cooked pretty al dente which is odd for Vietnamese noodles. The soup was also flavourless, which is a big differentiating factor for pho. Prices and service were decent, but definitely not very authentic.

After dinner, we stopped by a bakery and I picked up a Berliner Pfannkuchen. I chose this after doing a quick search on Google to see what were some common German pastries. This is a traditional Northern Germany pastry and is very similar to a doughnut but without the hole in the middle. instead, it’s filled with a jam filling. It’s also topped with sugar or icing sugar. I thought this reminded me of those Asian doughnuts you get at the Chinese bakeries, except it was filled with a jelly. Not bad!

Doner Kebabs are extremely popular in Berlin. Some even say that the doner kebab was invented in Germany because there were so many Turkish living here. Doner kebabs are essentially a Turkish dish made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. The meat is usually lamb, beef, or chicken. Some people also refer to it as a shawarma or gyros. The meat is sliced off the rotisserie and is put inside a pita bread. Inside, it’s also filled with a variety of veggies, like cucumber, onions, tomatoes, chopped lettuce, cabbage. Sauces are also an important part of this snack and can include hot sauce, garlic sauce or a yoghurt sauce. I have to say, I was really impressed with the Doner Kebab here in Berlin. The pita bread was soft, and the mixture of ingredients was just perfect!

Another well known snack in Germany, and especially Berlin is the Currywurst. Well, actually currywurst was invented in Berlin, and hence so famous. I don’t have a picture here, but my friend ordered it and we were a bit disappointed. Currywurst is a fast food dish, and as the name says, it has pork sausages (wurst), and they are cut into slices. Then they are topped with lots of ketchup or tomato paste, and topped with lots of curry powder. The curry powder was what disappointed me. I thought that it would be a curry sauce. I’m not a big fan of just having curry powder sprinkled on my food, so I wasn’t a huge fan of this dish. However, it seems to be a popular snack for everyone else. I also thought it was cute how this stall was called Checkpoint Curry, since we were literally just across the street from Checkpoint Charlie!

And to finish the post off will be a beautiful piece of the Berlin Wall. A must see when visiting Berlin. Compared to Munich, Berlin is a city with so much history. In my eyes, Munich is a much more modernized city and was extremely clean. It’s also known to be a wealthy city. Berlin, on the other hand has much more culture and history behind it. Sometimes, walking down the streets, I can feel the city to be a little saddening and cold, and after seeing the Berlin Wall, you can really get a sense of all the struggles and pain people went through. I mean, you will only get a sense of it, and can never really understand what happened back in the days.

Laduree – Printemps Paris

January 29, 2014Leave a comment

The famous Laduree of Paris! You’ve probably seen these macarons in their little pastel green boxes. I’ve been dreading to try these because people say they are the absolute best! We had saw the Laduree store in Milan, but we knew we were going to Paris, so of course get it from it’s home city! There are several Ladurees in Paris, with the one on Champs Elysees being quite famous. That one has a sit down cafe and is always packed with tourists. We found a Laduree pop up shop inside Printemps, which is another department store situated right next to Lafayette. Other than the pop up store on the first floor, they also have a sit down cafe on the upper floor. They offered breakfast there and had a specific time for customers who wanted to just dine on desserts.

Anyways, by the end of our shopping trip, we were kind of broke again… But i insisted we had to try these little macarons! I believe they are around 1.7 euros for each, which is decent if you think about the price of macarons in Vancouver.

We ended up only getting two, since we didn’t want to carry them home. If you get less than 6, then they put them into a little bag.

I got the Rose and Orange Blossom flavour. Okay, seriously, they are so delicious! When you bite into them, the outer layer is so airy! And the other thing is that I find macarons in Vancouver to be too sweet, but these ones have just a subtle sweetness. The orange blossom is a must try! I haven’t seen this flavour elsewhere before. It’s got a hint of orange flavour and is so fresh! Absolutely love it. These little guys are a bit smaller than the macarons back in Vancouver, but I understand why people go crazy over them now!

Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki – Lafayette Paris

January 28, 2014Leave a comment

Galeries Lafayette is seriously one of the most beautiful department stores I have seen! It’s an upscale department store selling luxury brands like no other. I swear they have colours and styles that I’ve never seen in Vancouver, because…well you’re in Paris… Anyways, the cool thing about these luxury department stores is that most of them have a floor dedicated to food. And if you think it’s like a food court, think again. It’s like luxury food court! They have sections of food products like chocolate, candy, cookies, but they also have an area with luxury cooked food and pastries. Prices are quite expensive, but just imagine yourself at Thomas Haas or Thierry, and it’ll make you feel more like at home… Wandering through all the gourmet stalls, my eyes caught Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki!

It was interesting because I didn’t expect to see a Japanese patisserie shop in Paris. You need to remember that I’ve been away from Vancouver for some time now, and my green tea craving was really kicking in… When I saw Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki serving all these Japanese flavours, I felt like I was home again! They specialize in macarons and cakes, but with a Japanese twist. Matcha flavoured macarons? YES! I’ve always wanted the Vancouver dessert shops to make that flavour… I chose the Matcha and Redbean Cake, which is a cake with alternating layers of green tea, cream, and red bean. It’s then topped with some matcha powder and a matcha flavoured macaron! I absolutely loved this! The layers gave the cake so much texture. Some of it was crunchy, as they used something similar to rice krispies, and the red bean also gave it another texture. This pastry stall is a must try! If you enjoy Asian flavours, this will be perfect for you. They also specialize in macarons and chocolates with very interesting flavours! If only they were less pricey, I would’ve tried so many others!

I believe they also have their own boutique in Paris, but Lafayette is great as you can try other gourmet restaurants while you are there!

Picnic by the Eiffel Tower!

January 26, 2014Leave a comment

A trip to Paris is not the same without a picnic by the Eiffel Tower. For those of you who are traveling in Paris during the warmer months, this is a must! It’s just nice to take a break from intense traveling and get a feel of how the Parisians relax. And with a view so spectacular, this is the perfect place to do so. I would suggest bringing pastries and sandwiches from cafes near your hotel if you see them, since it can be quite difficult to look for food after you arrive at the Eiffel Tower. The park itself is huge and therefore requires a lot of walking to get to the other side. Anyways, we did not think of ahead, and ended up having to wander around looking for pastry shops. Luckily, we found Boulangerie Pâtisserie Felice Lapelosa. It is on Avenue Rapp, and offers a wide selection of pastries, sandwiches, and bread. There is always a constant in and out of customers, and most are locals. We ended up getting a chestnut eclair, which was so fluffy and delicious! It wasn’t too sweet too! Then we got a quiche, which is pictured on the bottom right. This was alright as it wasn’t heated up enough. Lastly, we got a pineapple tart. This was quite good! The custard was smooth, and the hint of sweet and sour from the pineapple made it appetizing. We also wandered around and found a shop called Les Paris Gourmands. They have lots of chocolates, jams, and other sweets. We chose a mango macaron, which was a large size. This wasn’t the best macaron I’ve had, but the flavour was definitely interesting. My sister also picked up a jar of jam with rose petals. Unfortunately, this was confiscated in her carry on, and months later, I would have to head back here to purchase her jam again. Anyways, that happened, and now we currently have the jar in our fridge half full. It was definitely worth it as it surprisingly isn’t too sweet, and there are actually rose petals in it! The brand is called Favols, for those of you who enjoy jams, and apparently it can be found in many other stores that sell jam in Paris. Lastly, we picked up a bottle of rose in the grocery store. It was extremely cheap, and probably why it tasted pretty bad… Yea, maybe pick up a nice bottle of wine next time ; )

Look at that view! We were lucky enough for it to be sunny that day, since it was rainy all the other days. After having a picnic, take a stroll in the park. Such a relaxing environment. Oh, but do beware that there are lots of people who are trying to scam you in this park. They ask if you would like to donate for some sort of cause, and they will ask you to sign a piece of paper. If you see these people around, just ignore them. They’ll ask if you speak English, so just pretend you don’t or else they will continue approaching you! Many are young adults or even children. I’m not sure exactly how they will scam you, but just beware! Better to be safe than sorry. Don’t let these people ruin your picnic! Enjoy 🙂

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Bakery