Burger Bar – Amsterdam

March 11, 2014March 10, 20141 Comment

After a month staying in Barcelona with no out of the country traveling, (which surprisingly felt really good), off I went to Amsterdam! Traveling really gets to you, especially when you’re traveling on budget airlines and having to wake up to rush to the airport after really 4 hours of sleep. We had a huge group in Amsterdam, but we came by different airlines and times, hence we had some fun trying to meet up, especially when we had no data. Finally, we took a train from the Amsterdam airport and arrived in the city center. We were around 30 minutes late, but we luckily found our friends who had taken an earlier flight from BCN as well. Amsterdam is full of canals and the city is quite walkable. You’ll find bikes everywhere as well. The first thing I noticed that was quite different were their houses. They seem to be really wide, or the houses are continuously attached like townhouses. Building up doesn’t seem to be popular, as in apartments, and you’ll find tons of windows on these buildings. Lots of squares and rectangles, contrary to circular shapes.

K also met up with his friend who had been backpacking around Europe the last couple of months. It was his last day here in Amsterdam, and he took us to Burger Bar, which he claimed was really good. At first, I was a little hesitant because I mean, how good can burgers be. But Burger Bar actually surpassed by expectations. The quality of their beef was extremely good, and I love how they make the beef patties right on spot as you order. You first line up at the cash register to order, and there are three types of beef. Irish beef, Black Angus, and Wagyu Beef. They go up by price as Wagyu beef is usually prized as one of the best beef. Each patty also has a choice of either 200 grams or 270 grams. There’s also chicken and portobello mushroom patties for non-beef eaters. Then you let them know which toppings you want to add, which will cost you extra. You can also complete the meal with Belgian fries and a drink.

200 Gram Irish Beef with Cheddar Cheese

I chose the 200 gram Irish Beef Burger. The beef patties are handmade and are 100% beef grilled medium well unless you tell them otherwise. Each burger has lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and a homemade burger sauce. I chose to add cheddar cheese for an extra 0,90 euros. You can also choose to add fries, but I shared the fries with U. The bun was toasted to a crisp at the top and the beef was extremely fresh and juicy! There was beef juice dripping everywhere as I took the bite. Their homemade sauce was also really good. Well worth it for around under 6 euros and I was completely full. I also added a half pint of Heineken beer, since I was in Amsterdam! Of course, go for the Heineken when in Amsterdam! The food did take quite a while to be ready, but I guess it’s because they are freshly made. They give you a number and they call on you when your burger is ready. There are quite a few seats in the bar, and accommodated our large group. Pretty happy with the food!

Lizarran and a Dali Day Trip – Figueres

March 10, 2014Leave a comment

On a day off of school, A, S and I decided to take a day trip to Figueres. It’s a town north of Barcelona, in the province of Girona. We took the Renfe from Barcelona at the Passeig de Gracia station, and it took roughly under 2 hours. The town is pretty small and easy to navigate with an awesome tourist information desk supplying us with maps once we got off the train. The main attraction here is the Salvador Dali Theater Museum. There isn’t much else to do other than this museum, and the town is really famous because it’s where Dali was born. To be honest, I had no idea who Salvador Dali was. I knew nothing about Spain before coming here, and art was something I wasn’t too interested in. But S and A were taking a Spanish Art History class at ESADE, and their professor had recommended them to visit this museum. I had nothing to do, so I joined them, hoping I wouldn’t be too bored from looking at art. This was the best decision ever! If you’re someone who usually isn’t interested in art like the ones at the Louvre, I assure you that Salvador Dali will make you enjoy art!

I think if I were to describe Dali in one word, it would be “weird”. Yup, Dali’s art is quirky and bizarre, but in a good way. He was a Catalan surrealist painter, but he has art work of all sorts. I often say that his work is trippy, because depending on the angles you look at it, the piece of art turns into something completely different. Hence it’s extremely fun to look at his work and you can be imaginative even if you don’t understand his true intentions. For instance, in this picture, when we walked in the room, it was weird to see two random paintings on the wall, and then a couch shaped as a lip. Then the blonde hair is actually a horse if you look from the other side. However, Dali wants us to look at it from the top of one wall and look into this circular glass. When you do that, it becomes a woman! I loved how his whole museum allowed us to be imaginative and creative. Something I don’t usually possess, but I really enjoyed and admired his work. The cool thing is that this theater was also completely designed by Dali himself!

After an early morning in the museum, we decided to find food in Figueres. We did a quick tripadvisor search, and found that Lizarran was highly rated. Lizarran is a tapa bar which actually has many other locations around Spain. The fun part was that the tapas are self serve if you choose one of their options. This option allows you to walk down the bar and choose whichever pintxo you want. Each pintxo has a toothpick in it, and at the end, you pay by how many toothpicks you have on your plate. It’s pretty much based on a trust system. You can also choose to order off the regular menu, where you can have larger tapa dishes or actual entrees. We went for the self serve option. Some of the pintxos I chose included one with a cream cheese and salmon with a pedro pepper, shrimp and egg salad, brie with onions and garlic chips, and Iberican pork on imitation crab salad. All in all, quite a delicious lunch!

After lunch, we rushed to get to the bus stop. We wanted to visit Dali’s house in the town of Cadaques. The best way is to take a bus that is near the train station, and it takes less than an hour. Cadaques is still in the province of Girona, but also on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean. It’s beautiful here, with boats along the shorelines. The white house in the picture is one of the homes Dali lived in later in his life and is located in Port Lligat, which is a small village in the Cadaques area. Dali spent a lot of his childhood in Cadaques, hence he went back here to live later. The house is now called the Casa- Museo Salvador Dali, meaning the Salvador Dali House Museum. You do need to pay to enter, but it’s pretty cool inside, so worth a visit. Apparently in the summer or peak seasons, you’ll also need reservations.

There will be a tour guide who will bring you and a small group of visitors in his house. She gives very brief information, so it’s not too useful, but you are welcome to ask her more questions. Here, this is where Dali used to do his paintings. When you look at the paintings at the Theater Museum, you’ll find lots of scenery and views of of the port since he painted from here.

On the top floor, you’ll find weird looking objects. Like this egg shell. What was Dali thinking putting an egg shell on his house…?

The beautiful view from his house. He has many paintings of this scenery if you visit the museum.

And he also decided to put an egg on the top of his house. I have to admit, Dali is pretty cool. Who in their right mind would think of doing something like that? Also, how in the world did he structure this egg so it wouldn’t fall off?

In his backyard, he has this giant… Such bizarre art.

And here is a picture of Cadaques while the sun sets. I love how the houses are all white here. Such a beautiful place to spend in the summer, and hence many Barcelona locals spend their summers here as a getaway. This was already early November, but it was still fairly warm.

Tapa Tapa (2) (Passeig de Gracia) – Barcelona

March 9, 2014March 8, 2014Leave a comment

Smoked Salmon Potato Salad

Before N took off on her flight, we decided to grab some tapas and sangria. We ended up at Tapa Tapa on Passeig de Gracia. You’ll find lots of tourists at this location since it’s located at a prime spot filled with tourist traffic and their pictures on their menus always lure me in! We had a pitcher of sangria, and N ordered the Smoked Salmon Potato Salad. Just a basic potato salad topped with some pieces of smoked salmon. It was decent, but I thought it was a little pricey for the size.

Grilled Cuttlefish

We gave the Grilled Cuttlefish a try as well, but I was a bit disappointed. They were quite small and not as plump as the ones at Ciudad Condal. I mean, Ciudad Condal has served small cuttlefish before, but they were still very plump and tender. These were not as tender and didn’t seem as fresh. They were also slightly over grilled. I also didn’t like how the tentacles were to grilled that they were crispy. The ones at Ciudad were way better especially when the price here was around the same.

All in all, I wasn’t too impressed with the food at Tapa Tapa on Passeig de Gracia. I had visited the one at the Arenas for lunch when they had a lunch deal, which I thought was much more worth it. This location doesn’t offer the lunch deal, so you end up paying quite a lot when you order several dishes. To read my post on Tapa Tapa at the Arenas, click here: Tapa Tapa (Arenas)

Rosa Negra (2) – Barcelona

March 8, 2014Leave a comment

When N came to visit, I wanted her to try some of the best food I’ve had in Barcelona. Rosa Negra was one of my favourites, and although it wasn’t Spanish, she was up for having some Mexican food. When we got there, there was a huge line, and they told us to come back in 30 minutes. We took a walk around the neighborhood, and when we got back, our seat was ready.

Nachos with Cheese Sauce

We shared an appetizer to start. We got the Nachos with Cheese Sauce, which of course had corn tortilla chips, and the toppings included beans, homemade cheese sauce, jalapenos, chopped tomatoes, onions, and coriander. It was cheesy with a kick to it and a great dish to share!

Taco Variety Plate

N got the Taco Variety Plate so she could try the different tacos. It came with 4 different tacos and included grilled beef, slow cooked beef, chicken, and seasoned slow cooked pork. Looked really delicious and she said it was good!

For myself, I was reminiscing the previous time I had the Cochinita Burrito, which was basically a burrito filled with seasoned slow cooked pork. Last time I had this, I shared it with my friends along with other dishes. I didn’t realize how much this was, and I was thoroughly filled by the end of the meal.

Again, a great find in Barcelona for some Mexican food. To see my previous post, click here: Rosa Negra

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.

Ciudad Condal (3) – Barcelona

March 6, 2014Leave a comment

Grilled Cuttlefish

I’ve literally visited Ciudad Condal once every month for the time I stayed in Barcelona. This will be my last post on it since I didn’t take any pictures doing my last visit. I just thoroughly enjoyed my food that one last time! Anyways, on my third visit, I brought N since she came back for another visit a week later. We hadn’t gone the last time, and I pretty much think this is a must go place, so we arrived early in the evening to get a seat at the bar. We had to wait a while for the montaditos to be taken out for dinner, but it was fine when you have a glass of beer to wait with. First up, of course my favourite Grilled Cuttlefish. This time, they only gave us two cuttlefish but they were ginormous! At first I thought it would be more tough since they were so large, but they were still extremely tender! This dish never disappoints me.

Shrimp and Mushroom Montadito

We also had my favourite salmon montadito which isn’t pictured here and a few others that I had previously tried. A new montadito we tried was the Shrimp and Mushroom Montadito. The shrimp and mushrooms were lightly grilled and topped with the same sauce they used for the cuttlefish. It’s basically a sauce of olive oil and herbs. It worked really well and the shrimps were very fresh. I also loved the mushrooms and they were not the typical mushrooms I see at supermarkets. It was interesting that I saw these same mushrooms at a local market in Figueres in Spain as well. I’m guessing they are popular mushrooms in Spain.

Shrimp and Crab Salad

To finish, we had the Shrimp and Crab Salad. Of course the crab is imitation crab. I don’t think I recall seeing crab on menus or markets, other than at La Boqueria. I guess Barcelona is not famous for eating crab. However, they use imitation crab a lot in their food. Still, this salad had a lot of shrimp and they were extremely fresh and large! It also came with two pan con tomate, which are baguettes that had been lightly brushed with tomatoes.

To see my previous posts on Ciudad Condal, you can click on these two links: Ciudad Condal and Ciudad Condal (2)

Lastly, here’s a picture of the Torre Agbar. I see this pretty much everyday since my house is near it and it acted as my direction indicator in the first few weeks. I kind of took it for granted and never even really knew what this tower was. Apparently many tourists actually come here to take a picture! I did some research just now and found that it’s actually a 38 story skyscraper which marks the gateway to the new technological district in Barcelona. It’s an office building and owned by the Agbar company, which is Barcelona’s water company. It’s actually the third tallest building in Barcelona so you’ll usually spot it when you’re up on a Barcelona mountain. During the day, the tower isn’t this colour. It looks like it has reflective windows and the light just shines on the tower. However, at night the tower is what attracts tourists. There are over 4,500 lighting devices on the outside that uses LED technology and creates images and colours that change. It’s extremely gorgeous! You can visit this tower by getting off at the Glories metro station.

Can Culleretes – Barcelona

March 5, 2014Leave a comment

Another restaurant C recommended was Can Culleretes. It’s a family run restaurant that began in 1786, hence it’s listed on the Guinness Book of Records to be the oldest restaurant in Barcelona. Pretty neat, and the architecture itself is pretty cool. It’s also easily accessible for tourists as it’s just off the street of La Ramblas near the KFC near the Liceu metro station.

There’s paintings all over the walls. Apparently, this was also the restaurant where Gaudi would come once a year to dine at. He didn’t normally dine out otherwise.

The atmosphere is very traditional and the waiters and waitresses are all dressed in uniforms. The restaurant was quite empty at first since we arrived before they opened and there were some other diners waiting outside as well. You need reservations here and often a week in advance. Shortly after, the restaurant was filled.

The whole atmosphere of the restaurant was just traditional but filled with art.

Sangria

Of course, we started with a pitcher of Sangria. I thought this was stronger in alcohol than typical ones. Not as watered down for sure.

Assorted Seafood Platter

We shared most of food in order to try everything. We began with an Assorted Seafood Platter. The seafood was all steamed and came with mussels, clams, prawns, and what I think were crayfish since they were much smaller. I thought this dish was just okay. It was sort of bland and basically only required the seafood to be fresh and steamed.

Cannelloni with Spinach and Cod Fish

Can Culleretes serves traditional Catalan cuisine, and one popular dish is the Cannelloni with Spinach and Cod Fish. Cod seems to be widely popular in Spain and Portugal, hence you’ll find it at most restaurants. I absolutely loved this dish! It was super creamy and filled with tons of spinach. The cod on the other hand was difficult to really taste as the cheese and spinach flavours covered it.

Catalan Suckling Pig

The Catalan Suckling Pig was basically what we came here for. C had previously dined here and said this dish was amazing. I’d be honest and say that all the other dishes were just alright in my opinion and I probably would not visit the restaurant again if I’d be dining on those. However, this Catalan suckling pig is a must order and I would come back for just this dish. The skin is roasted to a light crisp, and there is a thin layer of fat with the meat being extremely tender. i liked this since the little hint of pork fat made the dish so much more satisfying but it wasn’t gross like some porchetta which has too much fat. The sauce also made the dish perfect. It was slightly sweet and had dates and other dried fruits. When you soak your meat in the sauce, it’s just perfect!

Chicken with Ratatouille

The Chicken with Ratatouille is also known as the Pollo Con Sanfaina. It’s basically the Catalan version of the traditional French dish. The ratatouille was made with lots of tomatoes, garlic, onions and peppers. They used drumsticks for the chicken and they were soaked in the vegetable sauce, so very flavourful. However, I didn’t find this dish any amazing.

Mixed Sorbet

For dessert, we had the Mixed Sorbet. This was very smooth and was very refreshing.

Whiskey Tart

Another dessert we had was the Whiskey Tart. It was basically like an ice cream cake with a few layers of sorbet and mixed with a hint of whiskey flavour. Not bad!

All in all, Can Culleretes is a decent place to visit for traditional Catalan cuisine. I would suggest getting the Catalan Suckling Pig and the Spinach and Cod Cannellonis. Other than that, the items I had tried were just average. Prices were also on the expensive side. I still think it’s pretty cool to say I’ve dined at Barcelona’s oldest restaurant though!

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!