Cocteleria Baritimo – Barcelona

November 6, 2013December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Finally after a week of traveling in Valencia and Ibiza, I finally returned to Barcelona, where it would be home for the next 4 months. Weather is absolutely beautiful here, and it’s hard to remember that I’m actually here for school, because every day seems like a vacation here! I hadn’t gone out much since arriving as I was nervous to explore the city alone, but when my roommate U arrived, we headed out to see Port Vell along with her father. Port Vell is the major waterfront port built due to the Olympics and is a major tourist point as it also has a large shopping centre. We headed over to the Maremagnum Mall and as it was a boiling hot day, we sat down at Cocteleria Baritimo on the second floor for a drink.

U and I both ordered a glass of Sangria. This would soon be my go-to drink here in Barcelona as you can get it for really cheap. However, the one here was quite pricey, but I have to admit it was really good. I don’t think they used really cheap wine, hence it tasted much better.

We sat right against the water where we were elevated from the ground as we were on the second floor. The view was truly amazing and with the sunny weather, I see why people always want to relax here! Amazing place if you want to grab a drink, have some tapas and enjoy the beautiful view. Of course, it comes with a slightly higher price, but so worth it!

McCafe Macarons – Valencia

November 2, 2013December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Before coming to Spain, I was told that the McCafes in Barcelona sold macarons! Pretty cool since macarons are seen as more of a luxury dessert, and who would think of McDonald’s when it comes to something like that! However, we quickly found that Valencia was also selling them! S and I decided we needed to try these out. They are around .75 euros each and come in flavours such as chocolate, caramel, strawberry, lemon, pistachio, and vanilla.

We gave the Pistachio and Chocolate a try. I would say that it is a bit more chewy than usual, but they still have the edges done nicely. The cream inside is also not as luxurious as the ones you usually find, but it is decent for the price of them! Worth trying once, but I would probably stick to paying a little more for some good quality ones. I love how the McCafes all have different items depending on which city you are in. I wish they had them in Canada since our McCafe does not have all these amazing desserts like tiramisu and such. Usually just the boring old muffins and coffee.

Anyways, we also went to Paris and saw these macarons, but they were around 1 euro each! So prices actually vary depending on which city you’re in. I guess Spain has them cheapest!

Cantina Mariachi – Valencia

November 1, 2013December 10, 2014Leave a comment

For dinner, we were on the look for something on the student budget side. We headed to the nearby mall for our hotel again, and spotted Los jueves! Yes, it was a Thursday and my Spanish finally came to use. So on Thursdays at Cantina Mariachi, you can get two tacos and a beer for only 3 euros! Not bad at all!

The place has a bit of a Mexican feel to it, but my god the service here is ridiculously slow. I guess I’m starting to get used to terrible service in Spain, but one would think this restaurant was more of a fast food joint. If you want to get quick food here, think again. The servers here, who are young boys walk ever so slowly and watching them move was just painful.

Anyways, our beers came and they came in some pretty cool glasses. Europeans love head on their beers, contrary to what we Canadians like. We usually try to pour our beer so we get the least possible. Here, they try to get lots. Cold beer was still great for a hot day.

Taco Ranchero, Mariachi Taco, Taco Beef with Cheese

The only thing about the deal is that you must get the same two tacos. That was fine with us though, as we all ordered something different so we could try each others. M got the Taco Ranchero, which had veal cooked with mushrooms , onions and green peppers. This was a very difficult one to eat as it was very soggy. S got the Mariachi Taco, which was beef stew with beans. Also more of a wet taco, but still flavourful. Lastly, I got the Taco Beef with Cheese, which had veal steak with melted cheese. Mine was the easiest to eat and I also really enjoyed the veal steak. It was probably my favourite. Each plate also came with a cup of salsa for you to pour over.

All in all, you can’t expect much here, but the Thursday deal is definitely a steal! Just don’t expect quick service.

Rong Hua – Valencia

October 27, 2013Leave a comment

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Yes..who knew I would be eating Chinese food on my trip in Europe. Well, personally, I had tried to avoid it, but M here clearly cannot live without his Chinese food, and persuaded us to try it. We found Rong Hua while walking towards the old city area in Valencia and it was among some boutiques and shops in the La Xerea neighbourhood.

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Surprisingly, the restaurant was filled with Chinese diners, which is always a good sign. I hope they were locals though, because I could not really tell if they were just tourists desperate for Chinese food. The inside definitely reminds me of a traditional Chinese restaurant and the employees were Chinese as well. They also have Wi-Fi here which is always a plus for travellers with no data like us!

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Fried Rice

Of course M would get his beloved Fried Rice. It actually looked pretty decent and was an okay portion. I believe it was under 5 euros, which isn’t too bad I guess.

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Chicken Curry

S and I decided to share a Chicken Curry and we also ordered some White Rice to go with it. It was nice to finally have some white rice again, but the curry was just…unspeakable. It was basically watered-down curry – probably one where you put powder and water, but it wasn’t even thick. You really had to slather the chicken in the sauce to get some flavour, but even with that, it was really flavourless. It was worse than some of the one’s I’ve had at food courts…

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Caramel Pudding

Lastly, S and I decided to share a Caramel Pudding, which is essentially their flan. This was the best of our whole meal. Smooth and creamy, this totally satisfied me.

All in all, I wouldn’t recommend Rong Hua based on what I had. I sense that the food is catered for the Spanish population, and isn’t traditional Chinese food. Oh, how I miss Chinese food in Vancouver so much!

La Surena

October 24, 2013October 25, 2013Leave a comment

La Surena is inside Centro Commercial El Saler in Valencia. This mall was near our hotel and on a rainy evening, M and I decided to look for nearby food. We ended up in the mall and on the floor where all the food stalls and restaurants were. We came across La Surena and thinking that I knew all the Spanish in the world after just taking Spanish100, I decided to attempt to translate the menu. I read chicken and fish and all, and naively thought that I would be having a fantastic meal for a ridiculous price. Yea right… So our meal came to $11 euros and that included 2 large pints of beer.

And this is really what he had ordered… 7 mini sandwiches and a salad for S (which was also the most expensive item on our bill). So apparently on specific days, you can get mini sandwiches for just 1 euro! Yea, and they were filled with all the ingredients I had attempted to translate…So I hadn’t exactly gotten the translations wrong, I just didn’t know they would be coming inside a sandwich…a mini one to be exact. And although M hates sandwiches, he admitted that these were pretty good! The ingredients and sauce inside really made it delicious. I actually wouldn’t mind having these agin to be honest. Just funny how I sort of tricked M into getting sandwiches when I really didn’t know. The place was packed and their other popular items are nachos which are also dirt cheap. This would be the perfect place to grab a quick snack and a beer. On different days, they also have other deals such as a bucket of beer for a really cheap price.

Tapasbar – Valencia

October 24, 2013October 24, 2013Leave a comment

Finally posting some of my Europe food adventures! First stop was in Barcelona, but shortly after getting settled down, I met up with S and M to bus to Valencia. The next day, we would head to Bunol for the famous Tomatina Festival, where it is a food fight of throwing tomatoes at each other. In the meantime, we were in beautiful Valencia and were taken to the beach area. We wandered looking for food and settled at the Tapasbar.

The place was quite packed, and they offered a set menu, that I would quickly learn is extremely popular in Spain. The menu here wasn’t too cheap, and cost $13 euros. It included an appetizer, main course, dessert, bread, and a drink.

Prosciutto and Melon

For my appetizer, I chose the Prosciutto and Melon. Thinking of any type of ham now actually sort of makes me sick. It is so popular in Spain, that I kept eating it the first month and I’m at the point now where I don’t usually choose it anymore. The ham jamon wasn’t as smooth as I would’ve liked it to be, with the edges being very fatty and tough. It worked well with the melon though, and the plate was extremely large for an appetizer. As for my drink, we got a jug of sangria between the three of us, which gave us around 2 glasses each. Sangria is so popular in Spain, that I end up ordering it most of the time.

Grilled Lamb Chop with Fries and Grilled Vegetables

For my main course, I chose the Grilled Lamb Chops. Probably shouldn’t have chosen this as it was extremely tough. Shouldn’t have expected any good lamb for the price I was paying. It was full of tendons that were not edible and the meat was overcooked. The grilled vegetables were also a bit burnt, so I didn’t really enjoy them. We all agreed that the fries tasted sort of different from our North American fries. We came to the conclusion that the potatoes in Spain must be of different origin. They had a distinct taste that we weren’t quite used to. The other odd thing is they don’t supply you with ketchup unless you ask. I guess ketchup and fries are an American thing..

Tiramisu

For dessert, I chose the Tiramisu although I know it doesn’t originate from Spain. I just craved it and thought it would be a safe choice. Indeed it was. It was soft and creamy with just the right amount of liquor in it. It wasn’t too sweet which I liked. Not bad!

Flan

S chose the Flan for her dessert and I decided to get a picture of it too. I’ll soon realize that flan is extremely popular in Spain and also one of my favourite desserts. It was smooth and creamy and of course sweet! Yum.

Overall, Tapas bar was just mediocre for the price I paid. Definitely not worth it because there are actually much better deals around town. We were hungry and most restaurants had large lines, so we settled for this. Also to remember is to give yourself lots of time for meals, because service in Spain is ridiculously slow.

Thai Son Restaurant 泰山越南牛肉粉

October 16, 2013Leave a comment

My parents asked me what I would like to have for lunch before I left to the airport, and surprisingly, it wasn’t Japanese food, but some pho. I guess I had been craving some Vietnamese food for some time, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get some good quality ones while I was gone. Off we went to Thai Son, which is one of my favourites. We ordered two House Special Phos, Deep Fried Spring Rolls, Salad Rolls, and a plate of Grilled Pork Chop with Egg on Rice. The House Special Pho wasn’t too bad, but we agreed that the broth wasn’t as good as the one at Lan. It was a little less flavourful, but ingredients-wise, there was a good amount and the beef wasn’t old. Both spring rolls were done very well, and the deep fried one came with a fish sauce vinaigrette, while the salad roll came with a peanut sauce. Both were filled with lots of ingredients and would get you really full. Lastly, the Grilled Pork Chop with Egg on Rice surprised us as it was a large plate. Pork chop was grilled to perfection so it was tender and the flavours were right on. I also loved that they topped the egg with some grilled onions and when all mixed together, it was just delicious. And there we had it! My last meal in Greater Vancouver in the next 4 months. I can’t wait to share my food adventures with you guys in Europe now! But I have to say, I miss the variety of cuisines that Vancouver offers, because you can really find any cuisine you want, and they are often of good quality.

Sun Sui Wah 新瑞華海鮮酒家

October 15, 2013Leave a comment

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Roasted Squab

Still catching up on my Vancouver posts! Anyways, the night before I left for Europe, my family took me to eat what would be my last legit Chinese dinner. It’s definitely true that I can’t find quality Chinese food over here. We went to Sun Sui Wah, where I had dim sum here recently, but I don’t remember when the last time I had dinner here was. It was very packed and we had to wait a little even though we had reservations. First up, we had the Roasted Squab, which was roasted till crispy and golden brown. It wasn’t too salty but still flavourful. Really enjoyed it.

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Fish Maw and Fresh Crab Meat Soup

Next, we were served the Fish Maw and Fresh Crab Meat Soup. I loved this and it had an abundance of seafood. The perfect way to start dinner off!

Lotus Root, Snow Peas and Black Fungus

For vegetables, my mom decided to order the Lotus Roots, Snow Peas and Black Fungus, but it was definitely disappointing. I found it bland and it was something you could make yourself at home. The lotus roots were also cut in really big pieces and it was difficult to eat.

Deep Fried Fish Fillet

For seafood, we had Deep Fried Fish Fillet and the batter was light and fluffy. The fillet was fresh and tender and the garlic chips and spices made the dish more feisty.

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Honey Garlic Spareribs

Lastly, we had the Honey Garlic Spareribs, and this was also another favourite. I loved the sweetness to it and each sparerib had good amount of meat.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal and writing this post makes me miss Richmond and Vancouver food so much! Soon, you will hear about my Asian food stories here in Europe, and they are definitely not too great.