Tapa Tapa (Arenas) – Barcelona

February 16, 2014February 16, 2014Leave a comment

I took a Spanish history class at ESADE, and it was one of the best classes offered there! Truly learned so much about Spain and coming from a country with such a young history, it was so interesting to actually finally understand some of the European history. One our our assignments was to visit an assigned site in Barcelona. For my group, we were assigned to visit the Olympic Museum and then check out the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, which was the stadium that was renovated for the 1992 Summer Olympics. For tourists who are only in Barcelona for a few days, the Museum is definitely not worth your time as it only gives a timeline of the history of the Olympics. However, the stadium is worth a visit if you are going to see Montjuic since it is on the way up the mountain and also free. Not anything impressive, but it’s pretty cool to know how the Olympics really changed Barcelona from a city of nothing to one of the top tourist destinations! The Barcelona Olympics is said to be one of the only Olympics where the investment and costs actually benefited the city more than any other host city in Olympic history. It’s almost difficult for any city to repeat the dramatic change that occurred.

Anyways, after an afternoon researching for our assignment, we headed back to Plaza Espanya on the bus. Next to the Arenas, which is now a mall, but a bullfighting arena in the past, is Tapa Tapa. There are around 3-4 Tapa Tapas around Barcelona, and it’s known to be catered towards tourists.

We chose to settle here anyways to grab a snack. The menu barra really caught our eyes since it was a pretty good deal. I believe the menu was only 8,60 euros, which is really cheap! An amazing deal, since most of their tapas are at least 3 euros anyways. I’ve been to other Tapa Tapas before as well, and I realized that they do not offer this lunch menu. I think it’s because the Tapa Tapa at the Arenas has less traffic, especially tourists. The other locations include Maremagnum at Port Vell and on Passeig Gracia, which constantly has tourists. Since it’s a tourist spot, they also offered an English menu to make things easy.

I think what attracts tourists to Tapa Tapa are the colourful pictures of their menu that’s always placed outside. For foreigners, it’s always great to see pictures to know what they’re ordering.

For our menu, we were given a choice of water, soda, or beer. I ended up choosing a sparkling water. It’s called “agua con gasse” in Spanish. I find that Europeans drink sparkling water a lot more than Americans. It’s not something very common for us. This one was called Vichy Catalan, and the bottle was really cute!

Potato Omelet

We each ordered the set menu, but chose to share some of our food, so hence there are lots of food pictures! To start, we all chose the Potato Omelet, which is a typical Spanish tapa. I actually ate this quite frequently at school, since it was an affordable item at the school cafeteria. It would come in a sub with the potato omelet inside. Potato chunks are mixed with egg to form this little cube. It’s usually served cold and placed on bread that has been brushed with tomatoes.

Lettuce with Goat Cheese Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

My friends ordered this as they were huge fans of goat cheese. I still haven’t been able to acquire to this taste, so it was only okay for me. Came with some croutons, and the vinaigrette dressing really made the salad tasty!

Three Cheese Risotto – Gorgonzola, Emmental, Brie

Some of us also got the Three Cheese Risotto. I loved this one! It was very creamy and cheesy since it had three types of cheese. For people who aren’t into very strong cheeses, this dish may be a little strong for your liking. Since I’m not into blue cheeses, the Gorgonzola really hit my taste buds. However, since it was mixed with two lighter cheeses, it wasn’t as strong.

Three Cheese Croquettes

This was by far one of my favourites! Ever since my first time trying croquettes, I have been so into them! These were purely just cheese, and hence extremely cheesy when you bite into them. The outer layer was also deep fried, but not too oily.

Crispy Shrimp

These were great to snack on! Reminded me of popcorn shrimp back at home. It came with a garlic mayo. The outer layer wasn’t too thick, and the shrimps were still fresh.

Trio of Mini Hamburgers with Cheese, Onion and Mustard

This was also one of our favourites. They were actaully hamburgers without the burger. So essentially the beef patty only. On the left, the patty was topped with mustard. The mustard was so delicious! Not the cheap American yellow mustard on hot dogs. This was grainy mustard with mustard seeds still in it. My absolute favourite! In the middle was a patty topped with melted cheese. This was also quite good, but the cheese cooled down quickly, so wasn’t as cheesy anymore. Lastly, on the right was a patty topped with grilled onions. I didn’t expect this to taste anything special, but the seasoning they used on the onions and after being grilled really made it a great patty!

To finish off your meal, there’s coffee! It’s popular to finish your meal with a cafe! We really enjoyed this since they let us choose any type of cafe. Usually, it’s strictly coffee. They let us choose and we chose the Cappuccino. It came with plenty of foam and topped with a bit of coffee powder. Not shabby!

So even though many people say Tapa Tapa is just for tourists, I think the lunch menu at the Arenas is quite worth it. I’ve been to the other locations and don’t think it’s as worth the money you pay for, and agree that they are quite touristy. Our service was attentive, and sitting at the bar was lots of fun! You get a taste of typical Spanish tapas at a great value.

Cervecería Catalana – Barcelona

February 8, 2014February 8, 2014Leave a comment

Cerveceria Catalana is Ciudad Condal’s sister restaurant. The layout of the restaurant is quite similar, with a bar table and dining seats as well. Focused on tapas, I find that the two restaurants offer many tapas that are the same. I couldn’t really tell a difference in terms of food or price. The only thing that seemed missing way my favourite smoked salmon montadito!

Grilled Razor Clam

Razor clams aren’t very popular in Vancouver, but they are everywhere in Barcelona! I don’t recall myself eating them before, but my sister had and suggested we order them. The Grilled Razor Clams aren’t bad as they weren’t too tough or soft. It had a nice chewy texture to it and the light seasoning was perfect when grilled. A bit of seasalt and lemon made the dish perfect. However, in perhaps one or two of them, we found a little sand. It wasn’t a lot, but you could feel it. I guess they are quite difficult to clean. Because of the sand, I found them average.

Grilled Cuttlefish

We finally ordered the right cuttlefish! The Grilled Cuttlefish is one of my favourite seafood to order in Barcelona. It’s a must order at Cerveceria Catalana or Ciudad Condal. The cuttlefish at these two restaurants are the most tender I’ve ever had. It has the same seasoning as the razor clams, and the simplicity of it is what makes this dish so wonderful. Absolutely love it!

Foie with Roquefort Flauta

These are flautas. They are essentially a baguette sandwich, but mini sized and a bit narrower. We chose the flauta filled with Foie and Roquefort. Roquefort is French sheep milk blue cheese and since I’m not a fan of any blue cheeses, I found the taste to be a little strong. Mixed with foie, which also has a strong taste, but one that I enjoy, made this flauta full of strong flavours. I thought it was just average. After eating half of it, I didn’t really want any more of it. Since foie’s texture is very soft and almost slimy, it’s not exactly the most appealing or texturally satisfying food. Decent to share, but probably wouldn’t order this again.

Veal with Pepper

The Veal with Pepper is quite a good montadito, and one that I have ordered again. However, it’s quite pricey as it is around 3 euros for one. The veal is grilled and seasoned to perfection and is extremely tender. On top, it has a padron pepper, which are typical Spanish peppers that are smaller in size. They are actually very mild in spice, and only very few are spicy. The one here was very mild and didn’t even have much pepper taste to it. The Spanish, however, enjoy just eating these peppers as tapas. It added a nice grilled flavour to this montadito.

And that was our meal for two! Absolutely filling and at a decent price. Remember to grab a bar seat again to see what daily montaditos they offer.

And to finish off, here is a picture of the Magic Fountain in Barcelona. It’s situated right in front of the art museum at Plaza Espanya and is a must see. Beautiful colours and display of water accompanied with music.

El Vaso de Oro – Barcelona

February 5, 2014Leave a comment

My sister had met up with her coworker and wife, and they had asked me where to eat… We were near Barcelonetta, and I was not very familiar with the restaurants in that area. A quick search on Tripadvisor suggested us to go to to El Vaso de Oro. It’s extremely close to the Barcelonetta metro station, but when we got there, we questioned if we were at the right place. From the outside, the wooden signage makes it look like an old pub. Peeking in, you’ll see a line of chairs against the bar. Locals all having some beer and tapas. Along the wall, you’ll see a few tables with no chairs. But don’t make that be the reason you leave, because it offers some of the best food! You’re going to have to squeeze yourself here to even find a spot to stand… Yup, we ended up standing by one of the bar stools, because there was no room at the long bar table. Worth it though!

We had no idea what to order and with the menu being all in Catalan, it was quite difficult for me to understand anything. Service isn’t amazing or anything because it’s extremely busy in here, but this old Spanish man who worked behind the bar was really nice and would pop by to help us out. We asked what he would recommend, and with his limited English abilities and some finger pointing, he ordered several dishes for us to share. We got some complementary free baguettes, which were typical. Then, we got some Iberian Ham Croquettes. We also got some Iberian Ham Montaditos. Very typical Spanish tapas. I really enjoyed the croquettes since they are a little cheesy with the hint of ham. The Iberian Ham Montaditos were just alright. I’ve learned that I’m not a huge fan of Iberian Ham. I find it very strong in the pig flavour, and it’s not something I’m entirely into. It can also be quite tough sometimes and if there’s fat, then it’s very hard to chew. I’m more into the prosciutto type of ham, where it’s sliced very thing and easy to chew.

Next up, we got the Russian Salad. This is also a typical Spanish tapa. It’s basically like a tuna salad. It came with these little baked pieces of bread, so they were super crunchy. The only thing was there was more salad than the bread, so you would get so much leftover salad to eat on its own. Putting the salad on the bread was so much better because you get a crunch as well. I would recommend getting this salad!

Lastly, we got the Steak, which is what this cerverceria is famous for! Honestly, I didn’t get how good steak could be when I was reading the reviews. In fact, the steak isn’t that cheap either, and you only get around 8 pieces. But holy….these were heavenly. It’s cooked to perfection at medium rare and were the most tender pieces of steak I’ve ever had. They come already cut into cubes so it’s easy to eat, and there isn’t too much seasoning or what, but the flavour of meet just bursts in your mouth. Super juicy and is a must order! They also have steak with foie, but our friends were not big fans of foie. I could only imagine how great that would taste. We ended up ordering another plate of this steak because it was so good. I could seriously just come here to have a plate of this to myself and being fully satisfied.

Overall, extremely satisfied with El Vaso de Oro. We almost came back here another time because we were craving the steak so much. Even my Spanish professor recommended this spot for good steak. Super local place where you’ll here Spanish or Catalan only. I don’t think I saw any tourists when I went! It’s not the cheapest place to get tapas, but I think the quality of food makes it worthy. Good place to just grab a snack, but maybe not get full.

Ciudad Condal

January 15, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

I’m so excited to write this post, becuase Ciudad Condal is my absolute favourite tapas restaurant in Barcelona! Whether you are here for just a few hours or months, you must give Ciudad Condal a try! I’m not paid to sponsor them or anything, but I swear that everyone I’ve brought here has had a great meal! I’ll have more revisits, as I’ve been here probably 5 times in the 4 months I stayed in Barcelona. Anyways, Ciudad Condal essentially is another name for Barcelona in Spanish, as they used to be the County of Barcelona. In Catalan, it is Ciutat Comtal, hence you will see two confusing names.

The place was extremely packed the first few times I went, (mostly because it was the summer, or early fall months, and there were tons of tourists). Yes, this place is very tourist friendly, with most of the servers understanding English, and the people at the bar are actually Filipino and not Spanish. However, this place is definitely not a tourist trap! To get the most of your experience, try to aim for the bar seating. Seating is very limited here, and you cannot reserve a seat there. You essentially wait around behind the people eating until you spot them leaving, and you just gotta snatch a seat.

If you don’t want to wait around, then you most likely will still need to wait. However, you will leave your name with the hostess and she will call your name when your table is ready. There is always a line up, so the best times to go are around 5 or 6 pm, although you would need to sip on a drink before the montaditos come out. I suggest sitting at the bar because you will get the view of what’s in this picture. Food! Since most of the items are not always on the menu, as a foreigner and first-timer, it’s easiest to just point and order. No need to figure out the confusing menu, and if you want something specifically on the menu, you can also order from the bar here. The bar people are also extremely friendly and I find they give the best service! So what essentially are montaditos? They are similar to pintxos, where ingredients are served on top of a piece of bread, but without the toothpick.

Other than montaditos, they have flautas, which are very skinny baguette sandwiches filled with your choice of ingredients. They also have a variety of tapas and desserts. Prices are not the cheapest here, but they also aren’t too expensive. I would rather pay here at an average price for some decent food, then for two meals of cheap bar tapas. It’s just worth it! Trust me!

Anyways, we started off with a pitcher of Sangria. Yup, I think I was starting to get sick of this… The sangria here does not have a lot of fruits, but instead lemons. It was alright. I found it quite pricey for what it was and relatively expensive compared to many restaurants.

Now let’s get to the montaditos! This was our first time here, and we unfortunately did not know the trick to sitting at the bar. The bar was filled with people, so we just grabbed a seat in the dining area. We had serious troubles figuring out what to eat since the menu doesn’t show the names of the montaditos. My sister ended up having to get up and take a few photos of the montaditos at the bar and bring it back for us to decide. We ended up telling our waiter what we wanted by describing what was on each. We got the Iberian Ham, and Smoked Salmon. The Iberian Ham is a must try in Spain. Well, I mean, Spain is famous for this! However, I’m not a huge fan of it, so trying it once is really enough for me. I find the pork taste to be too pungent for my liking, but people here love this stuff. However, what I can rave about all day and night is this Smoked Salmon montadito. If you like salmon, then you must order this. I never knew smoked salmon could be cut so thick and be so smooth. Each one has around 1.5 pieces of salmon layered on top of each other. Underneath is a slather of cream cheese, and on top are diced peppers which give it a really fresh taste. You won’t regret ordering this, and this is one of the reasons why I come here.

My sister is a fan of pasta salad, so of course she ordered that. It’s quite a large serving, but it’s around 6 euros, so I guess that’s reasonable. They come with two pan de tomates, which are baguettes brushed with tomatoes and olive oil. This was quite good, but it gets you filled up really quickly. They also have a variety of other salads, and if you sit at the bar, you can see all the different types.

Patatas Bravas. This is another typical Spanish tapa, which you can essentially find at almost any Spanish tapa or bar joint. However, each place does it slightly different. They are essentially fries, but diced into cubes and topped with a tomato and spicy aioli sauce. Some places only use one sauce, while others use a variation of the sauces such as mayonnaise or garlic sauce. I enjoyed these since they weren’t fried too oily and the sauce was really good. This aioli sauce was a bit garlicky!

I had looked over at other people’s tables and saw some grilled cuttlefish. However, I didn’t know what that was on the menu and we settled on the ‘Roman style’ Small Squids, which apparently meant calamari. Bummer. But these were still alright. The batter was light and fluffy and the squids were very tender. I swear Spain has some of the best squid and cuttlefish! Anyways, if you want the actually grilled ones, just let your server know “grilled cuttlefish”. Yup, it was on the menu too…but who knew…

Lastly, we got the Prawn Skewers. They are quite expensive, at about 3 euros each, but the good thing is that the prawns are huge. They were lightly salted and extremely fresh! So I guess that was worth it. Plus, they actually fill you up quite a lot.

All in all, Ciudad is a must try in Barcelona. I have never told my friends about a restaurant so much. Whenever I’m asked for restaurant advice in Barcelona, Ciudad is the first place I recommend. It’s truly an experience there, and the seafood is amazing. Remember not to order too much though! This was a meal for only three people, and we were so full we couldn’t finish our food. You think that tapas are small at first, but as you eat, you’ll realize they really do fill you up! Remember that there’s always a piece of bread!

Txapela – Barcelona

January 14, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

There are now 3 Txapelas in Barcelona, and the one we went to was one of the larger joints on Passeig de Gracia. When we went in a mid-afternoon, the place was filled with people. It took a while for us to be noticed, and then seated.

Txapela was recommended to us by a local, but is definitely filled with tons of tourists as it is centered in the city centre and easy to find.

The menu is basically your table mat, and it shows colourful pictures of pintxos, which have become one of my favourite things about Spain! They are essentially little snacks where the bottom is usually a piece of thinly cut baguette, and on top can be anything from cheese to meat to fish. It really depends on how creative the restaurant gets! Other than that, they also offer some typical Spanish tapas, a few selection of desserts, and drinks. The menu is not in English, but since the pictures are so pretty, I just chose based on the appearance. Not a lot of frustration with ordering since you can just point or say the number.

These were some of the pintxos that my table ordered. I just love how they always look so pretty, so even if it doesn’t taste good, you can get sold just by the appearance.

And these were the ones I got. I got the Pincho Urruti, which is a classic cannelloni with wild mushroom sauce. It’s pretty small, but the mushroom sauce was so good. Everything just melts in your mouth. On the right on the plate is the Pincho Mallorca, which is warm brie with spicy pork sausage. This was okay, but I found the pork sausage to have a very strong pork flavour which I wasn’t very used to. Lastly, I got the Pincho Arantxa, which is pictured on the left of the plate. This included prawns, bacon and grilled mushroom, which was my favourite pincho. I just enjoy grilled seafood and grilled mushrooms, and everything was lightly salted, so you could taste the freshness.

The pintxos range from 1.45 to 2.45 euros, so some can be quite affordable. However, you need at least 3-4 of them to be sort of full. As a snack, that is perfect, but for a meal, you may need 5. Don’t order too many at first, as they can really fill you up. You need to remember that each pintxo has a piece of bread under, which for some reason will fill you up! All in all, not a bad pintxo joint, but it is definitely not my favourite. It’s a good place to start if you want to try a variety of pintxos at a decent price though.

Tapas Gaudi – Barcelona

January 7, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Tapas Gaudi is literally just 10 minutes away from my flat in Barcelona. It is right in front of the Clot Metro Station, hence I walk by it pretty much every day. When S came to visit me, we decided to go grab dinner and since we were too lazy to metro elsewhere in the city centre, we decided to give Tapas Gaudi a try. The place was never packed, but you would see the occasional diner in there at all times.

Seafood Paella

Since S was here for only a week, she wanted to get the most out of her paella. So of course, we ordered a Seafood Paella to share. Their paellas are around $16-18, but you do not need to order a minimum of two orders. But then again, the price is around the same as La Fonda’s when you order two there. It came with three shrimps, which remind me of crawfish. There isnt’t much meat to it as they are quite skinny. It also came with some clams and green beans. Again, it was alright. I’m still not a huge fan of paella. Having it once is honestly enough for me, personally.

Black Rice Paella

K ordered the Black Rice Paella, which does not look very appealing, but I actually liked the flavouring of this one more. Same ingredients, but a squid ink base as the sauce, hence the rice turning black.

Fried Milk

Lastly, S and I shared the Fried Milk as dessert. It came with some vanilla gelato and whipped cream, which were all beginning to melt. The fried milk reminded me of the ones back at home at Chinese restaurants. I actually quite enjoyed this. It was almost like a donut, but soft in the inside with a custard like texture.

Overall, Tapas Gaudi is just alright. I find that the prices are quite expensive compared to what you can get elsewhere. I believe it is mostly for tourists as it is situated right outside of the metro station. The food isn’t terrible, but it is just average for a high price.

La Concha – Barcelona

January 4, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

After school, a bunch of us decided to head back to the city centre to grab some lunch. However, we had nowhere in mind so we wandered the Gothic area streets for almost an hour. We all wanted good food at a decent price and with such a large group, it was hard to come to a consensus. We were starting to get really hungry, and we finally decided to settle for La Concha. La Concha, like most restaurants in Barcelona, offer a menu del dia, which is a 2-3 course menu at a fixed price. These menus are often offered during lunch time until 4pm, and then some restaurants will choose to have a dinner menu as well. Since menu of the days are usually the best deal, we went for it, and it was only 12 euros for a first course, main entree, dessert, bread, and drink.

Fideua

There are a variety of items to choose for each course, and for my first course, I chose the Fideua. You need to learn that in Barcelona, their so called first course or appetizer is an enormous portion and could fill me up as almost an entree. The fideua was literally three large scoops on a huge plate. I was getting worried how full I would be by the end of this meal…Anyways, fideua is basically the noodle version of paella. Fideau means noodles in Catalan and is often seen on menus in Catalan or Valencian restaurants. The noodles are special noodles, which are very thin like angel hair. They are broken into tiny pieces and are served with shrimp or other seafood. There’s a sauce to it, but it is quite dry compared to paella rice. They also give you a side of mayonnaise, which you are supposed to mix into the fideua. However, I prefer my fideua without the sauce as it gets too saucey and salty.

Lacón a la Gallega (Galician Ham)

For my entree, I chose the Lacon a la Gallega, which is Galician Ham in English. This is a ham that originates from Galicia, which is in northwest Spain. It is a dried ham, and instead of using the whole leg, they only use the pork’s shoulder. The ham was paired with sauerkraut and lentils, and topped with a spice similar to paprika. Quite tasty but very meaty and filling.

Flan

Lastly, for dessert I had the flan which is similar to a caramel pudding. Even though it didn’t look too appetizing, it was quite delicious. I love how the top is slightly glazed and the whipped cream makes it even better.

All in all, La Concha was quite good for the price you pay. The people do not speak a lot of English, but they do their best to try and explain their menu which is all in Catalan. Overall, worth a try if you are in the Gothic Quarter.

La Fonda

December 10, 2013December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Before arriving in Barcelona, I really did not do much research into what to eat. Something that is so unlike me, since I research where to eat in Vancouver all the time. However, I luckily met S, who seemed to know his way around Barcelona really well. Since my friends were over to visit me, I had no idea where to take them. S kindly took me and my friends out and we ended up at La Fonda. We luckily did not have to wait long until we got a table. Usually, La Fonda has ridiculous line ups, because it is actually a well known restaurant for tourists. Inside, the restaurant looks extremely fancy, and at first, I was worried S had taken us to some sort of fine dining. However, after we looked at the menu, we realized the prices were very reasonable and actually much cheaper than many other restaurants.

Sangria

We first started with a pitcher of Sangria. This is a must order in Spain, since it is basically the Spanish cocktail. The sangria at La Fonda is actually pretty good, compared to some other ones I have tried. It has a good amount of red wine and enough fruits to make it slightly sweet.

Entrante mixto de la Fonda (Calamares a la romana, quiche de jamon y queso, croquetas, pan con tomate y fuet…)

We started off with a mixed plate of appetizers. It started with grilled cuttlefish, which was one of my favourite. The seasoning was just so good and the cuttlefish was grilled perfectly. To the right was a ham and cheese quiche, which was decent. Not the best I’ve had. Next, was a baguette with brushed tomatoes and a slice of a type of sausage. The sausage was similar to chorizo and was rather hard. Typical sausages the Spanish eat though. Next, was the calamaris fried in a Romanian style. I didn’t like these calamaris. The oil seemed rather old and the batter was not fluffy or crunchy. Next, were the croquettes, which were filled with ham and cheese. These were also one of my favourites. Last, was the grilled red peppers, which are also a common appetizer for the Spanish. The whole platter was under 8 euros, which is great if you want to try a bit of everything. Quite difficult to share between four people, but perfect for two.

Paella Valencia

And of course, I would be dumb enough to tell my friends to save eating paella in Barcelona when we should have had some authentic paella in Valencia! I had clearly not done my foodie research, and now I regret not having paella in Valencia… So of course, we ended up trying the Paella served Valencian style at La Fonda. It was basically served with chicken drumsticks and lots of veggies amidst a flavourful sauce. You have to order a minimum of two servings, but this is perfect to share if you just want to try some paella and leave room for other dishes. The paella here is extremely well done for the price, as most restaurants charge ridiculous prices. Here, the each order is around 8 euros, so it costs around 16 euros for the minimum two orders. Not bad at all, since lots of places charge at least 16 euros for one order.

Cordero al horno con patatas al romero

Lastly, we shared a main meat entree, which was under 12 euros. This was also one of the most expensive entree for the meat section, with most entrees costing around 8 or 9 euros. We chose the Grilled Lamb with Rosemary Potatoes and this was really good! The meat was so tender and just flaked off the bone. The sauce was flavourful, with the rosemary aroma.

In the end, we were completely full with just ordering the three dishes between the four of us. If you want some taste of Spanish food and a reasonable price, La Fonda is the place to go. You will see tons of tourists here, and the best thing is that the waiters can speak perfect English. They are just so used to dealing with tourists, that it is a tourist friendly restaurant. But it’s not one of those that rip you off with unauthentic and poor quality food. Be ready to wait unless you start lining up at 7pm for the first seating. They also have great lunch menus at a reasonable fixed price. It is tucked away near Placa Reial and accessible after a long day walking around La Rambla.

Every Day is a Food Day

Tag: Spanish