Kaiku – Barcelona

March 15, 2014March 14, 2014Leave a comment

On another day off back in Barcelona, S, A, and I decided to go try out a new restaurant. It’s amazing how beautiful the weather is, even when it’s mid November. Surfers were out at the Barcelonetta beach, and this was the view we had from the restaurant! Such a nice change from typical rainy Novembers back in Vancouver…

Anyways, our professor had compiled a list of his recommended resturants, and Kaiku was one of them. At first, we weren’t able to find it since their name on the banner is quite faded… We had to double check a few times to make sure we were at the right restaurant! It was a pretty nice day with some wind, so we decided to sit outside. We grabbed our seat ourselves (you find your own seat at most European restaurants), and a waitress came by right away with menus. The menu was in Catalan, and although we could make out most of the translations, she still gave us some help. Good service!

Green Salad with Honey Vinaigrette, Rosemary and Red Pepper

At Kaiku, they have a regular menu, but also a daily 3 course menu (like most Spanish restaurants). Since the regular menu is quite pricey, we went for the 3 course lunch menu. It was 11,50 euros, with VAT included. It included a drink of your choice, and I went for a glass of white wine. The choices are limited, but we still managed to choose some items. A and S both went for the Green Salad. I tried some of it, and to my surprise the honey vinaigrette was so delicious! The salad was a bit sweet and sour, and the red peppers were also a nice addition.

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil and Parmesan

For myself, I got the Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup, which I really enjoyed. It was creamy, but not too thick and filling. A nice consistency, and the hint of basil and Parmesan gave it great flavour.

Bake Sea Bream with Tomato Sauce and Parsley

For our entree, we all went for the Sea Bream. The other choice was a Veal Hamburger, and since Kaiku is known for their seafood dishes, we automatically went for the fish. I’m not a big fish eater, but when I go out to eat, I do like to order fish dishes. However, when I saw the dish come, I was shocked. I didn’t know it would be the whole fish… This is extremely common for sea bream though, and I found that most European restaurants present their fish as a whole. Well, it’s not surprising, since most fish at Chinese restaurants are as a whole too… I guess I was just imagining a nice piece of fish fillet.. Anyways, I didn’t really know how to eat the fish, since I’ve never really ate a whole fish, so I just watched my friends skillfully skin off the meat. It’s pretty cool actually! The bones are really just in the middle, so once you skin off the top layer of meat, you’ll see the bones, and you can detach the whole skeleton. The sea bream was just topped with tomatoes and a green vegetable, along with a green sauce. However, this simplicity was perfect as the fish was extremely fresh. Also, the skin was baked to perfection so it was crispy. I normally hate eating fish skin, especially if I can see the scales, but I devoured this fish with satisfaction.

Coffee Flan

For dessert, the choices were not listed on the menu, so the waitress told us the choices verbally. I went for the Coffee Flan. It was sort of like a caramel flan, but infused with coffee flavour. I really liked this since I enjoy flans, and mixed with the whipped cream, it wasn’t too sweet!

Banana Pudding

A went for the Banana Pudding. At first, we thought it looked like the Coffee Flan, but this was much more dense. She said it was pretty good!

Fruit Cake

As for S, he went for the Fruit Cake. It wasn’t exactly what we had imagined, but was more like a berry mousse on a tart like base. It was fruity and a mix of sour and sweet. He enjoyed this a lot as well.

All in all, Kaiku is worth checking out if you’re near Barcelonetta. The 3 course lunch menu is a good deal and will fill you up just right. Also, the view you get from sitting outside is just perfect! What better way to enjoy the weather with quality food!

Bits and Pieces of Amsterdam

March 14, 2014March 13, 2014Leave a comment

During my visit in Amsterdam, I also snacked on some food that I think are worth mentioning. After the Burger Bar, we walked a few steps and smelt some freshly baked goods! It was coming out of the Metropolitan, which offers a variety of pastries and sweets, including waffles, ice cream, and chocolate.

For myself, I chose this Chocolate Crispy Ball. It wasn’t something I had seen before, so I decided to give it a try. It’s sort of like corn flakes but coated with chocolate and all stuck together. Not bad, but it got a little too sweet after a while!

Then, another night we were wandering the streets and ended up in Chinatown. We were starving and M suddenly disappeared into Nam Kee. Nam Kee specializes in Chinese BBQ meats, and the ironic thing is that I usually hate it when my mom buys this back in Vancouver.

However, a few of us girls decided to share a box of mixed meat and the weirdest thing was I thought it was so delicious! I guess when you don’t eat something for 3 months, it tastes really good to you. I used to eat this pretty much every week when my mom was lazy to cook and I just got sick of it… And never had I thought soy sauce on rice could be so delicious… The meats were lean and you got a lot for the price you paid for. Nam Kee also has 2 other restaurants in Amsterdam, one of which we visited on a different night. However, I didn’t’ think the other restaurant was as good as this one. Or perhaps I was just really hungry and standing on the street eating this take out box was so satisfying…

Duvel beer is a Belgian beer owned by a Flemish family. It’s a strong golden pale ale, which M said was really good. Although it is supposed to be a little bitter, I found it quite easy to drink. I enjoy my beers to be light and easy to drink.

Our hostel had a bunch of coupons for activities in Amsterdam, and one that caught our eyes was the XtraCold Ice Bar. Honestly, we were all quite disappointed in this. It cost around 16 euros and to make things worse, S and I had split up from the group. We also got a bit lost trying to find the bar, and by the time we got there, we were told that we only had 15 minutes left of the “experience”. When we bought our tickets, we had “reserved” a time for the experience… Apparently, the whole experience only lasts around 50 minutes. We asked if we should still go in, and the guy at the till said it was up to us, but that we wouldn’t be getting the full experience. Since we didn’t want to split up from the group, we quickly got put into these parka jackets and gloves that were supposed to keep us warm. They also gave us some 3D glasses. When we got in, all our friends were freezing. Apparently the experience was watching some penguin cartoon show… which I definitely did not understand for the last 15 minutes. The ice room was extremely small with “fake glass”. I’m pretty sure it’s not real but more like clear plastic since I took off my gloves and touched it. They also did not have enough seats, so many people ended up having to stand in the back for the entire show. They have a mini bar in there with one bartender and you receive 2 complimentary shots in these ice shot glasses. Honestly, I did not think it was worth our money and our friends were freezing for the whole hour and said we hadn’t missed out much and would’ve rather came in late so they didn’t have to suffer the cold. They also didn’t allow photography inside, but only with their camera which of course, you needed to pay for the photos after. Outside of the room, there is an actual bar with more normal temperatures, and I thought the setting seemed pretty nice. I’m pretty sure the drinks were really expensive though, and it seemed more like a tourist attraction since the bar was pretty much empty.

On a different morning, we got up early and went to look for some breakfast. And…we ended up at a Donair shop and ordered some chicken nuggets and fries. The chicken nuggets actually reminded me of Mcnuggets and they were extremely crispy on the outside. The fries were also quite different from American and Spanish fries. They were very crisp, and my friends said they were Belgian fries. Belgian fries are fried twice, hence they are much crispier.

During our sightseeing, we found the famous I am Amsterdam sign!

Another cool attraction we discovered was the Amsterdam Cheese Museum. It’s not exactly a museum because it’s more like a cheese shop. Inside, they have literally all types of cheese. Cheese with flavours such as truffles, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, sausage and much more. My favourite was the pesto cheese and the hickory cheese which literally tasted like sausage! The shop is quite small, but it’s filled with such a large variety of cheese, and almost every type of cheese has samples for you to try. The staff are also really friendly and don’t really force you to buy anything. I wish I took some cheese back, but my backpack traveling really limited how much space I had… Downstairs, there is an extremely mini museum. They have a few boards with some cheese history, and then they have outfits and props like traditional Dutch wear and clogs for you to dress up in to take pictures. Other than that, it’s really more of a cheese shop than a museum. Worth checking out if you’re a cheese lover and won’t take up too much of your time!

The Pancake Bakery – Amsterdam

March 13, 2014March 12, 2014Leave a comment

Early morning, a few of us went out to explore the city while the rest continued to rest up at the hostel. We were able to walk around to most tourist points with just a map and even discovered a casino where my friend won some money! We then met up at The Pancake Bakery which our friend said was supposed to be very good. We got there a little late and saw a huge line up. Luckily, our other friends had gotten there earlier and lined up for a bit and got us some seats!

Maple Walnut Ice Cream Pancake

The pancakes here are definitely not the typical American pancakes we find at IHop. They’re not fluffy and thick, but instead quite thin. They remind me of something in between a crepe and an American pancake. The edges are crisp, but it’s still not as thin as a crepe. They have both savory and sweet pancakes. K went for a sweet one and chose one filled with Maple Walnut Ice Cream and some nuts. It was also dusted with icing sugar. It was really good! Lots of whipped cream and the hot and cold feeling was good!

Mushroom and Cheese Pancake

For myself, I wanted something savory. I went for the Mushroom and Cheese. These pancakes are huge by the way! They literally cover the whole plate, and these are large plates! There was an abundance of mushrooms and the cheese made me really full! I have to say, these were way better than those De Dutch pancakes that they claim are traditional Dutch pancakes… I espescially loved the crispy edges and the cheesiness of my pancake. I had a hard time finishing this and should’ve totally shared one with another girl.

Bacon and Cheese Pancake

U got the Bacon and Cheese Pancake. Also very cheesy and filled with bacon. She said it was very good as well!

All in all, amazing pancakes at an appropriate price. I would suggest sharing these so you get to taste a bit of everything. There’s also huge line ups here so it’s not a place to go if you’re in a hurry. I think the reason is because they have very limited staff. They have an open kitchen concept, and there’s honestly only around 2 people making these pancakes. Even waiting for our food took a long time.

Heineken Experience – Amsterdam

March 12, 2014March 11, 2014Leave a comment

After meeting up with the whole crew, including the friends from Manchester, we set off to go to the Heineken Experience, which is a tour of the Heineken brewery. If you’re living at a hotel or hostel, a tip would be to check if they have any discount vouchers since you’re likely to get a few dollars off. I believe we got it for around 16 euros. When you arrive, you receive complimentary coat check. Then you proceed to turn in your ticket and you get a wristband in return with 2 beer tokens and a free gift token.

It’s a self guided tour and they estimate it takes around 1.5 hours to get through the whole tour. The beginning includes a lot of history of how the company came together and the different branding and marketing strategies they used throughout time.

Honestly, I didn’t think the history section was too interesting. It was sort of like going to a museum and we had to read everything off the plaques, so we skimmed through it quite quickly.

Then we got to some things that were a little more interesting. They had a worker explain to us the process of how beer is made.

You got to try some of the hops and barley. Hops definitely did not taste that great…

Then you arrive at the Brew Room. You can’t really see what’s going on, so it’s more like getting a big picture of how it would be produced.

You can get a mandatory picture of yourself brewing in that brown leather apron too!

Then, you’ll find yourself in the stable walk with tons of horses. These horses were huge! Apparently, the horses were used to transport beer to the bars. I didn’t get a picture of the next room, but it’s pretty fun! It was a 4D ride called Brew Your Ride, and you essentially stand in this platform with other visitors and watch a film where you are basically Heineken beer. You go through the whole process including how you would be bottled up if you were the beer. It was pretty neat since the platform would move and water would squirt out to give effects.

Finally, we got to sample some beer! I think most of us were just looking for beer. They should’ve totally given us a beer to begin with so we could sip on it while going through the tour. The worker told us how to truly taste a beer and how to smell and see if it’s good beer. He also taught us the differences between Heineken and other beers. Some cold beer was perfect!

Next, we saw how the beer was bottled up with labels applied. This was really cool since you were able to customize your own label and you could see your customized bottle go down the production line.

They also had a final inspection! Some of our friends purchased this, but had to drink the beer in the end, since we were taking budget airlines with no checked luggage. So be warned that if you’re taking a budget airline, it’s probably not worth your money to purchase this, unless you don’t mind the bottle being uncapped.

Another section became tons of interactive games and such. They had plenty of screens where you could take pictures or videos with their branding and you could send it to your email. There was also a room with the advertisements they had used in the past and just tons of beer bottles decorating the ceilings and walls. Another interactive game was challenging yourself to pour beer from the tap perfectly. They also had a real life draught challenge and you could get a certificate to say that you had perfected pouring beer. However, that required two of your tokens from the wristband.

Instead, we used the tokens to trade ourselves some cold beer! Finally, we were able to just relax and enjoy ourselves in their Heineken World Bar. The Heineken Experience ends with the gift shop, which has some pretty cool gifts. You can also customize your beer glasses or mugs with etched names.

Overall, I thought it was a decent activity with friends. I’d suggest it if you were here for more than a day and have spare time. I’m not a huge beer fan, although Heineken is one of the beers I prefer more. I do find the admission price to be a little pricey for what we got. Learning-wise, I didn’t think I learned that much. It might’ve been better if someone was taking us around on the tour so we could just hear the explanations in person. Didn’t really enjoy the reading part of the tour..but that’s just me. Apparently you’re also able to get a water taxi to go to the Heineken Gift Shop across town to get the free gift, but we missed the last taxi, so we never got the gift.

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!

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)

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.

Every Day is a Food Day

Tag: Travel