Final set of pictures from Spain.
Fried bacalao from Casa Labra at Madrid.
We went to La Bouqueria right after we arrived in Barcelona...
... and stumbled into El Quim. The wild mushroom were quite good.
However, what stole the show were the small cigalas which were still alive on display counter. These little briny jewels were flamed in brandy.
Another notable meal in Barcelona was at Kaiku on the Barceloneta seafront. When in Spain one automatically craves for paella but the truth is that authentic paella is from Valencia and most of the examples you find elsewhere are but lame imitations. The rice dishes at Kaiku are technically arroz but they still did well to quell my paella craving.
Arroz Negro con Sepia - the pearly smoked bomba rice cooked in squid ink is quite tasty.
Fideuà - pasta stewed in stock on a paella pan.
Buying Jamón Ibérico from the famed Jamonissimo.
The next destination is the food paradise of San Sebastian/Donostia. In the first morning we visited the Mercado el Bretxa. Unfortunately we had neither the time nor the kitchen to cook in.
Large cigalas are more pricy than lobsters.
Pintxos at La Cuchara de San Telmo.
Giant scallops with Iberian Bacon - cooked through but not tough at all. The texture of these scallops are markedly different from the Japanese scallops imported here - they were significantly more muscular and robust.
Kokotxas or hake throats in pil-pil sauce might not be for everyone but is a definite winner for me. The sauce is full of natural gelatin.
A massive lobe of foie gras on applesauce - nothing quite like pan fried fresh foie. I wish I had more!
Carrillera (beef cheeks) stewed till fork tender in local Rioja. Yum!
Arrive early if you want to beat the crowd!
Other pintxos at San Sebastian. This is from Bar Goiz Argui just outside the market.
Dionne's breakfast on the left, mine on the right. Mine was a phenomenal combination of ham, hard-cooked egg, roasted pepper, crab in mayonnaise, an anchovy fillet and olive oil. It was the best pintxo bite I had.
I think these were from Bar Gandarias.
Fried tomato 'soup'. I frankly don't get it.
More bacalao.
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