Eatin' our way thru Placa de Sants (Barcelona)

Fo Bar

Placa de Sants

Bar S.OMY

Placa de Sants

So we started our days in Barcelona with an excellent cup or two of cafe con leche.    It's awesome espresso coffee with steamed/frothed milk.  We tended to end up in  Fo Bar, a cozy spot in Placa de Sants where students and locals like to hang out.  Nothing so chi-chi, no fancy airs, just good coffee. 

It's really true what they say about the cafe culture here in the continent... people do relax with their coffee, and just sit and talk, maybe read the paper.   The coffee is cheap, fresh and invariably excellent--- no fancy names, no thirty different variations to choose from, no marketing jabber.  I love it!

We've been dying for some chocolate y churros too, but we always woke up around noon, so we never got to have any.  Sigh. 

Two cups (demitasse) of cafe con leche and some excellent croissants.

Inside Fo Bar.  They do serve a couple of small bites too, mostly light snacks and sandwiches.

Another place we tried here at Placa de Sants is Bar S.OMY.  Unlike Fo Bar, this was a smarter, sleeker place.  The place was pretty quiet that night we went.

Murphy's Irish Red.  Harsh and gassy, did not like at all.  Beer in general did not seem like Barcelona's strong suit.  Not many places had San Miguels, which I think is the most decent local brew.  Most places only carried one type of beer on tap.

I liked how the tapas of the day was handwritten in a little scrap of paper. 

Breaded and fried camembert drizzled with a balsamic glaze.  It was crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside.  Interesting combination of flavors.

Patatas S.OMY.  There was some meat-based filling in it.  DJKung liked it a lot.

DJKung got the hamburger.  It was actually quite small, but rather tall too.  Look at how lovely the crackle on the top of the bun is!  DJKung quite liked the hamburger and said that the meat had a lot of flavor.

La Paradeta, Barcelona

La Paradeta
Calle Riego, 27, Sants (other locations available)
Barcelona
http://www.laparadeta.com/eng/paradeta.htm

This was our favorite restaurant here in Sants.  We ate here the night we arrived (Sunday).  And one more time, when it reopened on Tuesday.

La Paradeta is a self-serve seafood restaurant chain here in Barcelona.  You pick your items, which they will weigh before cooking.  You get your drinks and pay at the window.  Your receipt lists a number that they call out as your items come out of the kitchen.  It's great that they stagger the items so you do not get too overwhelmed.

Fresh seafood on ice.  There was a variety of shellfish (oysters, littleneck clams, razor clams, teeny weeny clams), baby squid and regular squid, shrimps and prawns, two types of fish.  The lobsters were actually from the US.  Everything is prepared simply, either fried, grilled or broiled.

We had some San Miguel while we waited for our number to be called.  It tastes quite distinct from the Philippine brand; its a tad fruitier and smoother to drink.  I think I'm in the minority because I like it more.  It's definitely easier to drink than Estrella Damm, the other popular pale lager here.

House salad.  The best part are the barbeque-flavored olives, which have a lot of umami. 

Steamed mussels.  These were sweet and superfresh.

Chipirones (fried baby squid) and little fried fish.  The chipirones are ten times better than your usual fried calamari because the baby squid are more tender and cook up crunchy.

Clams in white wine and garlic.  These babies were tiny but have immense flavor.

The other time we went, we also got to try the razor clams (not pictured), which were sweet and succulent.  It was interesting that the only sides they had were rolls, no rice or any other grains.  The focus is just on the seafood.

We noticed that La Paradeta was popular with families and groups of friends.  There was quite a jolly atmosphere with everybody talking, drinking and digging into the piles of seafood.

Inside BCN Barcelona Apartments

Inside-BCN Barcelona Apartments
http://www.inside-bcn.com/

Why did we pick Barcelona? 

(1) We got tired waiting for the euro to come down. 
(2) The limited amount of time off that I had meant that we had to go to an easily navigable place where we can acclimatize easily, relax and enjoy ourselves. 
(3)  We like yummy food, of course.
(4) A previous trip to Madrid and Seville was loads of fun.
(5) Other friends have raved about how cool and charming Barcelona is. 

So we used easyjet to get from London Luton (pronounced "loo-ton," roughly 45 minutes outside central London via trains from St. Pancras station).  This airline is as no-frills as it gets.  Seriously, this is THE steerage class and is a few rungs below most, if not all, the no-frills airlines we have here in the US.  The flight took about an hour and a half and roughly cost around $60 each.  Which is pretty darned cheep.  Mooo.

We used Inside BCN to book a studio apartment in the Sants area, which turned out to be super awesome.  This residential neighborhood is walking distance to Sants station (convenient to the airport) and we did not really see a tourists here.  It felt like we had a more local experience given that we shopped, ate and gawked along with everybody here.  


There is a little plaza where the local kiddies hang out, but it never got as rowdy/noisy as the plazas in Madrid (our pensione then was smack dab where partygoers were drinking in the streets till the morning).  There are some bars and restaurants in the immediate area, which was great for us. 

Sants was pretty convenient to everything. The Metro and bus stops were close by (Barcelona has an awesome user-friendly  local transport website).  The main street here  is Carrer de Sants, where there are lots of cute stores, cafes and bakeries.  A short walk away was a convenience store, Open Cor, where we got our supplies (spaghetti, bread, laundry stuff, chips, etc.).  There was even a market, Hostafranc, close by where we could do serious food shopping. 

The studio apartment itself was a pleasant surprise, and was quite bigger than what the pictures portrayed.  The internets was a tad slow, but all the other amenities were great.  Definitely felt like home.  We were able to rent the place for about 55 euro/night, which was a steal compared to some of the tourist-class hotels in the downtown area. 

The Eagle, London

The Eagle
Islington, London


Of course, our last night in London was not complete without a few pints at a local pub.  The Eagle is a neighborhood pub with some nice taps.  Definitely not as crowded as all the other places we passed by at Angel. We had fun trying a few brews.

Fruli--- a strawberry fruit beer.  It was thick and sweet, like a shake, or a dessert. Amazingly tasted like pureed superripe strawberries.  DJKung's cousin loves this beer.

Cheers! Dark Star ale is on the right.  The one on the left has a very familiar logo...  In any event, DJKung and I were very amazed at how full flavored and smooth they were.  In reviewing Dark Star's online info, it appears that it is an American-style pale ale, which I never would have guessed!

Here's DJKung and cousin M mugging for the camera.  We reallllly enjoyed our stay in London, and that's not the beers talking!

Ready for some Peri-Peri?

Nando's
324 Upper Street
Islington, London N1 2XQ (other locations available)
http://www.nandos.co.uk/

Happy birthday to me!  DJKung's cousin brought us out to Angel, a lively neighborhood with lots of gastropubs, restaurants and shops.  Nando's is her fave spot at the moment, with tasty bbq chicken and lots of zingy peri-peri sauce.  It was certainly the spot for a lot of young 'uns out with their buddies. 

DJKung studying the menu.  Basically when they call you for your table, you first place and pay for your order at the counter.  They bring your food to your table when it is ready. 

Spicy cashew nuts and marinated olives.

Workin' the grill. 

Free mince pie ...

There was a sink in the middle of the restaurant... I guess they really expect you to get down and dirty with the chickens!

Olives and some pinot grigio to start off the meal.

So the main draw here at Nando's is their barbequed chicken.  The chickens are marinated in their own spice mix and grilled fresh to order.  You can also customize your level of spice depending on the degree of heat you want.  The chicken comes out quite savory and flavorful.

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Chicken and chips, with a side of yellow rice. 

A trio of peri-peri sauces.  The peri-peri sauces are kinda like chimichurri sauce, although they are a bit heavier on the vinegar.  The hot sauce went very nicely with my sandwich.

Haloumi sandwich.  Haloumi is kinda like a firmer version of farmer's cheese.  This came with some chili jam and red cabbage.  It was ok, but it seemed that the meat items were much tastier. 

The Rake

The Rake

14a WInchester Walk

London SE1 9AG

www.utobeer.co.uk

After an hour or two spent gawking arond Borough Market, we stopped for a pint at The Rake before heading to Tate Modern. 

The Rake looked more like a little bar as opposed to your traditional English pub. Their outdoor seating abuts Borough Market, so I am sure that it gets quite busy here during the summer months.  DJKung and I were completely unfamiliar with the beers on tap, so we did a little taste test of a couple of their brews.  You gotta hand it to them, the brews we tried (mine was an IPA) were well balanced, smooth and refreshing.

The walls were autographed by some folks from various breweries.  The Rake carries a few Californian brews that we recognized. 

Yum yum yum... I wish we had time to sample a few more brews... The Rake has dozens and dozens of beers from all over.

Since we were en route to the Tate Modern, this was a cool little spot to chill out and take a break from all the sightseeing.  Cheers!

Fish and chips at Fish!

Fish!

Borough Market, London

Fish! has a proper and shiny restaurant right in Borough Market, where you can sit and savor a nice glass of wine as your fish is being prepared.  Fish! also has a take-away stand next to it that specializes in fish and chips.  Of course, we won't be having a real London holiday without this staple, so we joined the queue.

Blackboard menu.  DJKung ordered the cod. 

Scrummy yunmy fried fish.

I was taking a photo of these pretty wooden utensils, when the person behind the counter asked if we could take his picture. 

The cod we got was quite a hefty slice, superfresh and fried perfectly.  It was really yummy.  We fell into conversation with a nice lady who offered to share us her mashed peas to go with our chips.  The peas added a sweet and starchy touch. 

Fish!'s fare was a nice twist on your typical greasy newspaper-wrapped fish and chips.  Definitely have it with a generous shake of the salt and malt vinegar. mmmm-mmmm!

Breads, Beer and Bunnies at Borough Market (London)

Borough Market

8 Southwark Street

London SE1 1TL

www.boroughmarket.co.uk

Borough Market is just all sorts of awesome. As part of our excursion to the South Bank area, this was our first stop. We took a bus to London Bridge station, and from there, simply followed the crowds to Borough Market. 

There are plenty of very gorgeous pictures you can take around here. The market is partly under a bridge, amidst plenty of winding cobblestone streets.  The market is quite the destination for both locals and tourists alike for fresh produce and all sorts of goodies.   Small restraurants and wine bars dot the area too, great for hanging out.  It was simply a feast of the senses.  We highly recommend coming here on an empty stomach and eating your way through!

That curry sure looks good!

Loads of fresh fish.

I love the heavily textured leaves (kale?) against the smooth papery contours of the garlic. 

Look at those huge fluffy meringues on the left!

DJKung wanted to warm up with a bit of chai.  Unfortunately, the tea here was rather bland with very little spice.

Bread puddings and muffins.

CHEEEEESE!!! and sausage!  Londoners sure have it lucky!  There were a bunch of stalls that had soft cheeses, country cheeses, big wheels of cheese, and various French cheeses. 

Here's another shot of those fluffy meringues.  And fruit tarts too.

Fresh shucked oysters, from local sources.

Pies and pasties.

Frrresh meats here!  Since the holidays were coming about, fresh game (especially pheasant) was quite popular.

Various brews.

Look at these gorgeous mushrooms!  I liked how they had a bunch of wild mushrooms available.

Breads.

Preem Restaurant (London)

Preem Restaurant

Brick Lane, London

After enjoying the festivities at Winter Wonderland, we took a short bus ride to King's Cross station and walked towards Brick Lane.  Brick Lane is the famous row of Indian/Pakistani restaurants here in London, and reputedly serves the best of these cuisines outside India/Pakistan.  Nearby is also a weekend market that specializes in Asian food, which is also a destination in itself. 

The night we went was certainly busy, with the streets and restaurants buzzing with people.  DJKung's cousin, who was with us that night, took us to Preem.

Crispy papadums in the foreground. 

Sauces for the papads.  Clockwise from top left: sweet sauce (tamarind based?), a harsh chili sauce, a light yoghurt-based sauce, and onion slices.

Veggie samosas with salad.  The sauces went well with the samosas too.

For our mains, we ordered family-style and got a veggie curry dish, chicken biryani, lamb curry and lemon rice. 

Everything was pretty good, but I must confess to a personal bias towards the joints we have back home in NJ.  I find that the curries are richer and more flavorful back home.  Then again, it's too soon to tell, since we've only tried one restaurant out of the dozens here.  Now that Brick Lane is on our radar, it is definitely a must-revisit destination for us.