Glorious dinner@Botafumeiro, Barcelona

This seafood restaurant was highly recommended by locals, as well as my European affiliate colleagues, who frequently have business trips in Barcelona. I had been warned that it would cost about 30-40 Euros / pax.

When we walked in, we were greeted by countless numbers of picture frames hung on the walls. If you look closely, you will notice that the photos showed all kinds of famous celebrities who visited Botafumeiro. Some examples that we saw were Shakira, Eva Longoria, Enrique, Nadal! photos, taken with the chef but I could tell that his was most proud of his picture taken with the ex- American president, Bill Clinton. The photo and its frame was the largest among all the hung pictures.

Squid ink seafood paella. I didn't get to try this dish, but those who did said it had a lot of 'wok hei' in it. Hmmm.....

We initially ordered the escargos, thinking they would come cooked with butter and garlic. Instead, they came on a pile of ice, along with the oysters. I ain't a fan of shells, but the rest who ate all gave a big thumbs up for its freshness.

This was my dish, grilled monkfish. Freshness was 10/10. Flavour was so so. Not sure what a monkfish looks like but the meat was pretty supple and tender, thinly layered of chargrill coating its sufrace.

Each table had a dedicated waiter serving, and ours did a fantastic job. Although I must say, his way of serving the crab was rather peculiar. My doctor ordered a crab dish, and at first it came on a plate, the entire crustacean, red and cold. My eyes widened thinking how to eat it.

The waiter was laughing at our reaction and later explained that he brought out the crab  to show its customer first, proving a good quality crab would be served. He even mentioned that the crab's name was Motolo. Now that made eating it a "whole lot easier"knowing its name. Minutes later, the crab was nicely dissected like an experimental lab rat, served as a cold dish.

WIERDDDDDDDD......

This was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, with raspberries and soaked with bourbon. This... would get you high just as quick as tequila shots. One scoopful of it, got the alcohol shot right up to my brain. I could feel my cheeks immediately flushing from the heat.

Definitely one dessert you woud like to eat, knowing that you're gonna have some sassytime later through the night! *winks* If you know what I mean.. haha.

This white wine was.. spectacular. Peachy, light, with a hint of grass. Perfect for seafood dishes. Deep down, I wanted to quietly have another bottle on my own. Damn..

Such nice hospitality! Since we had a big group and clearly, we gave them a pretty good profit, they gave us some local desserts .. for freeeeeeeee! The chocolate truffles were damn good, but the best was the almond flakes. Kinda reminded me of chinese new year cookies, I don't know why.

The famous Sagrada Familia church, designed by Gaudi. Gothic looking, with pastel colours on the tips of the church. It is still not fully constructed and the cost of building it fully depends on the entrance fees of visitors. However, the cost of going into the church is just too expensive in my opinion. The entrace fees was 15/20 Euros. Even more expensive than the Vatican!



Dinner@El Choquito, La Ramblas

It takes quite a long while to get accustomed to the long daylight timing in Barcelona. The sun rises at 530 am and sets at nearly 10 pm.

During summer/ siesta season in Spain, locals dine late and start their daily work activities late too. Dinners usually start at 9 pm, and if one requests to have dinner at 6 pm (like us in Malaysia), people would stare with astonishment.

By 730pm local Barca time, we couldn't wait any longer and decided to have dinner, whether it was considered early or not in the eyes of locals.

Mr C, the rice fan, was waiting to try out local spanish paella.

HUGE pan of rice came on our table. Rice = super banyak. Prawns = super kecil and kurang. Some clams and chopped bits of scallops were added in also. Not the best paella I've tried, as the rice was still a bit undercooked.



The sangria, was superb. Sweet, tangy and the only thing missing was.. A JUGful of it. Taking into account of our jetlag and having to wake up early next morning, I took a raincheck on the idea of having a jug of sangria.



730 pm Barca time, was 130 am Malaysia time. My tummy was in sleep mode already. Not feeling very hungry, I ordered tapas instead, which came along with my glass of sangria. One slice with jamon (pork), minced pork meat blended with cheese, and torched goat's cheese.

The sliced french loaf was cold and hard (not sure if locals loved ém like this but I would prefer them to be warm, crunchy and toasted).

The jamon was porkified, my breath smelt of it after a slice. Similar taste to our local dried meat, bakkua. The middle one tasted like spam, not to my liking.

This was my favourite :) Smelly goat's cheese, torched and grilled over a thin layer of caramelized sugar. Initially, over the first bite, the smelliness would drive your tastebuds up the wall. After taking several bites more, I started to like its taste. Much like drinking wine.

My colleague on the other hand, totally disliked it. One bite was enough to tell him that his next bite would kill off his entire appetite.

Total damage: Euro 27.

Quick late lunch@Artisa, La Ramblas, Barcelona

Upon my first day's arrival at Barcelona city, I took a quick evening tour around La Ramblas. Due to the 6 hour time difference, it should be my dinner time back in Malaysia. It's no wonder the tummy started growling!

I stumbled upon this interesting looking cafe, run by two cute guys! The cafe's called "Artisa". They serve all sorts of cakes and pastries, crepes, sandwiches, and home mde gelato, and most importantly... home-roasted coffee beans, with coffee served barista style.



I took the ham and cheese sandwich + coffee + 120 ml water set, cost Euro 4.95. Not bad at all!

Ciabatta bread was used to hold in several layers of juicy ham and cheese, toasted to perfection. The ciabatta was light, crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and boy oh boy... the ham was really good. Meaty, flavourful and juicy.

The portion was huge, and I shared it my colleague. The picture only showed half its size.

Steal deal!

I chose latte for my coffee choice. True enough, the coffee was buttery and fragrant, with a slight hint of burnt charcoal smell. The bean roaster machine was placed nearby the bar. '

A really interesting cafe indeed! The cute baristas/owners were bonus points, of course :)

Moussandra@KL Plaza

Demona: Dogma and I decided to dine in Moussandra after doing some research on romantic restaurants in KL. I made a table booking online about a week earlier.

Parking was COSTLY. Prepare yourself for rude and non-chalant "valet" and a minimal amount of RM 10 parking fee if you are planning to dine, walk and shop around the Bukit Bintang area.

Without a doubt, the restaurant was romantically decorated, with giant oil paintings hung on the rustic, pastel coloured walls, dimly lit lamps, acoustic Spanish music, and each table was placed with a giant red candle, using an empty wine bottle as its holder. Moussandra had many positive reviews, thus we were very eager to try out this place.



Demona: We decided to open the Les Ribieres that night. This bottle of wine was given by Dogma to me as a present. I have a few more bottles of wine kept in my wardrobe. Personally, I found this as a very romantic gesture, being given a gift which has to be kept, and to be opened and shared when the right time comes. Thank you, you.

La Maison Deméocq Les RIbieres:
This is a boutique wine from Cote Du Rhone Region by the LMD group, which was set up to promote small boutique growers in burgundy region. Varietal unknown, probably with some cabernet franc (cooked vegetable nose)
Eye: Mid cherry red
Nose: Initial was a raisiny alcoholic heat nose, with cooked vegetable. After 45mins of breathing, it slowly evolved into a beautiful vanilla from the oak and sweet licorice.
Palate: light weight, gripping tannins initially that gives a slight bitter after taste. Furry and rustic typical of Cotes du Rhone blend. Sip in some air you could taste some licorice sweetness amidst the alcohol. Medium length
Ratings: 3.2/5
Price: 40sgd?

It was an interesting wine for this price, as one would get a good evolution of nose and experience some elegance from this cuvee. A good effort from a non classified French however, do keep in mind this is not a wine to impress but rather, to experience a good non classified cotes du rhone.




Demona: The first thing that always puts me off when it comes to a restaurant, is when you ask the waiter for some food recommendations and coincidentally, the best dishes are always the priciest in the menu. The lady who served us, did exactly that, recommending us the priciest tapas on their menu without bothering to explain more on the dishes even after being politely asked by Dogma.

We decided to choose the tapas on our own. Dogma ordered a few tapas and garlic bread. The garlic bread serving came with 4 long slices of garlic butter toasted baguette. I thought it only tasted average, as the baguettes did not have enough garlic butter spread on them. This cost us, RM 8.00.



Demona: This dish was the hummus. It was made up of mashed chickpeas, sesame tahini, lemon juice and olive oil, I believe, along with some small pieces of pita bread. This was slightly disappointing, as the chickpeas were a little over blended and smooth for a rustic hummus. Because of that, you could hardly taste the bite and flavour of the chickpeas. It did not help when it was served with cold pita bread. The pita bread did not taste fresh too, giving us the impression that they might have been pre-made for some time, and heated using a microwave prior serving. This dish cost RM 8.00.



Demona: This was the dolmades. Minced lamb wrapped in vine leaves. It came in 5 pieces, with a thousand island sauce (I believe) in the middle. This dish was pretty interesting, as the minced lamb was well spiced, covering up the meaty smell while the vineleaf soak in olive oil provided a creamy refreshing lift. This dish cost RM12.00.



Demona: This was the asparagus and beef bacon dish. It cost RM 9.00. Extremely disappointing. It was way too oily, covering the flavours of the ingredients. The first thing that came into my mind after having a taste of it was, "Gosh, I can easily cook this at home." Dogma and I felt that the dish had a strong Chinese cooking style. Innocently, Dogma queried another lady in charge on this dish. We were given a sarcastic remark in return. This was how the conversation went.

Dogma: "Hmm...I did not really enjoyed this dish, it tasted pretty bland and looks like a chinese dish."
Lady: "Yes, yes, it is a Spanish dish. Locals could not really adapt to the taste."
(cleared plate, and quickly walked away.)
Dogma and Demona: (Speechless. Exchanged stares while all we wanted for a brief exchange of information on this dish).



Demona: This was the spicy eggplant dish. This dish was the best of the lot! The sauce was thick, spicy and very, very flavourful. Eggplant is also one of my favourite vegetables. It blended very well with the garlic bread. Noteworthy dish.



Demona: For desserts, we decided on the vanilla creme brulee. It was pretty good. Its texture was creamy, not too sweet, and it had a powerful vanilla smell. I could taste the caramelized sugar at every spoonful of it. Crunchy sweetness and vanilla creamy combination. Yummy! This cost RM 6.00.

However, the enjoyable yummy dessert moment was totally destroyed when the same sarcastic lady in charge came over to clear the table again. She saw Dogma playing with his camera and said these out.

Lady: "Are you guys from the magazine...?"
Dogma and Demona: (Smiled. Was going to answer her back.)
Lady: (Fake laughter) "or You're acting like one??hahaha"
(Quickly walked away)
Dogma and Demona: (Speechless. Exchanged stares again.)

Verdict: Highly unsatisfactory. This meal was supposed to be a lovely, romantic dinner, lovely company, lovely food. Only to be ruined by poor, poor service and food which were not that wonderful. The bill came up to a total of RM 104.65, and from the total amount paid, RM 10.00 was charged for the "wonderful" service given. We left the place without smiles. I do not think that any of us will have another meal here in future. Big, big apologies to Dogma, for bringing him here.



Demona: By the way, this was a random picture. A roasted lamb at the back alley of Moussandra's neighbour restaurant. The roast lamb looked yummy, but I thought it was a bit uncalled for, to be roasting a lamb on a side walk behind a fancy restaurant.

PS: Moussandra's corkage is 40dollars per bottles which i felt it overcharging by way a lot. There is no proper wine glasses here and you merely get some ikea plasticky wine glass. They insist on charging me the full corkage charge eventhough i brought my own Riedel stemware and my own corkescrew. Pooi!

Bangsar La Bodega Breakfast

La Bodega Cafe:

Breakfast Set@25rm:

Verdict:
Demona: I think I cook a better big breakfast. Haha. Don't you think so, Dogma? For that price, I personally think it is not worth it. Plus, there wasn't any chilli paste lying around anyway.

Bangsar La Bodega

A dinner at Bangsar's La Bodega during Dogma's birthday..
Food was ok but prices is on the high side. What made the day worst was Demona's car being towed away after the dinner to Kepong Municipal Garage. We have to pay 150 bucks on top of the dinner (RM300). Where were you then?

Turkey breast Creamy Pasta


Salmon Loin Salad: The salmon was not the freshest of the whole lot but i did enjoyed the mashed potato beneath the salad. The potato soaked most of the gravy and it was heavenly.
Terrazas Malbec: Vaguely: Pretty strong tannins that subsided towards the end of the night. For the price i paid (rm 120), it is a rip off.

La Bodega Tiramisu:


Verdict: It is very expensive and not exactly a value for money place for dinner in KL. For the price i paid i would be expecting fresher produce and finer quality in food. However, the Spanish Tapas + western dinner concept clearly has hit it well with the local young professional crowd.

ps: Could anyone explain why are Western food and wine so expensive in KL?