Spanish Cuisine

I will attempt a summarised version of how good Spanish food can be with short reviews of places I visited throughout my week in Spain. I can't remember each dish's name, but I can describe some which are try-worthy. Haha. I try to take photos of the front of each restaurant so it helps with locating it, unfortunately some only have interiors since gluttony took over, hehe.

In general, food in Valencia is much more expensive in Sevilla but their portions are also bigger - very filling. And I refuse to try any 3 course dishes typical to how cuisine is served in Italy, so it was all ala carte dishes.

Valencia

La Pepica (Las Arena Beach)
My first taste of Paella Valenciana - a traditional preparation of paella with chicken and rabbit. Some places also serve with snails. Side dishes of Galician Squid and Spanish Tortilla, heaven for my famished tummy. And down it with a cool jug of Sangria then end with cafe con leche (coffee with milk). That said, it's by the beach so it's more well-known for its seafood version of the paella. Another reason why it's famous is because it was touted to be writer Ernest Hemingway's favourite paella joint.

*Try the Galician Squid - grilled fresh squid with paprika, olive oil and boiled potatoes

Freiduria Boatella Tapas Cerveceria (Opposite Mercado Central, corner shop)
My first taste of tapas. Tapas servings in Valencia are larger and more expensive. We also had Agua de Sevilla which is a cocktail of Valencian orange juice with some alcohol. Since it's a Freiduria, it has a lot of fried dishes, but the menu was varied so there are other choices as well.

*Try the fried artichokes and fried calamari, not the healthiest but so yummy

Sant Miquel (Barrio el Carmen, near the el Carmen road)
Late lunch so it was almost closing. Limited menu though enough for a few tapas to fill us.

*Try their coffee, best I had in Spain! Ratatouile with chorizo is a good choice

Cafe in Plaza de La Reina
I can't remember the name and I didn't take a photo of the shop's exterior. But it is easily recognisable with bright yellow walls, it's counters full of ice cream, pastries and sandwiches. Anyway, try "horchata" here, which is basically a drink made from a type of nut known as tiger nuts, interesting taste, quite acquired.

*Try horchata

El Rall (right behind La Lonja de la Seda, go through the square)
Paella de Marisco, seafood paella. It was really good! This place was recommended by our receptionist, so it's as local as it gets? We didn't try much as we were filled from the tapas in the afternoon. But it was really nice as they serve a shot glass of chicken consomme as appetizer, haha. Asians.

*Try their Paella de Marisco, brimming full of seafood. 

Valor Cafe (Plaza de La Reina)
It's a chocolate specialty shop so they sell truffles and other chocolate-based products. Their churros is better than most that I've tried and delicious when dipped into thick chocolate

*Try their Churros con Chocolate

Navarro Restaurant (near Plaza Ayuntamiento, behind Burger King)
We ordered grilled seasonal vegetables and fideua which is basically Spanish noodles cooked paella style. The place is only opened for lunch except on Saturdays when it's opened in the evening. Their 3 course meal actually look quite good, so that might be a choice for those who are sick of paella by now. Haha

*Try Grilled Seasonal Vegetables and Fideua

Sevilla

Bodega Santa Cruz Las Columnas (Rodrigo Caro)
One of the most popular tapas bars, recommended by a couple of locals we asked. Quite full, so we stood at the counter. Ordered boiled prawns, potato tortilla and spinach w/ cheese. They had two types of draft beer, one alcoholic, and the other non alcoholic. I was not really fond of the food as the prawns were fishy while the other two were quite salty. But I do have a low tolerance to salt anyway.

*Try spinach & chick peas, seems to be the in thing there

Belmonte (Mateos Gago)
Just located down the road from Las Columnas. We were still hungry from the salty food, so this was lunch number 2, haha. Tapas-hopping is popular in Sevilla. Funnily, the lady from Las Columnas was there to have her lunch, such irony haha. Ordered Iberico Ham, Grilled Mushrooms, Pork in Wine Reduction and had an alcoholic Cruzcampo, their common draft beer. It's more pricey here by 1 - 2 euros per tapas since it is more well-furnished and there are more seating areas. We came back here again before the Flamenco show for a pre-dinner, ordered Patatas Bravas (potatoes with paprika sauce) and Gambas al Aijilo (prawns in garlic oil) which was more expensive since it was only available as a main meal. Also tried Valencia's special Naranja Vino or Orange wine

*Try Grilled Mushrooms, Gambas al Aijilo, Naranja Vino

Taberna La Papillon (Constitution Avenue)
Seriously packed to brim and more of a bar than restaurant though they have sitting places upstairs. Their menu concentrates a lot of ham and cheese as well as bar snacks like chips. They seem to be famous for their foccacias though. We came here twice. First time there we had Spinach with chickpeas, pork meatballs in tomato sauce, pork cheeks in wine sauce. Not really fond of the meatballs. Second time it was to try the ham so we got a platter of Jamon Iberico which was much better. Perhaps this place is best for its cold cuts. We also tried manzanilla, a type of dry sherry. But it was not as cold, thus not as nice. We tried it again prior to the flamenco show, and it was much better icy cold.

*Try Jamon Iberico, Pork cheeks in wine sauce

Las Morales (Almitanzgo, off Constitution Avenue)
A traditional bar mostly serving cold and cured stuff so choices can be a bit limited. Had tuna belly with salmonrejo, tuna with red peppers, sausages and stewed pork cheeks. I was ambivalent about cold, cured stuff since I don't really fancy them as a meal, more as an appetizer than anything. The tuna belly was really fishy eaten on its own but surprisingly lovely when eaten together with salmonrejo (Spanish tomato vinaigrette) and bread. Note that most seafood especially boiled/cured ones tend to be fishy in Sevilla.

*Try tuna belly with salmonrejo

Coloniales (off Plaza Encarnacion)
This shop has two branches, one near Plaza Encarnacion, the other somewhere in Constitution Avenue. We tried finding the latter but without success, lucky we came across this on our walking tour. Ordered iberico pork with quail egg and salmonrejo, pickled red peppers, solomillo pork and Manjar Blanco - their speciality of cordon bleu in almond sauce. Also had a jug of one of the most amazing sangria!

*Try iberico pork with quail egg & salmon rejo, manjar blanco and sangria.

Casa Manolo (San Jorje street, Triana)
This is supposedly the most popular bar/restaurant on this side of town. And since Triana is famous for their fried fish, we ordered some fried shark/adobo, a type of fried hake and oxtail stew. While the oxtail is quite nice, I'm not sure if I really like it due to its somewhat gamey taste.

*Try fried stuff especially the shark which has a nice sour sauce.

Casa Roman (Plaza Venerables)
As the gluttons we were, we headed for some supper after the Flamenco show and this place was near our hostel. Ordered some chorizo, ham and sheep's cheese. Also had some roasted courgettes and beetroot in vinagrette. Had a larger dish of iberico pork in wine sauce, but it was way more expensive. Then had two glasses of Tinto de Verano which is a cocktail of red wine and lemon soda, super refreshing.

*Try sheep's cheese, iberico pork in wine sauce, tinto de verano

Casablanca (off Constitution Avenue)
This place was constantly packed especially during lunch time. The waiters were also less friendly, guessing cause they were busy. Seats are reserved for those who are ordering bigger plates, tapas eaters have to stand at the bar. Ordered meatballs in squid ink and cod gratin. I cannot decide if I like the former because it can taste a bit fishy like how squid ink tastes like but it is unique.

*Try cod gratin & their olives (SUPER NICE)

Casa Carmelo (Gloria, near Hosteria de Dona Lina)
Our last stop for gluttony. Pretty nice sit down place. Ordered gazpacho (cold tomato soup), fried chicken skewer, marinated anchovies and potato tortilla. I personally love potatoes, so potato tortilla is always a safe favourite, except too salty ones. The anchovies are not too fishy, but they are rather sour as it is really pickled. We also had Agua de Sevilla sorbet which is a white wine with melon sorbet, super yummy!

*Try Agua de Sevilla, potato tortilla

That's the end of the glutton gastronomy tour. I really enjoy eating so it is always an important agenda on my travels. My buddy was going to burst as I drag her along my gastronomy tour, just as how I drank at least a glass of alcohol everyday in Spain thanks to her. Most I've ever done in 23 years of my life, but thank God, no withdrawal symptoms, mwahahaha.

In summary:

Tips:

- Authentic paella comes in a portion for at least two pax. While it means it's more expensive and makes you a glutton, those that come in one pax tend to be reheated or is microwaved. You decide. We didn't risk inauthentic paella so I won't know how it compares

- Down your food with some sort of alcohol, my choice is between draft beer and Tinto de Verano. One glass everyday won't kill. It's massive cheap to drink in Spain (1.5 euro to 3 euro per glass). Agnes will be proud to read this

- If you want to buy sweets, you can do so at the many confectioneries around town. A traditional way is to buy it from a convent from nuns who make these sweets. But I couldn't find the elusive convent way of buying where you look at the sweets you want and tell the nun through a window in the wall then put money on the turntable. The nun will then put the sweets on the turntable and change if required. This is because nuns were not allowed to be seen by outsiders back then. I saw this on Jamie Oliver's adventure in Spain, so I really wanted to try it, but well. We did buy pastries, but they were omaigawd so sweet! Yemas are interesting though, salted egg yolks pastry with sugar, haha.

- Most places have English menu (just say "menu ingles") and they will understand. Otherwise, point and use sign language, fun when you're not sure what food you get. Waiters are usually friendly especially in more modern places. Just smile and ask for recommendation. For this, I am glad Agnes was with me, since she's way friendlier. Haha.

- Get used to being stared at by locals. We went to traditional joints and it can get uncomfortable with the old men staring us down. Don't think they meant to be impolite, they probably are just fascinated with us different looking creatures, haha.

She was in Valencia (Pt.2)

Day 3
Mercado Central
Santa Catalina church & Tower
Plaza de La Virgen
Basilica de la Virgen del Desamparados
La Redonda Square
Plaza de La Reina
Post Office

So, on our last day, we had a good full day as our flight to Sevilla was at night. Started the day by going to the Central Market. Totally reminded me of our 'pasar pagi' in Malaysia, haha. Really busy with lots of people doing their grocery shopping. The market was huge with tons of stalls, mostly selling fresh stuff with a couple selling pastries and there was also a coffee bar. Our main reason to head there was to buy ham, which left us spinning because of the amount of stalls and type of ham available! Chose the stall where the man was the friendliest and was generous with letting us try all types of ham, salami, chorizo and cheese, haha. Got what we needed, Agnes has a difficult time not shopping, HAHA.

 Exterior of the Market

 Lots of stalls

Friendly ham dude, haha

Headed to the Santa Catalina Church & Tower next. I needed to find a place to do some climbing so I can get aerial photos. It was not a difficult climb, spiral stairs but with wide steps. The church was simple to say the least, very different from the churches I've been to in other cities, but it's still pretty. Then we went to Plaza de la Virgen which is one of the most important squares as most mass celebrations are held here. On the day we went, there was a protest as well, which seems to be a daily routine in European cities, haha. Went in to Basilica de la Virgen del Desamparados, fuh, long name! There are people constantly praying in this Basilica so it's important to be quiet. The altar in this basilica is the direct opposite of Santa Catalina with really ornate decorations in gold, much more vibrant than the one in the church.

 View from Tower

 Santa Catalina Church

Basilica de la Virgen del Desamparados

Found ourselves at La Redonda Square which is basically shops that are located in a bull-ring-esque building, though funnily it was never a bull ring, at least not based on the history exhibited on the walls. Headed back to Plaza de la Reina, took more photos and had some good churros with chocolate. Ended our journey with a visit to the post office, not for any official business but more because the building is really gorgeous, even in its interiors.

 Streets & passageways

Ceiling of the post office

Thus ends the Valencia portion of my trip. I think the 2 days and 2 nights we had was good enough to cover our trip, but do see below for some tips.

Do try:

- Eating paella. This is a MUST. We were full to the brim each time, but it was not possible to not eat such amazing food. Do prepare to fork out money though, as authentic paella comes in a 2 pax portion, and as far as I'm concerned, the places we went were not cheap - about 15 euros per pax. I'm guessing it's cheaper to have 3 course meals which may include paella, but I usually don't mind forking out money for good food.

- Plaza Ayuntamiento especially at night, gorgeous sights for photographs

Fountain in Plaza Ayuntamiento, at night.

- City of Arts & Sciences, even to just visit the place. I would highly recommend the Oceanographic because of its variety and the complete information to complement. Plus you get to see dolphins do the coolest tricks! And they even have the beluga whales, some of the cutest animals EVER.

- Jardine del Turia, you don't have to walk all the way, but it's nice just to see a "converted" riverbed and to people-watch. So many different activities in the park!

- Climb a view point, I would definitely recommend the Torres de Quart but it was closed early on Sunday and not open on Monday. Much nicer viewpoint because it is not blocked by any wire fences what not

- Mercado Central, buy some ham. You cannot stay in Spain and not have ham. I barely remember having any chicken throughout my trip.

Tips:

- Plan well especially if you're going to European cities on a weekend, more important if you are in Spanish cities that practice fiesta. Expect a dead town from 1.30pm till 5pm. Though the open later into the night so walking at night is fun. But really, take into consideration that places close early on Sunday, some don't open on Monday, and that opening hours have siesta as well. Our mistake in planning led us to miss the Torres de Quart towers and La Lonja de Seda (a UNESCO heritage site). bummer.

- Eating hours are also affected by siesta, so lunch is usually served around 1 something till 3 and dinner is not till 8.30pm. At tourist places this is less the case, but it might be wise to follow the Spanish way of eating 5 times a day (we did that, haha)

- Expect to pay more for food, especially for paella. I'm reiterating the point above cause we did kinda bust our wallets for that. To be fair, it is still possible to skim on food because one meal of paella can keep you full all day. We ate more for the sake of trying more food, gluttony, haha.

- If you are good with walking, I don't think the Valencia card is much use with only minimal discounts at some places. We took the bus and metro only to much further places such as the beach at airport, but in general everything is walk-able given that we navigated from the City of Arts & Sciences back into the city centre. Plus the walking really takes in better sights.

She was in Valencia (Pt.1)

A city untouched very much by the tourism. They have an awesomely cool sciensy-techy part of the city, but it was definitely still very Spanish. What's with the lack of spoken English, massive use of sign language to communicate between tourist and locals, and honestly, a lack of tourists in general. Yet so safe to walk on the street at night. And the friendliness of the people, super heartwarming!

A lot of my Spanish journey involves just walking and taking in the streets instead of visiting every single attraction, a different experience than my other trips. Oh, and I'll dedicate the food to a whole new post, ;)

And I had a really close friend with me, lady this time which made the whole journey amazing =D

Transportation:
Only needed the bus for slightly far off places such as the beach and City of Arts & Sciences. Or you can challenge yourself with your legs, which we did. Use the metro to the airport, fast and affordable.

Base: Hotel Continental
Location: 4.5/5
Environment: 3.5/5
Room: 4/5

I'm not sure if this can be classified as a hotel per se, in relative comparison to the Budapest place. But it's definitely better standard than a typical hostel, so it's kinda a mix. Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos of the outside of the hotel, or its interior haha. But it had a classy reception. Really good location, near to plenty of bus stops, metro stops and was basically the centre of most places thus getting around on foot wasn't difficult. Plus it is a well-lit street and can be busy at certain times, though Valencia in general does feel rather safe anyway. In terms of environment, it can be a bit cramped at the breakfast area. We came during off-peak season so its not too difficult to get seats. What was annoying though was they didn't have wifi in the room, only in reception, so if you are stuck to the Internet like me, it can be annoying. Though it was liberating not having to check the phone all the time. Breakfast was typical, lots of bread to fill you up. I have to commend the receptionists though. There was a dude, I think his name was A-something-ro? Alvaro? I can't really remember but he was very helpful, made the stay very pleasant. In terms of room, Spanish hotels tend to have tiled floors, so it can get pretty cold, needed to wear socks around. I wasn't happy with the bathroom because of the weak water pressure, but I'm guessing it's due to us staying on the highest floor. Otherwise it's pleasant, plenty of space in the room, comfy beds and they had a TV as well. I watched Breaking Dawn Part 1 in Spanish =P

Day 1
Playa Las Arenas
Mercato de Colon
Plaza Ayuntamiento

We took a really really early plane (6am) from Stansted thus arriving by 10am-ish in the city. It was convenient to get into city, direct metro from airport for about 5 euros. Checked in, asked the reception for some suggestions of places, and decided to head to the beach which is probably about 20 minutes by bus fro m the city centre. You can walk there, the roads in Valencia are pedestrian friendly but as we have yet to get our bearings around the city, we took a direct bus that cost 1.5 euro, I think it was bus number 32/35. Takes you directly to the beach with a few stops along the beach itself. We got off at the first stop and walked along the beach. It has been a while since I've seen waves and sand, it was so worth it! Plus it was a sunny day, made it even better. Though given it is winter, taking a dip was not very possible. Spent our time walking till lunch.

 Wide streets in front of the Ayuntamiento

 Palm trees!

 Sandy beaches of Las Arena

Say hi to my pretty buddy, Agnes =)

Then took a metro back to city, particularly Colon which seems to be a shopping street with a good mix of high end brands and tourist stuff. We also visited the Mercado de Colon, a market place which sells Christmasy stuff, and plenty of eateries though they seem more expensive than elsewhere. Took photos and walked back to Plaza Ayuntamiento, which means 'town hall' in Spanish. Valencia does not have the "old town" look compared to most places I've been, it's rather modern actually, yet not touristy, if that makes sense. Headed back to hotel for some rest because we only had 2 hours plus sleep and bouts of nap throughout the plane ride, so it was tiring. Went out for dinner near the Central Market, then enjoyed a walk around the streets at night.

 Exterior of Mercato de Colon

Streets of Valencia at night

Day 2

City of Arts & Sciences (Oceanographic + Science Museum)
Jardine del Turia
Barrio el Carmen

We spent a good half a day in the City of Arts and Sciences which is the techy place I've mentioned earlier. Very modern, and I like how they created the impression of space with lots of white colours and water features. There are a few main buildings in this area, which are the Hemisferic (auditorium), Umbracle (garden), an Arts Museum, Science Museum and Oceanographic (aquarium-zoo). We chose to go to the two latter ones and paid for a joint ticket, it was not cheap but in my opinion well-worth it. Started with the Oceanographic as we wanted to make the Dolphin show (included in ticket price). The place is huge with each area dedicated to water-life from different regions around the world. I think the walk took a good 2 hours, not including the half an hour Dolphin show. I reckon it would take longer if you read everything they had, especially the legends of the sea in every region. We had an audio guide as well, which was complimentary with our ticket. The Dolphin Show was great! Short, but very fascinating it made me feel like I should consider being a dolphin trainer, haha.
After the Oceanographic, we headed to the Science Museum which is 3 floors of cool exhibitions. They had everything from understanding human bodies (DNA till body movements), environmental-inspired stuff such as the use of wood, art collections, nobel prize winners...everything! I think one can spend a whole day here. We spent about 2 hours looking at the general collections and the human-inspired one. There was also a temporary exhibition on Marvel Superheroes where they used superheroes to explain different functions of humans' body, it was super cool!

 City of Arts & Sciences

 Wetlands Exhibition in Oceanographic

 Super cool dolphin show!

 Our favourite exhibition in the science museum. Basically the most relaxed person wins. By putting your forehead against the metal rods, two people battle to see who can use their theta waves to move the metal ball in the middle towards their opponent's goal. Coolios?

Part of the Marvel Superheroes exhibition

Then we decided to walk back into the city by following the Jardine del Turia which is a garden built upon a filled-up river, so basically it snakes back into the city. The river was "closed" because it used to cause massive floods. Which is why it can be quite weird to have proper bridges but no water underneath, just gardens. The walk took a good 40 - 50 minutes with a relaxes pace but you do see a lot of different architectures (especially bridges) along the way. Some of the attractions like the musical fountain is also found there.

Our journey by the Turia Gardens

Reached Barrio el Carmen which is one of the small neighbourhoods to the north of Plaza Ayuntamiento. This area used to be popular for night life, now it is recommended because of its small funky shops and pretty cobbled streets. The area gives a much more old town feel than the rest of the city centre. Pretty nice to just walk around and chill as the buildings are tall so its not too sunny. We wanted to climb up the Torres de Quart, but it was closed just before we reached, super sad! And it was not open on Monday, boooooo. Spent some time there before talking a stroll back to the city centre. Passed by Plaza de La Reina (Queen's Square) and stopped by its Christmas Market and an evening drink.

 Serrano Gates to the old town

 Streets of Barrio el Carmen

Plaza de La Reina

More in Part 2 ;)