BCN 2013: Food Tripping

Our family loves to eat as much as we love to travel. And for this trip, like any other, we spent most of our moolahs on munching and munching! Before leaving, hubby and I agreed to leave our dieting at home and just splurge into eating and trying out the local foods that Barcelona has to offer. Oh well, we still cheated with some fast food and had Mc Donalds and KFC once, but most of the time, we go to where the local people go :)

Spanish/Catalan cuisine is an array of different recipes and flavors. One of the most popular Spanish dishes would probably be paella (which we also have in the Philippines -- being a colony of España for three centuries). I can say, based on my gastronomic experience, both versions (Spanish and Pinoy) taste deliciously just the same.

Seafood Paella

This is another version of seafood paella, with thicker and darker sauce. I am not so sure if this is paella negra, sorry -- momnesia attack.

In the duration of our stay in Barcelona, I've never seen a meal served with a cup of white rice. And being a rice-eater-lover, paella is the next best thing to kanin (steamed rice). We usually pair it with another famous Spanish dish -- tapas (kanin at ulam lang ang peg).

Tapas! Fell in love with these sinfully delicious Spanish sausage.

Speaking of tapas, I've already told here the misconception that we had with tapas. Apparently, tapas is much different from the tapa that I know in the Philippines. All the while, I thought tapas in Spanish are these weird looking things that you often see hanging in the bars:

But no! They are pre-cured meat, usually sliced thinly and eaten as is. We got a free taste from this store, at first it kinda freaked me out because they looked raw. But they taste nice actually, probably just not my type :) I prefer my meat thick and grilled to perfection. Like this!!

Since I become a carnivore, this is by far, the best tasting steak I've ever had that matched with the best tasting red wine and butter gravy! Yummy! I usually order well-done steak but for the first time, I had it in medium rare. My gulay, it was so tender and tasty! Thanks to the dim lights in the bar, I enjoyed my meal to the nth level :)

The serving of drinks in Barcelona made me thirsty. Usually, you get an 8oz water at the price of a dozen (or more) here. It's not cheap. Sadly. But the serving of their famous Sangria is surprisingly huge! Hubby and I, just for the sake of experience, "tried" to "try" the drink but it was too strong for us. It tastes sweet but with a kick of brandy.

Another Spanish dish that is close to my heart is the Spanish tortilla /omelet. The Pinoy version is just way-way thinner! It also has chopped potatoes in it which reminds me of a lazy Saturday afternoon when I was younger :)

 

Other foods we had in BCN :)

Sauted Salmon and Veggies from Mercat de Santa Caterina

Waffle stores are all around the Barcelona port. The person who made and served this to me is a Pinoy!

My everyday breakfast

Yummy Crema Catalan

Dining in Barcelona costs us around EUR25-40 per meal, that's for both hubby and I. Not cheap!! But the memory and experience that it gave us was (just like a cliche) -- priceless!