Shoot First Eat Later

Lunch at Wildflour Cafe + Bakery

For me bread is the reason why Inquirer calls Wildflour Cafe + Bakery the hottest restaurant in Manila. It was indeed hard to make a reservation even for a 1:00 pm lunch on a weekday. Luckily they took pity on our group and we got in.

Located at the ground floor of the modern and all glass Net Lima building in The Fort it still managed to look like a cozy bistro inside.

Seeing this reminded me of La Boulange and other cafes in San Francisco.

The cafe wasn’t that big but they managed to squeeze in a good number of tables.

Breakfast is served from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.

They had a small amount of of pastries which were definitely more American in influence. That sticky bun continues to evade me. They ran out when we wanted it for our dessert and when I went back a second time to buy bread.

After this lunch I went back just to buy the cranberry walnut bread and baguette. Both were excellent but I just loved the crusty cranberry walnut bread. Although it was quite pricey for a small loaf I would buy it again and again. A simple spread of peanut butter and marmalade or even just a slice of cheese made for a wonderful meal.

I hope they add to their bread repertoire. I would love to see flaky croissants – plain, cheese and specially almond and other French pastries.

ciabatta P55 cranberry walnut bread P145

baguette P95

My friend Tisay treated us to a bottle of Colombelle. By the way you can bring your own wine to Wildflour and they don’t charge corkage. Update: As of 2/2/13 they now charge P500 for corkage.

Tarte flambée is an Alsatian classic similar to pizza. This tarte measured maybe 6 inches long and was a nice appertizer for sharing. Of the two varieties we all liked this one wtih sweet caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese and for contrast salty, smoked bacon. The crust was incredibly thin and crisp. I initially thought puff pastry was used.

tarte flambée, caramelized onions, bacon & gruyere P425

This tarte was mostly sweet from the caramelized onions and apples. The brie and arugula didn’t add any salty component which we found lacking. But if you’re a vegetarian this is a perfectly good dish.

tarte flambée, caramelized onions, brie cheese, apple P425

I would skip the bone marrow. Just like the one I had at Stella it was dry and a bit hard. Is it the quality of local bone marrow or is it just simple over cooking? Take a look at the bone marrow I had in Marlowe in San Francisco. The marrow was thick, jiggly and definitely spreadable. The ones in Manila look and taste exactly the opposite.

bone marrow P350

A better choice for appetizers was this olive oil poached tangy tuna salad which tasted unlike any tuna salad you’ve ever hard. Instead of canned tuna with mayonnaise I assume fresh tuna was poached in olive oil which gave it a freshness and richness not found in canned tuna. Plus there was no ‘tin can’ taste even though it was served in a tin can. And of course it was a perfect way to enjoy more yummy bread.

olive oil poached tuna salad P280

In my opinion the popular croque madame was highly overrated and overpriced. The sandwich was made with a thick, soft sweetish brioche and ham and topped with bechamel sauce, Gruyere cheese and a fried egg. As you can see from the picture there was hardly any bechamel sauce and the Gruyere cheese wasn’t very generous. It wasn’t bad but I found it very boring. It was the only thing we didn’t finish.

croque madame P420

For a better sandwich I wholeheartedly suggest the jamon et fromage. While both sandwiches contained the same ham the choice of bread and condiments made a whole world of difference.

This typical French sandwich used a baguette which I’ve grown to love from my recent trip to Paris where even a cold, refrigerated sandwich was better than anything I’ve eaten in Manila. I thought I would never have the chance to eat good baguette sandwiches until this I tried the one at Wildflour.

As I bit into the bread I heard a loud almost artificial sound of cruuunch then my teeth sank into a soft and dense pillow of bread flavored with butter and mustard. Just the perfect vehicle for lean ham which wasn’t too salty and was moist. It didn’t really need the brie or pickle but it was a nice touch. The first bite exploded in my mouth and instantly brought me back to my trip in Paris where we had our share of sandwiches. I really loved those simple sandwiches we had in Paris and I thought it would be long before I get to eat it again. Thankfully I can now get the same if not a better version of the sandwich in Wildflour.

jamon et fromage P310

The burger was just ok for me although my friend Tisay loved it. I prefer the burger of ‘Cue. I think I was so enamored with the ham and cheese sandwich that nothing came close to it

California burger P450

Peanut butters lovers rejoice Manila finally has a dessert worthy of Elvis’ praise. A very potent peanut butter layer atop bananas and cream. Simple but very fulfilling for peanut butter lovers like me and Elvis.

peanut butter banana cream pie P180

Their chocolate eclair was more American style than the usual thin and firmer French style. But I’m not complaining since we all loved the thick chocolate topping and the rich, creamy custard filling.

chocolate eclair P110

I love cornbread and I eat it whenever I’m in the US. My favorites are from Founding Farmers in DC and Whole Foods. I was overjoyed to finally find it in Manila until I tried it. It was quite disappointing since it didn’t resemble any cornbread I’ve tried. Even Kenny Rogers’s corn muffins tasted better. I think it lacked cornmeal. Only my friend Pat liked it.

cheesy cornbread P130

The tres leches came out cold and it was quite good. The blend of three kinds of milk in the cake cubes wasn’t overly sweet but we were already too full to give it any justice. When I tried it again after several minutes it became watery and too sweet. I suggest eating this dessert right away to enjoy it’s correct flavor and texture.

pastel del tres leches P170

You all know how obsessed about coffee I am. Whenever I’m in another country I would walk miles just for coffee. I was so excited that a new place offered pour over coffee complete with a Hario kettle other than UCC which is more popular for siphon coffee.

I smelled the coffee when it was poured in front of me and I didn’t smell a thing. I tasted it and found it lacking in any semblance of coffee flavor. It was so mild it almost tasted like colored water. It’s like they didn’t use the correct quantity of ground coffee or the coffee was just inferior. Please please please improve your coffee Wildflour.

royal supreme coffee P95

In spite of all the tea light candles on our table it didn’t help ward off numerous flies that were quite irritating.

There was a fly on the menu on the left!

Wildflour’s menu (click for full size)

I’ve never been to Church and State in Los Angeles where the owner US based Chef Walter Manzke used to work but this restaurant is so similar to several of the restaurants I’ve eaten at in the US. The short one page printed paper menu that suggested constant updates, French food in a casual setting and the inclusion of all American baked goods, pour over coffee are common in the West Coast and I gladly welcome to Manila.

I plan to go for breakfast one day just to catch the sticky buns and I’ll bring a thermos of my own coffee to avoid disappointment. I’ll also go back for the sandwich in my dreams, jamon et fromage.

Wildflour Cafe + Bakery
Ground floor Net Lima Building
4th Avenue corner 26th st. Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Philippines
telephone: 856-7600
Facebook

San Sebastian: Gran Bar La Espiga and Rojo Y Negro

Goodbye San Sebastian! These were our last meals in the city that topped the poll as the greatest gastronomic destination in the world. San Sebastian beat out Tokyo, Sydney and Paris for the top spot for foodies and I agree 100%!

From Michelin 3 Star restaurants to pintxos bars the food never failed to amaze us. I almost made a grave mistake in not joining my cousins for our last dinner since I was honestly still full from our 9 course lunch at Akelaŕe and I was tired from shopping in the afternoon. But since the restaurant they chose was just across our hotel I went at the last minute and I’m so glad I did.

They had some cold pintxos on the bar.

Since we were a big group with kids they led us downstairs to sit.

The jamon croquetas were for the kids but they kindly left one for me. Not the best I’ve tried.

croquetas €7.20

antxoas fritas (fried anchovies) €9

These were the best anchovies I’ve ever eaten. What made it different from the others I’ve eaten were the addition of crispy garlic on top. It really added an extra flavor dimension asides from just vinegar and oil.

antxoas Getaria (Getaria anchovies) €9

We all went nuts over the extremely tender squid cooked in it’s own ink and served with a tiny amount of white rice. Naturally the rice wasn’t enough so we had to make do with dipping the bread in the super delicious sauce.

txipirones tinta (squid in black ink) €14.50

The carnivores in our group specially the kids loved the steak.

entrecot con patata (steak & potatoes) €13.50

One last cochinillo. After the unusual and out of this world cochinillo from lunch this paled in comparison but still it wasn’t bad at all. We let the guys who skipped lunch eat this.

cochinillo asado (roasted baby pig) €19.50

The guys who didn’t join us for lunch at Akelaŕe were teasing us that our dinner for 8 adults and 4 kids cost less than what one person paid at Akelaŕe. True but we don’t regret our spectacular lunch experience at all.

Gran Bar La Spiga’s Tapas menu

(click to enlarge)

My cousins had a nice chat with the friendly owners of Gran Bar as we left the restaurant. I was outside watching their kids.

The next day we decided to have a quick lunch before we separated ways and meet up again in Barcelona. One family took the train while La and family and our group drove to Barcelona.

We chose Rojo Y Negro which was right beside Gran Bar La Espiga.

I was wary of the ready cooked tapas on the bar since I didn’t have a very good experience the night before in this kind of a set-up.

It turned out to be very good specially the one on the left, jamon topped with foie gras and balsamic glaze. It was awesome!!!

My cousin chose this octopus with potatoes. Unbelievably tender.

I didn’t like the croquetas though.

Finally dessert on the pintxos bar!!! I loved the apple cake with a layer of custard in the middle. Fantabulous, another slice please.

Dark chocolate mousse on cake? Yum!!!! What a marvelous end to our quick 3 day stay in San Sebastian. It was way too short and I will definitely be back.

Gran Bar La Espiga
Calle de San Marcial, 48 20005 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
telephone: 943 421 423
website

Rojo Y Negro
Calle San Marcial 52, 20005 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
telephone: 943 431 862
website

San Sebastian: Supermarket Finds

Whenever I go to a different country I make it a point to visit their supermarket. I like to see the products they sell, even the layout of the store and how it differs to what we’re used to fascinates me.

Just a couple of blocks from Hotel de Londres was this really nice shopping area that was off limits to cars. It was just for pedestrians and a few bicycles.

The supermarket was located in this area. On the ground level were these stalls that sold fresh vegetables in the morning only. In the afternoon all these stainless tables were empty.

I guess small time producers sold their newly harvested vegetables here.

Also on the ground level were several stalls selling cured meats and cheese. We bought chorizo and Idiazabal cheese here because the guy behind the counter was nice enough to let us try it.

Next to the cured meats was this lovely chocolate store with free samples!!

I bought the orange rind covered in dark chocolate. The nice lady gave me a whole piece of dried orange slice covered in dark chocolate to try.

Next to the chocolates were these freshly baked French pastries where we bought mini croissants for our breakfast. The multi cereal croissant I bought was crisp and flaky for two days even without reheating.

Those giant chocolate covered palmiers kept tempting me but I never gave in.

Down one level was the actual supermarket. Rochelle bought some fruits that we didn’t have in Manila like the figs and nectarine.

Their escarole was packed in big bags. In Manila I can hardly find this variety of lettuce.

So much cheese I didn’t know what to buy! From Manchego to Idiazabal and other Spanish cheeses.

Cured ham, chorizo, salami….

There was so many things I wanted to buy but I couldn’t since I still had two weeks to go in my vacation. I also saw several canned goods and confectionary that are available in Manila.

Pastoret Yoghourt

Obviously I’m not on a diet anymore but I still TRY to eat healthy specially for breakfast. When I was in Europe I still made it a point to eat yogurt every morning together with espresso and a baked pastry. I just loved trying all sorts of yogurt around Europe and trust me not one of them was low fat.

I take yogurt for breakfast for the calcium and protein it gives me. It keeps me full longer too. In Spain my favorite brand was Pastoret. We only found Pastoret yoghourt in specialty stores and in Mercado San Miguel in Madrid. I didn’t see it in the supermarket.

Caprichos de Yoghourt translated to Yoghourt Whims based on their website. Rochelle chose the coffee toffee while I got the orange and chocolate which is my all time favorite flavor combination. I never thought in my wildest dreams that there would be a yogurt with this flavor. Finding ice cream with this flavor is hard enough.

Check out the heavy glass jar it came in. The bottom layer was an orange puree then the yogurt and the top was a thick chocolate sauce.

The chocolate was thick almost like a pudding. Surprisingly it wasn’t very sweet. It does look more like a dessert but it still tasted like yogurt. I loved it!!!!

We bought this lemon and mint in Madrid.

lemon and mint

I dream that one day this will reach Manila. Paging Rustan’s or Terry Selection. Please, please import this. Maybe I can find this in Hong Kong.

San Sebastian: 3 Star Lunch at Akelaŕe

As of 2012 there are five Michelin 3 star restaurants in Spain and three of them are in San Sebastian, Akelaŕe, Arzak and Martin Berasategui. Due to several reasons we chose to dine at Akelaŕe. We actually made a reservation there even before making hotel reservations and buying plane tickets like in my case. We wish we could have tried all three but we didn’t have enough time. This just means I have to go back!

Akelaŕe was a short cab ride from our hotel. We were lucky to get a Mercedes Benz van to ferry all of us in one trip.

My cousin Sidney and cousin-in-law Chee didn’t join us for dinner. They were nice enough to watch their sons so their wives will enjoy lunch. And enjoy we did.

Our table had this beautiful view.

We were given an appetizer to start our meal.

Sea Garden appetizer

Thankfully a very detailed description of our menu was placed on our table. It explained how to eat the food and what we were actually eating since nothing on this plate resembled food.

Everything you see below is edible from the prawn sand which had the texture of fine breadcrumbs but with the flavor of crushed prawn crackers. Next we had to taste the leaf and for it’s flavor and aroma. The piece of stone was actually a mussel! The sponge and the green pebbles were savory and crunchy. And last was the seaweed coral which was goose barnacles tasting tempura. We were all like kids giddy with amazement and joy exploring the flavors and textures of these ‘things’ that were food creations.

After this starter I recited this mantra in my mind – expect the unexpected.

Still high from the unusual starter we were served bread and a small container with a white tablet in it. We were all wondering what it was specially when our waiter poured liquid in the container and it grew. Watch this video. Was it space age butter?

Our space age butter turned out to be a disposable wet cloth!! We all burst out laughing at our provincial ignorance.

My ten year old niece was the only one who didn’t have a degustation menu but she did try all her mom’s dishes. She ordered a la carte.

Glazed Iberian Cheeks, Apple & Almond Cider €44

My cousin La chose the wines these are her comments.
The wines were chosen with the criteria of being off the beaten path, something that comes from uncommon wine regions that we cannot usually find on wine shelves so the sommelier directed me to Quinta Do Buble from the Monterrei region (in Spain near Portugal) and “An” from the island of Mallorca (where Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones own a vacation home).

2006 Anima Negra AN Vino de la Tierra, Baleares, Spain
Quinta Do Buble Godello

There were two tasting menus available, Bekarki and Aranori. After seeing the foie gras almost all of us chose the Bekarki menu blinded to all the other options.

Bekarki Menu (guide)

A good meal is one that tastes good and makes you happy. A great meal is one that challenges your senses and delights it in ways that you never expect.

Crab Essence, its Coral Blini and “Gurullos”

The first of nine courses was a piece of crab claw on top a coral blini served with gurullos or rice shaped pasta. I took a small piece of each and ate it together. So tasty and the crab so succulent.

The veal shank had a gelatinous texture that reminded me of beef tendon while the cauliflower looked and had the texture of white fungus popular in Chinese cuisine. It was an unusual and very flavorful pairing for the otherwise plain razor clam.

Razor Shell with Veal Shank

The much anticipated seared foie gras arrived plainly on a large plate. I was eager to dig in when our waiter started pouring a generous amount of peppercorn and sea salt. I was about to stop him since I wasn’t keen on eating whole peppercorns. Thank goodness I shut up and discovered what the salt and pepper really were. The peppercorns were actually crunchy puffed black rice and the salt was sugar flakes. It was really a tease to my brain to see something that doesn’t taste like the way it should. I loved the texture of crunchy rice with the rich buttery foie gras and sweet wine sauce.

Akelare Bekarki Menu- sautéed fresh foie gras with "salt flakes & grain pepper"

Sautéed Fresh Foie Gras with “Salt Flakes and Grain Pepper”

The next two are fish courses. The first was fillet of turbot, the kokotxa or cheek and a crispy chip made from skin and bones. A turbot doesn’t have cheeks so a faux cheek was created by the chef for this dish.

Turbot with its “Kokotxa”

The cod was made to look like dried bacalao with salt but this fish was soft and not salty at all. The shavings were made of crispy pasta shreds and underneath was cod tripes in tomato water. At this point I was already beyond full.

“Desalted” Cod Box with shavings

For the meat course we had two choices, pork or beef. With all of us having been born and raised in the Philippines we naturally chose the cochinillo or roasted baby pig. But this was not your usual cochinillo. The pork was first cooked in Iberian broth and finished in the oven to get the crispy skin. I really liked their version with a more flavorful meat. It was also fun eating it with sweet tomato ball (bolao).

Roasted baby Pig with Tomato “Bolao” and Iberian emulsion

My nephew Kevin was the only one who opted for the beef. He gave me a piece to try and it was also good. He didn’t let me try the tail cake with foie gras though. Darn. The coppered potato and piquilo pepper crisps were yummy.

Carved Beef, Tail Cake “Potatoes and Peppers”

Our first dessert was an interpretation on the wine and cheese making. We were told to eat it from left to right starting with the grapevine made with curded sheep milk and walnut. Next was powdered fresh cream with chive and grapes. It was followed by Quark cheese with nutmeg, Idiazabal cheese with quince jelly and a strip of wine dust. Last two were brandy sirop with Gorgonzola cheese ice cream and a torts of Casar’s grape with soaked raisins in Pedro Ximenez.

This was one of the most exciting dishes to my palate. The flavors evolved from mild to bold. I admire the chef’s creativity.

Milk and Grape, Cheese and Wine in parallel evolution

Our three and half hour meal ended with a pleasant strawberry and cream dessert.

Layered Strawberry and Cream

Sharon was the only one who had the Aranori menu. It looked pretty good too with some dishes that looked better than the ones in my menu. In hindsight Rochelle and I should have ordered a menu each so we could try everything.

Aranori menu

The first course had a really dramatic table side cooking presentation. I couldn’t comment on what the dishes tasted like since I couldn’t reach Sharon’s plate to steal a taste or two.

Prawns and French Beans cooked in “Orujo” Fire

Molluscs in Fisherman’s net

Pasta, Piquillo and Iberico Carpaccio, Mushrooms and Parmesan

Hake in Monkfish “Habit” and Mussel’s Beans

Whole-Grain Red Mullet with Sauce “Fusili”

Grilled Lamb with Wine Less

Xaxu and foaming Coconut Ice Cream

Another Apple Tart

petit fours

After the last course was served Chef Subijana came out and patiently posed with all the diners. Naturally our table took the most pictures. I just adore his red eyeglass frames.

Chef Pedro Subijana and me

The nine course tasting menu cost €145 plus 8% IVA (about $200) and was well worth it. My cousins who are based in the USA said eating at Michelin starred restaurants in the US would cost more or not have as much courses. This meal was definitely the food highlight of my European trip.

Akelaŕe
Padre Orcolaga, 56 – 20008 San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa)
telephone: +34 943 311209
email: restaurante@akelarre.net
website

Sittings and closing dates:
13:00-15:30 and 20:30-23:00.
From January to June, we are closed on Sunday evenings, all day Monday and Tuesday.
From July to December, we are closed on Sunday evenings and all day Monday. (We do not close on these days if they are public holidays or the eve of a public holiday. On these occasions we close on the days following the holiday).
We are closed for annual holidays in the month of February and the first fortnight in October.

San Sebastian: Pintxos Bar Hopping

As I mentioned before San Sebastian is well know for all the Michelin Starred restaurants but it’s also very popular for pintxos (pinchos) or tapas. You can say we went to San Sebastian just to EAT!

We didn’t waste any time. Our first night we walked from our hotel Parte Vieja (Old Part) where all the pintxos bars were. On the way there we passed by this clean and lovely park.

The city was small and we just walked to most places.

If my cousins didn’t do research beforehand we would have a hard time to choose from all these restaurants and bars.

It was astonishing to see a beautiful baroque church, the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus, at the end of these buildings.

Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus

My cousin in law Chee with my niece and nephews met us in San Sebastian. They came from Virginia and Los Angeles. Rochelle and I were the only ones who came from the other side of the world, Manila.

The first stop on our pintxos bar hopping was the hip A Fuego Negro bar.

A Fuego Negro Bar

My cousins who did the research on where to eat also made a list on what pintxos to order. I was surprised they ordered sliders or mini Wagyu burgers served with fried banana chips.

Makcobe (mini Wagyu burger)

They were pretty good for burgers and the kids just loved them thus more orders. Yes kids were allowed in the bars. We were a big group of 8 adults and 4 kids so we just huddled against the wall where a narrow ledge was home to all our food.

The best thing with A Fuego Negro was their creative food presentation. A tin can normally used for sardines contained foie gras topped a caramelized shell of sugar. We had to pull the top of the tin open. A jar of honey was provided for this sweet, salty, decadent treat. Even the kids loved this! The kids in our family are all future gourmands.

foie snack

The lean Iberico ham was wrapped in a big sheet of paper and it looked like a gift we had to unwrap. And it was a delicious gift indeed.

1/4 Iberian ham (shoulder blade)

How imaginative was this? Cod fish fried and puffed up to look and taste like chicharon.

fried cod fish trips with young garlic sauce

To get to the next bar we had to pass Plaza Constitución which was the equivalence of Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

Plaza Constitución

Bar Borda Berri

Bar Borda Berri had a more traditional ambiance and food presentation but the quality was excellent.

Bar Borda Berri’s menu

An order of stewed beef cheeks consisted of one piece. We ordered three right away.

Carrilleras de Ternera al Vino Tinto (beef cheeks)

It was so tender and the combination of sauces was beyond anything we’ve tasted another order was placed. The men loved this dish the most.

Another specialty of the bar was the squid ink risotto. I liked the intense flavor of the squid ink and the al dente texture of the rice but it was too salty.

squid ink risotto

It was a good thing eagle-eyed Sharon saw this on the bar and ordered a small plate to sample. I just about fainted with delight when the sharp Idiazabal cheese with the creamy rice hit my palate. It was like the best mac n’ cheese you’ve ever eaten and multiply that ten times. I don’t know how many additional orders we made since the kids loved it too. This was my favorite pintxos for the whole night.

risotto de Idiazabal

Don’t lose your fork and dig in. There were no extra plates or napkins. Just eat as you please and be quick about it since my cousins have this no holds barred attitude towards food. Well we all do.

While some adults were inside Bar Borda Berri most of the kids were inside Quebec Cafe.

Quebec Cafe (Creperia)

Since there were no chairs for us in Bar Borda Berri others sat here and got fed risotto and beef cheeks while waiting for their crêpes.

Nutella banana crêpe

It was actually good! The adults also had a lemon crêpe which the kids didn’t like. Good for us 😀

These young cousins attacked and demolished the crêpe in a flash while their respective parents behind them were oblivious. Another one please!

While the two previous bars were on my cousins’ list based on their research this last we went to this last bar on a whim. Our basis for choosing it was the number of people inside and the tempting display of pintxos on the bar.

Bar Txalupa Jatetxea

This is what I pictured a typical pintxos or tapas bar would look like based on what I saw on food tv shows. You choose whatever you want and pile them on a plate and pay at the cashier at the end of the counter. Pintxos turo-turo.

As good as they all look I grew wary when I saw the microwave oven which they used to warm up some of the pintxos.

Rochelle and I were already full so we just chose these to share. I was right they weren’t very good compared to the first two bars. The bread was hard and almost stale and taste was mediocre at best.

My cousin Sidney chose this for his family. He agreed with my observations but food was food and he was happy.

The kids still had room for gelato after all that food.

gelato

It was a nice walk back to the hotel. The beach was empty and the weather was cool.

A view of our hotel at night.

Good night San Sebastian! I love your pintxos and I will return.

A Fuego Negro
C/ 31 de Agosto, nº 31, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
telephone: +34 650 135 373
menu
website

Bar Borda Berri
Fermín Calbetón nº 12 20003, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
telephone: +34 943 430 342
Facebook

Quebec Cafe (Creperia)
Fermin Calbetón nº 11, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
telephone: +34 943 900 560
Facebook

Bar Txalupa Jatetxea
Fermín Calbetón nº 3, 20003 San Sebastián
telephone: +34 943 429 875
website

San Sebastian: Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra

San Sebastian located in the north of Spain in the Basque country may not be as popular as Madrid or Barcelona but in the foodie world its the star of Spain. San Sebastian boasts of more Michelin starred restaurants per capita than any city in the world. I may be the only food blogger in the family but my cousins are also foodies as well as oenophiles or winos as I fondly call them.

My cousins chose the Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra as our home for two nights. It was our favorite hotel in our whole European trip. We paid only a little over €150 for a standard room (city view) in this hotel that had a entire beachfront behind it. Their rates are very affordable considering the hotel was a 4 star luxury hotel.

The hotel just finished with renovating all the rooms and I applaud their use of all LED lighting. Our room was pretty big by European standards.

Not much frills but we had a small refrigerator, digital safe and free wifi in the room.

I really appreciated the extra door that closed off the closet and bathroom area. Rochelle can make as much noise packing and repacking without disturbing my beauty sleep.

We both loved the huge and well lit bathroom with a separate wet area.

We had to angle the rain shower head away from the wall to take a shower. If we left it straight we needed to be plastered to the wall.

Why did I post a picture of robe hooks? Because it’s a rare sighting in European hotels. Well, the hotels we stayed in.

The robe hook came in handy with our beloved clothesline. It was only at this hotel that our clothes took forever to dry.

They continued with being ‘green’ with all paper wrapped hotel amenities.

Only the liquid toiletries were in plastic containers.

Another much needed and rare feature, tissue paper. Our hotel in Madrid and Barcelona just gave us a small packet of tissue paper.

An extra touch in the bathroom. Strange location but thoughtful of them.

Our room didn’t have a sea view but we had a big balcony.

My other cousins got the suite with sea view room. Here’s the sofa bed their kids slept on.

This was the Bar Swing restaurant just off the lobby.

This was the beach right behind the hotel. Only my niece and nephews went swimming.

Our hotel stay didn’t come with breakfast so we had our morning espresso at Chez Croissant right across the hotel.

On the first day I had the multi-cereal croissant with my espresso. It wasn’t very good.

The next day I bought multi-cereal croissant from a stall in the supermarket nearby and it was so much better. Their espresso was quite good.

Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra
Zubieta 2, 20007 San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa) Spain
telephone: +34 943 440770
website

Dinner at Beso Cucina Vinoteka

Last June I went to Europe specifically to Spain, Italy and France. The trip which I’ve started to chronicle here made me realize which cuisine I liked best based on the food I ate in those countries. In order of best to least it’s Spanish, French and last is Italian. Since I’ve been back I’ve already eaten at Cova and now Beso wishing to replicate those fond food memories.

Beso Cucina Vinoteka is located at Bonifacio High Street right next to Mango Tree and Elias.

I went to Beso with my Europe travel buddy Rochelle and her hubby and son. She said the best Margarita is still at Chili’s. In short this failed her taste.

Margarita P200

Rochelle loved her soup.

spiced red lentil, bacon & chorizo soup P230

I never saw the combination of chorizo and chocolate on bread in any of the places we ate at in Spain. As strange as it may seem the saltiness of the chorizo was a nice contrast with the subtle sweetness of the chocolate spread.

chorizo & chocolate on toast P210

The ingredients of the croquetas were all so finely mashed together that I wasn’t able to taste the distinct flavors of each ingredient. The bechamel sauce was a bit too rich and honestly these croquetas could have been filled with anything or even just sauce. It was nicely fried and crisp though.

jamon, chicken & manchego croquetas P410

This gambas appetizer had 5 large prawns and cost only P380 and that’s a good deal. The only problem was the prawns were hard and overcooked. On a positive note, the sauce was heavenly. There was a generous amount of chorizo and the white wine sauce was delicious. We had to order bread just to mop up all the remaining sauce.

gambas sauteed in chorizo, white wine & parsley P380

The menu said the bread was warm sourdough. I’m sorry to say it was more like a giant warm pandesal. The spicy, garlicky olive oil dip was good though.

bread & extra virgin olive oil P55

We love lengua and this dish looked pretty good right? When I tasted the tender and succulent ox tongue I exclaimed, “madre mia, que horror!!” It was so freakin’ sweet!! It seemed like they poured a cup of sugar into the pot. No exaggeration. I asked the waiter if it was supposed to be that sweet and he replied, “I don’t know since I’ve never tried it.” I don’t know what Rochelle did with the leftovers she took home.

braised ox tongue P520

The black squid ink paella came out still very wet. As you can see from the picture you can hardly see the shape of the rice. I really liked the briny and tangy flavor of the paella. It tasted very lemony which Rochelle found too sour. Different tastes for different folks. I liked it she didn’t.

squid ink paella (2-3 pax) P580

If you’re expecting the traditional paella made with saffron and broth this is not it. Beso’s paella was loaded with tomato paste or sauce. It wasn’t bad at all just not very traditional.

Beso paella (2-3 pax) P580

One look at the churros and I knew it wouldn’t be good. One bite and I knew I was right. The churros was very hard and seemed to have been previously cooked and just re-fried. The oil tasted rancid too. The chocolate was very watery and tasteless. I had to return this and ask it to be removed from our bill.

churros & chocolate P180

Rochelle’s young son had good taste and ordered the rice pudding which was surprisingly very good. It was creamy and had the perfect level of sweetness with a hint of vanilla. This erased the nasty after taste of the churros and we left a little bit happier.

Spanish rice pudding with vanilla & almonds P155

The prices were quite fair and you get a good amount of portions. Would I go back? Maybe. Would Rochelle? Probably not.

Beso Cucina Vinoteka’s menu

Beso Cucina Vinoteka
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South, Bonifacio High Street Central,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
cellphone: +63926 614-9695, 0917-819-5831
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Bilbao: Lunch at Bistró Guggenheim

When we planned for our trip around Spain we decided to rent a car from Madrid’s airport then drive to San Sebastian then to Barcelona. We could have ridden the train but cost wise renting a car was cheaper and more importantly we were able to take a detour to Bilbao just to see the Guggenheim Museum.

Bilbao was so different from Madrid. The weather was much cooler and the architecture was beautiful.

We parked our car at an underground car park and walked to the Guggenheim.

I really wanted to see the museum built my Frank Ghery more than the modern & contemporary artwork inside. This museum clad in titanium, glass and limestone made Bilbao a tourist attraction when most tourists used to bypass this city for more the popular cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

In front of the Guggenheim is “Puppy” a floral topiary made with 70,000 fresh flowers by artist Jeff Koons.

It was around 1:30 pm when we arrived and we didn’t have time to go in the museum and we wanted to just eat lunch. We immediately made reservations at the Bistró inside for 2:00 pm.

This was the view from the museum.

There was another restaurant behind the museum called Nerue and we wanted to see if we could get a table there. We had to go down these stairs.

Another view from below the wide steps.

Maman (French word for mother ) is a sculpture by the artist Louise Bourgeois. The sculpture, which resembles a spider, is amongst the world’s largest and most impressive, measuring over 30ft high and over 33ft wide, with a sac containing 26 marble eggs. Its abdomen and thorax are made up of ribbed bronze. Wikipedia

You can tell I was fascinated with this art installation.

You can see the marble eggs in this picture.

The restaurant, Nerue was full and wasn’t taking any more reservations. It didn’t look full though.

The food here was more expensive than at the Bistró.

Nerue’s menu (click to enlarge)

back of the Guggenheim museum

This was the bar at the Bistró Guggenheim. People were lining up to get tapas.

If we didn’t eat at the table I would have been happy with their unique and delicious looking tapas.

tapas at the bar

I just wasn’t too thrilled with their dessert options. I’m not eating muffins in Spain.

The Bistró had a very casual ambiance.

I was very impressed with the menu printed directly on wood veneer. We all decided to have the set menu that cost €25.40 for 3 courses and include a bottle of wine and water.

Bistró Guggenheim Bilbao menu

I thought we were going to be given a bottle of water each but we had to share one bottle among the three of us.

A bottle of wine for the three of us was just right. I wonder if they give solo diners a whole bottle too?

Palaciego Rioja

homemade bread

These small and round olives were the best ever. The taste was delicate and the texture was soft. I wonder what these are called exactly.

olives

Rochelle chose the most unique entrees while Sha and I had safer choices. She started with this unique watermelon and tomato gazpacho. She

tomato & watermelon gazpacho with seasoned tuna tartare

For our starter Sha and I chose the seafood rice which was just like paella but much better. The rice was perfectly al dente and the stock used to make the rice was excellent. I could taste the nuances of the shellfish use. I don’t normally like ‘foam’ but the garlic mayonnaise foam imparted a strong garlic flavor perfect with the rice.

creamy seafood rice with rock mussels & garlic mayonnaise foam

If you guessed this was Rochelle’s main course then you’re right. I tasted some of the tapioca (sago) and it was savory which was kinda weird. My brain was used to sweet tapioca and it couldn’t process the fishy version. Rochelle said the fish was just ok.

cod confit over tapioca pearls with seafood & “pilpil”

Sharon was very happy with her fork tender pork.

roast pork, hazlenut cream & watercress salad

The picture doesn’t do justice to one of the best lamb dishes I’ve ever eaten. I usually just like lamb chops but this chunk of lamb was so tender and very, very fragrant. The flavor of whatever seasoning was used permeated all the way in the meat.

roast boned lamb with pumpkin puree & a touch of coffee

Since Rochelle loves whipped cream this foamy dessert was just up her alley. The picture with apple juice poured into the foam didn’t look as good as it tasted so I didn’t post that.

caramelised curd foam with apple juice

Sha chose the best dessert. The chocolate sponge cake was so soft and it reminded me of the texture of mamon. It was the strong coffee mousse that I loved best.

chocolate sponge cake, coffee mousse & milk ice cream

My healthy dessert of crisp Fuji apple cubes lightly poached in liquorice juice was very interesting and refreshing. The cheese ice cream was very mild and complemented the apples. Those green leaves on top tasted like liquorice too.

fuji apple in liquorice juice with cheese ice cream

The food was amazing and very worth the price we paid. This was the second time I ate in a museum restaurant and enjoyed it. The first was in Los Angeles’ J. Paul Getty museum. Do all the restaurants in museums really serve fantastic food?

Final shots of Bilbao from inside the car. It looks like Amsterdam right? I wish we had more time to go around Bilbao since the city looked really clean and nice but San Sebastian was another 2-3 hours away and my other cousins from the USA were already there and have been texting our whereabouts.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Avenida Abandoibarra, 2
48001 Bilbao
BIZKAIA
Spain
website

Bistró Guggenheim’s website

Madrid: Chocolateria San Gines

Paella ✓ cochinillo ✓ sangria ✓ tapas ✓ the only thing left on our food craving list was churros con chocolate. It was our last night in Madrid and we desperately wanted churros so we went to the where the guide books recommended, the oldest chocolateria in Madrid, Chocolateria San Gines.

Living in the Philippines I’ve been exposed to Spanish food all my life. I remember when I was young my favorite snack was churros con chocolate from La Cibeles in Greenhills. Raise your hand if you’re old enough to remember that place. When that closed Dulcinea came into the scene and the presence of churros prevailed. When my cousins come home from the US churros from Dulcinea is a must.

We wanted to try the real and authentic churros and see how it compares to the ones in Manila.

The procedure at the popular chocaleteria was to line up at the entrance, place your order and pay for it then sit at a table and wait for your freshly fried churros or fried choux pastry.

We saw a guy cooking churros non-stop in the kitchen. The churros comes out as one whole long, circular pastry.

This guy is in charge of cutting the pastry into long stips. An order has 6 pieces of churros.

We were greedy and had 2 orders of churros.

My friend who just came from Spain told me not all places cook churros on site. Most places have churros delivered to them already cooked and they serve it to the customers either warm if you’re lucky or hard and cold which my friend experienced first hand.

The churros we had was hot and fresh but we were a bit disappointed with the oily and salty churros. The chocolate was thick and sweet but I found it lacking in intensity. I wanted it more chocolatey and preferably more bitter. It tasted just a little better than milk chocolate.

For those who are trying churros for the first time this would probably satisfy them. I’m sorry to say it didn’t meet my churros standard.

chocolate con churros €3,70

Chocolateria San Gines
Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5 · 28013
telephone: +34 91 365 6546
Big Groups Booking Phone : +34 91 366 3733
reservas@chocolateriasangines.com
Open everyday from 9.00 am. untill late night.
website