Shoot First Eat Later

Madrid: Tapas at La Muralla Bar-Restaurante

We asked the staff our hotel’s front desk where locals go to eat tapas and he told us to go to the La Latina area which was lined with tapas restaurants.

We took the taxi and passed by this grand structure. Anybody know what this is?

Our taxi driver dropped us off here and said both sides of the street had good tapas but he suggested we go to the left side heading to Plaza Puerto de Moros.

True enough there were many restaurants to choose from but there were hardly any people and it was 7:30 pm already. Some places were not even open yet.

These are some of the typical tapas menus.

We met a Filipino waiter and asked him where all the people were. He said they usually come out starting 10:00 pm! I don’t remember what finally made us choose La Muralla but it was okay and we only planned to eat some tapas and go to another place after.

Rochelle and I went inside to choose tapas while Sharon sat outside at our table. We wanted to surprise her with this yummy looking chicharon so we pointed to the waiter and indicated we wanted one order. He nodded and said, “si, chicharon.”

I’ve never liked olives but since these were free and I was in Spain I gave it another try. It was actually good not like the super salty olives I’ve tried before. This had a milder flavor.

sangria €13

At our first meal in Madrid we had fried boquerones or anchovies. I liked these fresh anchovies marinated in olive oil and vinegar so much better.

boquerones €8

The manchego cheese marinated in oil was wonderful with bread.

Manchego cheese €12

When we inquired why our chicharon was taking so long since it was already cooked and sitting at the bar the waited replied in rapid Spanish and all we understood was it still being cooked. We assumed they wanted to give us freshly fried chicharon or pork rind. We were surprised when this came out. I exclaimed, “lechon kawali!”

It may look exactly like our Filipino favorite fried pork belly but this had a different flavor. The pork was cured first thus the pinkish color of the meat before it was fried. It had a smokey tasted just like bacon and it was super crispy. I don’t know what language confusion gave us torreznos instead of chicharon but we were all happy to have tried this.

torreznos de Avila (fried pork belly) €8

The prices were very, very reasonable considering the portions were quite generous. Too bad I was too full to go to eat more tapas but I was craving for dessert.

La Muralla Bar-Restaurante
Plaza Puerta de Moros, 7 Madrid – Spain
telephone: 91 365-7560
website

Madrid: Plaza Mayor

Walking distance from Mercado San Miguel was one of Madrid’s most popular attractions, Plaza Mayor. Asides from tourists this place is also home to demonstrations and rallies. Thankfully that day all we saw were tourists and these men doing a seemingly unbelievable feat.

The Plaza Mayor has been the scene of multitudinous events: markets, bullfights, soccer games, public executions, and, during the Spanish Inquisition, “autos de fe” against supposed heretics and the executions of those condemned to death. The Plaza Mayor also has a ring of old and traditional shops and cafes under its porticoes. Celebrations for San Isidro, patron saint of Madrid, are also held here. The Plaza Mayor is now a major tourist attraction, visited by thousands of tourists a year.
Source: Wikipedia

These are residential buildings with balconies that surrounded the plaza.

I don’t look like a tourist do I?

How did they do that? I can’t decide who has the harder job – the guy holding the pole with the weight of a man in the palm of his hand or the bearded man balancing on one hand and keeping still the whole time.

I was looking for an invisible platform he could be sitting on.

Even the dog couldn’t help looking.

Around Plaza Mayor are numerous shop and lots of shopping with most of Spain’s famous brands like Zara, Massimo Dutti and many others. We went in the French based La Cure Gourmand.

I don’t know how I managed to leave this sweets wonderland without buying anything. I guess it was indecision and confusion on what to buy.

This is what the interior of Museo del Jamon looked like.

I saw this same scene on a tv show. People would order a plate of ham and just eat in while standing at the counter.

Madrid: Mercado San Miguel

Without a doubt our favorite place in Madrid was Mercado San Miguel, one of the oldest covered markets in Madrid. This renovated market was surprisingly modern, clean and filled with all sorts of wonderful foodstuff and tapas.

After our dinner at Restaurante Botin we walked along this street and was surprised to find the market just a few minutes away. We didn’t even plan to go there on our first night but the lure of more food was irresistible.

On the way to the market we passed by this popular tapas place called TragaTapas which had a promotion for San Miguel beer. Is this the same as our own San Miguel beer? The logo on the bottle looked the same.

We saw a lot of branches of Museo del Jamon around the city.

The first stall I saw when I went in the market was this one selling different variations of bacalao (salted cod) tapas.

Ham, ham, ham!!!

We couldn’t decide what to try and buy so we ended up not getting any. We did try their free sample of Jamon Iberico Belota ham. Yum!!!

Majority of the tapas were on bread and were cold. You could literally treat the market as one big tapas buffet and try as many or as little as you desire.

I was impressed with this hi-tech digital weighing scale at the fruit stand. We won’t see anything like this in our markets that’s for sure.

olives

cheese

The cheese stand had their own all cheese tapas too.

nuts and dried fruit

I wish I tried the chicharon ( fried pork rind) made from Jamon Iberico.

This stall also sold potato chips fried in olive oil.

Rochelle and I tried the Pastoret yogurt in the glass jar and it instantly became my favorite yogurt while I was in Spain. They had unique flavor combinations like coconut & pineapple, banana candy milk and green lemon which we bought.

This was the section when I began to feel faint. My eyesight hazed and my heart went aflutter.

I knew I wanted dessert after dinner but how the heck was I supposed to choose from all these goodies? Those chocolate covered palmiers were taunting me again.

I did consider those super cookies but I deemed it too safe and boring.

I ended up buying an almond florentine cookie. Good choice if I may say so.

almond florentine

Arabic sweets

If tapas aren’t enough then there were also fresh seafood available.

oysters

fresh seafood

This monkfish was really huge.

fresh artisinal pasta

Since it was summer it was still really sunny at 9:28 pm.

The next day we went back for lunch and this time we knew what we wanted to try.

This was the only seating area in the market. It was not enough and we had to look for an alternative area to stand and eat.

We went straight to the paella stall for a small tapa portion of paella which we shared. It was a bit firm and oily for my taste but it wasn’t too bad.

Next we had a couple of bacalao on melba toasts and foie gras topped with cheese. I wish we could have eaten more but I was still full from our hearty breakfast buffet at our hotel.

I also had a glass of what I thought was lemonade but it was heavily spiked. I think it was white sangria but this stall called it Limonada Madrid.

Limonada Madrid 4€

While we were eating we met a young Filipino guy who was also traveling around Spain and this was what he ate. The white spaghetti like thing on the left was actually angulas (baby eel) which Rochelle had been wanting to try but was scared she wouldn’t be able to finish it. The guy was nice enough to let her try a little bit. He even offered us some ham. He told us that Mercado San Miguel was much nicer and cleaner than La Boqueria market in Barcelona.

I thought I had enough food sightings for the day but my feet led me into this pretty pasteleria near the market.

I gave in and bought a couple of marzipan is a favorite of mine.

Here’s something we Filipinos are very familiar with – lenguas de gato and barquillos. Looking at the food and pastries around Madrid made me realize how ingrained Spanish food is in our culture. I don’t speak much Spanish having failed my Spanish subjects in Ateneo (¡perdón! Señor Prado) yet I didn’t have a hard time understanding the names of the food and that’s the most important thing.

Mercado San Miguel
Plaza de San Miguel, s/n, 28005, Madrid Spain
telephone: 915-424-936

Madrid: Restaurante Botin – the oldest restaurant in the world!

My cousin Sharon booked us a table at the oldest restaurant in the world and it was in Madrid. Initially I was hesitant to go to Restaurante Botin because of the mixed reviews I read online. The ratings were really from very negative to superlatives. But I thought since it managed to stay open since 1725 the food must be something else.

Even before the restaurant opened at 7:00 pm there was already a lot of people waiting to get in.

The dining area at the ground level had an old world ambiance that was quite pleasing.

A room off the kitchen was filled with already cooked cochinillo or roast suckling baby pig, the restaurant’s specialty.

As nice as the ground floor dining area was I was glad they led us to the basement area.

I loved the cave like dining area where it was cooler. It really felt like I was in the oldest restaurant in the world.

Is this the world’s first bag holder?

This was their menu.

Their sangria was strong and sweet.

1/2 sangria €7,50

No free bread here! Each one cost €1.95 and I didn’t remember ordering so much. I didn’t even eat my share.

pan (bread) €1,95 each

Their croquetas was the best I’ve eaten in my entire time in Spain. The chicken and ham wasn’t too finely chopped and I could still taste the texture of the meat. The white sauce that held the croquetas together was thick but not too rich.

croquetas de pollo y jamon (chicken & ham croquettes) €9,10

The black sausage had a strong flavor from cumin and the texture reminded me of liver. Not bad at all.

morcilla de Burgos (black sausage from Burgos) €8,70

It was a good thing we halved an order of the suckling pig or else we couldn’t have eaten other things. Half an order was more than enough for one person. We saw the plates of the other diners who ordered a full serving of suckling pig and it was big. I got the bony part of the pig which I loved. There was more crispy skin and the meat near the bones were even more delicate. It was very juicy, smokey and very flavorful. It was really worth it.

1/2 order cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) €23,95 (full order)

Rochelle got a smaller portion but it was meatier and she couldn’t finish it. We have cochinillo in several restaurants in Manila and they are good but none are as juicy as this. Look at all the natural juice that seeped out on the plate.

Anyone going to Madrid I suggest a meal at the world’s oldest restaurant. Try to reserve a table at the basement and enjoy the suckling pig.

Restaurante Botin menu in Spanish

Restaurante Botin menu in English

Across the street was this store that specialized in empanadas or Galician pies.

I really, really wanted to try any one of these pies but I was too full to think about more food.

Restaurante Botin
Calle de los Cuchilleros, 17 28005 Madrid, Spain
telephone: +34 913664217
website
Facebook

Madrid: La Ochava & Valpan

After checking in at AC Hotel Carlton Madrid, our home for the two nights, we walked towards Prado Museum where we booked for a 1:00 pm entrance. We bought our tickets online and printed them in Manila. We did this for all the museums we went to this trip.

There were serveral restaurants along the way but we chose to eat lunch at La Ochava because of the pretty pictures. Seriously. Nah we were just hungry and it looked like a decent place to eat.

We thought that paellas were their specialty that’s why we ate there. When we walked around the area after lunch most of the restaurants and cafeterias had the same sign!!!

Some tapas on the bar.

Even though it was so hot outside everyone sat outside. You know why? Because it was even hotter inside. We noticed that the restaurants, pastilerias, boticas (drug store), small groceries in the area didn’t have air-conditioning. How can they stand it?

La Ochava’s menu

The jamon Iberico was smokey, mild and even the fat was yummy and I never eat the fat of anything. It was a good thing we were given free bread which went well with the cured ham.

jamon Iberico €16

I live in the Philippines and we’re known for our seafood but I’ve never seen such huge mutant fried squid rings in any restaurant in Manila. Unbelievable but for it’s size it was very tender. I just didn’t like the soapy after taste. I was the only one who thought that so the others just enjoyed eating my share.

Calamares Fritos (fried squid) €10

The fried fresh anchovies I liked much better although they were big and I had to remove some of the bones. A squeeze of lemon was all it needed. It reminded me of our local tawilis.

Boquerones Fritos (fried anchovies) €8

The rice of the paella was harder and drier than I was used to but the flavor was good. It didn’t have any socarrat (tutong) or crispy crust though.

Paella Valenciana

We then walked to the Prado Museum which is one of the finest museums in the world.

If we didn’t have our tickets already we would have to line up under the hot, hot sun.

This was the last shot I got since photography wasn’t allowed indoors. Let me tell you I’m not an art lover and museums aren’t really my thing but since we were there I had to go. But after looking at the beautiful art works from artists around the world I discovered one I really liked. I was fascinated by the triptychs of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch (El Bosco).

Prado Museum

Nearby are the Reina Sofia Museum and Thyssen museum. If you are an art lover then our hotel is a good location since all three museums are within walking distance.

Reina Sofia Museum

We had the option of going to the Jardin Botanico which we passed on the way back to the hotel but it was too hot and we were suffering from jet lag.

Real Jardin Botanico

I really thought it was a statue until Rochelle noticed his eyes following me. He was sooooo good at standing still.

We were hot and tired and needed something to cool us down. Luckily there was a pastry shop near our hotel. Coffee and sweets should do the trick. Valpan has several stores in Madrid.

OMG!!!!!!!!! I had a hard, hard, hard time not buying those chocolate covered palmiers. My reasoning was if I never tried it then I won’t know what I’m missing.

Their espresso was very good but it was too hot and we wanted cold coffee so we asked for a glass and some ice.

They were sooooooo stingy with the ice. The lady gave me 2 ice cubes and when I begged for more she grudgingly gave me 1 more. Naturally it just melted in my coffee and didn’t cool it at all. In the US when you ask for ice they give you a HUGE glass full. Same in Manila.

We don’t know what any of the bite sized pastries were called and we just pointed out what looked good. This was our favorite. The middle part wasn’t whipped cream but similar to marshmallow fluff.

We got a second fluffly pastry.

La Ochava
Calle de Mendez Álvaro, 2
28045 Madrid
telephone: 915 270 255

Valpan
Paseo de las Delicias, 7
28045 Madrid, Spain
telephone: 915 271 660
website

Jamba Juice & Slice at Bonifacio High Street

We didn’t have dessert at ‘Cue Modern Barbecue anymore because I wanted to try the much raved about choco yema cupcakes at Slice so that’s where we went to for dessert.

While my friends went straight to Slice I made a quick detour to Jamba Juice next door to use a coupon that was given to me.

My coupon was for a small acai supercharger. It wasn’t my first choice but I really liked the tangy berry flavors of the icy drink. We all shared this cup and everyone liked it too. Slice was nice enough to give us several espresso cups for us to have a shot of acai supercharger each.

acai supercharger P150
Acai Juice Blend, Soymilk, Strawberries, Raspberry Sherbet, Blueberries, Ice, Antioxidant Power Boost

Slice was just across ‘Cue in Bonifacio High Street.

choco yema cupcakes

cupcakes

coco choco loco & brownie walnut

granola

We actually ordered a couple of morning glory muffins made with apples, carrots, walnuts and raisins but I wasn’t fast enough to take a picture before everyone descended upon it and it was gone. Actually next to the choco yema it was my favorite.

muffins

If you’ve been reading my blog regularly you know I’m not a big fan of cupcakes. I’m more of a cookie monster. But these cupcakes were just the bomb and my sweet tooth was very happy. Instead of the usual buttercream or cream cheese frosting which I don’t like these rich, fudgy chocolate cupcakes were topped with dulce de leche. The thick and almost chewy topping was so decadent without being cloyingly sweet. Freakin’ fantastic I tell you.

choco yema cupcake P70

I’m not a fan of anything red velvet because I don’t want to eat so much red food coloring but since it was Tisay’s favorite she ordered a slice. It was quite costly at P240 a slice but she said it was pretty good.

red velvet cake P240

I was so excited to see the cookies and it was my first time to encounter deep dish cookies. Alas it was too sweet for me and not chewy enough. My friends liked it though so after a little nibble I passed it on to them.

chocolate chip deep dish cookie P50

chunky peanut butter deep dish cookie P50

Debbie who came late had the four cheese

quattro formaggio panini with salad P200

I think serving food and drinks in wood planks is a trend now in Manila. This is the third place I’ve seen these bulky wood planks used. All our coffee drinks were served on it along with a small dish of granola which they sell.

Tisay just adored her chocnut coffee. It wasn’t too sweet and the peanut flavor was quite evident. I want to order this next time just without the whipped cream and syrup.

Pinoy chocnut coffee P130

Deb had the latte and I had the regular coffee which was strong and so delicious. We got rid of the wood planks or else it wouldn’t have fit on our table with all the desserts we ordered.

latte P130

coffee P100

I would definitely go back for a choco yema cupcake and a cup of coffee. My idea of a perfect snack or dessert.

Jamba Juice
7th Avenue corner 29th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Monday to Thursday: 7am-11pm
Friday to Sunday: 7am-1am
website
Facebook

Slice
G/F Southeast block, Bonifacio High Street Central,
7th Avenue corner 29th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
telephone.: (02) 5537783
website
Facebook

AC Hotel Carlton Madrid

We decided to book Marriott hotels in Madrid and Barcelona since my cousin Sharon is an elite member and she was able to get us good rates. In Spain Marriott’s hotels are called AC Hotel. Sharon chose the Carlton Madrid property for it’s proximity to the top 3 museums in Madrid which were only a block away.

The lobby/lounge was small but it had free wifi which was the most important thing for us.

The staff in the front desk spoke very fluent English and were quite helpful in referring churches and restaurants. That’s Sharon on the left and Rochelle doing a quick stretch.

When we arrived at around 10:00 am only one room was available and we gave it to Sharon first. She let us take a speedy shower then we rushed to the Prado museum which was opened on Sunday, the day we arrived and closed on Monday. The room was small but very clean.

When we returned in the afternoon Rochelle and I finally went into our room we were ecstatic that it had two beds and it was much bigger than Sha’s room. We later found out this was supposed to be her room since she was an elite member of Marriott and she got upgraded. We did offer to change rooms but she declined since she was all settled in already.

This room was on the 6th floor and the free wifi from the lobby didn’t reach us. It did reach Sha’s room on the 1st floor though.

Unbeknownst to Sha we did a dance of joy and there was room for it! We paid the same rate for both rooms.

This were the only toiletries and amenities given by AC Hotels. Not in the picture was the silly golf ball soap that kept rolling around the counter.

Sha’s room had the typical digital safe but out room’s safe required a key from the front desk. On the right is our stash from our flight and lounge of Qatar Airways.

We had the best breakfast in our entire 3 week trip in this hotel. Why? First because it was a buffet, second it came free with the room and third the quality was just darn good. The AC Bar where we had our breakfast was located just off the lobby.

Not your usual breakfast condiments.

bread, croissant, muffins and cookies

My favorite among all the breakfast goodies were these whole wheat pastries specially the palmiers (middle) which seemed to be a Spanish favorite since I saw it in so many pastelerias but this was the only whole wheat version I saw.

I was able to liberate quite a few palmiers straight into my ziploc bag. It provided a great snack for our long drive to San Sebastian. This is one of the reasons why zip top bags are a must-bring when you travel.

quick bread

hard boiled egg, margarine, cereal, jam

Even the bacon had a divine smokey flavor different from the typical American bacon. Even though it wasn’t crispy I liked it more.

Spain’s national dish is good for breakfast or as tapas any time of the day.

tortilla patata / potato tortilla

This was our first taste of Spain’s famous hams.

The Iberico ham was wonderful.

Iberico ham

dried fruits

cheese

I don’t know what the brown squares were on the left.

smoked salmon

fresh fruits

yogurt

orange, peach and pineapple juice

This is what I ate on the first day. I didn’t quite like the veggie pie but I loved all the hams, cheese and dried fig.

On our last day there was churros but only terrible instant hot chocolate.

I loved their coffee and had at least two cups everyday. I still had my plain yogurt with fresh orange slices.

AC Hotel Carlton Madrid
Paseo de la Delicias 26 · Madrid, Madrid 28045 Spain
telephone: 34-91-5397100
website

Lunch at ‘Cue Modern Barbecue

When I go to out of the country I insist on only eating that country’s cuisine. When we went to Spain all we had was Spanish food. Makes sense right? But in Manila I want to eat different kinds of food and it’s a good thing that new restaurants keep opening with new and improved cuisines for Filipinos.

Americans visiting Manila would hardly want to eat barbecue here but expats who miss Southern cooking would do well to visit ‘Cue Modern Barbecue. In my opinion their food is pretty authentic with some dishes amped up a notch higher.

Aside from adding a ‘country’ look to the restaurant I suspect the cowhide in the ceiling is to help with the restaurant’s acoustics but it’s not enough. When the place was full I could hardly hear the conversation in our table.

Thank you ‘Cue for giving your diners free freshly popped spiced popcorn. It doesn’t cost much on your part but we really appreciate and enjoy it.

Some of my friends ordered this gingery grape fruit shake. You can also request them to split and order for two if this big jar of frozen goodness is too much.

grapes n’ ginger fruit shake P190

The soup had plenty of crab but I found it a bit too salty and rich but Tisay who ordered it liked it. It just wasn’t for me.

Charleston she crab soup P260

I always order crab cakes when I’m in the US and until recently you can’t find authentic crab cakes in Manila. The good crab cakes in the US use jumbo lump crab and have minimal fillers.

In Manila our crab are small and the meat is too fine but sweet and you would need lots of whole crab to get a decent amount for crab cakes. As I expected these crab cakes had more fillers than I liked but the taste was quite decent. What made it stand out was the super delicious garlic sauce which we kept and ate with the other dishes.

smoked chili Louisiana crab cake P315

The baby squid was ordinary but it was crunchy and well fried. The only thing amazing was how tiny and tender the squid were. Tiny squid meant more surface for the batter and oil so in essence you’re eating more flour than squid. It tasted better with the garlic sauce instead of the mayonnaise it came with.

crunchy baby squid P265

Adding pieces of steak to the roasted bone marrow was a great idea. It stretched out the goodness and complemented the beef very well as filling for these mini tacos. Don’t forget to add the spicy salsa verde!

bone marrow & steak tacos P485

This is exactly how I like my baby back ribs, barely glazed with sauce yet smokey, tender but not too soft and the flavor permeated evenly through the meat. It came with two kinds of barbecue sauce and I liked the spicier one.

baby back ribs full slab P1,185

coleslaw P55

For me the best dish during lunch was the charred corned beef belly
hand cut charred corned beef P685

Whoever thought of putting cured and boiled beef belly on the grill was genius! Imagine tender and mildly salty fresh corned beef with a locked in grilled flavor? It was literally corned steak!!! Take a piece of corned steak and slather it with whole grain mustard and creamy horseradish and give you tastebuds an express trip to yummy heaven!

This would also work even better in a sandwich. Hear that ‘Cue?

Their corned beef sandwich was also fab but it would have been so much better with rye bread instead of sourdough and the grilled corned steak above. Until they come out with that you’ll have to be satisfied with this sandwich.

When you’re ready with the corned steak belly on rye you can give me a call okay, ‘Cue? Serve it with whole grain mustard and horseradish and not catsup. Oh sweet potato chips on the side would be perfect too.

Finally a restaurant in Manila that served sweet potato fries! Hey ‘Cue may I suggest a thinner cut of the fries like these since our local sweet potatoes ain’t that sweet?

sliced corned beef belly sandwich P485

I actually ordered this pot pie since I have this strange love for pot pies. This wasn’t bad at all since the flavors of the spicy chicken filling was good but they can improve on the crust which quickly became limp and soggy when I dunked it in the sauce.

chicken chipotle chorizo pot pie P325

I was already beyond full when this tall burger came out but I tried a small piece of the cheese drenched patty. To say I was astounded was putting it mildly. Wow o wow can you say steak? It was awesome and it passed by criteria for a burger having to taste like steak. This was one great burger! It’s going to be a tough choice for my next visit, corned beef or burger.

the house burger P395

You get my two thumbs and two toes up ‘Cue!!!

menu

‘Cue Modern Barbecue
Space NELG 105, Lower Ground Floor Bonifacio High Street Central, Global City, 1630 Taguig
telephone: (63917) 899-2283
Facebook

Madrid-Barajas Airport

We landed in Madrid-Barajas airport more than 24 hours after I left my house in Manila. I should be tired and sleepy but when I saw the jaw dropping airport I was instantly invigorated.

Even the bridge-way from the airplane was beautiful.

I liked the ceiling made of wood slats. It added warmth yet it was very modern. I preferred it much more to the all steel airports of Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

I won’t even comment on the airports of the Philippines. Dare I dream to see something even a tenth of this with Philippine Airlines’ future new airport?

No yucky fluorescent lighting here just indirect reflective lights.

There were lots of shopping and dining options.

The huge airport had many buildings and gates that were far so we had to take a train to go claim Rochelle’s luggage.

The cubicles’ doors and partitions were all frosted glass.

You can take the Metro to the city from the airport. We had to meet with my cousin Sharon who arrived from DC and was in another terminal so we took a free bus that dropped passengers to one of five terminals. As I said the airport was huge!!!

Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge @ Doha International Airport

We arrived in Doha for a 3 hour layover before continuing on to Madrid. I liked this break to give us time to stretch our legs and take a break from airplane seats not that we had anything to complain about Qatar Airways’ roomy seat.

I thought 3 hours was a lot of time but deplaning, riding the bus, dropping off passengers at the arrival terminal before we went to the transfer terminal took almost an hour. The distance from where our plane was parked to the transfer terminal seemed farther than the distance of Greenhills to Naia airport (without traffic). I can’t imagine how big the entire Doha International Airport property was.

The building of the transfer terminal was huge too.

We didn’t get to walk around the duty free area but it didn’t look like there was a lot of merchandise.

I think that’s Senator Angara behind Rochelle.

They had facilities catering for all ages even a clinic.

This was the entrance to the business class lounge. The first class lounge was on the other side.

I think this was the biggest lounge I’ve ever been to. There was an entire side that I didn’t even go to.

There were several seating areas but naturally we went to the area nearest the buffet spread.

The washroom was relatively small for such a big lounge. There was usually a line to use the toilet.

Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge at Doha International Airport-015

But there was a nice shower facility inside.

We liked the tea area a lot and it helped that it was manned by a friendly and very beautiful Filipina who could join a beauty contest and win.

Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge at Doha International Airport-016

Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge at Doha International Airport-017

buffet

There was only one Middle Eastern entree and that’s the only one I got.

hot entrees

I asked a waiter if they had more Middle Eastern bread but there was only one kind.

We sat right next to the dessert table. Strategic huh?

baklava and kanafeh pastries

We took some dried apricots and dates. They were so good!!!

Rochelle and I went tea crazy and tried almost all the varieties they had – Italian almond tea, Moroccan mint green tea, rose hip hibiscus tea and ginger tea. Our favorite was the Italian almond tea which was so fragrant.

These were my plates of food. The lamb korma was absolutely fantastic. The lamb pieces were very tender and the yogurt sauce was so tasty I mopped all traces of it with my bread.

Rochelle clued me in on the seafood thermidor which came out after I took pictures. It’s not much to look at but it was also yummy.

The brownie and cheesecake were just average. I didn’t even finish it.

The Arabic desserts on the other hand were spectacular. On the left is baklava – phyllo dough filled with pistachios in syrup. On the right is a similar pastry but with pistachios & date paste in the filling. Both were very crispy and not too sweet unlike other baklavas I’ve tried in Manila. I wanted to get some more but they never refilled it. If you happen to go to this lounge don’t forget to eat these two pastries and take some home for me!

baklava and kanafeh pastries

Two hours went by so fast. I wouldn’t mind getting stuck in this lounge a little longer.