Contigo in the Noe Valley

Aside from the eating and drinking, Spanish tapas is so enjoyable because of its social aspect.  Tapas is designed for groups to enjoy the night together, and the more you eat and drink the more you enjoy your social environment.

San Francisco has a big selection of Spanish restaurants.  Wanting to try something new, Contigo in Noe Valley was a great choice to nibble on tapas and catch up with friends.  Noe Valley is a quieter neighborhood in the city that has that restaurants with big flavors and that small neighborhood friendly vibe.

Contigo's Catalan inspired dishes are plated for sharing.  They have small bites that you would find at typical tapas and pinchos bars, as well as bigger plates, or raciones.  They have classic plates like boquerones (white anchovies) and albondigas (meatballs), as well as dishes serving seasonal selections.  The cocas (Spanish flatbread, aka pizza) have toppings highlighting was freshest in the markets at the moment.

Contigo means "with you", making this restaurant is a perfect place for smaller groups, dates, and neighborhood families to enjoy conversation over a meal with good food and quality Spanish drinks.

Seard caña de cabra goat cheese
With pears, persimmons, arugula, hazelnuts, fennel, basil, px vinagreta

Chiarello's Coqueta

There are a few cuisines that I can eat all the time.  Spanish tapas is absolutely on this list.  Traditional and modern, I love them both equally.  It's the idea of sipping wines, sangrias, cocktails, and beers along side small plates of flavor-filled bites.  And it's shared in a social setting where you leisurely take in the tastes and let the alcohol buzz slowly linger through the meal and into the evening.

I love the tapas so much that I was willing to eat at a restaurant that I've been on the fence about.  I'm a fan of nice guys and a hater of douchebags.  When I watched Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, I gained a horrible impression of Michael "How do you say my name" Chiarello.  What a douche!  Is he really like this in real life?

Against all odds, I found myself in his newest San Francisco restaurant along the Embarcadero.  Why??  Because it was all about Spanish tapas and the reviews have been greatly positive.  Coqueta, meaning "flirt" or "infatuation", interprets Spanish tapas in a playful and modern way.

To my chagrin... the food was awesome.  The cocktails and Spanish wines selection are thoughtful, and the tapas are innovative while making you feel like you're actually in Spain.

And just when I resigned myself to think that he's an okay guy because he's food is so good... A shiny Lexus pulls up next to the restaurant, on the sidewalk.  Out comes a guy who moves like he owns the sidewalk.  As fate would have it, just as I was softening up to the guy, Chiarello himself walks into the restaurant, passes by the two or three tables of patrons, and schmoozes with his managers.  Our server saw us looking and talking about him and thought we were gushing fans (hah!).  She offered to have him take a photo with us.  We politely smiled and didn't reject nor accept the offer, as we wanted to see how it would play out.  Minutes later, he walked out, still bypassing his customers, and parked his car properly.  More minutes later, he came back in, again not acknowledging any diners, and sat in a corner table reviewing business with a manager.  Now, I'm not saying he had to talk to everyone.  But what's it to simply smile at the people eating your food?

The build up of these minutes made the food that we thoroughly enjoyed taste different.  As great as it was, I don't want to give my money to a guy like this.  I'll save it and go to Spain where the Spanish chefs are so genuinely nice, smile fully, and converse with their customers.

Eating at the bar

Tariff Gin & Tonic
Jamon Iberico infused gin, acorn and apricot tonic, orange, and cava

Can't get enough of Hong Kong

I have come to love Hong Kong because of my mom who summered with her family in the Central district as a child.  Central is really where it's at.  You still feel British Hong Kong, and I love that.  It has culture, discipline, high fashion, great foods, and a true modern metropolitan city feel.

Visiting the city for these many years, we have a certain set of traditions or routines each time we come back: staying at the same hotel, having a Chinese feast, enjoying tapas, and trying out new establishments from international chefs.

Staying at the Mandarin Oriental is a true privilege.  The cleanliness, the service, the attention to detail - it all lives up to its reputation here in Hong Kong.  A benefit in staying at this hotel is the restaurants just upstairs.  The Man Wah has become one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the city.  They have it all - attentive service, artful presentation, quality, and taste.

On the hotel's mezzanine floor of restaurants, Cafe Causette has a generous list of breakfast items perfect for a weekend brunch.  I'm a fan of corned beef hash, and theirs blew me away.  The plating, the quality of the beef itself and how it all tasted together was just the best I've encountered so far.  There is so much quality and finesse in it.

Across the harbour (via Star Ferry which is a fantastic way to go to Kowloon), Gateway Arcade in Harbour City has a great variety of restaurants.  Our family favorite is Sergi Arola's Vi Cool.  I can't get enough of the tapas and pitchers of sangrias.

Another international chef that has been a long stay in Hong Kong, Joel Robuchon, has recently expanded several outlets of his cafes across the city.  Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon in Gateway is a good place for dessert or for afternoon tea.

Hong Kong is really about the eating.  And I can't wait to go back for more.

View of the harbour
Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Feasting in Singapore

The sights, architecture, museums, culture, and nature.  That's a lot to take in for a short getaway to Singapore.  And the highlight of it all is the food.  You can eat cheaply or luxuriously; the choice is up to you and your wallet.  Either way you go, you're guaranteed to end the day with a happy stomach.

Hawker centers and food courts are the way to go for cheap meals.  In the better areas, the price is slightly higher because the quality and cleanliness is what you pay for.  (We actually ate satay in an outdoor hawker center which was really nice, but unfortunately food poisoning was a result.  So you should still be careful of what you eat and the handling of it even if you're in Singapore where the standards for street food are supposed to be better.)  There are so many classic dishes to choose, so it's best to go with hungry stomachs and share everything.

On the other end of the budget spectrum, there are also many choices for big splurges as well as mid-ranged meals from international celebrity chefs.  From Australia, Luke Mangan has his Salt tapas & bar which is a fun restaurant for refreshing sangrias and small plates to share.  From the states by way to France, there's also the iconic Daniel Boulud and his db Bistro Moderne.  There you can enjoy his signature burger decadently filled with short rib and foie gras.  You can have a meal from these reknown chefs from all over the world in just one small city.

In Singapore, there's so much great food for every budget and for any craving.

First stop, hawker centers
Chicken wings and carrot cake

 Nasi Lemak at 1983 Taste of Nanyang

Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid

In the center of Madrid, next to Plaza Mayor, is another one of the capital's oldest markets, Mercado de San Miguel.  Built in 1916, the market renovated to incorporate modernism against the cast-iron architecture.  This is a traditional market for the 21st century and it bills itself as a culinary cultural centre.

33 food purveyors offer products to take home and/or consume on the premises.  In the center of the mercado are bar tables to leisurely enjoy the food and beverages sold at the market.  During day time hours, fresh ingredients like fish, meat, and fruits are sold.  At night, tapas, beer, and wine are the highlights of the market.

Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado de San Antón are a couple of the best places for food lovers in Madrid, both for locals and for tourists.  They highlight quality ingredients to take home, as well as traditional and modern tapas to enjoy on the spot.  Markets are really the place to live and learn the ways of the locals.

Mercado de San Miguel

Modern with traditional

The entrance

Mercado de San Antón in Madrid

After falling in love with markets in San Sebastian and Valencia, I was more than ready for markets in Spain's capital.

The first of the two markets (the second will be featured in my next post) is Mercado de San Antón.  A market literally around the corner from our hotel in the Chueca barrio.  It's a district full of boutique shops and neighborhood restaurants and bars.

The mercado is an three-story indoor market featuring farm fresh local produce.  The building and market was constructed in 1945, one of the oldest markets in the city.  In 2011, the government commissioned to renovate the market to bring it into the 21st century.  It's now one of the places to buy food while savoring it on the spot as well.

The market is full of delis, bakeries, butchers, fishmongers, etc on the first floor.  On the second floor there are tapas vendors, Greek cuisine, Italian cuisine, fresh seafood, desserts, and, of course, a wine bar.  On the third floor is a restaurant both indoors and with a roof terrace.  This is a place you can keep coming back to for lunch, merienda, and dinner.  In fact in the few nights were based in Madrid, we enjoyed three meals here.  The second floor is my favorite of the three.  You get to choose a variety of foods and enjoy it family style on bar height tables.  Seriously, Madrileños know how to eat well.

Mercado de San Antón

3 floors of food and eating

Madrid: Pride of city with endless amazing eats.

Madrid!  One of my absolute favorite cities in the world.  I was worried that I would be letdown after finally coming back to this city ten years later.  Wow, the city is far cooler and far better than I remember.  Madrid is still and most definitely one of the my favorite cities in the world.

It's a true city and capital full of history and culture, and it's clean.  Madrid is so alive, so trendy and fashionable while not being arrogant or stiff.  There are newer barrios and neighborhoods that are walkable and full of life and food, too.

El Corte Ingles is a standard stop for some department store shopping, grocery shopping, and eating.  It is the biggest department store group in Europe, and it's the only remaining department store in Spain.  The Gran Via location has a great Gourmet Experience on the top floor with fantastic views of the city.  You can take it all in while enjoying a selection of tapas and cuisines from around the world.

Madrid is also a city to sample the Spanish classic: churros con chocolate.  Books and Internet research lead me to Chocolateria Valor and Chocolateria San Gines.  Valor is a big name chocolate brand in Spain.  Despite the name and reviews, I actually preferred San Gines.  It has a hype for attracting decades of celebrities and big names.  The churros were fresh and crispy and the chocolate had that right amount of sweetness and darkness.  The experience of eating churros con chocolate can be done at any time of the day.  Locals, though, are known to indulge in this sweet, fried goodness in the wee hours of the morning after a long night out.  In fact, Chocolateria San Gines' hours are 9:30am to 7:00am.  Madrileños know how to party and to live, and to eat.

Walking around Madrid 

Sugar rush of ensaimadas in Palma de Mallorca

2 days and 2 nights in Mallorca - that's just enough time to get a little sample of the island's specialties.  Mallorca is known for their almonds, oranges, and ensaimadas.

Ensaimadas were eventually brought to the Philippines (known as ensaymadas) by Mallorcan soldiers centuries ago longing for their region's specialty.  Mallorcan ensaimadas come in varying sizes and even topped or filled with sweets and savories.

During our two short days, we were able to squeeze in three of the more known ensaimadas stores.  Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo is a famous milk bar serving ice creams, horchatas, hot chocolates, and sweets varying from the varieties of ensaimadas to almond cakes.  Forn d'es Reco is a cute little bakery that we happen to stumble upon.  It's unassuming with plenty of sweets and savories made with love over the generations.  Their ensaimada has a unique taste of almonds in the fluffy bites.  Forn Fondo is one of the more known bake shops even promoted by Jose Andres.  I actually found this to be the least tasty compared to the other two.  There are a few more ensaimadas stores I'd love to try out, but we just couldn't handle that much sweetness in the short amount of time - a great excuse for another trip to the island.

To balance the sweetness, there are a number of restaurants and cafes scattered throughout the city, many of which are of varying European cuisines catering to the groups of tourists visiting the island.

In a tiny alley off of Central Palma, La Bodeguilla is a great stop for tapas and wine.  They serve dinner choices, but I would stick with the tapas in the wine bar area which has a fun atmosphere.  Plus, with tapas you don't get overly stuffed in one restaurant and that allows you to really get a taste of a number of places during the course of one meal.

A town like Palma is all about walking around the city, getting lost, and discovering gems like Forn d'es Reco and La Bodeguilla.

Ca'n Joan de S'Aigo

Mallorca's milk bar, dating back to 1700

Sampling the specialties: Almond milk, hot chocolate, and ensaimadas

Showtime at Albert Adrià's Tickets

Ferran Adrià is the world's most celebrated chef today thanks to his legacy at El Bulli and his contributions to the modern age of gastronomy.  Just one year after Ferran began his career at El Bulli at the age of 22, his younger brother joined the staff at the age of 15.

"Without Albert, El Bulli as we know it now would never have existed," claimed Ferran.  Albert Adrià eventually became the restaurant's creative director.  Any mention of Albert always brings his brother's name into the conversation.  Albert is beyond worthy of his own name.  Jose Andres worked with both brothers in El Bulli said, "Ferran may be an incredible chef, but there is no better cook in the world than Albert."

Albert Adrià is genius in his own right.  He currently has 4 restaurants in Barcelona, with 2 more opening next year.  As soon as we planned our dates, I jumped online to book a table at Tickets.  You have to reserve 60 days in advanced online.  And the availability goes out as fast as a Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake concert (or The Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney if you want to be technical about fast selling tickets).  After 3 attempts on 3 different nights (and having to wake up in the middle of the night as soon as the next day's schedule gets online), I finally scored a lunch reservation for 4!  It felt like winning the lottery.  Now I just had to wait 60 days..

The wait is so worth it.  When you enter Tickets, you know you're going to have fun, like you just got a ticket to the coolest food carnival.

I originally reserved for 4, but our party increased to 6.. well, 6 1/2 including my nephew.  Without hesitation, but with pure friendliness the hostess immediately accommodated our increase of seats.  Eating in many high end restaurants in the U.S. and Europe, I have grown weary of arrogance among the wait-staff.  There was absolutely none of that in Spain's best restaurants.  They all welcome you like you're great friends - Tickets is no exception, in fact it's incredibly kid friendly.

The menu is an extensive list of tapas.  I'm here for one meal, so it was hard to narrow down what to order.  Our waiter offered to provide us a taste of the best - either according to our budget or until our stomachs could take no more.  No pretension nor snobbery if we had a particular budget.

We chose the stomach option, and I think I could have gone for days.  Hands down, the best celebrity chef experience.  The best food experience in the world.  And the bill came out to be waay cheaper than any other tasting menu I've encountered.

I've seen all that I want to in Barcelona (the first time was all about sightseeing, and this time was all about the food).  I'm partial to Madrid and San Sebastian where there's more of an old world culture while retaining a cleanliness.  But, my love for food will most definitely bring me back to Barcelona to experience more of Albert Adrià.  Plus, he's an incredibly sweet guy who happily obliged a photo with my family.  Stand up guy, amazing cook - there's no better combination.

Albert Adrià talking to his team

Fan girl photo with Albert Adrià!

The Setting
With these tweezers as your utensils.  Kinda works like chopsticks. 

Eating in Spain's wine country

When I was last in Spain, I was just 19 and starting my discovery of wines.  Years and bottles later, I now have a huge desire to explore the different wine countries around the world.  If I'm traveling near a known and delicious vineyard - I have to stop by for a taste.

Reds from La Rioja in Spain are my favorites - they are so drinkable and pair perfectly with many kinds of foods.  Just 2 hours south from San Sebastian is La Rioja, with Logroño as the capital of the region.  Logroño is a small town with amazing pintxos, which are mostly located around 2 streets.  Just 2 streets with so many options and possibilities to eat, and, of course, to continue drinking the night away.

The beauty of pintxos crawls is that you taste a variety of specialty foods while sipping on small glasses of beer or wine in every bar.  The night is as epic as you can last.

Early start to pintxos crawling

San Sebastian - Is this heaven?

If you love food.. love to eat, love to cook.. you have to go to San Sebastian, a true culinary mecca.  All that hype you read and watch about this place, it's all true.  In fact, it's beyond true.

San Sebastian, or Donostia in Basque, is a coastal city in northern Spain just about 20km south of the French border.  With endlesss blue waters along clean beaches, mixed with lush greenery covering this culture-rich city, this is truly one of the finest destinations Spain has to offer.

Centro and Parte Vieja are the heart of the city filled with shops, cafes, mercados, and endless back to back pintxos bars and restaurants.  The mercados, or markets, are indoors and incredibly clean.  All these fresh fishes and meats make you dream of having an apartment to cook everything offered there.  The pintxos bars just don't stop, and it's amazing.  There's a mix of traditional and modern, with specialty dishes in each of them.  Pace is the trick.  Take it easy on the eating and drinking in each spot, so you can seriously have the whole afternoon and/or evening of nibbling and sipping everything your heart desires.  I think San Sebastian could be heaven.

Non-stop eating, and drinking, starts now.

San Sebastian coastline