If only I had the time, I should have included Spain in my itinerary during my travel to Europe last year. There were still some Euros left after I visited France and Italy but it would be beyond the allotted leave from my work.
First stop would have been Madrid, the capital and home to Sobrino de Botín (www.botin.es, phone 91-366-42-17) established in 1725 and it is the oldest restaurant in the world (Guinness Book of Records). The house specialty is cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) and roast lamb (lechazo asado). In this restaurant, language would not be a problem because 13 of its staff are Filipinos, including Head Chef Celso Salisi.
Then onwards for a taste of Spanish ham at the Museo del Jamon in Madrid (phone 91-431-72-96, www.museodeljamon.es/ phone 91-431-72-96), recommended by Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods). He describes Spanish ham as “buttery, intense, feral…it tastes wild, it melts in the mouth.” Or better, a trip to Barcelona, capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain for a ham boutique called Jamonisimo (http://www.jamonisimo.com/ phone 93-324-81-54).
Objective of this trip would be to taste and differentiate the nuances of this Jamón Iberico de Bellota (free-range, acorn-fed Iberian pigs) from the regions of Salamanca, Extremadura and Andalucía. I was ready to include the number one restaurant in the world, El Bulli and budget 17,000 pesos for the dinner but Chef Ferran Adria has decided to close it at the end of this month.
Filipinos have tried to reproduce Spanish dishes like the Paella Valenciana, modified to accommodate available ingredients and adjusted to fit to the native taste. Unfortunately sometimes, the results can be insane; murag Chinese lugaw, murag biko or sometimes looks like Filipino Java rice!
Your favorite food columnist, excuse me, wants to taste the original Paella in the town of Alicante in Valencia (Chef Michael Smith, TV episode, Chefs Abroad). It has to be cooked over an open fire using a cast iron paella pan. Ingredients needed are the following: rice (Bomba variety absorbs more broth yet stays firm), saffron, olive oil (virgin gyud!), rabbit and land snail (fed with thyme).
While waiting for this trip to happen, your favorite food columnist joined the 4th Sabores de España (Spanish Food Festival) at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, (www.marcopoloplaza.com phone 253-111) with His Excellency Jorge Domecq, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the Philippines and Honorary Spanish Consul Jaime Picornell.
A special dinner was held at the El Viento Restaurant and Pool Bar and the First Course was a plate with classic Spanish tapas: Gambas al Ajillo, Aceitunas y Queso Manchego en Vinagreta, Tortilla de Patatas and Jamon Serrano con Melon.
This was followed by the Waiter's Parade of Paella and the dishes for the Second Course: Mechado del Campo, Calamares Rellenos and the crowd's favorite, the Callos Madrilena (it simply melts in your mouth and utterly delicious!). Third Course was desserts – a platter with the Flan, Torrijas, Bizcocho Borracho, Yemas de Santa Teresa and Fresh Fruit Tartlets.
The rest of the food photos were taken at the Café Marco during the Spanish Food Festival and unfortunately for my beloved readers, by the time this article sees light, finish na the 4th Sabores de España. Since this is an annual event at Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, wait na lang for the 5th Sabores.