Tag Archives: Foodie

Best ramen in Barcelona: Ramen-ya Hiro

I have found the best ramen in Barcelona! This place is turning into one of my favs in the city. Find out more about Ramen-ya Hiro in this post.

I have discovered this ramen place through a friend who recommended it. We had dinner there before our saturday night out! The place opens at 20h30 and we decided to arrive at 20h because she said there was always a big queue and they do not accept reservations! Alas… a lot of people had the same brilliant idea so we had to wait 1h30 (in the cold, brrr) before we could get a table. If the length of time you spent queuing to eat is a sign that a place is good then this one must be amazing…

Ramen-ya hiro, the place…

Anyway, when we were finally close to the door, the waitress asked us if we wanted to be seated at the terrace or inside. It was way too cold to be out, so opted for inside. We are still in wintertime, even if it is a Barcelona winter time! Inside, the place was small and packed. There were a few tables and some stools at the bar. And…there were a lot of japanese people eating. That would include my left handside neighbour. Second good sign!

Gyoza from Ramen ya-hiro

Thankfully, two seats freed up at the bar so we could take them. Our spot was great as well because we could watch the cook in the open kitchen: how he manipulated the different pans on the stove, cooked the noodles etc.

The menu is quite simple: a few starters, a few rice dishes, a few desserts and two types of ramen: with a miso base and with a soy sauce base. We placed our order: a dish of gyoza to share and a miso ramen each. They had a few selections of extra toppings for the ramens. One of them was butter. Butter? Mmmm…Interesting. My mentioned left handside neighbour ordered it in his soup. The way he slurped at it, it must be delicious. But tonight, we will just have the normal ramen. No toppings (yet) please!

What a yummy ramen!

So what is a ramen? A ramen is a very popular japanese dish. It is a soup dish with Chinese-style wheat or egg noodles served in a very rich broth. In Ramen-Ya Hiro, they have a miso and a soy sauce flavoured ones as mentioned above. The dish already includes toppings like a soft boiled egg and cha-su (this is the one I got). And the bowl size is enough to fill you for the night. Check out the picture above to get an idea!

The food verdict? Well both gyozas and ramen were seriously delicious. The broth was tasty. It did not leave my palate indifferent. It also made me want to go back for more in a very near future. And maybe then I won’t have to wait that long… But honestly, I think the wait was worth it. This is the best ramen I have had in Barcelona. And guess what? The prices are very decent. 7.50 euros for a bowl. I can only recommend the place!

https://www.facebook.com/RamenYaHiro

Address: Carrer Girona, 164 – 08011 Barcelona

Opening hours: Monday, tuesday, thursday, friday and saturday. Only evenings on wednesdays and closed on sundays

13:30 – 15:30 & 20:30 – 23:30

Barcelona experience: eating at la Boqueria market

Today, I want to talk about a Barcelona experience I had: eating at the Boqueria market.

This is one thing I had on my Barcelona bucket list. I do have several bucket lists organized by categories: must-do trips, must-do experiences, must-go-to places, must-do in Barcelona. And this is where we are at!

A landmark and a must-visit here in Barcelona, the Boqueria is famous for being “the” place where you can find almost anything from the food department. Are you looking for cassava leaves? La Boqueria. Bull testicules? La Boqueria. Exotic fruits? La Boqueria… The whole market offers a rich choice of fruit, vegetable, fish, meat and local specialties.

The market does not only sell food. It also hosts a good number of market stalls well renowned for the quality and freshness of their products. And this is what I planned to try out. Luckily for me, my parents went on a first exploration and found a place they raved about. So we headed there for lunch two Saturdays ago.

Eating fresh seafood at la Boqueria

The place we went to was called Kiosko Universal. It was mainly serving seafood. There is a counter where you can observe the cooks while they grill fish and shells.

All the seats at the counter were taken so we waited for a free table. We gave our name to the waiter and waited until he cleaned up. Tables are given on a first come, first serve basis. We did not have to wait much though. The turnover was quite fast although the place was always busy. But we did have to wait a while before our order was taken and before being served.

The whole staff was very nice. So the wait was the only minus. There were locals and tourists alike enjoying the food. For me, the presence of locals in a touristy area means that the food is good. Don’t you think the same? While sitting, we could observe passer-bys, hear the echo of the noise from the market and the happy chatters, smell the food cooking. The atmosphere was very nice and happy.

The menu was simple. Some Spanish specialties like pimientos del padron. But we came for seafood so seafood we will have! We ordered oysters, a parrillada de mariscos (a platter of grilled seafood with mussels, cockles, crawfish, calamari, prawns and razor clams) and a mixed mushroom dish.

To accompany the whole lot, a bottle of white wine, Afortunado, which I never heard of before but was very good. In fact, everything was delicious and really fresh. These were the perks of having supplies at hand.

All in all, eating at la Boqueria was a great experience: the food, the wine, the atmosphere and of course the company were unmatched. A market stall to revisit or a new one to try out, this experience is definitely to repeat!!!

Seafood lovers, go to Paradeta!
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Are you a seafood lover? Then La Paradeta is the perfect place for you! I had brought friends and family here and everytime the food was a hit among them. That shellfish bar... So what is so special about La Paradeta? The whole eating concept is unusual: first, the entire place is dedicated to…
Tags: la, barcelona, seafood, fish, place, food

Secret spot #2: Calle Blai & Blai tonight for pintxos

Ok, this is not a “secret spot” per se as I am talking about an entire street here, Calle Blai, in general and a place in particular, Blai Tonight. These places are my secret spots number 2 after the Horta Labyrinth.

So why are they of interest?

They are of interest because these places don’t get the credit they deserve. First of all, Calle Blai as a street is a lively pedestrian street, full of nice and cheap tapas bars. More pinchos bars than tapas bars to be honest.

And here, I want to speak about one place in particular, Blai Tonight, because I have a special fondness for this place. This is one of the places I had been to on my first year in Barcelona. I did spend many friday evenings there. And now because of their popularity they opened a second local just beside the first one. They also have a terrace.

I have taken family and friends here when they came for a visit to Barcelona. Everyone has been happy about the experience: tasty and varied pinchos (with avocados, with prawns, with ham and quail eggs, sausage and pimiento de padron and so on…), nice atmosphere (it is always full of foreigners living in Barcelona and locals ), it is cheap (between 1 and 1,5 euros a pincho) with equally cheap beers (less than 2 euros). In Calle Blai, there are also different sorts of croquettes. But I do prefer the pinchos.

For those of you who don’t know it, a pincho is a piece of bread with toppings fixed with a toothpick. This is why they are called “pinchos” because of the spike. The toothpicks prevent the ingredients from falling off, but they also help the bartender to keep a track of how many pinchos a customer had. Pinchos traditionnally come from the North of Spain but you can now find them everywhere.

A pincho experience involves you receiving a plate and a plastic glass to keep your toothpicks. Then you go to the bar, order your drink and help yourself with pinchos. At the end of the night, you give back your glass of toothpicks to the waiter. He will count them, add them to your drinks’price and then present you with the bill.

One nice memory is when I went with my whole family: parents, sister and nephews (the ones I spent 10 days of Chrismas in Montreal with). The kids were still very small. Despite the place being busy, the waiter made room for the buggy. And when one of the boys started to cry because of the crowd, they were really patient and did not give us any bad looks. You know, this look, the same one people give to you when you have a kid and sit beside them in the plane. This look that says “this is my luck, a kid beside me, adios to my quiet trip!”.

I also have that memory of a secret service agent looking after my laptop while I was choosing my pinchos. Yeah, I don’t joke. I was waiting for a friend and in the meantime wanted to eat something. I tried to keep an eye on my bag on the other side of the room while choosing pinchos. He showed me his badge and told me: “Don’t worry nobody will touch your bags”. I probably won’t recognise him if I meet him again but I had been very grateful on the moment. I took my time to choose my pinchos and my laptop was still there when I came back to my seat…

To read about my secret spot #1, the Horta Labyrinth, click here. And if you try Blai tonight, come back and leave your impression!

Post edit: I have been back to Calle Blai last month and got a bit disappointed on the quality of pintxos. Is Blai Tonight a victim of its success? I think Calle Blai is still a place to visit when you come to Barcelona. When you go, leave us a comment!

El Nacional, a gourmet foodhall in Passeig de Gracia

Two weeks ago, I discovered El Nacional, a gourmet food hall right on Passeig de Gracia. Last wednesday, I went back again, I loved it so much.

I have passed a number of times in Passeig de Gracia and never noticed this massive multi gastronomic space just right there. The restaurant can welcome up to 700 diners. To be honest, it is quite discreet. An arch on top of the entrance saying “El Nacional” and then you enter the venue through a private alley. It is not very well advertised from the street. But this adds to its charm. You feel like having insider knowledge walking in.

I loved the place at first sight because of… the building – outside and inside. It is an imposing building, very unusual architecture for Barcelona city centre. It does look like the entrance of a factory. This building was built in the 1889 during the Industrial Revolution. The interior has a retro charm and reminds me of the 1930s – 1940s which I think is the aim. It has metallic pillars and a dazzling decor – literally. There are lights coming out of everywhere especially from originally designed chandeliers. A different one above each space. I spent a good few minutes with my nose up in the air admiring different shapes and forms.

In “El Nacional”, attention is given to every single detail from patterns on the floor to plates you eat in. There is an interesting contrast between all the plants set up everywhere and the glassy and metallic looks of the decor. There is also a market atmosphere to it because of the huge space, the high ceilings, the voice sputters from animated conversations and their echoes. It is posh, elegant, glamorous and so urban at the same time. A place I would place in a city like Paris or New York. Not the traditional image I have of food venues in Barcelona. It is also very cosmopolitan and frequented by tourists, expats and locals.

Before sitting down, we walked around the place. El Nacional is an innovative concept with 4 areas and 4 bars. There is a meat restaurant, a fish restaurant, a tapas and rice restaurant and a fast deli restaurant. The 4 bars are each specialised in beer, wine, cava and cocktails. The gastronomic proposal is to offer fresh products and different dishes from the Iberic Peninsula.

That first time I was here, we went to the fast deli. We were on a relaxed evening so it was perfect for us. I ordered a coca bread with butifarra and a glass of vermut. I did not have many expectations but after the first mouthful I can understand why this place is attracting so many people and probably foodies: fresh ingredients, high quality and taste. Ooohh, that butifarra so tasty on that thin coca bread…. And believe me I am a very difficult eater to please. The price is quite good too. I spent less than 15 euros for what I ordered and it was really high quality food.

This evening, we went to the tapas space. I prefer the deli because I was really impressed by my coca bread but they have some nice tapas. The pan con tomate (or bread with tomatoes), a very simple and basic dish right? Well, the bread is nice and crunchy, the olive oil is tasty and the tomato meaty. I think they use this tomato that has been specially designed for spreading. And the nice iberic ham, fatty where it has to be. My trainer won’t be too happy with this infringement to my diet…

I also ordered dessert, it was completely superfluous, after the sardines in escabeche, the patatas with alioli, the calamares al andaluza, the pan con tomate and the plate of Iberic ham. But I could not resist: bread with chocolate, olive oil and salt. An odd combination for most people but when it comes to food, I am very adventurous. They served us two very generous pieces of rich chocolate on a toast and for good measure I even added some extra salt. The wine was also amazing. I had too much of it for a school night but who cares? You only live once. Unfortunately, I had so much of it I cannot remember its name…My bad!

The most interesting part of the experience is the food auction. We asked to the waitress the first time we ate at the deli who was shouting like mad like that. I thought it was a fishmonger. A fishmonger in this fancy place? Feeling perplexed… She said that they were offering tapas malagan style: a waiter was going around the restaurant auctioning tapas from 8 pm. He was shouting really loud: “caaalllaaammmmaarrreessss!!!” coming out of the kitchen. Then he crossed the room presenting his dish around. Every now and then he came around our table and showed us what he had. We nodded or refused and he continued on his way. Then came back with another round of tapas “pppattttaaattaass!!!!”. A new experience…We paid 25 euros each for 7 tapas and an equally number of glasses of wine.

We recommend a quick trip to the bathroom to admire the decor and appliances. And if in the process, you want to take a few selfies, feel free. There are enough mirror and lights in El Nacional to make you feel like a star…

What to do in 6 days in Naples and Sorrento

I have a “tiny” backlog with updating the blog. But now I am going to catch up on a few posts. This is the second part of my trip to Italy, the one who started in Roma (find the link below). Enjoy!

Day 1 – From Rome to Naples

After 3 wonderful days in Rome, we took the train to Naples with Trenitalia. The trip lasted 2 hours and cost 19 Euros each. Quite good value if you’d ask me. It is a pretty nice trip also especially with a game of Monopoly cards and fun company. At 11:30, we arrived in Naples Central Station. Here starts the chaos! Naples has nothing to do with elegant and classical Rome. It is dirty, full of people and disorganized. During my trip planning, I had been warned by my Naepolitan friend that Naples is not always safe especially because of pickpockets. So we were very careful coming out of the station. Then we walked to our apartment, situated in Via Duomo. An excellent location close to the old city center. The apartment was very modern, beautiful and design. And the owners… they were wonderful to us but you will find out more about them later on…

When you go travelling, you need to prioritise and know what you want. And at 2 pm in the afternoon in Naples, you want to have PIZZAS! Once our bags are dropped, we head straight to Di Matteo, on Via dei Tribunali, 94. Di Matteo is one of the best pizza places in Naples. There was a queue outside but fortunately for us hungry folks, they had free tables upstairs. It took a little while before they took our order but when the pizzas arrived, they were the best pizzas I have ever had in my life. Each one cost around 7 euros each. They were incredible, tasty and some of them were award winning.

On that first afternoon, we walked around the city and went up the Castel Sant’Elmo for a view of Naples. The funicular was a bit hard to find. We climbed up the stairs instead, up and up and up and up until we found out that on Tuesdays, the castle is… closed. A bit of an amateur mistake to not have checked opening hours… We can still admire the view from the surroundings. On our way back to the metro, we stop for granitas. They are similar to slushies with several flavors: strawberry, coconut, café…. My favourite is mint. The sweet crushed ice is more than welcome in the summer heat. And we all enjoy are own little glass of coloured ice. Afterwards, we headed home to have a rest after such a long walk. We dined in the apartment with tomatos, mozzarella di buffala, basil and Italian wine and ham. Simple things of life bought in a local deli shop.

Day 2 – Naples to Pompeii and back to Naples

The day after, we got ready to head to Pompeii. My Dad’s long life dream. Close to the train station, a man on a scooter snatched my mum’s handbag… I thought as well that he was a bit dodgy trying to cross the zebra crossing while the light was green for pedestrians. His face was fully covered by a helmet. The most unfortunate part of all of it was her passport inside….The worst thing that can happen to a globe trotter and non European citizen in Europe… To make a long story short, we spent the whole morning at the police station accompanied by our landlord who has been kind enough to leave work and be our official translator. His wife lobbied our home embassy to convince them to help us. They were so nice…That day I found out that there were two types of Naepolitans: the very nice and friendly ones and the pickpockets\criminal ones. I must say an experience like this kind of ruin your holiday… If you let them. We decided to not let the thief win by going to Pompeii as planned anyway.

The toughest part was to come back to the crime scene, the train station. But eventually we took our train. Naples to Pompeii is around 30 mn and is very cheap. I don’t remember exactly. It is crowded though. The entrance to the Pompeii site is 11 Euros for one day. If you want to keep on travelling, towards Sorrento for instance, you can leave your bags at the luggage lockers. What a good idea to save time! For going around, I recommend you to get an official audio guide from the site and not from outside providers. It is easier to follow the different points of interest for just a few euros more. As a very ancient ruin, Pompeii is very well conserved and you can well imagine how life in the city was. I was really impressed. One of the most interesting remains where the mummified bodies. They have been petrified by lava. I was a bit sorry for them as they looked very much in pain.

Food in Pompeii was alright. Too expensive and not authentic enough if you go to the places between the train station and the main gate. At the end of the day, we went back to Naples.

Day 3 Naples to Sorrento

On day 3, we left for Sorrento which is a very charming seaside town. Nothing to compare with Naples. It was so relaxing to wander around the streets and do some window shopping. We stayed 10mn walk away from the city center. We had our first lunch at La Tavola di Lucullo, Via Rota 51 Sorrento. I had very nice pasta there and the staff was hyper friendly and fun. There is not much to see in Sorrento. The city is more for soaking up atmosphere and relaxing.

Day 4 – Sorrento to Amalfi Coast

The day after, we took the bus to visit the Amalfi Coast. We bought full day tickets from the SITA bus, the public bus for 7 euros. The plan was to spend the day travelling from Sorrento to Salerno and stopping by each town in between. The coastline is dramatic. The landscape beautiful but the road follows sheer cliffs. Honestly, it does not look so safe even if the drivers were really skilled. In addition, there are many many many curves along the way. If you are prone to road sickness, abstain. I spent the whole trip eyes closed praying not to let my stomach’s content escape. My neighbour was not so lucky. I could hear him vomit until Positano… We decided to stop at Positano, went around the town, had coffee and lunch there. I won’t recommend any special places as they were not that outstanding.

The highlight of the town was for me the cathedral. You would not expect such an imposing building on a seaside town like Positano as charming as it is. We bought there lemon pasta to cook at home (it was super delicious with a bit of olive oil and garlic).

You must think that I don’t sound so excited about visiting the Amalfi Coast, considered to be one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. It is beautiful indeed but I prefer Cinque Terre…

Day 5 – Sorrento to Naples

At that point, we had not seen much of Naples. Our misfortune disgusted us a little from the city. I cannot understand how the local authorities knowing that there is a plague hitting the tourism industry do not do anything about it. For that I don’t really recommend Naples. You want to feel safe and relaxed on your holidays not worry at each second that someone on a moto or a pickpocket steal your belongings. Funnily enough, our owners said that their Dad got his wallet snatched in Valencia. Haha! As soon as we arrived back in Naples, we went to Da Michele, Via Cesare Sersale, 1/3, famous for having the best pizza in the world. The restaurant did not fail to its reputation: there was a massive queue outside. You arrive and you get a number, like at the butcher. Then you wait for your turn. Finally, ours came. The restaurant looked like a canteen, no real décor just tables and seats. It took our waiter a while before taking our order. There were only two pizzas served in Da Michele: marinara or margherita. We ordered both. They don’t serve wine, only coke, beer and water. The pizzas were very simple but I found them really delicious and subtle in flavor. I can understand why they are so popular. The service and the waiting staff on the other hand were another story. Towards the end of our meal we noticed a group of people standing and watching us eat waiting for the tables to free. It is quite stressful all these pair of eyes…Finally, one waitress chased our neighbours out and pushed our table against the other one while we were still seated. Surreal experience! Then when I went to pay for the bill: 25 euros for 3 pizzas and two drinks… unbeatable!!!!, our waiter planted himself in front of me and demanded a tip. Sorry Mr, you have nice pizzas but the service definitely requires improvement.

Honestly, I prefer Di Matteo’s pizzas (they also offer more creative and varied pizzas) although Da Michele did not leave me indifferent. At that point, we had recovered a bit from our unlucky adventure and decided to explore more the city. Naples old town is beautiful with its main square and multiple narrow streets. There is a nice vibe coming off the place in the evening and it had been nice to finally appreciate being there. We stayed in a hostel in the city center that last night.

Day 6 – Naples to Barcelona

The day after, it was home time. Our last gourmet stop was Sfogliatelle Attanasio in Vico Ferrovia to try the best sfogliatelle in town, recommended by my Naepolitan friend. What is this Sfoglia thingy? It is a Neapolitan pastry. It is a crisp pastry with many layers filled with a custard like mixture with cinnamon. In Attanasio, as there is a high turnover, they are always fresh and hot straight from the oven. The best way to eat them. In the culinary area, I must say that I have been quite surprised to see how baba-au-rhum where so popular in Naples. It seems that this pastry is one the sweetest symbols of the city with sfogliatelle. I had two mini classical ones. And I licked each one of my fingers to clean them up afterwards. Does this make you think that they were delicious??? One last thing I will mention here is to not forget to drink lemoncello, the Italian lemon liquor that is very popular especially in Sorrento. In Sorrento, there is a lemon tree garden in the city where you can also taste their homemade lemoncello.

That Italian trip had been full of adventures and emotions. Not sure in the end that we got this relaxation we really needed but we definitely did not get bored… We also managed to arrive at home, in Barcelona, safe and sound, and are recovering to get ready for the next trip!

To read my post about Roma, click here.

Ramen-ya hiro, the place…

What a yummy ramen!

Eating fresh seafood at la Boqueria

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