ESCAPADES | Sugared & Spiced

2013/02/232015/08/05

[Barcelona] Espai Sucre

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Espai Sucre

Add: Carrer de la Princesa, 53, 08003 Barcelona
Tel: +34 932 68 16 30
Hours: [Tue-Thu] 9~11:30pm [Fri-Sat] 8:30pm~late (closed on Sun)
Website: www.espaisucre.com
Price: €35~55/set
Visited on: Jan 2013

When Espai Sucre (“Sugar Space”) opened in 2000, it claimed to be the first and only restaurant in the world to be entirely devoted to desserts. This is perhaps true, and the restaurant has even been credited by the New York Times for inspiring the subsequent dessert bar/restaurant movement in New York City. 12 years have gone by since it first opened…what does Espai Sucre look like today?

The small, minimally decorated dining room was half empty when we visited on a weekday evening. The door was (and is apparently perpetually) locked, so customers must ring the doorbell to enter – not quite sure why the setup is like this as it doesn’t seem very welcoming.

Open kitchen.

Espai Sucre offers various tasting menus ranging from €35 to €55, no a la carte. The Tasting Menu 1 (€50+10% vat) I tried includes 5 courses and petits fours, with mostly sweet but also a few savory dishes. First came a trio of amuse bouches, starting with these crisps topped with pear gelee, paprika sausage, and onions.

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2013/02/212015/08/05

[Barcelona] Dos Palillos

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Dos Pailillos

Add: Elisabets, 9, El Raval, Barcelona
Tel: +34 933 04 05 13
Hours: [Tue-Wed] 7:30~11:30pm [Thu-Sat] 1:30~3:30pm, 7:30~11:30pm
Website: www.dospalillos.com
Price: [bar] €35~50/person [restaurant] €60~75/set
Visited on: Jan 2013

As much as I enjoyed the endless feasts of tapas in Barcelona, a craving for something different took over entirely on my last night in town. This was when I thought of Dos Palillos, a Japanese/Spanish fusion restaurant bar by Albert Raurich, a Ferran Adrià disciple, the chef de cuisine at El Bulli from 1999 to 2007. Just browsing through the online menu, I noiced that Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese elements are also incorporated in the food…fusion confusion? Let’s give it a try.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a last minute reservation for the restaurant (which has been awarded with a Michelin star, by the way), so instead we sat at the walk-in only bar. While the restaurant side serves only tasting menus (€60 and €75), the bar side serves only a la carte items, though with many overlaps.

Start with a glass of cava – bertha brut nature reserva (€3.80/glass).

Oyster grilled with sake (€6.80), plump, lukewarm, with a shot of sake. Perfect appetizer.

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2013/02/192015/08/05

[Barcelona] El Quim

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El Quim

Add: Boqueria Market, La Rambla, 91, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
Tel: +34 933 01 98 10
Hours: [Tue-Thu] 7am~4pm [Fri-Sat] 7am~5pm (closed on Mon & Sun)
Website: elquimdelaboqueria.com
Price: €35~45/person
Visited on: Jan 2013

Chef Quim Márquez Durán has been in the Boqueria Market for some 20 years and naturally knows where to get the finest ingredients. His 18-stool restaurant, located in the heart of the market, serves incredibly fresh and tasty plates for breakfast, tapas, and lunch. Grab a stool, and get eating.

Padrón green peppers (€6.50).

Razor clams (€15).

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2013/02/192015/08/05

[Barcelona] Taktika Berri

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Taktika Berri

Add: Carrer Valencia, 169, Barcelona, 08011
Tel: +34 934 534 759
Hours: 1~4pm, 8:30-11pm (closed Sat evening and Sun)
Price: €1.45/pintxos
Visited on: Jan 2013

Dinner at Taktika Berri was hands down the most memorable meal I had in Barcelona. This restaurant/bar specializes in pintxos – bite-sized delicacies held together with toothpicks – and is recognized by many as the best Basque restaurant in Barcelona. The food is delicious, the atmosphere is convivial, and what makes the experience all the more unforgettable is the system of eating here. More details below.

Here is what to do. Get here early to line up at the door, preferably 10~15 minutes before the restaurant opens. As soon as the door opens, try to get a seat at the bar as close to the inside as possible, which will make life much easier later on. Once you are seated, ask for a plate. Cold pinchos will be placed on the bar, feel free to grab whatever you fancy eating, just make sure you save all the toothpicks. Don’t be alarmed if there are hands reaching over you to get the food – this is completely normal. Hot dishes will come out one by one haphazardly, and the popular items will go fast so do make an effort to get them before they disappear (and this is why you should sit as close to the inner end of the bar as possible).

It’s totally mad, and it’s totally fun.

Don’t forget to try a glass of Txakoli (€1.80), a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine typical in the Basque Country.

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2013/02/182015/08/05

[Barcelona] Hotel Primero Primera

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Hotel Primero Primera

Add: Carrer Doctor Carulla, 25, 08017 Barcelona
Tel: +34 934 17 56 00
Website: www.primeroprimera.com

Stylish, intimate, relaxed, feels like home! Primero Primera is a family-owned boutique hotel is tucked away in Tres Torres, one of the best residential neighborhoods of Barcelona, and it really does offer all the peace and comfort of a private residence. An ideal choice for anyone look for a chic retreat.

There are 30 rooms/suits at Primero Primera with sizes ranging from 20 to 60 sqm, each designed slightly differently, but all sharing a penchant for comfort and style. The room I stayed in was a 40 sqm Superior Room: plenty of space, light, harmonious colors, and subtle luxury.

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2013/02/162015/08/05

[Barcelona] Quimet & Quimet

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Quimet & Quimet

Add: Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes, 25, 08004 Barcelona
Tel: +34 934 42 31 42
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 12~4pm, 7~10:30pm [Sat] 12~4pm (closed on Sun)
Price: €20~30/person
Visited on: Jan 2013

A lively, standing room only bodega run by the 4th generation of Quims. This tiny space is lined with wines and spirits from floor to ceiling, creating a snug and cozy atmosphere. Come here for some wickedly tasty montaditos (mini open-faced sandwiches), a few glasses of good wine, and a whole lot of good humor. A must visit when in Barcelona.

I was lucky to have gone to Quimet & Quimet with a local friend so I didn’t have to worry about ordering, but in case you are overwhelmed by the menu, just ask the man behind the bar to put together an assortment for you.

Started off with a dish of cockles (€7.50) just to wake up the palate.

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2013/02/112015/08/05

[Barcelona] W Hotel

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W Barcelona

Add: Plaça de la Rosa dels Vents, 1 Barcelona, 08039
Tel: (34) 93 295 2800
Website: www.w-barcelona.com

W Barcelona is stylish place, and there are more than enough reasons to stay a while – the sun-soaked terrace peering out over sparkling Mediterranean Ocean, modern rooms furnished with ultra-plush beds and panoramic sea/city views, vibrant lounges with delicious cocktails plus the right mix of music…Oh, and it’s the only hotel in Barcelona that has direct beach access.

Designed by renowned Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill, W Barcelona has a sail-shaped exterior – very befitting of its beachfront location – and the nautical theme continues inside. Looking up from the lobby, one gets the sense of being under the sea, with sand-colored carpets to the left, and glittering walls as shimmering waves. And what do the transparent, convoluted coffee tables look like? Jellyfish.

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2013/01/262015/08/05

[London] Beach Blanket Babylon

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Beach Blanket Babylon

Add: 45 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AA*
Tel: 020 7229 2907
Hours: 12pm~12am
Website: www.beachblanket.co.uk
Price: [cocktails] £9.50~14.50 [bar nibbles] £3.50~18
Visited on: Jan 2013

After an exhausting day of walking around in the cold rainy London weather, a cocktail or two by the cozy fireplaces at Beach Blanket Babylon was just what I needed. This restaurant/bar, housed in an old Georgian Mansion in Notting Hill, is lavishly Rococo – baroque candelabrum, gold statues, vases of towering floral arrangements. Drinks by the warm fire in an opulent setting like this – what more can one ask for on a winter evening?

*Second location in Shoreditch, check website for address.

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2013/01/262015/08/05

[London] Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

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Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Add: Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LA
Tel: 020 7201 3833
Hours: [Mon-Sun] 12~2:30pm, 6:30~10:30pm
Website: www.dinnerbyheston.com
Price: [lunch set] £36 [a la carte] £55~70
Visited on: Jan 2013

If you are in London or will be there in the near future, go to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and order two things from its menu: meat fruit and tipsy cake.

That is all.

Need more details? Well then. As the restaurant name indicates, Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck is behind the scene, and along with chef Ashley Palmer-Watts he has reworked historical British recipes from as far back as the 14th century. Dinner opened in January 2011, gained a Michelin star within a year, and in 2012 was listed as number 9 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Wowee.

We were lucky to get a window seat overlooking Hyde Park, lively even in the gloomy London weather. Dinner offers a three-course lunch set (£38) as well as a la carte menu, and we decided to give both a try.

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2013/01/242015/08/05

[London] Yauatcha 丘記茶苑

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Yauatcha 丘記茶苑

Add: 15-17 Broadwick Street, London W1F 0DL
Tel: 020 7494 8888
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 12~11:30pm [Sun] 12~10:30pm (closed on Sun)
Price: [afternoon dim sum set for two] £38, [a la carte] £30~45/person
Website: www.yauatcha.com
Visited on: Jan 2013

The decor at Yauatcha looks more like a posh cocktail bar than a dim sum joint, but apparently it serves some of London’s best and most innovative Cantonese food. Created by Alan Yau, also the man behind Wagamama, Busaba Eathai, and Hakkasan (all very popular dining spots in London), Yauatcha received one Michelin star in 2004 and has retained it since then.

I went in the afternoon for “A Taste of Yauatcha”, which is a dim sum set for two at the price of £38. The best you can find in London? Probably not, but it sure is a good deal for this expensive city.

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