First time on the continent: Barcelona, Spain

Bienvenidos a Barcelona!

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is an autonomous region in Spain with a unique history and culture all its own. It's influence on fashion, food, commerce, arts, and more goes without saying. While it is impossible for me to convey the warmth of the Barcelona people or the impact of Gaudi, here are (quite) a few snapshots from my first trip there!

 Right next to the water, Barcelona has some amazing seafood that should not be missed. The fried squid in batter were so tender that I almost couldn't tell I was chewing on something. The juices of squid, langoustine, shrimp, and mussel cooked into the rice of the paella, making every bite taste of the sea.

 I also stumbled upon a newfangled, one-of-a-kind ice cream concept right on the docks: Eyescream and Friends. Opened this past September, Eyescream and Friends is a small, well designed shop selling shaved gelato. Gelato is not hard to come by in Barcelona, but this concept takes cylinders of gelato frozen at -25º C and shaves it into ribbons of silky, intensely flavored gelato with a special Japanese contraption. The texture is smooth yet icy, adding a bit of lightness to the gelato. Add two googly eyes and you have the most delectable little creature in all of Barcelona.

Various toppings both creamy and fruity

Yogurt shaved gelato with strawberry and condensed milk topping

 To experience a culture is to eat every daily meal "in their shoes".

Breakfast in Barcelona is a very casual affair, starting with cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and a pastry. After drinking gallons of tea here in London, the coffee seemed strong even with milk! Pastry-wise, I spent most of my mornings on a quest to find xiuxos ("choochos") which are flaky butter pastries filled with custard then covered in sugar. Interestingly enough, churros con chocolate is not that common here.

Xiuxo

A hidden creamy, refreshing custard interior

 While La Boqueria is on every tourist's list, that does not diminish the awe evoked by the breathtaking variety inside. Every corner of the food pyramid, even ones you never even knew about, overflows from the stands in this open air market. Ask for a sample, ask for two, La Boqueria is a grand celebration of abundance meant to be enjoyed fully.

 Once you overcome your visual food coma, stop by a stand with cured meats for a piece of jamon iberico de bellota. This ham is made from the legs of pata negra (black pigs) who are allowed to graze free and eat only acorns for the last few months of their lives. The result is a distinct, nutty, fatty ham that goes for over $100/lb. in the states!

A honey and cheese market in Barri Gotic or the Gothic Quarter

 And of course you can't have a trip to Spain without tapas. While not the tapas capital of Spain, Barcelona offers its own tapas or pintxos with a Catalana twist. 

Anxoves de l'Escala

 Canned seafood is considered a culinary delight contrary to popular belief. The quality and flavor of canned seafood in Barcelona is undeniable. Here, canning is just another form of "cooking" or food preparation to preserve flavor and add a new dimension to plentiful fresh seafood.

Bombe de carn picantetes

Croquettes are also a popular tapas item.

Patatas bravas

 Patatas bravas are chunks of beautifully fried potato served with a garlic aioli. 

Pa amb tomaquet

 These nondescript pieces of bread are part of a regional dish found in every nook and cranny of Barcelona. Pa amb tomaquet is bread rubbed with tomato and seasoned with fruity olive oil, salt and sometimes garlic. Served alongside other heftier foodstuffs like charcuterie and fish, pa amb tomaquet balances flavors and cleanses the palate quite naturally.

Plat d'Embotit

Some of the most flavorful cured/smoked sausages and charcuterie come out of Spain. Think chorizo!

And of course no visit to Barcelona is complete without some of Gaudi's stunning works.

London, a global city

Although I've been seriously touting British beers, pies, roasts, and teas, London is a truly global city with the culinary diversity to prove it. As stated by the Foreign Secretary, Britain's national dish is chicken tikka masala!
The whole city has just as many Indian, Chinese, Korean, etc. restaurants as it does pubs, you just have to look in the right place. Just a few minutes from campus is Chinatown with just as much bubble tea and cheap, delicious Chinese delicacies as you want; just a few stops away Brick Lane is still the epicenter of Indian cuisine in London. (And even though it's not on here, Nando's Portuguese piri-piri chicken put all the chains back home to shame.) Stumble upon neighborhoods of ethnic restaurants and it feels just like NYC. You know you miss your curry, soup dumplings, ramen, and falafel.

Nasi lemak

According to my Singaporean/Londoner friend, Rasa Sayang is the place to go for Singaporean/Malaysian food. The prices are a breather, the dishes are colorful, the chilies on the menu actually mean spicy, and the service is exactly what you pay for.
Take the nasi lemak, rice cooked in coconut milk served with curried chicken, peanuts, pickled vegetables, anchovies, sambal, and a hard boiled egg. The dish has spice but all of the accompaniments tone down the heat and make each bite unpredictable.

Seafood Mee Goreng

With a nearly equal seafood to stir-fried noodles ratio in the seafood mee goreng, it is the best bang for your buck (or ping for your pound?). And there's no "mystery seafood" here thank goodness. The huge stalks of bok choy though...

Seafood Mee Goreng

Although only one or two chilies are peeking out in the pictures, the sauce has a slowly building heat that is just as delicious as it is painful.

Cin Cau (chin chow) Soya

Sweet soy milk with grass jelly. 

Grass jelly is a popular drink topping in Southeast Asia although, personally, it's not my favorite. It doesn't actually taste like grass (unlike grass-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans) but has more of a slightly sweet herbal taste.

Kadu puri

One day I managed to stumble upon the popular Punjab, a North Indian restaurant with innuendo laden menus, rich food and great service. While on the pricier side, it is well worth it. Make sure to get the kadu puri (soft spiced pumpkin on crispy puri bread) and read every line of their menu.

Paneer makhani

Naan with garlic naan underneath

Lamb madras

Papadum

Papadum, similar to crackers, are unusually addictive, crunchy and eaten with...

...chutneys, chopped vegetables, and other dips.

A bath at Bath

A bite of Bath, England!

This past weekend my roommate and I had a relaxing respite in Bath, one of the loveliest cities in England. The city is known for its picturesque architecture like the Georgian Circus, "Aquae Sulis" or the Roman baths for which it is named, the Jane Austen Centre, and many more museums. And then there is the modern Thermae Bath Spa; after all, who could give up taking a bath in Bath?

I strongly suggest visiting Thermae Bath Spa to immerse yourself in the namesake of Bath.

For a reasonable price, take a dip in their steam rooms, indoor thermal bath, or outdoor rooftop pool and enjoy a modern version of the ancient Roman tradition.

Sally Lunn's Tea Room.

The Sally Lunn bun in scale

Sally Lunn bun with strawberry jam and clotted cream

 The Sally Lunn bun, made to be one of the Bath's greatest secret recipes....is overwhelmingly underwhelming. Being the size of your face, Sally Lunn buns are thankfully served in halves, toasted, and buttered with a topping of your choice, sweet or savory. The bun has no unique flavor, texture, anything and not for lack of trying. Put plainly, it is a mutant, round slice of white bread.
Round things are fun to eat I suppose...and the pliant bun does have a pleasant crunchiness when toasted.

Sally Lunn bun with chocolate butter

The Raven.

Raven Ale and Stowford Press Cider

Although it is easy to miss the entrance to the Raven, it would be a dear shame if you did. Set on a quiet cobblestone side street, the family-owned, two-story pub serves some of the best pies and ale in Bath. The pub is usually a mix of locals and tourists, testament to the delicious pies, and yet the crowd is not rowdy or strobbing with camera flashes. The Raven is another pub that pours real ale.

Fungi Chicken Pie with chips and Guinness & red onion gravy

The Raven proudly serves pies by Pieminister, a company well known for its pies made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The Fungi Chicken Pie is made with free range British chicken, chestnut and field mushrooms cooked in a creamy white sauce.

Raven Ale Pie with mash and Guinness & red onion gravy

The specially made Raven Ale Pie is made with West Country beef, onions, carrots, Raven Ale, green peppercorns, and thyme. To eat a Pieminister pie served piping hot is an act of cheerful masochism.

 Bridge Coffee Shop.

Another piece of Georgian architecture, the Pulteney Bridge is one of the few bridges in the world that has shops on both sides. In fact, it makes it pretty hard to tell if you're actually on a bridge in the first place.
Of all of the tea services in Bath, the simple £5 cream tea at the Bridge Coffee Shop takes the cake. The small cafe has the best view in town with windows that overlook the River Avon and parks on each side.

The cream tea is served with curiously soft, cake-like scones flecked with cinnamon, clotted cream, strawberry jam, and house tea.

Since coming to the UK, I've had more tea than I've had in my life so far.

The Marquis Cornwillis

The Marquis Cornwallis.

Bloomsbury, London.

Taps on taps on taps

The Marquis Cornwallis is my British McLaren's.

This neighborhood pub is less than 5 minutes away from home and always bustling with a crowd of all (legal) ages. It is charmingly traditional to the point of being cliche, but being in London, the cliche is now reality. The worn wooden floors, little British flags, fireplace, and cozy furniture are not an act. While the whole standing-and-drinking custom took a little getting used to, drinking the Marquis Cornwallis has become quite dear to my heart.
Although its been stereotyped and over analyzed for ages, pub culture is truly at the heart of British life. Pubs are where you go to socialize with friends, relax after work, get belligerent over football, conduct business matters, and grab a bite to eat. Pubs are not pretentious, bouncer guarded places where you see girls teeter in on six inch heels. They are welcoming or fiercely tight knit communities, there to share their daily lives over a pint or two. As my friend says, pubs are places to drink and be yourself with friends, not get "pissed" and pretend you are something you're not. Fun fact: pub is short for "public house" and pub owners are called "publicans".

Sambrook's Brewery Wandle Ale and Pipps Cross Cider

British pubs have a wide selection of ales, bitters, lagers, stouts, ciders, and more. Bitters, a British style of beer, seem to be the beer of choice, but ales and lagers hold their ground at the taps as well. 

Some ales, in lieu of serving them ice cold, are served only a bit colder than room temperature to let the deeper flavors come through. "Real ales" go through a secondary fermentation in the cask to produce more flavors and are often hand-pulled from the cask with no extra pressurized gas, only natural carbonation. 

Then there is cider. Cider is not a beer because it is made of fermented fruit juice, often apple. And despite being on the sweeter side, cider can sneak up on you with up to 8.5% ABV. 

What you drink is entirely your choice.

Camden Hell Lager 

So, can I just take a seat and order a drink for myself?

Nope. While there's no hard and fast rules written down, there is some unspoken pub etiquette:

Here you order/pay for drinks at the bar and make sure to wait your turn!

Mixed drinks are highly unusual and beers are ordered as half pints or pints. But be aware, British pints are 20 fl oz., a bit more filling than the American 16 fl oz. 

Also, all those nights spending $18 on a cocktail + tip are over, do not tip at British pubs! 

And when with friends, it is common to buy in rounds. Once a round is finished, the next round is on another friend. If you can't afford to buy a whole round, don't be an arse and sneak off, just offer to buy your own drink.

Feel free to strike up a conversation at the bar. It's a perfectly normal way to chat up strangers!

Chips with malt vinegar and ketchup

I love you 'Murrica but your buffalo wingz and blue cheese has got to go. 

The pub grub here, ranging from fish and chips to scotch eggs to bangers and mash, is spot on.

Not your usual gin and tonic: a double shot of gin and Orchard Pig Very Berried sparkling juice.

Brits take casual drinking to another level. Here's some cheery folks on a Tuesday night!

Drinking may be the main attraction of pubs but come Sunday afternoon...

...a pub is the best spot for a Sunday roast. 

Venture upstairs at the Marquis Cornwallis for even more taps, a hodgepodge of mismatched tables, and a warm, cozy atmosphere for a Sunday roast.

Definitely more character than the neighborhood TGI Fridays.

Roast leg of Cotswald lamb, cut from the bone

A Sunday roast is a quintessential British meal comprised of roast meat, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, and more. The Marquis Cornwallis does a proper Sunday roast with beef, lamb, chicken, and even a nut roast. As per tradition, the roasts are served with roast seasonal vegetables, baby roast potatoes, gravy, and homemade Yorkshire pudding. Not pudding-like at all, Yorkshire pudding is a simple batter baked into a puffy, soft bread. Originally baked in the roast's drippings and served as a filler, Yorkshire pudding is well suited for sopping up any escaped gravy that is sacrilegious to waste. 

Roast 21 day aged, West Country beef

 The usual "tender" or "melt in your mouth" adjectives do not do their roast beef any justice, even though it cuts like butter. Although aged for 21 days, the roast does not have the usual dry aged funk but rather hearty beef flavor and fattiness. Pub on a plate, all the flavors combine like a haphazard Thanksgiving meal but with a distinctly British feel.

Looming Yorkshire pudding and delectable baby roast potato minions

The roasts may be superb but the sides really steal the show. The crisp, buttery Yorkshire pudding and browned baby roast potatoes with baked potato interiors are good enough on their own. 

Roast accompaniments: horseradish & cream, English mustard, mint jelly, apple & sage jelly

Every Sunday roast can find its soul mate in these four customary accompaniments. Horseradish & cream for roast beef, mustard for ham, mint jelly for lamb, and apple & sage jelly for pork.
Although not traditional, roast beef and apple & sage jelly makes for a Thanksgiving-like combo.

More Orchard Pig! Totally Minted pink grapefruit, mint, and lime drink

 Some effervescent British drink that will make you pucker.

Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla pod ice cream

 Sticking with the traditional theme, the sticky toffee pudding comes out steaming in a pool of toffee sauce mixed with vanilla bean ice cream. Almost too rich, each bite has chopped date pieces and a moist sponge cake nearly melting into the toffee.

Strawberry and raspberry Eton mess

 Sunday roast finished with my favorite dessert, the Eton mess. Classically British, the Eton mess is a mish mosh of macerated berries, broken meringue, and whipped cream. After a hefty meal, this dessert is light and summery with little crisp clouds of meringue and tart berry compote.