orangeblossom

Thanks - everything sounds inviting. I'm leaving tonite and can't wait to try everyone's recommendations!

Thanks, am definitely looking forward to my trip

thanks Brent, Jim. Will keep an eye out for them.

Thanks for your recommendations and notes. Yarra Yering and de Bortoli were 2 wineries on my list Will try to report back after my trip, but given my very limited experience with wine, I'm not sure if my very-likely-to-be-amateurish-notes would be of any interest to you! Thanks again.

Hi. 1st time on this thread I'll be visiting the Yarra Valley in Melbourne next week and I would like some recommendations on good wineries/wines to look out for when i'm there. I'm much more of a food person, and don't really know about wines so I'd be grateful for some recommendations. Thanks!

Arbuclo - thanks for the strong endorsement for Stephanie Alexander's cafe. Her book The Cook's Companion is one which I often use for reference and I am looking forward to visiting and tasting her food. Thanks also for the other recommendations. Shinboners - yes, I read your review and that was what prompted me to include it on my list of fab restaurants to visit. Thanks.

I will be in Melbourne in a week's time and and as it is my 1st visit, am looking forward to sampling its culinary offerings. I will be going to Flower Drum and ezard, but would like to seek a few more recommendations. What are some of the latest gastronomic hotspots? Is Taxi worth a visit? Apart from these "destination restaurants", I would also like recommendations on some of your favourite regular eating places/cafes/bakeries/gourmet shops/delis etc. What about Stephanie Alexander's restaurant? I will also be spending 2 days in the Yarra Valley and 3 days along the Great Ocean Rd, using Apollo Bay as a base. I would like some recommendations on good wineries and food places (restaurants/cafes/shops etc) to check out. Thanks very much in advance!

well, what do you know...I googled them and found that they have their own site with directions and a map and everything. Click Here Elie ← Hi. Not sure if this is still valid, but thought i'd still post it. When i was in Barcelona in March, the shop was opened only on certain days (afternoons of wed-fri, sat morns). This was because Katherine the owner's was busy taking care of her mother who was gravely ill. Good luck finding the place and hope all's well with Katherine (she doesn't know me, but I had been there a couple of times). p.s. - the shop is a little hard to find (esp if they are closed - the graffiti-ed shutters don't help!). Easiest way i found was to go all the way down calle Jaume 1 (which is off the Generalitat) towards calle Laietana and it's a little little alley on your right. There is a cafe at the "junction" between Jaume I and the alley.

I read with interest the comments on Alkimia. I was there 3 weeks ago, as a lone diner, for lunch, and I found the service polite. There were a couple of staff who spoke fairly decent English, and were able to help with translating the menu. I do agree that the English menu was not quite up to scratch - I encountered similar ingredient swops which was not listed, but my waitress was quick to update me. While the food is good, I was not quite blown away. There seemed to be a "theme" running through the degustacion menu I choose - cocoa in various guises popped up in several courses. While in some instances it was very good (eg, the mocca glaze on the baked custard with duo-textured parmesan [btw, my own translation]) i did not quite appreciate it in others (eg, foie gras on toast points with a cup of cocoa consomme?????!) I was much more impressed by another place I went - Comerc 24. Service here was, similarly, polite and professional. But it was the food that really shone. The presentation was often exquisite, ingredients expectedly very fresh, and the menu flowed seamlessly. The only "grouse" I had was that the portions was very generous - especially when it was a 11-course tasting menu! :) I've also had the pleasure of eating at Cinq Sentis a few months ago. Food was very good (though in this instance, I found the portions a bit too comfortable). The best part of my experience there, though, was the wonderful warm service. Amelia was friendly and efficient, and even had time to give me a couple of suggestions on some good tapas bars. Unfortunately, Jordi was busy in the kitchen that evening, but I managed to get a signed menu from him, something which sadly I could not at Alkimia or Comerc 24. In light of your criteria, I think you will enjoy Comerc 24 :)

I had earlier promised to post some addresses of gourmet shops in Madrid for those who may be interested. Here goes: Olive Oil La Oleoteca Juan Ramón Jiménez 37 Metro: Cuzco This shop sells some of Spain's top brands. Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero 1 Mejía Lequerica Metro: Alonso Martínez My favourite olive oil shop in Madrid. It stocks a vast range from all over Spain, and includes several varieties sold only through this shop. Molino de las Torres 9 Señores de Luzón Metro: Opera. They sell their own oils, from the Jaén province. Gourmet Delis La Boulette Ayala, 28 (Mercado de la Paz) Metro: Velázquez Very good selection of cheese from all over Spain, and a more limited (but still good) choice of French and Italian cheese. Also has excellent Jamón and other cured meats, foie-gras products and some wines. Mallorca Velázquez 59. Metro: Velázquez One of Madrid´s most popular gpurmet and pastry shops. Wonderful range of products, and there is also a cafe. Mantequerías Bravo C/Ayala 24. Metro Serrano. Very well stocked shop - sells a vast range of Spanish foods - wonderful meats and cheeses, wines and spirits, freshly roasted coffees etc. Museo del Jamón Can be found everywhere in Madrid. Great to browse for 1st time visitors, and you can also buy and try the food they sell. Palacio de los Quesos 53, Mayor A wide range of different cheeses, and other delicatessen-type goods. Usually very crowded. Bakeries and Sweet Shops La Mallorquina Puerta del Sol 8. Metro Sol. One of the oldest and most bustling pastry shop El Horno de San Onofre 3 San Onofre, Metro: Gran Vía Branch: C/Hortaleza 8, Chueca Wonderful bakery. Excellent breads, cakes, chocolates, seasonal cakes. I love their bacalao and apple empanadas - strange combination but yummm. La Santiagüesa 73 Mayor The sister shop to the above 'El Horno de San Onofre'. Casa Mira Carrera de San Jerónimo 30 Famous for their turron (nougat) and other excellent seasonal sweets. La Violeta 6 Pza. Canalejas A traditional violet sweet maker, one of the most typical of Madrid sweets. I´ve tried both the typical sweet (the hard type which you suck), as well as the soft chewy ones. I prefer the latter.

I was at Cinc Sentis earlier this week and had promised to report back. What can i say? It was very good, made even more so by the friendliness and excellent service. We had the omakase menu, with accompanying wines. The menu was as follows: Snacks - CS´s signature maple syrup sabayon, a bite-sized cube of foie gras torchon on a carquinyoli cookie and a touch of violet marmalade, and a rock fish broth with a brioche crouton. I liked the foie best - the richness of the foie set off by the delicate marmalade, given some texture by the crisp base. The first course was a butternut squash velouté with seared quail breast with black trumpets. This was very good, one of my favourites for the evening. Next came a soft-poached egg with white truffles set on creamy potato puree - elegant simplicity at its best. My favourite. The third course was a slow braised pork belly, which, while delicious, I was not too keen on because I tend to scrape off the fat, which obviously misses the point here! Hubby however, loved this. The wine I had with this, a rioja (viña ijalba solferino), was my favourite for the evening. The fourth course was a pan-roasted rack of lamb, encrusted with porcini, set on a leek puree. I loved how the earthiness of the porcini permeated, but did not overpower, the meat. The cheese course was cabrales with white truffle-infused orange blossom honey. Hubby, who´s not quite fond of cheese, found this a little too strong. I liked how the honey cut through the creamy saltiness. Hubby´s favourite course of the night was the granny smith apple sorbet. I loved the maria-lluisa infusion in the sauternes gelée. I´ve never tasted this herb before and I love it Dessert was a maple caramel cheesecake which was very nice. I also loved the maria cookie crust, which I understand is a sort of an Oreo counterpart in Spain. Will have to look for some to buy and bring home :) The restaurant was completely full, but as we went early, it was nice to be able to chat a little with Amelie who took very good care of us that night. a very enjoyable experience btw, i had made the above comments prior to reading the last few entries on Jordi´s latest experiment with striving for the "umami" and playing with sweet-savoury combinations. Overall, I enjoyed his pairings, which was especially evident i thought in the cheese course.

whoa! that´s whole lot of information for me to go check up on. I know what i´ll be doing tomorrow when El Corte Ingles opens btw, i was at Quimet e Quimet yesterday, and it was incredible that all that delicious food came out of tins. I´m sure you can appreciate my eagerness to bring some of it home with me Just a question - does anyone know what this is - i was given a spoonful of some kind of advocaat flavoured custard as a sort of sweet round up to my meal. When I asked the bartender (who was making the tapas, and incidentally, was very friendly, and tried to explain some of what he was setting in front of me) where i could get it, he couldn´t tell me, so i´m wondering if it is something particular to them. He did tell me it was made from eggs and cream, hence my guess it was some sort of custard. It came in a huge jar.

my list of favourites: Chinese: Hua Ting (Orchard Hotel) & Summer Pavilion (the Ritz)- excellent quality and cooking all round. Am especially fond of their dim sum. Chef Chan (Odean Tower) - he makes the best roast chicken in the world. ´nuff said. Wah Lok (Carlton Hotel) - very good dim sum. My Humble House - not humble at all! Very elegant modern Chinese. French: Saint Pierre (Robertson Quay) - his treatment of foie gras is sublime. Les Amis - classic all-rounder Italian: Da Paolo (the one at Neil St, though the others while less ´high-end´are similarly good) Indian: Rang Mahal (Pan Pacific Hotel) Sunday Brunch: Greenhouse (the Ritz) and One-Nonety (Four Seasons Hotel) Japanese: Shiro (Greenwood Ave, which is a bit off the beaten track for visitors) Keyaki (Pan Pacific) Akashi (Tanglin Shopping Centre) - looks/ambience wise, it´s not great, but the food is really fresh. Go for the ´menu degustacion´- give the chef a budget and he´ll feed you the day´s freshest items. I usually work around S$150. Personally, I think both Royal China and Mezza9 are both over-rated. As some of the others have said, there´re lots of very good restaurants in Singapore, and you don´t need to go to a high-end one to eat well. If you´re keen on seafood and don´t mind a grubby coffeeshop environment, I´d suggest Sin Huat Seafood (Geylang, the red-light district - which incidentally has a host really good local food). The crab beehoon is out of this world, and the prices are comparable to some of the most high-end ones!

As far as the anchovies, if they are from L'Escala I don't think the brand matters very much as they are uniformly good. ←

Luis - where can i find the Dauro de l'Emporda ? You mentioned the new vintage will be out soon. I´, leaving for home next week and will only be back in Jan. Any idea if i´ll be able to get it then? Actually, I was in Madrid for 2 months, and compiled a short list of great speciality food shops. I love the La Oleoteca and bought a couple of bottles of oils they recommended to bring home. I will dig out my notes and post the shops here for those who may be interested. I´ve also got Casa Gisbert and La Ribera on my list for Barcelona, and will have to check them out. I like Semon and Murria, but find Quilez crowded, and therefore more intimidating as I can´t browse at my own pace with all that activity. I always feel i´m in their way, and my lack of spanish doesn´t help! also, thanks for the olive oil producer recommendations.

I was reading some old threads and gather that El Navarrico and Rosara are the brands to buy for piquillo peppers and white asparagus. I would like some recommendations on good Spanish olive oil brands to look out for. What about brands for canned Basque tuna and anchovies from L'escala? Finally, any recommendations on shops in Barcelona where I can find all these products? Thanks!

Hehe, yup, i´ve been using the "point" method a lot! Thanks!

Thanks Doc! Yes, in fact, I ate at El Quim on my very 1st trip to the Boqueria (thanks to comments on egullet!). I had the eggs with baby squids, and that was excellent! There were at least 3 sunny-side eggs and a huge mound of sauteed baby squids, and the bread was great for mopping up every last bit. And oh, btw, indeed, it was precisely because a number of people were having that (and it was breakfast!) that I ordered it :) At Pinotcho, the people mostly seemed to be eating the plate of the day. It was only after I ordered that a new group got seats and proceeded to order the "menu degustation": the tapas-style daily specials. And I could only look on in envy :( I passed by Kiosk Universal. It seemed a little touristy. What should i try there?

Thanks, silly disciple! A service apartment is what they call an aparthotel in spanish. Hence, my trips to the markets are mostly for fruits and cheese, and ogling at the rest of the produce. How I long for my kitchen at home

Hi. I need some help. I was at Pinotcho at the Boqueria market, and was looking forward to a great meal there. However, bacause I don´t speak any Spanish, I ended up with what I think was their plate of the day - beef stew and potatos. While it was good, I was more envious of the people around me who seemed to be eating various little morsels of the day´s freshest produce. Any advice on how to order? Thanks!

Just saw this topic, and am wondering if I can tag on - where can i get good mushroom dishes in Barcelona? I´ve been going to the markets and have seen beautiful mushrooms of all kinds, yet when i go to the restaurants, there are hardly any mushroom dishes. Any recommendations? p.s. - i was at petras yesterday, and i was so excited to see all those different varieties! mmmm..... and oh, another market in madrid to check out is mercado maravillas. it´s one of the biggest fresh markets in madrid and i think it´s one of the freshest and best priced markets (i´ve checked out many markets in madrid - that was my fave past time when i was there in June )

Hi. I´m a new member and have been reading the Spain/Portugal thread for the past month or so. I´ve just moved to Barcelona, and will be here for a couple of months. I´ve some questions regd the school - do they have 1-3 day classes? How do I get in touch with them, and are classes conducted in Spanish or English? A little about myself. I´m from Singapore and am crazy about food, and with all things food-related. Am currently putting up in a service apartment and am a little frustated at not having a proper kitchen to cook in, as I´ve been visiting various markets and going gaga at the amazing variety of fresh produce available btw, i´ll be going to Cinc Sentis on Fri and am really excited, given all the fantastic comments i´ve read. Will report back.