Restaurante Manairo, Barcelona

On my last trip to Barcelona, I was told by my Aunt that I had to try this place called Manairo. It has been existing for many years, and has been recently awarded with a Michelin Star. The Chef, Jordi Herrera bases his concept on the use of the highest quality ingredients, make use the of the Gastronomic culture of Catalunya. The Cuisine here is modern Catalan, not forgetting basic classic cooking techniques.

We start off with a glass of fino and some olives. After finishing off 2 glasses each, the show begins:

Amuse Bouche: Pate de Sardinas a la Brasa and Xoff the Pan con Tomate (Pate of Grilled Sardines and Pan con Tomate)

Next was Croqueta de Pollo asado con aceite de Picada, which I forgot to take a photo of. The Croquetas was like those home made ones, very crispy but very moist inside. In lieu of the photo of the Croqueta, here is a picture of the stand that holds their wine glasses...as you can see very creative. This was made of metal bars used for construction.

After a quick break, Pizza de Gorgonzola con tomate Trufado, very tasty, with a strong Truffle scent.

Then, Calamares de Huevos Fritos con Patata, the Calamares were actually outside the batter. Inside the batter was egg yolk. Quite tasty and creative.

Arroz de Cordero y Queso Manchego, another one of those very tasty dishes, What I like about this restaurant is it is creative, but they are actually tasty too.

Rape con Estofado de Sepia y "Cap i Pota". - Again I have no picture of this.I must have been on my third or fourth glass of wine already here...

Solomillo de Buey al Fackir Coock (Al Clavo Ardiente) Beef Tenderloin a la Fackir, a more middle Eastern taste in this dish which was quite good.

For the wine, the Sommelier recommended a 2004 Finca Allende, a medium bodied Rioja, bold fruity wine, which paired very well with the Beef Tenderloin. Wine service was very good, one of the best I've experienced in Spain. From the glasses, to the Sommelier was perfect.

For dessert, Kaipirina and Toriija de Helado de Queso and Petit Fours. Again no picture of the Kaipirina, but the Torrija was one of the best I've had, close to the one that Chef Javi makes for us in la Tienda.


Over all a great experience, great tasting food and value for money. I would definitely come back if I had the chance.

More to come soon..

Rene's advanced birthday dinner

Dinner last Friday was at Tita B's house for Rene's advanced Birthday dinner (his birthday is actually 2 weeks from now). Every year, I look forward to this birthday dinner, as it is one of the few times we can sample Tita B's cooking at it's finest. Everything is always perfect when we have dinner in her house..the food, service, wines, company, etc...

For starters, they served us Champagne Billecarte Salmon Brut Réserve NV. As Noel mentioned in his blog, this is becoming also one of my favorite NV bubblies, and locally available so you can pick up bottles of this anytime as needed. After a couple or servings (or more) of bubbly, we proceeded with dinner proper.

For the Amuse, they served: Anchovy on Crouton with Smoked Tomato Sorbet. I had this still with some champagne, and I must say I enjoyed this very much. The saltiness of the anchovy was a good contrast with the sweet yet smoky Tomato Sorbet.

Next, we had: Crab Salad, Tuna Tartare, Avocado Mousse, Caviar. This was one of my favorite dishes of the night (I had double servings of this - and my wife who is pregnant and about to give birth, had also even if she was trying to avoid raw food), so simple but yet so delicious. The Avocado mousse gave this dish the balance it needed, plus the caviar put in that kick in the end. Perfect Dish which we had with 2008 Astrolabe Voyage Pinot Gris, which we already had also in the same house, during the last Ian Padilla dinner.

Next, Sauteed Foie Gras, Tomato Tarte Tatin, Creme Fraiche with Port and Balsamic Reduction. The perfectly seared Foie was just the right size, not heart clogging at all...paired with a 2001 Léon Beyer Gewürztraminer Réserve that Noel brought for Rene, it was a perfect match. Many people love pairing Foie with Sauternes, but personally I just find it too sweet and prefer them for dessert than with Foie.

At this point we were just half way there...but heck who is complaining??..Next, we were served the first of the main courses: Spaghetti, Caramelized Onion, Anchovies, Toasted Garlic breadcrumbs, Poached Egg and Truffle Oil. This was also another one of my favorites (I had 2 servings as normally Tita B always has an extra one or two serving in the kitchen). I loved the crunchiness of the Garlic Breadcrumbs and the Poached Egg..delicious. It's normally very hard to pair wine with dishes that have Egg, but I continued drinking the Pinot Gris with it.


At this point, I was getting really full, but like I said, I was not going to complain about it. The main (and last) dish was served: New York Strip Steak,Seaweed Butter, Saffron Garlic Pilaf. Rene then served the reds for the night: 2004 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and a 2000 Château Smith Haut Lafitte. The Lafitte was decanted for almost 2 hours before serving. I enjoyed both wines with my steak, which was thinly cut, medium cooked steak. The Seaweed butter was a good touch and gave it flavor, while the Saffron Pilaf had a great fragrance to it.

Dessert than was served (I personally liked it) but I just had 2 bites to try it and gave the rest to my wife. I was just too full and could not eat anymore. Dessert was Brown Sugar and Brandy Pear Turnovers, Haagen Dazs Ice Cream, Strawberry and Mango Crunch. This Rene paired with 2007 Astrolabe Experience Noble Riesling. Good choice on wine, which I found very light and slight sweet wine, which did not over power the Dessert, which was already sweet enough.

Coffee followed and a few more drinks (to finish offs the reds left). It was a great night and many thanks to Rene. Happy Birthday and may you have many more to come. Another thank you to Tita B, who prepared this dinner. Everything was perfect as usual..I can never get tired of this kind of food.

Restaurante Hisop, Barcelona

Since I've been on a diet lately, I have not really been eating out. Therefore I have nothing to blog about. But I remembered that in my last trip to Barcelona, I left out one post about a small restaurant I went to with an old friend. The place is called HISOP. Owned by 2 Catalans, they do inventive and daring Catalan cuisine yet still using the best quality ingredients. I think this is what they call "Cocina de Autor".

For starters, we had Oysters with Almond Cream and Ginger. I failed to take a picture of this. Immediately after, they served us Percebes con Sandia y pimientos (Percebes with watermelon and roast Pepper). Percebes (Gooseneck barnacles) are a shellfish with a long, soft body like the neck of a goose, hard shells at the top, and a 'foot' at the bottom that attaches them to rocks. They only grow on rocks exposed to heavy surf, and only grow in several parts of the world. They are highly sought after as a rare delicacy, savoured for their lovely texture and flavour which is somewhat like crab or lobster. Very simple dish and good contrast from the watermelon. The roasted peppers were made into a sorbet.

Next, we had Foie con Cafe y Cacao (Foie with coffee foam and cacao). It's not the first time I try Foie with Chocolate but the first time i try it with Coffee, and I must say the combination is great. Some sort of Foie Capuccino...with Maldon salt and Truffle oil...

Next on the Degustation menu was Rape con rossinyols (Monkfish with Russinyols mushrooms). The dish came with a sort of almond Ice Cream and balsamic reduction. On top of the fish was some sort of smoked bone marrow I think. I found this dish too busy and would have probably just enjoyed the fish with the mushrooms and the balsamic glaze...

Main course was Baby lamb chops with asparagus and sweetbread. I found it a bit too rare but taste was fantastic. Compared to the other dishes, this looked like a pretty straight forward dish to me.


For Dessert, we had 2 dishes: Peras Confitadas y Cacao and Cheese Tastings.



The pear confit was mixed with some kind of foam and a intense chocolate (that looked like a pear). As for the cheese, what called my attention was the fantastic blue cheese (from a small town in Spain that's I can't remember now) and the french Mimolette cheese. The platter was laid out from the weakest to the strongest tasting one, and at the end, 2 pieces of Membrillo (Quince paste) for the last 2 pieces of cheese.

Over all, I had a good dining experience. Hisop has been in operation for some years now and rumors are that it will get the coveted Michelin star soon......

Another Dinner at Manila's Best Private Table

Last Night we had another Dinner at Tita B's house. As mentioned by N (I hope you don't mind me using it for my title) I think her house is truly the best private table in Manila. I was happy because for once, she would sit down with us at the table and not be in the kitchen the whole night. I've had dinner in her house several times but she is busy in the kitchen. The Guest Chef was Ian Padilla, who works for Taillevant in Paris - a 2 star Michelin. He started working in Taillevant as a stagier but after only 2 months, they hired him as a full time Chef. He was back in Manila for a month to fix his papers, so when we were asked if we wanted to join the dinner, how could we say no?

The menu had been sent to us a week in advance, so we had ample time to discuss with N and R what wines to pair with the dinner. Of course all the pairing were done by the master N. We arrived at the house at around 7 pm and most of the guests were already there( I think we were all excited for this Dinner)...so after some champagne and some chit chat, we started the dinner around 8 PM.

We started off with the Amuse:
* Tarragon Infused Tomato water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* Carrot Parfait with Carrot Ginger
* Deviled Quail Egg, Basil Yolks
* Braised Beef Wanton, Thyme and Fleur de Sel


My favorite (and I think the favorite of everybody) was the Carrot Parfait. I also like the Deviled Quail Egg, which was slightly spicy. We paired this with a 2005 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume.

First Course - Roasted Shallot Bisque, Creme Fraiche - Stewed Onions and Chive oil. Very tasty. The stewed onions and Creme Fraiche was a good combination with the Bisque. There were mixed reactions - some people said it had hints of mushroom and one even said it smelled like garlic bread, but over all the taste was good. With this we continued with the 2005 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume.

Second Course - Roulade of Squab Confit, Salda of Haricovert, Radish and Watercress with Olive Oil emulsion. I enjoyed this dish and liked the touch of Fleur de Sel on top of the Roulade. N had a hard time making a decision as to what to pair this with, but finally decided on the Ete de Mondot par Christine Valette. Great choice and I think the pairing was perfect for this dish. A bit for "full bodied" than other Rose wines I've tried, I enjoyed this one very much.

Third Course - Macadamia Nut Crusted Foie Gras - Caramelized Banana, Chocolate Sauce. I like this dish also (of course I always love Foie). First time I try it with Chocolate sauce. Again, N was having trouble paring this one because of the chocolate sauce. R eventually decided on a Sauternes 2004 Chateau Cantegril (which I had given him for his Birthday). I think the pairing was quite ok. Nice touch of the macadamia nut. The Foie was seared perfectly, crusty outside and very tender on the inside.

Fourth Course - Poached Egg w/Duck Fat, Truffle Oil. Roasted Mushrooms, Mushroom Consomme and chives. This is one of the many versions you can have of Oeuf Cocotte. The Egg was quite dry ( I would have liked it a bit more moist). Following N's suggestion, I did not have this with any wine.

Before the Main course came out, they served us a Melon and green Tea Sorbet which I really enjoyed. It was not as citrusy as other restaurants serve them and was perfect to cleanse the palate. I think the Sorbet had a little "orange powder" which gave it a good contrast.

Sixth Course - Roasted Escolar "Sandre", Citrus Marmalade, Salad of Sweet baby corn and Mushrooms. At first, N thought the fish was "Sandre" but I think it was just cooked "sandre style". The fish was actually Cod. It was cooked perfectly and not overdone at all. I enjoyed this meal although I found the Citrus Marmalade to be a bit too overpowering. We continued having the 2005 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume with this.

Seventh Course - Certified Angus Beef Braised Short Ribs, Puree de Pomme de Terre, Bearnaise Beignets, Thyme Natural Jus. The Chef commented that he marinated the beef 24 hours prior to braising it for 8 hours. The beef was as tender as it could get. I particularly enjoyed the Beef with the wine we had. Also the Bearnaise Beignet. For this, we brought 3 bottles of red wine. N brought a '01 LES FORTS DE LATOUR, R brought a '00 PONTET CANET and I brought a 96 CHATEAU HAUT-BAILLY. All 3 were excellent. As pointed out by R, The Haut-Bailly(Pessac Leognan) was peppery and quite different from the 2 others from Paulliac. We enjoyed all 3 wines and continued drinking them after dinner.

Then we had a Pre-Dessert and the main Dessert:
* Sweet Baby Pineapple baked in salt and Pink Peppercorn Crust. Ricotta and Basil
* Terrine of Chocolate, Glazed Fruits, Custard Sauce and Orange Powder

I enjoyed both desserts although I was expecting the to see more pink peppercorn and salt on the Pineapple. The Chocolate Terrine also was a good match with the cherries and the glazed orange. After dessert, we were served with Espresso coffee (Nespresso) which really went well after a meal like that. Ian and his assistant Chef (I forget her name now but she mentioned that she is the Head Chef Of Fireplace Grill at the Hyatt) joined us for a well deserved glass of wine.


A very enjoyable dinner that I hope we can repeat again some day. Thank you Chef Ian for preparing it and thank you Tita B for offering your house and for organizing the dinner. Til next time...I hope soon...

Birthday Dinner

Last Sunday, we were invited to a Birthday dinner of our friend Rene. The dinner was held in his mother in laws house. Tita B is known to cook very well and he specialty is Chinese and french food. I have had the chance to try several times her cooking and it was always superb. For this dinner she was going to prepare a french menu - so I knew this was going to be excellent.

For starters, they served us Dom Perignon perfectly chilled. With the champagne we had Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 3 years) which was hand carried from Parma. What a perfect way to start a dinner. As the other guests arrived and we finished the 2 bottles of Dom Perignon, we proceeded to the dinning room.

As usual, the dinning room was perfectly decorated. All the plates and silverware carefully prepared and ready. For the appetizers, we had 2007 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé, from Bandol in Provençe. One of the best rose wines I've tried and considered by many as one of the best in the world. With that they served us the Popcorn crusted Foie Gras with butter cake and burnt orange sauce. Perfectly seared Foie on top of a slice of butter cake and the orange sauce - heavenly.

Immediately after, we had the Foie Gras cappuccino with Pan fried Cod fish. The contrast of the Foie cappuccino went very well with the cod which is salty. I continued this with the Rose wine and a white Cotes du Rhone that was also served.

After a short break, next dish was a twice baked souffle and Grilled Tiger prawns with Salsa Verde. The prawns were grilled just right and the salsa verde had hints of basil. The souffle I think had several types of cheese. Both dishes excellent. I continued to drink the Rose and the White Cotes du Rhone.

For the main course, we had Three Cheese Ravioli, with sage brown butter and glazed beets. I normally do not like beets but the combination with the cheese and sage brown butter made me like this dish very much. With this the red wines for the dinner were served: Les case. This wine was decanted 3 hours before serving. This is the "big brother" of Clos Du Marquis which I have tried several times. This one much more full bodied and worth the 3 hour wait.

The last Main Course: Melt in your mouth Kurobota Pork Belly, Truffle Balsamic, Marmalade and Mushroom sauce. With a name like this, how can you not like this dish?? Noel suggested we pair this dish with a 2003 Alion from Ribera del Duero. Alion is a vineyard owned by the same people as the well known Vega Sicilia. We had initially thought of pairing this with old Bordeaux but Noel suggested we pair this fresh yet earth red. The wine was perfect for this dish. Obviously Noel and I had seconds. The Pork was really - melt in your mouth - and the contrast between the marmalade/truffle balsamic with the mushroom sauce was perfect.

For dessert, Souffle Glace - like a frozen souffle. Sweet and with a little cocoa powder. Perfect way to end a fantastic meal. I do hope we get invited again to dinner like this - this are once in a lifetime menus that cannot be tried anywhere else. I'd say better than some so called french restaurants that I've tried in the Philippines.

To end the night, we had a little Absynthe. A drink with a long and controversial history, enjoyed its greatest popularity in late 19th century Paris, when Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemmingway and Oscar Wilde were among its most ardent fans. It was an inseparable part of artistic life during that period of time. It is said to have inspired fine literature and great paintings. We had it with a little water (1 part Absynthe to 3 parts water). Noel mentioned that if you take too much, you may have weird dreams, so we were quite careful drinking. We enjoyed that last drink and headed home after.

Definitely I night I enjoyed and hope to repeat again soon. Happy Birthday Rene.
And thank you Tita B for preparing this delightful dinner...Bravo.