La Gran Taberna ♥

After dropping off my bags at Hotel Casa 1800 Granada, I ran out immediately to get some nourishment.

I was so hungry I rushed into the first restaurant I saw that was still open at 11:28pm.

La Gran Taberna

A traditional tapas place in a great location in the middle of Plaza Nueva.

There was upstairs seating. I grabbed the nearest seat at the bar.

One of the best things about Granada is that every drink 

you order comes with a plate of complimentary tapas

With my glass of house red came a plate of sad olives and a tiny omelette filled with... 

processed meat and cheese. WHY??? This disappointed me extremely. After all, I was in 

a country known for jamon and queso, not in the Republic of Costco!
I disliked the place immediately.

The jamon de pato montadito and anchovy montadito were good, but not great enough

to alter my initial judgement. Sorry, I am difficult like that. Haha!

Hard to complain considering prices were very reasonable. 

Paid my bill and went in search for a better dinner.

La Gran Taberna: Plaza Nueva, 12, 18009 Granada, Spain

La Gran Taberna Facebook Page

Chocolateria San Gines ♥

My first stop in all of Spain is Chocolateria San Gines, probably the oldest and most popular 

place for churros con chocolate in Madrid

I had a couple of hours before my train to Seville so I sprinted from Atocha Station to the

chocolateria as soon as I stored my luggage in the locker. It was a good 20 minutes of

brisk walk each way. I was that determined. 

A mural with the famous Spanish novelist Benito Perez Galdos. This must be his favorite place. 

Chocolateria San Gines is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There was already 

a line forming when I got there at 10am 

The line moved pretty fast. Before I knew it, I was already inside.

Photographs of famous customers covered the walls

You place your order and pay at the counter

Within seconds, you get your churros con chocolate

The churros were fresh from the fryer, golden and crisp

The chocolate, however, was a letdown for me. I expected it to be so much more - richer, darker, 

more decadent. The flavor was bland, like it was one part chocolate and four parts something else.

Dear tourists, you can find better churros con chocolate at Valor

Still, I guess it is something one must do when in Madrid, 

just to say you've been there, done that.

TIP: MANAGE EXPECTATIONS

Best part about my trip to Chocolateria San Gines was passing through Plaza Mayor

 Must not let this photo op pass!

Chocolateria San Gines: Pasadizo San Ginés, 5, Madrid, Spain

Tel: +34 913 65 65 46

Chocolateria San Gines Website

Toshi Yoroizuka ♥

Toshi Yorozuika is one of the top 3 pastry chefs in Japan and I heard lines at his cafe 

can get very long. We were lucky to be seated right away on a Thursday afternoon.

Inside the cafe is a small area selling ready-to-eat cakes and pastries

But we were here to experience the dessert bar

After a week of traveling and eating alone in Tokyo, Val and Baby A's company was a breath of

fresh air. Val is a pastry chef and used to operate a bakeshop in Manila before she got married 

and moved to Tokyo. She is also a lover of sweets and we spent the rest of the afternoon 

doing nothing but eat cakes! Isn't it amazing how instagram brings people together? :)

And that is Baby A enjoying (or not) the gazpacho welcome drink

It was a fun experience watching the chefs prepare our desserts right

in front of us. It was like tuning into The Food Network except you

actually get to try the desserts. I couldn't help but notice though

that some of the chefs needed more training. 

Our mille-feuille collapsed right after I took this shot

So they had to take it back and assemble it all over again

Mille-feuille a la Konatsu

Honestly, I think I could have done a better job. :P

The pastry was crisp and flaky, but didn't do anything for me. I couldn't even remember

what was in this dessert.

La Gorgonzola Pistache

Again, forgettable.

I guess I was expecting to be blown away especially after reading

that Chef Toshi Yoroizuka trained for many years in Switzerland,

Belguim, Germany and France. I really wanted to like his creations
 and waited and waited for the wow factor to happen, but it didn't.
Toshi left me rather underwhelmed.

Even Baby A does not recommend!

Toshi Yoriuzuka: Tokyo Midtown East, 1F, B-0104, 9-7-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 5413 3650

Toshi Yoroizuka Website

Ueshima Coffee Shop 上島珈琲店 ♥

 

My stomach woke up feeling painfully full from the previous night's dinner of two bowls of Ichiran ramen, so I decided to keep it light for breakfast the next morning.

 

 

Ueshima "Precious Coffee Moments" is a popular local coffee chain that you see quite
frequently around Japan. I've had good coffee memories in its Taipei branches and 
thought I should check out one of the Tokyo outlets.

 

 

Unlike its Taipei shops which exude warmth and coziness, this particular branch was very
basic it actually felt cold and a little uninviting.

 

 

They had sandwiches, little cakes and pastries, but none of them caught my interest

 

 

Ueshima uses the Nel drip, which is an old fashioned way of brewing coffee using a cotton 
flannel sack instead of paper filter. It takes more time to drip coffee, thus giving you a richer
cup with more supple texture. 

 

 

Aaahhh Japan… the land of automation!

 

 

Me and my coffee. All I need in the morning.

 

 

Sadly, my double nel drip sugar-free milk coffee was as weak as a broken heart. 
I usually have my coffee black, but all double nel drip coffees here were served with milk.

 

 

I had to order another cup. This time I chose my favorite from Ueshima Taipei - 
Sesame Milk Coffee 

 

 

Again, it was too weak. I guess coffee is like love in many ways.

"There are all kinds of love in the world, but never the same love twice."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Read my post on Ueshima Taipei here. 

 

Ueshima Coffee Shop 上島珈琲店 Official Website

 

Lemuria ♥

 

It was not my first time at Lemuria 

 

 

But the sight of this cozy little house-turned-restaurant still took my breath away

 

 

Hand-painted mailbox

 

 

The dining room was as beautiful as I remembered it to be. I fell in love with it all over again. 

 

 

Everyone did, and each family took turns taking photos with Auntie Babie, our birthday celebrant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legende wines from Artisan Cellars & Fine Foods

 

 

The breads at Lemuria were very good

 

 

Unfortunately, service was not.

Our food took forever to arrive. It seemed there were only 2 waiters assigned for our group of 30.

 

 

Amuse bouche. It looked pretty, that's all. 
The pickle relish reminded me of sandwiches I used to eat when I was in grade school.

 

 

The people behind Lemuria also own Brumms Quality Wines. 
They suggested the pairings for our dinner that night.

 

 

Frances requested the kitchen to prepare two different 4-course menus so we could try more dishes.

This was Set A:

 

Chilean black mussels in white wine sauce - delicious 

 

 

 Mushroom and gruyere soup - just okay

 

 

Shrimp tortellini in crab fat sauce topped with sautéed chanterelles - I loved the mushrooms!

 

 

 Quail Two Way
Confit of quail and pan roasted quail with wine wine and butter, paired with caramelized fennel. 
I really enjoyed this dish except they seriously need to do something about the plating.
It looked horrible no matter what angle! Lol! 

 

 

I didn't care much for the dishes in Set B. I thought they were mediocre at best.

 

Marinated tuna spring roll with smoked duck breast carpaccio

 

 

Cold sea bass salad

 

 

Mushroom gnocchi bathed in roquefort and porcini cream sauce topped with parma ham

 

  

Spanish Iberian pork loin with red wine, butter and wild mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't order any dessert because as usual...

 

We brought our own cake buffet!
 Costa Brava Ube Cake, Happy Cream Puff Croquembouche, Goldilocks Mocha Cake,
Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Mary Grace Strawberry Shortcake, Pacita Cake, 
Mango Sansrival, Assorted Cakes from Angel's Kitchen, Assorted Mini Cheesecakes
by Gregory Guy 

 

 

And we all came in royal blue because it was Her Majesty the Queen Babie's birthday!

 

 

And because she is Queen, Auntie Babie had help blowing out all her candles. 
Look at Gwama! Lol! 

 

 

Mother-daughter team effort

 

 

It always warms my heart to see how close Mom and her sisters are. They can spend 
the whole day together everyday and when they get home, they still call each other on 
the phone! They all love bread, Chinese telenovela, health tips and superstitions. Hahaha! 

 

 

Cheers to Madam Babie!!! Wishing you good health, love, laughter, and more
and more blessings as you continue to bless everyone around you. ♥

 

 

Lemuria: 5 Julieta Circle, Horseshoe Village, Quezon City. Tel: +632 724 5211

Lemuria Website

Lemuria Facebook Page