Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Hola Spain! Part 6 - Tapas At Midnight

Well, time for another Spain post! This time round, highlighting the different varieties of tapas we had. Often after dinner, the bunch of us would wander the streets either on our own or with our tour guide to get a fix for our addiction to the lovely sangria and tapas around town.
Image00653
Plaza Mayor around midnight.
Image00668
We realised only tourists like us would still want to sit in the open area out in the cold while most locals are in the indoor pubs. Ha ha....at midnight, we almost had the whole open area to ourselves (plus a few other tables occupied by some local lovebirds who gave us a show of some PDA - Public Display of Affection, something very commonly seen all around Spain). It was the same in other places where we had tapas, people would hardly sit outdoors, only we would! Here are some of the tapas we had....
tapascollage

Image00759
Deep fried salmon ball...a bit on the dry side.
Image00755
My fave, a must order at each tapas stop...Champignon, Fresh Mushrooms, lightly cooked with olive oil and slightly salted. Can't go wrong with this order.
Image00664
Finger sized anchovies, battered and fried.
Image00752
Smoked and thinly sliced anchovies served in olive oil. An acquired taste!
Image00666
These were lovely! Like a flatter version of our Malaysian curry puff, these were filled with fresh tomato bits and puree instead. Not too sour nor oily! Yum yum!
Image00298
Grilled octopus with baked potatoes, sprinkled with chili powder. Spicy and nice!
Image00297
Jamon Serrano Ham.....Dry-cured Spanish ham. Slightly salty, like pork "jerky"! Read more about this unique tapas HERE.
Image00296
The usual but favourite deep fried calamari! Note the olives, it's usually given free and according to those who eat olives (I don't), they were very nice. Apparently eating 10 of these in one sitting gives a youthful appearance to women (old wives' tale), I was told :o)
sangriacollage2
And lastly, we have the Sangria (countless times) of course. Ahhhh.....I miss these nights in Spain, they were some of the best moments of my life.



To be continued...


29 comments:

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

The first pic is gorgeous. Did you use a tripod?

Precious Pea said...

Everything look so good and that's a lot a lot of Tapas. How many of you?

MeiyeN said...

wow oh wow... interesting on da sliced anchovies! must be yummylicious....

Anonymous said...

Food is really good..! DimsumDolly didn't have such a great time though.. ! she was in spain too.. recently.

Lee Ping said...

I would sit outside and enjoy the PDA as well.

If I go to Spain, I would definitely try the mushroom that you highly recommend. I trust your taste bud.

Lee Ping said...

p/s I noticed the orchids :)

wmw said...

lyrical L : The pic of Plaza Mayor? No tripod for that shot...Just tried to steady my hands as much as possible.

precious p : Oh, those are some of the tapas we had during our 2 weeks stay there :o)

meiyen : Mmm....it an acquired taste!

mama bok : Don't know about her, but the group of us really enjoyed ourselves. Maybe having great company around helped.

Lee Ping : I think you can probably whipped up the fresh mushrooms dish yourself! Nice orchids... :o)

WokandSpoon said...

I love the fried calamari and the octupus tapas. Did you also try the tortillas (potato pancake things)? ooo, and sangria..don't even get me started! Yum!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

u got damn steady hands la..

Anonymous said...

Hungry liow. I tasted my first tapas when we were at Cambridge. Yes lah, can't go to Spain so go to Cambridge lor.
Your tapas looks so much nicer though we did enjoy the tapas at Cambridge.
wmw, any plans to come to London?

Sze said...

god loved the ham. when did you take this trip?

wmw said...

wokandspoon : I believe I didn't. Oh yes, the sangria....ahhh, the sangria. Sniff...sniff...

joe : Haha....eh, thanks?

judy : I use to visit my godsis in London but she has now gone off to another country. But if you are inviting me, I never turn down an offer! Ha ha ha....

sze : Hey, back to your home sweet home! I took this trip around mid March, spending 2 weeks in Spain.

Anonymous said...

I want to fly straight to Spain. RIGHT NOW!

Precious Pea said...

I see, i tot you all had everything in one night. Hehehe...actually it's possible also isn't it?

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

i cant imagine u in the hands of a dslr lar..awesome new banner u have there..

Anonymous said...

wmw, you are most welcome. I only work term time so during school hols I am off except for end of financial year (April).

If you should come in late July/Aug, I am around. If you need a place to stay and do not mind roughing it out, I have a spare room (junk room lah). I am sure you don't need me to take you out at all as you have travelled far and wide.

For lodging/food, my humble abode is opened to you. :))

Anonymous said...

I would love to sit outside too!

wmw said...

cc: ha ha ha....I should then work for Spain Tourism Board!

precious P : Ahhh....by your makan gang standard, can sapu all of those in one night and still be hungry! LOL..

Joe : Thanks....That's not really a banner. If you click on the photo, it will take you to a post from my archives.

Judy :Thanks so much for you offer! I stay in a small place alone and eat out most of the time....if you are ever here, I can only offer to be your makan tour guide. Ha ha ha...Oh, I'll throw in photography tips too! ;o)

Jason : Cold wor....but nice as I don't like heat!

wonda said...

I felt as if the real food has been served to me! The food and the dishes are nearly of the same size as in your photos. Good shots!

Big Boys Oven said...

gosh! those lovely spanish food and those lovely pictures.

Rasa Malaysia said...

I had that little fried fish thingy in a tapa joint in Hong Kong recently. Good stuff.

Anonymous said...

I like cold than warm weather :)

wmw said...

wonda : Mmm...I tried to hold the wine glass in the pic...hee hee

big boys oven : Yes, and eating tapas there out in the open and in a foreign country added the ooomph!

RM : Since you know I don't really like fish, I took a small bite...and that was all I took. Ha ha!

Jason : Yah lor, like me!

Anonymous said...

The ham looks very keras! Nice-ah? I remember trying something similar from Italy, didn't quite like it.

In AD, most local restaurants give loads of complimentary green and black olives too, along with fresh salad leaves, tomatoes, onions and cucumber before the main course arrives. They are so salty, we usually take only a few. Such a waste.. I wonder if they get recycled!!

JoyceChuah said...

Hey! Am reading yr blog from Alaska. Still at Spain? u working or not ??!! He he. And HINT HINT!

wmw said...

jackson : You know me lah, not a fan of fish.

kat : Oooh, now that you mentioned it, I think they do!

jc : Hey there! All the way from Alaska...Got work a bit lo! See you when you are back, dunno when wor...

Anonymous said...

wow, all the food looks good! their seafood's fabulous right ? and their sangria is nothing like those here, its so smooth and delicious. did you try chocolat con churros ?

catsndogs said...

speechlesss ..... the photo not seen yet... also speechless....

wmw said...

foodielianne : Yeah, the sangria there is absolute the best. I love churros but the choc in Spain was really sweet.

catsndogs : Haha, yup, we still haven't manage to meet up to see my Spain pics.