Eat Like Ushi

Sometimes in food searching you get concerned. When the supposed national dish (and reputedly one of the best) is not available in town and noone seems to be able to tell you where to get it, that is concerning. To be fair, the locals all said they eat it at home and not out. Nonetheless you'd think a cunning restauranteur would do it well and advertise it and be known for the tourists wanting to try? Seems not in this case.

Bacalhau a Braz is supposed to be salted cod, mixed with matchstick fries and salted up and served. My hostel staff suggested a place that was good for bacalhau and since it wasn't far I thought I'd go venture. Joao do Grao is located along the Lisbon city restaurant street, which is always foreboding, but sometimes you don't have a choice if you've made up your mind.

Sadly the menu didn't have bacalhau a Braz. When I asked about it, they gave me bacalhau assado na Brasa. I'd like to think they weren't trying to trick me, but just assumed that is what I meant. Who knows...

Bacalhau Assado na Brasa - a very simple dish of boiled potato, sliced vegetables and a piece of grilled fish on top. The fish was reasonably well cooked and quite firm in texture. The flavour was a mildly salty, but I think that's how cod tends to be here.

The food itself was ok, but certainly not what I was hoping for. Maybe the reason I wouldn't go back is more that than anything else.

I can't quite remember how I came across the name O Piteu. I think it was from the Conde Nest website of where to eat in Lisbon. Their words of "Portuguese eating house, well off the beaten tourist track. Specialises in roast meats" basically sang out all the words I wanted to hear. More importantly, it is located near the Graca Church and Convent complex way up on a hill, meaning I could visit an attraction I wanted to and eat somewhere on my list. Planning doesn't get more elegant than that.

The church itself is lovely. During the warm October days I was there, the view from the church courtyard resplendent in sunshine and somewhere to sit and have a drink makes it worth the trip. Around the corner and down the road where very few people seem to wander lives the rather plain facade of O Piteu.

There was only a few people inside on this weekday lunch, a French couple and a smattering of Portuguese couples.

As per usual for Portugal, bread (and in this case olives) were provided for the nominal table charge (should you choose to eat them). The bread was fine, the olives selection was great varying from mild to strong.

- Feijao Verde sopa - the house version of green bean soup. A bit creamy and some simple flavours here;
- Carne de Porco a Alentejana - a specialty of the Alentejo region of Portugal serving pork and clams. Clam meat was small, the pork was a little chewy, and overall the flavour was quite salty and strong. Fries (as obvious from the picture) were a little soft also.

Overall the meal was fine without being great. I wouldn't mind coming back here again although probably only if I was in the area (ie. for the church or something else).

Next time I would order either the Churrasco de Carnes a Piteu (roast meats of the house? Sounds promising) or alternatively I've read the fish Dourada is good (although I am often skeptical about places cooking fish).

I didn't get a chance to sample a big slab of Portuguese suckling pig. I had a place written down, but never quite made it there. One of the compromises was to get to the best pork sandwich in Lisbon.

Nova Pombalina is known for the lunchtime snack of sandes de leitao or suckling pig sandwich. For me this was the first stop after a late morning wakeup in the hostel. It seemed the perfect breakfast alternative start to the day (before a pastel de nata of course).

The pork flesh was succulent and delicious. The bread was simple and a good carrier. The skin was soft and tasty, although I would have preferred some nice crispy texture. You can't ask for much more for the price. Maybe mustard would have brought it even further up, but that could just be the English-food influence in me.

When your local hostel manager tells you excitedly that Ramiro is not only the best seafood restaurant in Lisbon, but probably the world, there is some skepticism. For one, she admitted she hadn't travelled particularly much and so couldn't have a benchmark against the great places around Scandinavia, Mediterranean and Japan/Asia. Nonetheless it was an accolade I had to try for myself.

With the unrivalled sashimi/sushi quality in Japan, the beautiful and expensive Alaskan crab legs in Norway, the salty caviar in Russia, the mussels of Lanzarote, the pen-shells in Barcelona and the overall fish in Croatia, I definitely had some memories that would take some beating. I can honestly say that two visits here gorging myself alone for dinner put this restaurant up into the stratosphere. This is one place you don't want to miss.

They don't take reservations. Each night a mob/queue of people linger outside waiting for a table. The manager doesn't write anything down. He just notes who you are and how many in your group. Then the wait begins. On my first night, I turned up around 8pm and waited 30mins. On the second night, I sat immediately at the time of 6pm. While waiting you tend to notice two things - there is space intentionally left between groups of people (which while you wait seems like a waste, but after you see seafood flying around, realise it is necessary), and the seafood on display is incredible.

Tanks of lobster, crab and shellfish, enormous prawns bigger than my hand all wait to be tasted.

Menu comes in the form of an iPad that shows pictures and a very simple worded description and price (maybe just for the non-Portugeuse speaking of us).

- buttered bread - it's automatic and you pay for it. I suggest not eating it to conserve stomach space, except to mop up some sauce (especially crab sauce);
- spiny murex - I hadn't tried this before and they ended up being a nice chewy snail with a mild ocean flavour. For a change or for those who don't like it heavy;
- sea barnacles - a local eating them on another table noticed my inquisitive look and said "they are good" with a nod and a smile. Oh my goodness. A saltier, sweeter ocean morsel than any I have tasted. Compared to oysters, it is much firmer and without the slight metallic tinge (both of which some people may prefer). The technique is simple - twist to break, and suck/chew the flesh;
- giant tiger prawns - at about 200g each (€12 each) these were bought for novelty and chew. The flesh is grilled and heavy salted. It isn't the best prawn I've ever had, but it is good and definitely the biggest;
- hairy crab - the head of the crab contains a milieu of crab meat, brains, butter and goodness. It is an enormously rich crab heavenly stock that works well with the bread;
- rock crab - this is pre-cooked and served cold. The flavour is much milder and the flesh is soft. It's nice, but the hairy crab is much more exciting.

Cracking of shells occasionally resulted in flickers flying across to the next table. They smiled, I apologised. Everyone is happily being fed here. For all of the above, I paid about €110 altogether. So definitely worth it.

Next time I would order hairy crab and sea barnacles without any shadow of a doubt. The prawns are nice and more filling and there's always the tank full of lobsters to pick from.

Peri-peri chicken. Made famous around the world by Nando's. It's a good relatively fast food option in Australia, and for some reason a more sit-down *finer* option in London. Strangely enough the London version tastes better and has better quality chicken. Who knows why?

Needless to say, when going to Portugal it is a priority on many people's list to eat the traditional peri-peri chicken. There were a few options to pick from in Lisbon, and I dare say had I not found such a good seafood place, or was on a stricter budget, I would have tried more than one.

In the end O Churrasco won due to it being the choice of the lovely local hostel receptionist who gave me many food listings as options. The more well-known (to tourists perhaps) is Bonjardim around the corner. I'd be keen to try that one next time as the smells wafting from the restaurant walking past were quite lustful.

- 1/2 Roasted Chicken on the Spit - the roast is charcoal cooked to a slightly crisp finish. The chicken was juicy and quite good. The peri-peri part itself was actually a chilli oil that you paint on yourself with a brush. This is significantly different to the peri-peri thick sauces I was expecting (courtesy of Nando's). The chilli oil was mild but didn't add much salt flavour. At least I know what authentic is meant to be now;
- Creamed Spinach Leaves - this was the recommended (by the waiter) traditional side to have. It's similar to a mash potato, except green and made of spinach. It is smooth and buttery and surprisingly delicious.

Next time I would order the same things. You don't really come here to specifically eat anything else off the menu. I'd probably try Bonjardim as somewhere different (possibly better) and see if the tourist hype is lived up to.

Pastel de nata (or pastel de Belem) - one of the great pastries of the world. I'm ashamed to admit I'd only had one or two prior to going to Lisbon, and that was from a bakery in Cambridge (which was quite good I should add).

The pastry is an egg custard flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon. It is sweet and soft and best warm (although cold after takeaway is certainly ok), with a crisp but juicy pastry cup. One of the things to do in Lisbon is try them everywhere and see which is your favourite. They originated in the suburb of Belem (15min tram, west part of Lisbon) and naturally people regard those ones to be the best. However it isn't an area that people go to regularly and so it's simply more convenient to find a nice one in the city.

One of the tips online was to only try places that had the words "fabrico proprio" (ie. made on the premises) to ensure the product they sold was homemade and a higher chance of being good.

The local woman who checked me in at my hostel gave me a good selection of food options on my arrival. I think she was happy that for once there was someone at the hostel who wasn't on a tight budget and would be willing to try the best Lisbon had to offer. Her favourite (and my first for Lisbon) pasteis for convenience was at Nata. She did say the best was in Belem (naturally) but this was the local one just around the corner from the hostel (and also one location up near Castelo de São Jorge entrance). I ended up eating about 3 from here over the course of 3 days. Sweet, warm, crispy, delicious.

Having found one that I liked, I wasn't overly adventurous to try others in the area. I did relent once and buy from Casa Brasileira. Although it was fabrico proprio, the nata was disappointing. Sweet but average filling, and the pastry was rock hard bordering on sharp. I learnt my lesson not to be so creative on a limited timeframe.

Belem is certainly worth a daytrip, not just for nata but also the incredible Jeronimo's Monastery and the river walk to see Belem Tower and Monument to the Discoveries. However nata is the name of the game for this post. I had read a blog post that tried many different nata, and rated the one at A Chique De Belem as the best. Naturally I had to try it. It had some kind of certificate of honour, and a few locals were standing at the counter eating their 10am nata. It was good, with a much more burnt custard. The pastry here was softer than previous with a nice bit of chew.

Finally onto the most famous of them all, and the one that gets the most attention. Pasteis de Belem is a place that you have to plan to go to. Friends have waited 30-60mins in line for these. Luckily I arrived so early that the queue was only a few minutes. Shortly after, the hordes of tour buses arrived and unloaded millions of minions. I appreciate they have a system where you queue once, and so when I went back in line to order some more, the cashier saw me (not many Asians around so maybe I was memorable?) and brought me to the front of the line and said "you only queue once" and took my order. Great system. The nata here is gorgeous. The pastry has a thin crisp exterior that holds together well and houses a softer pastry underneath. The custard is sweet, delicious and lovely. They like to serve it with a lather of cinnamon sugar on top (which I honestly prefer not to have) which sets them apart from the others I'd seen. I don't know if it's the hype or the atmosphere, but I left here feeling that these ones were great.

Honestly if you lined up the three from Nata, Chique and Pasteis (without cinnamon) I probably couldn't pick them in a blind taste test (unless they were all very fresh in my mind). They are all good, you won't be disappointed. Pasteis de Belem is the one to get for the reputation and the cute takeaway containers (only when in the area and the queues aren't bad).