Eat Like Ushi

There are few food experiences that I dream I could go back to. My tastes have changed over the years, but high quality fresh seafood is one that will always remain, and the general focus of my food adventures through Europe (since London is average and expensive for this). Ramiro in Lisbon (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/cervejaria-ramiro-lisbon-10-2013) is certainly the high praise of seafood restaurant I have even known and told anyone who would listen. The world has certainly caught up and now they have a ticketing system to stop them from being bothered by the throngs of tourists waiting outside. A work colleague from (near) Lisbon had given me advice in advance - a restaurant 200m down the road is as good in his opinion.

Of course I wanted to go back to Ramiro preferentially, but with the wait being about 50-100 people (even though the staff member said "it's Sunday. It moves fast. 30mins maximum" - I don't know why tourists would eat faster on a Sunday...), I ended up at Marisqueira do Lis. There's an immediate similarity - large quantities of seafood on display both on the window and in tanks, but a more stark difference - no waits, tables available, locals all around, men drinking beer at the counter watching the football. It's a truly different experience.

I'll assume that the seafood quality is mostly the same. This may not be true (they wouldn't have as much turnover), but hopefully the Portuguese waters are kind to all. MDL is also a bit more expensive overall than Ramiro. Part of it may have been that they marked up the weights of some of the items - I can't prove this but I think it's feasible...

- Percebes 300g €18 - sweet, salty, squirty, delicious fun;
- Giant tiger prawn 400g €25 - the biggest prawn I've ever seen in my life. The texture is quite firm and chewy, maybe because it had been slightly overcooked or maybe that's just what happens with these large versions.
- Carabinero 200g €16- a large prawn with the characteristic red colour, more subtle flavour but sweet and with wonderful soft delicate but biting texture. Was it really 200g?;
- "Big crab" sapateira 1.5kg €40 - I wanted the hairy crab served with hot blended crab goodness. Instead I ended up with the very large crab instead, which to be fair was cold but delicious. The crab meat chunks in the claws and legs were excellent. Not the sweetest (that honour is the Alaskan crabs in Scandanavia) but still good. The middle mess was a bright colour that looked and tasted like egg. I assume it had been mixed with egg yolks/mayonnaise. Not exactly what I hoped for, but it was ok.

A delicious meal and one I've missed for a while. It certainly isn't cheap and works out (when I eat these) to be about €50pp. That's also without lobster which I would really like to splurge on next time. I'll be older and hopefully richer by then...

Given the unexpected 33C May weather in Lisbon, gelato was always going to be on the agenda.

I liked the look of Sorbettino from the evening before after visiting Manteigaria for pasteis, and so on the hot uphill walk from Time Out market through the streets it was a needed break.

Sorbettino, as the name suggests, specialises in sorbet. The server warned me - do you like strong flavours? Because there is no milk, they use a lot more of the core ingredient. A medium cup for €4.5 for 3 flavours.

The pistachio and guanaja (70% dark chocolate) sorbets were remarkable. No milk but you cannot tell. The flavours were strong, the textures were perfect, they were a marvel. Passionfruit sorbet was selected for contrast, and the sweet/sour fruitiness also had bits of flesh hidden within.

I never thought pistachio sorbet could be so good. A clear victory for vegan "gelato".

Time Out market is a new addition since my last visit to Lisbon. It seems to have really gentrified the area and turned it from what I remember as a scrubby place to catch the tram to a nice area to sit and explore a little. Inside there's a range of stalls to pick from, many of which are offshoots of well known restaurants around town. The prices are seemingly quite high for Lisbon with a plate costing around €10-15.

In the end we tried the mainly seafood cuisine at Marlene Vieira. 8 course tasting menu €25 consisted of all their appetisers and a sandwich.

- Portuguese octopus salad - dressed in a vinegar oil and nicely refreshing;
- Crab & guacamole - topped with egg with some avocado at the bottom. The crab was a paste form and ok;
- Mussels & tomato sauce - very nice and hidden mussels underneath the sauce (probably about 8 altogether);
- Codfish salad with chickpeas - never thought they'd pair these together. The cod had good firm flesh, the chickpeas were a bit bland;
- Codfish fritters, red pepper aioli - thin, warm fried fish fritter;
- Crispy wrapped shrimp, basil, curry mayonnaise - not a big fan of the curry mayo but the shrimp was
- Stuffed mushrooms, iberico ham, quail egg - a little bundle of flavour;
- Mini roast beef sandwiches, rocket, beetroot mayonnaise, crispy onion - cold beef in soft bread. The crispy onions added good contrast of flavour and texture.

It was actually quite filling with the added bread. Overall it was nice but I wouldn't go for the platter again. There's plenty of other things at the market to try.

Over the 4 days in Lisbon, there were many pasteis (pastel for singular) de nata devoured. The goal was to see if I could really tell the difference between all the places and pick a favourite. There are subtle differences but really I think all are good in their own right. Manteigaria, Santo Antonio and Belem were the ones to go back for.

- Manteigaria €1 - slightly less sweet filling, crust very thin but crisp and perfect, perhaps the cream:crust ratio is a bit high;
- Fabrica da Nata €1 - much sweeter filling, decent crust;
- Nata Fina €1.1 - sweeter filling, crust more flaky and drier;
- Santo Antonio €1 -  I wasn't planning to try this but after wandering around the Alfama region I saw this one advertising their victory as the best pastel in Lisbon 2019. I had to try. Thicker crust that was rich with butter flavour. Filling more runny and sweet. Very good;
- Pasteis de Belem €1.15 - Saved the most famous one for last. The queue extended well outside but now they have two queues rather than one. It also moves very very quickly like a factory. Good thicker egg-y filling that was on the lesser sweet side. Thicker crust that was burnt. Made the flavour have a strong burnt butter component (not bad but unsure if intentional).

I don't understand why there is a need to add sugar and cinnamon on top. I think the subtle sweetness of the custard is best unadulterated.

PS. the crust doesn't keep well after about 12 hours...

Just as I had spoken about last time in Lisbon, Bonjardim was on my list for piri piri (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/o-churrasco-lisbon-10-2013). It was the first evening in Lisbon and the atmosphere along the al fresco street was made more lovely by 26C weather and buskers filling the air.

Cod croquettes were actually delicious and notably part of the Portugeuse restaurant manner of serving entrees and hoping to see which ones you decide to eat.

Frango assado (roast chicken on the spit) £7.6 for 1/2 (the picture shows 2 serves) was a tender charcoal chicken with excellent skin that was crisp and seasoned. The piri piri was once again a chilli oil to smear on the chicken. It doesn't have much of its own flavour, needing the salt from the chicken, but it did have a gradual slow burn that really built up mouthful after mouthful.

In the end it was definitely a good, expertly cooked chicken but having had it twice now, I don't think I can say the chicken or the piri piri is particularly unique and worth seeking out.

After living in King's Cross for over a year, I haven't tried many of the local restaurants. Supawan has probably been the one missing the most as friends have told us how good it is. To verify that, we've actually been 3 or times before only to be told the waiting time is too long. Luckily on this impromptu late(ish) Thursday night before Easter we were bestowed the counter seats at the window, perfect for watching the world go by and the subsequent groups of people queuing or being turned away. Lucky.

- Pla Muek Yud Sai (braised stuffed squid with minced chicken, prawn, mushrooms in ginger, lemongrass, palm sugar, dark soy sauce) £13.5 - essentially a soft squid stuffed and served in a masterstock. Hearty, warming and earthy;
- Yum Hua Plee (banana blossom, chilli jam, desiccated coconut, shallots, mint, prawns) £9.5 - quite expensive for this pretty but small amount of salad. The flavours were nice but could have used more herbs within it. The small red chilli bits did build up after a while but nothing too painful;
- Pla Tod Naam Pla (whole sea bass fillets crispy fried, coated in fish sauce, palm sugar served with spicy apple salad) £17.5 - an excellent dish with the fried bones served for picking at also. The morsels were fried well and remains soft on the inside. The palm sugar and fish sauce liquid was only lightly placed under the salad bowl (maybe oddly) but did mean the sauce didn't soak into and soften the fish before you were ready. It was a very good combination of flavours and balance.

It isn't Longrain, but it's more traditional and definitely tasty. There's plenty more dishes I want to try which are mainly the curries, such as the duck or beef. Let's see if I ever get a table again.

Ever since Yum Bun branched away from Broadway market and dropped its quality, Bao opened to horrendous queues but isn't that good (although I only tried it several years after opening) and these buns have become quite common, it's nice to find a place less central and luckily also giving a discount on the new menu. After all, £5 for a bao is pretty damn high but that's what has become these foods in London.

I noticed that they had a sign outside for Happy Hour 5-7pm on weekdays. The cocktails aren't cheap but they do look/taste good. And at £9-10 each, Happy Hour would be very happy. I tried the Kenting Boba (quiquiriqui mezcal, rum, taro, coconut cream, coconut milk, lemon juice, popping balls) £9.5 which was essentially a delicious taro coconut milk tea with pearls and a strange taste of rum. I didn't detect any smokiness from the mezcal. The milk tea base itself was remarkably good with the frothy furry texture of taro. The normal taro milk tea was also pretty good but less thick and coconut.

There is a downstairs opium bar looking red room for drinks and a few little board games. That would be a wonderful place to relax for Happy Hour drinks.

- Smacked cucumbers £3.5 - pretty expensive for cucumber marinated in chilli oil and vinegar. Something fresher though;
- BBQ corn with Taiwanese spices £3.7 - little cobs of corn slightly charred in a savoury sauce. The corn itself had been cooked too long though such that there was no bite left to the kernels. But it tasted really good;
- Dan Bing traditional £4.9 - a crisp crepe filled with vegetables. Very nice indeed but need to eat it while hot and the crepe remains crisp;
- Taiwan beef noodle soup (rich beef bone broth, slow cooked beef shin, wheat noodles, chilli, bok choi, cilantro, spring onion) £11.9 - a remarkably excellent bowl of noodle soup with the delicate chunk of beef shin easily to pull apart, and the broth thick with beef and gelatin and coating the noodles and your mouth. It looked fiery and had red chilli slices but overall had little heat. I would definitely come back for this;
- Pork belly bao (mint, red cabbage, char siu sauce) £4.9 - probably the best of the tried baos with a not too fatty pork belly slice and a sliver of slightly crisp, slightly chewy skin tucked on the inside. The bao itself is good - reasonable size, very soft and fluffy, and not the dense dry stuff of Yum Bun in Spitalfields;
- Crispy shredded duck bao (cucumber, spring onion, hoisin) £4.8 - the ingredients list would usually make this my favourite and it was ok with a large amount of duck. The flavouring was mild and really needed more cucumber and spring onion to balance it out;
- Panko shrimp bao (cilantro, red onion, chiu chow mayo) £5.5 - two perfectly fried crisp prawns with mayo. Not bad at all;
- Shiitake friiter (mizuna, cilantro, chiu chow mayo, teriyaki) £4.7 - oddly while the prawns were crisp, the fried mushroom wasn't. It was juicy and ok;
- Wheelcake vanilla & matcha £3 - they have the open pan at the bar, but it is used to reheat the premade wheelcakes. As a result the outside was hot, the inside was not so and therefore the textures weren't right. The pastry was too plastically and the layered filling pretty but not soft. Maybe this is how they are meant to be and I just don't like them so much.

Overall the food is better than Bao. The noodles and cocktail were the clear winner for me with a few other notable dishes too. The service is also often without much of a smile. Not many words, thanks or gratitude. This could be worked on.

On a dreary humid, rainy Monday, I searched for a late lunch. Vincente had a reputation for good prawns so I sought it out. I liked the counter side but didn't realise they also have a seated section on the other side. I ended up there which was fine, although the atmosphere was quite different.

I wasn't sure if it was grilled or fried prawns that were the special. I suppose my clue should have been the grilled where listed on the menu first and "Gambas Plancha" is in big writing at the front of the cooking window. I asked my server which was better - he answered something I couldn't decipher in typical Andalusian Spanish, and before you knew it I had both. Hmmm.

The little grilled ones were clearly better. Much more flavoursome although it could also be that they were heavily coated in salt. The fried ones were plain and seemed to lack flavour.

I'll try somewhere else next time. The Atarazanas market is a much better option in my opinion.

On my first gelato day, I tried the well known Casa Mira. It is known for turron (fudge) but I didn't really want that. The shop is located on the main street too, which is convenient but would it live up to reputation?

I tried the pistachio, Malaga (which they told me was red wine) and was surprised to find horchata (which they told me they made in-house from tigernuts/chufas). The gelato was ok, nothing particularly special, although not bad by any means. The horchata was quite simple and I liked that it wasn't coated in cinnamon and not as sweet as the typical Valencia.

I wouldn't go back for the gelato, I'd go to Bico de Xeado instead (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/bico-de-xeado-malaga-04-2019).

Atarazanas market is a wonderful place. There are 3 different sections of the market, 1 dedicated to fruit and vegetables, 1 to meat and 1 to seafood. Within each of these sections are a few standup counters (although some serve food at tables outside) where you can stand around, order fresh seafood and have a drink.

It's hard to know which to go to. I looked online and saw Bar Atarazanas mentioned and so looked there. An elderly gentleman local to Malaga told me he thought this one was the best, but each had their own opinion. I suppose it would be easiest to look at the menu and see what you want to eat. For example this bar does not have gambas rojos or carabineros, if that was what you were after.

- Mejillones (mussels) €6 - from the menu I thought these were grilled, but they are steamed. After my initial disappointment I savoured them and enjoyed the rich mussel saline flavour and particularly the fact that these mussels actually fill the shell!;
- Navajas (razor clams) €4.5 - gorgeous pieces with herbs, salt, paprika and garlic oil. Divine, especially for that price;
- Conchas finas (smooth clams) €2.5 - he asked if I wanted this grilled. Instead I took it raw and I like raw clams. This was average and didn't have nearly as much ocean flavour as I hoped. I wouldn't get it again;
- Pincho de pulpo (octopus skewer) €3.5 - other stalls served a whole tentacle grilled but that would be too much food. So this little skewer had to suffice. It wasn't the best I've had, but it was adequate.

I also tried my neighbour's fried jibia (cuttlefish) which was similar but thinner and slightly crunchy compared to calamari.

I would happily go back to this market anytime including eating here or elsewhere. There is so much to take home to cook too...