Cuisine

In one evening, Vivian and I dined at El Restaurante Botin –supposedly the oldest existing restaurant in the world (opened in 1725) as well as a Michelin star winner. The place is famous for roast piglet and, from what we had, the dish does match its fame. We also had some amazingly impressive blood sausage as our appetizer. The only disappointment came from the saute assorted vegetables. In fact, no where in Madrid could we find vegetable dish with a good quality, and everyone seems to eat nothing but meat and potato.

Of all Spanish cuisine, my personal favorite is paella, and we had a good traditional one in another evening – at a place just a short walk from Botin. Served in a huge pan, juicy rice with a charred bottom, four different types of shrimp, two kinds of shellfish, a good many other kinds of ingredient, and a good pinch of saffron.

It was so good that before we left for home, I bought a small dose of saffron from a local supermarket– so that I can try to make my own version of paella in Hong Kong.