Foodle

Hoi An’s chicken rice shares its roots with the Hainanese chicken rice Singapore made famous.
The difference is here: rice cooked in chicken broth and stained gold with turmeric, hand-shredded chicken, herbs, raw onion, chili.
The story goes it traveled from Hainan with Chinese traders and the old port town made it its own.
(Versão em Português nos comentários) Less

@lasartebcn was one of the very first fine dining restaurants I visited in Spain, so returning after nearly a decade felt extra special. Since then, this Barcelona outpost from renowned chef @martinberasategui - who has the most Michelin stars in Spain - has earned three Michelin stars in 2017, making it the first restaurant in Barcelona to reach that level.

A showcase of technical mastery, elegant presentation, and flavorful modern Spanish cuisine in a beautiful setting with outstanding service, it’s just one of those restaurants you go to for that classic fine dining experience. Standout dishes included the iconic foie gras and smoked eel millefeuille as well as the exquisite squid tartare with green apple juice and licorice. Every plate reflected the rhythm of the seasons with precision and creativity.

The evening ended on a truly memorable note - we were warmly invited into the kitchen to meet the entire team including head chef @paolocasagrandetv. What a wonderful way to close out the night!

Our menu:

Appetizers

Cream of spiced root vegetables, glazed sweetbreads, lágrima peas and yuzu

Squid tartare with green apple juice and licorice

Clear broth of free-range chicken and white prawns, barnacles and aromatic pineapple emulsion

Codfish with cocoa pil-pil sauce, tapioca caramel, fennel and Parmesan cheese

Scallop slices and its coral, seabed and vegetables

Crustaceans ravioli in its own essence, burrata and Champagne

Cured sea bass, smoked kohlrabi, wild almond with black tea and purple shiso

Dry-aged pigeon with its partait, pickles, root vegetables and toasted cereal molasses

Pistachio, celery, lime and green apple

Baba spheres, orange Blossom and angostura

Petit fours
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3*, Lasarte
Barcelona, Spain
#supermelSpain Less

Of course, the tuna featured is from Yamayuki, which seems to dominate all but a few of the top-ranked tabelog sushiya these days. Setoro and belly chutoro are the first nigiri served, followed later in the course by chiaigishi and otoro. The flavor is exceptionally "meaty" and clean, with strong mineral taste. I can't claim to know whether this flavor and texture profile this was a conscious choice, or just the product on this particular day, but I did find it uniquely delicious and exceptional. Less