Oria Restaurant (120€, 5/26/2023, 10 – Course incl VAT)

 Oria Restaurant (120€, 5/26/2023, 10 – Course incl VAT)

Celebrity Chef Martin Berasategui’s Oria restaurant stands right next door to his Lasarte (Michelin 3-star restaurant) in the Monument Hotel, Barcelona. Oria restaurant is a modern and sophisticated space integrated into the lobby of the Hotel Monument by means of an inverted pyramid structure.

Around the world, chef Berasategui has got quite a few restaurants that boast Michelin stars, including Martin Berasategui (3-star), Lasarte and Oria (each 1-star). Oria is like the informal dining room to Lasarte’s more upscale ambiance. I visited Lasarte in 2018. Interior decoration in Lasarte was fabulous. The style and elements of core interior design in Oria is very similar to what was done in Lasarte, but in a delicate way, characterized by its high ceiling, a sky light that floods the space with natural light and lamp pool. In Oria as well as in Lasarte, the emphasis is on light and texture. The thin strings of lights poking through the ceiling were exquisite, elegant and classic. I thought the more moderate setting in Oria suits it well. To make a comparison - Lasarte has a more upscale atmosphere and to dine at Oria is a gastronomical way to taste the avant-garde cuisine by the local innovative chefs on the fusion of Mediterranean, Catalan and Basque cuisine.

There are two types of Tasting Menus. I chose the small Menu Tradition which contains 9 courses to give my stomach a little break. It started with Amuse Bouche.

I. Codfish Fitter with Chamomile Mayonnaise and Yuzu Gel

Local cod fish, made into fish ball, breaded and fried. Served with Chamomile Mayo and nice refreshing Yuzu gel (yellow gel), and adorned with shiso (purple). Yuzu flavor provided a kicker to start your palate, while the beautiful purple-blue shiso enhanced the visual side of stimulus. (18/20)

II. Crunchy Violet Potato and Red Shrimp with Salt

Local shrimp, served with house-made violet potato chips, hazelnut mayonnaise, anise flower (green), pink salt, and shrimp head juice. Chef at Oria was fully committed to bringing out shrimp’s full flavor not just the flesh/meat part of the flavor. It was very tasty and inspirational for an amuse bouche. (18/20)

III. Fake Tomato Macaron and Trout Tartar

It was fig macaron with smoked and marinated trout with KiIimanti (yellow) cream and plants. Kilimanti is the highest flowering plant, can reach almost 2-ft tall at 8000+ feet elevation on Mount Kilimanjaro. They are known as everlasting flowers because they can bloom year-round, grow in clumps with a yellowish-brown shade, with lemon-scented, pale white leaves and unusually shaped, delicate flowers. It was lemon-scented, but the source of this course certainly showed chef’s dedication and creativity. I had inquired with our server whether chef Berasategui’s signature dish of Smoked Eel is available at Oria, and was informed that it was not available. (18/20)

IV. Sandwich stuffed with Mushroom Duxelle with Ibrian Foil, Black Garlic and Truffle Mayonnaise

Sandwich was filled with local trumpet mushroom, with Iberia ham, baby parsley leaf, spring onion, bottled President cream, black garlic with truffle. It was a real gem with well-balanced flavor. I could feel that my previous evening’s sumptuous dinner at El Celler de Can Roca probably had enhanced my appetite and I was ready for the mains. (19/20)

Bread and Butter

Our server first brought over warm hand towels to clean our hands before bread and butter were served. There were traditional, whole wheat and whole grain with 3 different flavors of butter – salt, rosemary and olive. (17/20)

Mains

I. Cured Scallop with Sage Hollandaise, Noisette Butter Cream and Codium Seaweed Crisp

Sea scallop was from Spain’s main seafood supply region Galicia, scallop was marinated with sugar and salt for approximately 20 minutes. Hollandaise sauce was served with sage and spinach, caviar of trout and grapefruit jelly, codium seaweed (known as green sea finger or dead man’s fingers) and adorned with sage flower. Codium seaweed, after being thoroughly washed, is eaten raw, and the spicy-vanilla aroma made codium seaweed was a great companion to hard-drinks but also to fruits. It can be used to infuse spirits! (19/20)

II. Hake Kokotxas with Pilpil on Iberian Pork Stew and Baby Squid Tartare

Kokotxas is a traditional Basque fish stew. The dish is made from stewed fish neck/dewlap served with a sauce made from salt cod, white wine, garlic, olive oil and constant motion allows the olive oil and salt cod to emulsify into the fantastic pil-pil sauce. Kokotxas means chest in Catalan, is the equivalent of cheek on fish head.

Ragout of Iberian pork was in the base with tartare of roasted squid on top of ham and hake cheek at the very top, skirted by emulsion of chives (green) and the lovely bollga flower. Fish was extraordinarily tender and tasty, flavor was superb. Different parts of fish require different cooking time, chef has done a very prescient timing and quality commitment beyond what I expected from a Michelin 1-star restaurant. (20/20)

III. Hake Loin in Tempura, Iodized and Acidulated Cockles Sauce

Hake loin was fried in coated tempura, served with garlic mayonnaise, iodized sauce with cream of celeriac, cockles with crunchy quinoa, cream pea, codium seaweed, pea shoot, marinated cockles at the base along with celeriac family. The preparation for hake loin was completely different, it also required different timing and technique. I was surprised with the tenderness and freshness of the hake loin. It has got a fuller tenderness than the fish cheek. Both of them were superbly orchestrated. (19/20)                          

IV. Rack of Boneless Suckling Lamb with Cream of Salsify and Grilled Marrow Perigueux Sauce

Lamb was from Valladolid, a province of northwest Spain in the central part of the Autonomous community of Castile and León, served with Perigueux sauce. Meats in the region of Spain are famous for their unique flavor. Lamb was first seared over high heat then slow-cooked at medium-low temperature to create a more intense flavor due to the fat present in the cuts. The fat also helps to create tender meat. While Valladolid in Spain is famous for its meats and roasts, Valladolid of Mexico, located in the Yucatan state of Mexico, is recognized for its natural beauty, cenotes and the iconically renowned archeological site Chichen Itza. Perigueux sauce was amazingly complementary with the tender and succulent lamb. Since this was the last savory dish, chef offered a bit more variety – sweet potato and potato radish cream, baby carrot, chardonnay gel and chardonnay tempera, bone marrow and black mushroom (murgula or morels). They were all delicious and sumptuous. (20/20)

Palate Cleanser – Basil Water with Creamy Raw Almond and Lemon Peel Ice Cream

Green sauce at the base of the plate was made by basil water, green beans from Basque + lime + almond paste + skin of lemon + white chocolate. It was so refreshing. (20/20)

V. Creamy Juniper, White Chocolate and Citrus

By appearance, it was not that complicated. But by taste and flavor, it was superbly sophisticated. There was lemon foam, creamy white chocolate with juniper inside cream, popcorn lemon (pearl), meringue of grapefruit (ice cream), tangerine sorbet, tangerine jelly, bergamot (white, from Italy) and rice paper caramel. It was one of the most satisfying ends of the meal desserts that I have had. (20/20)

Petit Fours (18/20)

1). Tart Tatin

2). Pistachio and Caramelized Pistachio

3). Passion Fruits Macaron with White Chocolate

4). Raspberry Jelly

5). Cookie and Pedro Jimenez, Egg and Cream

They were all pleasant and appetizing and we were able to enjoy them with an almost full stomach. (18/20)

We had a very good experience at Oria and I was quite delighted with the Tasting Menu at Oria. It has delivered beyond what most of the Michelin 1-star restaurants have delivered in terms of taste, flavor, creativity, and technique.

El Celler de Can Roca (270€, 5/25/2023, 24 - Course incl. VAT)

El Celler de Can Roca (270€, 5/25/2023, 24 - Course incl. VAT)

Most of the Michelin 3-Star restaurants have one executive chef. But, in Can Roca there are 3 chefs because it is a joint venture of 3 brothers Joan, Josep and Jodi Roca. Each of  them focuses on one specialty field. Each one is either an executive chef on savory, sommelier or pastries. I always feel a guest can really get better value out of 3 chefs’contributions toward what was priced as one meal. The Rocas are very low-key, although over the years they have created various technical contributions to the various processes in addition to having gastronomically innovative and tasty dishes. 

There are two types of Tasting Menus. I chose the large Menu Festival which contains 24 dishes. It started with Amuse Bouche (starters) which itself is a large menu.

I. A Trio

1). St. George’s Mushroom Brioche (2009)

The evening started with a trio of St. George’s mushroom. St. George’s mushroom is a delectable spring wild mushroom on grass verges and woodland in April - June. It has an unusual cucumber and mealy flour aroma and an earthy flavor, with an amazing bite of mushroom flavor. The flesh is firm and the taste is pronounced. The brioche’s texture is almost similar to a moisture macaron, quite like a substitute for truffled brioche. A very light brioche with a strong mushroom flavor and a thinly sliced mushroom on top. It is a theme of successfully concentrating as much flavor into small portions. (20/20)

2). Bruna Cow’s Fresh Milk Cream from Formatgeria la Xiquella with Veal and St. Geroge’s Mushroom (2021)

Jellified veal and St. George’s mushroom consommé served with fresh milk, vegetable caviar, kochia seeds (medicinal use for anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer) and edible flowers. Fresh milk had a delightful dairy taste. What served in this small spoon was not only beautiful, delicate and delicious, it was perfectly refreshing and healthy with a priority on taste and presentation. (20/20)

3). St George’s Mushroom Sandwich (2001)

St. George’s sandwich was filled with St. George’s meringue/ice cream. A nice trio. (19/20)

II. A Display of 5 Elaborate Bites, an Evolvement of Roca Brother’s Childhood

1).Poularde Cannellone (2001)

A poularde is neutered and fattened bird with tender and tasty flesh. Chicken meat was shaped into a small cannolo, fried with batter, then filled with poularde filling. Batter was light and crispy, poularde was tender and tasty accented with Parmigiano Reggiano. It was termed Montse’s meat cannelloni, named after the matriarch of the Roca family. (19/20)

2). Squid Romana (1997)

Breaded squid, which was topped with a crunchiness, reminiscent of a squid served a la Romana or fried similar to calamari. Local squid purée as well as squid chunks was inside the breaded cake which was coated with batter, then fried. Local squid was tender and with fresh umami taste. (19/20)

3). Mediterranean Sole with Bergamot (2008)

At the very bottom was a sheet of crispy fried sole skin, topped by fillets of sole, fennel, bergamot, orange, pine nuts and olive oil jell. (20/20)

4). Surf and Turf Tartlett - Vegetable Surf and Turf on Plankton Mousse, Asparagus, Cucumber and Seaweeds, Herbs and flowers

Plankton is the productive base of both marine and fresh water ecosystems. Mousse was made with butter cream, egg yolk and tarragon. It not only looks appetizing; it is also a subtle message to remind guests of being conscientious of our overall environments. (20/20)

5). Roasted Chicken Muffin (2022)

Filled with roasted chicken, lemon juice, celery, pickles and rosemary, served in a breaded pocket. (19/20)

III. Elderberry Meringue and Bernaise Sauce Ice Cream

Butter cream, egg yolks and tarragon are mixed to form the base of Bearnaise sauce ice cream. It is beautifully presented with Elderberry meringue and flowers. (20/20)

IV. Sand Eel with an Emulsion of Bergamot (2012)

They are the Sonsos (Mediterranean Anchovies). Sonso is the Catalan name for two varieties of the sand eel species, the Mediterranean sand eel and the Smooth sand eel. Sanso’s and anchovies taste similar and cooking method almost the same. Except for Mediterranean sand eel, instead of breading them with the flour before cooking, you added a table spoon of flour to the hot oil right before throwing the fish in. Chef used tempura to hide part of the Sonsos leaving two tails out to show the true identity. (19/20)

V. Mediterranean Sequence

1). Olivada: Aloreña, Cordobesa, Cornicabra, Kalamata and Verdial with Piparra (2018)

There are so many olive balls, all created by the high-tech Molecular Gastronomy. They look like olive related and they taste like olive. They were created by dipping sodium alginate into calcium lactate. In many ways sodium alginate has become the poster child for modernist cooking (molecular gastronomy) due to its use in spherification. Sodium alginate is a natural gelling agent taken from the cell walls of brown algae. It only gels when it comes in contact with calcium. This product of spherification was a popular item in Europe when I visited Italy in late 2015. (20/20)

These olive varieties are accompanied by Piparra spicy pepper, cabbage, lettuce, white mustard and cappuccino flower to reach a more balanced taste and flavor. 

2). Spring Pickles with Walnut “Romesco” Sauce (2018)

Includes pickles, flowers, lettuce, cabbage, white mustard and cappuccino flower and the base made with olive ice cream. It seems that top restaurants like to serve a pickle dish to show off chef’s fermentation skill influenced by the Nordic trend. It was served with citrus caviar (pink) and bergamot cream (green). (19/20)

3). Cured Frigate Tuna, Beeg Fat, Charcoal-grilled pepper Juice and Fig Leave Oil (2012)

Frigate tuna, a local product, was cured in salt and sugar. Tuna steak was marinated for 24 hours. Frigate tuna is known to quickly deteriorate, therefore, served only in a strictly fresh condition, and is characterized by its dark color, tenderness and smoothness. It was accompanied by red pepper sauce (Romesco); fig leave oil and pickled onion with walnut. Taste very tender and refreshing. (19/20)

VI. Foie Gras Nouget, Hazelnut and Cocoa (2005)

It tasted light and crispy in texture with sophisticated taste from foie gras, hazelnut powder, cocoa and a reduction of cherry liqueur Pedro Jimenez.  It was a delicious ending to the amuse bouchés. (20/20)

Then we started the Mains.

I. Viennette of White Asparagus and Black Truffle - White Asparagus Comtesse is the Spanish brand name for Wall’s Viennette, has a stunning flavor, light, creamy and complemented with black truffle.

It was adorned with cappuccino flower, truffle dust and black garlic cream. I was lucky that the restaurant made a new fresh batch in the morning of my appointment date. This has been my all-time favorite dish. I have had it four times and wouldn’t mind to have it anytime soon. (20/20)

Bread includes two types of brioches (tomato and black garlic), red wine bread with walnuts and raisins and conventional sour dough. Brioche is soft, tasty, flavorful, not greasy yet slightly crunchy outside. I have to exercise some self-control. (20/20)

II. Spinach Tea with Oyster – Spinach Consommé, Pickled Oyster, Oyster Purée, Spinach Purée, Oyster Purée Stuffed Ravioli with Spinach Leaves and Millefeuille, Spinach Leaves and Lemon Butter. (19/20)

Chef used the same ingredients with variation on cooking and presentations. Oyster was half-cooked, sweet and juicy. Spinach tea required boiling at 85 degree for 8 minutes. Our server recommended to drink the tea first before biting into other dishes.

III. Cauliflower with Lychee – Laminated Cauliflower, Cauliflower Purée, with Ragweed Seeds, Bergamot and Verjuice, Cauliflower Purée with Butter, Fried Cauliflower Purée (pink), Cauliflower Couscous, Steamed Cauliflower, Fried Broccoli Flower, Lychee Sauce (light), 10-year-Old Caviar Sturgeon and Fermented Grape. 

This is probably the most comprehensive cauliflower-themed course that I have ever had. Cauliflowers are healthy, it is a produce for all people, meat eaters or vegans. Chefs has created a win-win dish with varieties of taste, texture, flavor and visual and gastronomic pleasure. (20/20)

IV. Eggplants – Coffee and Lemon Cream, Passion Fruit Cream, Pickled Eggplant Sauce, Cinnamon, Lemon Balm, Bay and Cardamom.

Eggplants were first marinated with salt and washed to soften the texture and rid of the slight bitter taste. Then, roasted until they were softened for wrapping. There were two pieces, one with passion fruit cream filling and another one with coffee filling. I preferred passion fruit cream filling which had a more balanced taste. (18/20)

V. Eel and Cherries – Smoked Eel Brandade, Pickled Celery, Black and Red Cherry Mole, Pickled Cherry, Black Olive, Purple Onion, Confit Rhubarb.

The inclusion of the other ingredients to complement the smoked eel did make this dish’s center “smoked eel” a focus point. Martin Berasategui, one of the celebrity chefs in Spain had a signature dish of smoked eel. I have visited his flagship Martin Berasategui in San Sebastian and Lasarte in Barcelona a few years ago. The Roca’s smoked eel was just as delicate and sophisticated. Both restaurants are worth another visit. (20/20)

VI. Celeriac and Pear, smoked celeriac purée, caramelized cream, roasted celeriac broth, crunchy celeriac sprouts, tarragon, coffee, pickled celery, pickled rhubarb, candid anise, Sherry vinegar.

It was an interesting combination based on the basic flavor of the celeriac and pear, with more variation of the same ingredients to yield a sophisticated taste and flavor. (19/20)

VII. A Whole Prawn. Prawn Marinated with Rice Vinegar, Head Juice, Crispy Prawn Legs Seaweeds Velouté

Palamós king prawn is highly valued because of its amazing flavor and texture, comes from the northwestern Mediterranean Sea town of Palamós north of Barcelona, the result of the pristine environment in which the shrimp live. The traditions and commitment of Palamós fisherman, under strict and sustainable regulations and special certification, ensure a consistently high quality. It was considered the best shrimp and the tastiest shrimp in the world, having almost a lobster and vanilla taste. Palamós king prawn dish is also a signature dish of the restaurant, with its bright orange flesh marinated with rice vinegar, prawn’s head juices. It is served with crispy prawn legs, seaweed velouté and phytoplankton bread. Palomós is a registered product from Costa Brava in Northern Spain. The taste and flavor are unparallel, the texture is close to melt in your mouth. In America, we have taken only meat texture part of the shrimp flavor out of shrimp.

The way Palamós prawn was prepared at Can Roca, it was perfect. A guest will remember its succulent amazing flavor for some time. (20/20)

VIII. Langoustine with Sagebruch, Vanilla Oil and Toasted Butter

Since Palamós prawn crowned as the tastiest shrimp, langoustine can be considered the 2^nd or the 3^rd at best. Still the dish, with supple and translucent flesh, was a dish you should not miss.  Langoustine is from Costa Brave, served with foam on top and sauce made with sage brush, vanilla oil and rose butter. The vanilla flavor has amazingly accented the traditional lobster and butter flavors. (20/20)

IX. Fish of the Day “Suquet”- hazelnut foam, semi-dried tomato with capers and black olives, grilled lemon purée with anise liqueur reduction, rosemary, mint and fennel oil and fried bread with freeze-dried garum.

It was not bouillabaisse; it was fish soup Catalan style, adorned by Pimpinella (anise) flower/leaf. Fish is Dentex Snapper, considered great eating, from eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is rich in Omega-3, vitamin A and B12. At the base, it was hazelnut cream with grilled lemon purée (white dots), mint oil (green), tartar made with olive, tomatoes and capers. It was a very sophisticated dish, with strikingly supple and translucent flesh, very enjoyable, but not as much as the Palamós prawn. (20/20)

X. Veal Tendons and Blue Crabs, Lemon purée, citrus cream, blue crab roe, blue crab cream with chili and pickled veal tendons.

Displayed on the upper row are veal tendon and on the lower row are crab meats. They are surrounded by cream of coriander, orange, mint, thyme, citrus, lime and lemon purée. Veal tendon which required long stewing time, was tender and tasty. Crab meat with roe was the gastronomic way of delivering full taste of crab. (20/20)

XI. “Ramats” de foc” lamb with smoked sheep’s cottage cheese, lemon verbena, artemisia, rue, thyme, rosemary, sempervivum, wild blackberry, fennel flower, verdial olive, ratafia and walnut oil. There were 3 components – stewed neck, grilled rack of lamb and cured lamb loin.

Neck muscle has a different texture and can be a bit chewy regardless the cooking time. But this dish’s stewed neck was surprisingly tender, tenderer than any neck that I have tasted. Grilled rack of lamb was juicy and succulent. I especially favored cured loin which was cured in salt and sugar with pine honey. It had such a fresh, refreshing taste from lamb like no other meat that I have ever had. (20/20)

XII. “Xuixo” of duck

Xuixo is a Viennoiserie pastry from the city of Girona in Catalonia, Spain. It is a deep-fried, sugar-coated cylindrical pastry filled with crema Catalana. It also bears some similarity like Chinese eggroll by using duck meat. There were 3-parts, duck consommé, duck roll with duck filling and cured magret with duck sauce orange, prune purée and Hoisin sauce. Magret refers to the juicy well-developed breast of a moulard duck that has been forced-fed to make foie gras. Duck breast was then cured before cooking like a steak, served with duck sauce reduction. I liked the magret the most. (20/20)

XIII. Macadamia Rose, strawberry jelly, strawberry infusion gel with chardonnay vinegar, milk cream reduction with chardonnay vinegar and pepper, rose mochi, milk cream popcorn, rose jam, wild strawberry and rose sorbet, black pepper

This term/name definitively was deceiving. When I first looked at it, I had a thought “Are these delicate and exquisite arrangements real flowers?” because they look like real. A further look revealed it was made by pastry chef Jordi. I wasn’t sure how to pursue with the dessert until I saw the magic show of foams droplet on the rainforest.

Our server started with some rose water mixing with helium to start the process of growing foam in a tall jar, a helium bubble making machine at work. Once a 6” x 10” clutter of foam formed, our server sliced it by a spatula and gently pushed the shaved piece of foam onto my dessert plate on top of gorgeous macadamia rose. As I started to eat, the foam gradually evaporated and I could smell the gently scented rose flavor. It was a magic show visually accompanied by pastry chef’s art work. An analogy would be chef Grant Achatz’s table top dessert presentation and artefact with Jackson Pollock’s method of pouring edible paint (chocolate, glaze and sauce) in Alinea, Chicago. Another example would be chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy.

The macadamia rose had slightly almond flavor taste, visually and palatially pleasant and lovely. Our server informed us that making those macadamia roses was technically demanding, required skill and precision. (20/20)

Palate Cleanser - Milk Desert, Milk caramel, sheep’s milk ice cream, sheep milk curd-cheese foam, sheep’s milk yogurt, liquid sheep cheese, guava ice cream and milk cloud were light and refreshing. It was the most satisfying straightforward-flavored ice cream that I have ever had. However, to make such a presentation required advanced molecular gastronomy work. (20/20)

XIV. Mexico, Creamy white cocoa chocolate from Soconusco (Mexico), corn and tortilla chip honey

Soconusco is a region in the southwest part of Chiapas state, bordering Guatemala, in Mexico. Soconusco is distinguished in Mexico as an agricultural center, mostly cash crop destined for exports. Famous for its cacao and coffee, it is one of the most fertile areas of the country for agriculture with plentiful rain and rich volcanic soil. The Aztec glyph for Soconusco region derived from 3 words in Sour, Prickly pear cactus, and Place, means Place of sour cactus. The region has been conquered going back to 5000 BC by Mokaya, Aztec, Mayan and Spanish. It has had its own distinct cultural and living identity. Chinkultic is a moderate-size archeological ruin in the state of Chiapas and has carved stone stelae depicting the site’s rulers. The site contains a court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame, with a marker tells us was dedicated on 21 May 591.  This pre-Columbian city belongs to the Maya civilization, flourishing 3AD - 9AD in this region, and is famous for the beautiful artefacts and craftmanship. Chinkultic means “stepped-cenote” in Mayan language.

The center of the plate in this course is a “Disco de Chinkultic” reproduced by chef Jordi, in a Mayan calendar disc cookie form. A glyphic reading of the disk refers to the Lord of Chan who has been associated with Chinkultic. At the lower left, there was a ball and the outer ring are marked with calendars for the ball game.

There was corn purée, sweetbread mixed with Soconusco Cacao and roasted crickets flour (brown square), white cacao (round shaped Mayan calendar disc from milk chocolate), nitro popcorn (pale yellow large dot) and caramelized dry nuts. Chef most likely made mode out of a Disco de Chinkultic, then used the mode to cut the cookies. The cookie dis was flaky and mildly chocolaty and nutty. I had cookies made from roasted cricket at an event sponsored by the Museum of Natural History many years ago. Cricket powder, with high protein, made cookies crisper and lighter. I preferred dark chocolate. At this moment, my stomach was not able to fully appreciate anything but a Palamós king prawn. (19/20)

There were a dozen varieties of petit fours in the cart – chocolate with almond, mini chocolate Orio cookie, chocolate coated cacao, chocolate coated dried berries, passion fruit coated mango bits, violet flavored candies, flavored jelly candies and frozen bite size liqueur-soaked tropical fruit. I could easily much a dozen of these goodies. But at this moment I wished my stomach still had any limited empty space for them. (20/20)