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.

Mugaritz, San Sebastian

Mugaritz, San Sebastian, 5/19/2018 (€204, 24-Course, incl. VAT)

Mugaritz is located in two towns. It has a beautifully landscaped courtyard with a large tree right on the borderline of 2 towns Muga and Haritza. Hence, the partial combination of each name of the 2 towns became Mugaritz.

Tasting menu started serving in the courtyard because it was a cool and beautiful day. However, needed a jacket on.

1^st Course - Lemon Pith and Tart Cream

Citrus lemon, lemon albedo. In fleshy fruits, pericarp is made of 3 layers – outermost (epicarp) layer, middle layer (mesocarp) and inner layer (endocarp). In citrus fruits, mesocarp usually is referred to as albedo or pith. It is the pulp and in white color, often has a bit bitter taste, although it contains a lot of vitamins and nutrition. Preparation for this course started by soaking the white lemon pulp in limestone water, then adding pectin to form a thin layer of gel. Pectin can be extracted from fruits (especially skin) such as apples, pears, plums, oranges, etc. Pectin is beneficial to health if taken in moderate quantity, it benefits body’s detoxifying capabilities. This pectin-treated lemon pulp no longer looked like a citrus and was served with cream of garlic and topped with micro green. The presentation is simple and beautiful. It did not have any citrus taste.

2^nd Course - Milk Crystals

Crisp made from milk, cream of milk and herb.

3^rd Course -  Fresh Garlic and Flowers

Fresh and crisp garlic heart, garlic oil and Chinese chive. Fresh garlic heart from its own garden was crispy and sweet.

4^th Course - Lettuce Stem, Heart of Lettuce, Liquid of Lettuce

Heart of lettuce was served with reduced lettuce juice.

5^th Course - Perretxiko and Mycorrhiza - Summer Truffle with Cream of Mushroom

Summer truffles were sandwiched with cream of St. George’s mushroom and topped with mushroom powder. St. George’s mushroom is available only in April and early May.

After these 5 courses of bite-size appetizers, I was escorted to the dining room.

6^th Course - Hake Granité, Garlic Cream 

Frozen hake with cream of garlic, served in a white handkerchief. This is a signature dish.

7^th Course - Kiss of a Yolk

Spider crab with (orange color) soy sauce and cream fraiche.

8^th Course - Roe, Egg, Roe

Mullet roe combined as a base, marinated with sugar and salt, top by caviar, cured egg yolk sauce. Asturian caviar from France was used in this plate.

9^th Course - A pouch of Eggs

Roe of lobster.

10^th Course - Cured Sirloin

Basque thinly slice sirloin fermented with yeast from red tea kombucha. After 4-5 days it was coated with white powder looking penicillin. At serving, beef tartar was mixed with olive oil, caper, mustard, Worcester sauce, and stuffed in the penicillin coated beef shell. Sliced beef was sprinkled with penicillin fungus, after 4-5 days it will grow white powdery stuff which is penicillin. If you notice drops of caper water was sitting on top of the penicillin covered shell instead being absolved into the shell. I inquired my server whether the restaurant consulted medical expert regarding serving penicillin as the end product of a course. In terms of creativity, this was certainly the most creative dish that I have ever had.

My server offered me for a tour of the kitchen. Its kitchen was departmentalized with each defined area designated for one particular type of dish such as meat, appetizer, fish and desserts, etc. I was offered a special edible gorgeous purple flower from local. It was a very pleasant visit.

11^th Course - Vis-à-vis

Sliced garlic and razor clams were sliced the same way (look alike - vis-a-vis). It was served in almond milk and chive. A very pleasant dish.

12^th Course - Banana and Sea Urchin

I noticed sea urchin was missing from the plate. I was informed, at this very last minute, by the server, it was not the season of sea urchin. But, why restaurant still kept the incorrect description on the menu. To resolve the issue of unavailability of sea urchin, the restaurant used bone marrow instead. Banana was fermented and then fried, it was greasy, I had to ask for hot water to wash down the grease from my stomach.

13^th Course - Cauliflower and Octopus  

Pickled cauliflower pretended to look like octopus and served Basque cheese which tasted like Parmigiana.

14^th Course - Hake with Asparagus and Sake

1). Hake was cooked with sea cucumber. This is a signature dish.

2). White asparagus water was fermented by Viili and turned into house-made Sake and accompanied by real Sake. Viili is the type of yeast used by the Nordic countries to make yogurt. Each guest was provided with a glass of Sake to compare with the house made sake.

15^th Course - Iodized Crackling

Galicia oyster with crumbled Iberian ham and tomato sauce. This is a signature dish.

16^th Course - Grilled Fish and Beef Essence

Cod grilled, then adding pepper, beef fat and broiled again with cod fish concentrate cream served on the side.

17^th Course - Garum Marinade and Grouper

Garum is a 2000-year old practice in Europe, made with fish that has fermented in the heat of the Mediterranean sun. It used salt, herb and small fish, thoroughly washed and drained, but whole. After it is fermented, squeezed out juice and used the juice to marinate. Grouper was marinated by this juice and prepared one side caramelized and the other side raw. This is a signature dish. This was my favorite dish at this meal.

18^th Course - Onion Soup

Onion looked cooked but was not cooked. Yet, it was softened by pectin, enzyme. It had neither the smell nor the taste of onion or onion soup. It was served with chicken broth and cheese sauce. I had one bite and realized that I really did not like the taste of enzyme. This is a signature dish.

19^th Course - Acorn pil-pil

Pork skin and tendon juice concentrate, it was almost like jelly with bits of pork and pork tendon. This is a signature dish.

20^th Course - Bone Marrow from 2 Montaneras and Several Years.

4-year-old ham bone marrow. The aged bone marrow had a more sophisticated taste than the ordinary bone marrow. This is a signature dish.

21^st Course - Pine Nut Cream and Roasted Brioche

Pine nut and pork blood hash.

The 20th and 21st courses were accompanied by a 1/2 glass of 11-year-old Port specially made for Mugaritz in 2007. 

22^nd Course - Puffed lamb

Lamb in different forms, tartar on pastry puff with Zanahoria Silverstre flower grown in Mugaritz’s garden and roasted lamb on another form of pastry covered by lamb sauce.

23^rd Course - Sweet Fry

Pork ham and trotter fried in sugar. It is a new usage of sugar, named Manital sugar, for gastronomy. Since Manital sugar can stand high boiling point up to 160 degrees, Chefs can fry food in sugar instead of oil. Manital is a sugar alcohol, it is very useful for diabetics. Despite its name it contains no alcohol and it does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere, therefore, very suitable as a hard coating for candy. This piece of pork looked like a fried dough coated in sugar.

Chef at Mugaritz certainly was certainly very innovative in creating new culinary cooking methods and technique.

24^th Course - Pear and Ice Wine

Pear was cooked in cinnamon, cardamom, sugar and then frozen at -8 degrees like the temperature required for making ice wine. A ½ glass of Italian ice wine was served on the side. Each guest was encouraged to compare the similarity and difference between these 2 products made in the similar conditions. They both were refreshing and were my preferred type of dessert.

25^th Course – Colostrum and Caviar

Colostrum is the 1st milk of a mammal, it was very rich and nutritious. In other words, its viscosity was so dense and thick, no longer in liquid form. It tasted almost like soft cheese cake. It was served with Asturian caviar from France.

26^th Course – Chocolate

Chocolate of various content of cacao - 99%, 85%, 73%, 72%, 71%, 70%, and 66%. They were all dark chocolate and some a bit bitter sweet.

Mugaritz has a beautifully landscaped garden with sculptures. It has a garden to grow some of the herbs served to the customers. It is also ultra-creative, always aesthetically oriented with cool and beautiful presentation and most of all involved novelty. Its level and extent of creativity was similar to Noma’s. It had more focus, beyond the molecular gastronomy, on the different way of preparing food, on different usage of the ingredients, on presentation and on being innovative. In other words, their innovation was done more from a creative point of view instead of from the taste and flavor side of gastronomy.
 
on presentation and on being innovative than on the taste and flavor side of gastronomy.

Even though Berasategui’s menu price is €260/14 courses and Mugaritz’s is €204/26 courses, at Mugaritz portion was smaller for each course, approximately 1/3 – 1/4 of what served at Berasategui. Comparing with meal at Martin Berasategui, Mugaritz’s is completely in different style and has different theme.