SIDRERIA MANOLO

When our trip to Vegas was cancelled in December (because of the biometric passport mess), we also had to cancel several dinners we had scheduled.  One of those dinners was with E & E who we promised to take to our favorite Japanese restaurant in Las Vegas, Raku.  (They both went anyway and had a fantastic meal.)  Since we still owed them dinner, we agreed to meet last Friday at El Higueron (a well-known restaurant on a hill with fantastic views over the Mediterranean) but later changed plans and met up at Sidreria Manolo instead.

Sidreria Manolo is one of Marbella's best-kept secrets and one that is known only by word of mouth.  It's a tiny, nondescript and non-fancy restaurant which has, since 1984, been serving classic Spanish cuisine from Asturias along with cider from the North to locals and a few others who know about this place.  We arrived at 9 p.m. to find E & E already seated at a table near the entrance.  The restaurant is simple with paper-topped tables and wooden chairs. Decor is really non-existent with just a few framed photos of the mountains of Asturias.  Here, it's all about the food and not the atmosphere.

The menu was a piece of paper with handwritten specials, just like a notepad where you scribble a shopping list.  The cuisine and ingredients come from the north of Spain along with the cider while the fresh fish and seafood are sourced locally.  Manolo (hence the restaurant's name) is the person in-charge and the one who takes the orders and tells you about the daily specials.  Since we were new to the place, we left E to make the choices and waited to see what gastronomic surprises we would try that evening.

We started with a glass of cider (the sweet one rather than the dry) along with a bottle of house red.  This was served with some olives and a few slices of dried chorizo  which were delicious - slightly spicy and not too garlicky.  This was followed by a house special - pulpo (octopus) served with the traditional sliced boiled potatoes and sprinkled with smoky pimenton (paprika).  The octopus which most people hate is easy to like here as it is tender rather than rubbery and tastes of the sea with the paprika giving it the slight kick it needs.  Next up was a large platter of gambas sprinkled with sea salt which complemented the sweetness of the shrimps.  At the same time, we also had two other starter dishes to share - their home-made duck liver and the caviar de erizo (sea urchin caviar).  Both were served simply with slices of toasted white bread.  The foie was creamy and rich while the sea urchin (an acquired taste which I have to admit I love) was simple the sea urchin all chopped up like tartar which you spread onto the toast and spritz with some lemon juice - a true slightly slimy and salty flavor that is reminiscent of the sea.

If you think we stopped eating then, we still had two dishes to go.  First up was the famous alubias rojas (red beans) that is like a Spanish cassoulet.  It came in a large bowl filled to the brim with chunks of ham, chorizo, morcilla, lots of red beans and topped with some shredded cabbage.  Along with this came a tiny plate of finger-sized aji verde (green chilis) in olive oil.  The beans are eaten with the chunks of meat but after every mouthful, you also bite off some of the green chili - the combination of flavors and the addition of the slightly spicy vinegary chili makes this dish unique.  For our last course, we shared a rodaballo (turbot) roasted in the oven just with olive oil, white wine and slivers of crispy garlic.

To complete our Asturias-themed evening, we finished with two traditional desserts the torta de Santiago (almond cake) and the cuajada (yogurt with honey and walnuts) which were both were home-made and delicious.  Sidreria Manolo is a gastronomic discovery hidden away in the back streets of La Campana.  Thanks E & E for showing us another "new" restaurant to add to our list.

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Sidreria Manolo

Tirso de Molina 25, La Campana

Nueva Andalucia, Marbella

Tel: +34 952 81 41 81

*Open for lunch and dinner (lunch is when it's packed, especially in the summer).

CHEZ NESTOR

Friday was a beautiful sunny day.  One of those days that puts one in a good mood and ready to try something new so we ended up at Chez Nestor.   One of Marbella's oldest French restaurant, Chez Nestor was located in Puerto Banus for years until their recent move to the Vasari resort.  This restaurant was always spoken of and recommended by the local French community and we finally had the chance to have lunch there.

The interiors are cozy and overlook the pool area where in the summer, it must be perfect for an al fresco meal.  We sat right by the bar and decided to just order one course as we had were meeting friends that same evening and were getting ready for a full dinner.  There were several things on the menu that caught my attention - confit de canard, goat's cheese salad, oysters, foie gras - but I chose steak tartar and A had his favorite, andouillette (smoked tripe sausage).  The tartar (as you can see in the photo) was a large heart-shaped portion of ground steak, perfectly seasoned and spicy, just the way I like it.  The andouillette was a crisp-skinned sausage stuffed with tripe which A really enjoyed.  We skipped dessert and coffees and promised to come back soon - perhaps on Wednesdays when they have their famous couscous and next time, I'm having the ile flottante as well.

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CHEZ NESTOR

Urb. La Alzambra, Vasari center

Marbella

Tel: +34 952 92 90 20

Lunch al fresco

Today was one of the first sunny days we've had after many days of rain so we took advantage of the warm weather to have lunch al fresco in Marbella's Casco Antiguo.  We've been to the old town many times for breakfast (churros con chocolate) or for dinner (Casanis, La Famiglia) but never for lunch and after four years of being here, it was time to give it a try.  We went to our old favorite, Casanis, for a quick lunch - steak tartare and entrecote, both with their fantastic fries, and a creme brulee to share.  Our table was right beside the Casanis deli and wine shop and it was a real treat to sit outdoors and see locals and tourists walking by while we were enjoying our lunch and the wonderful weather.

After our meal, I was all set to drop by a few places I've been meaning to go to and check out for ages but never got around to.  One of these places is the tiny Pomposiello where fresh pasta is available - cannelloni, ravioli, gnocchi and where they have a few tables serving their homemade pastas.  From the takeaway counter, they also have pizzas, empanadas and ready-made pasta sauces.  It's a great little place for when you're stuck for dinner and don't want to do a takeaway.  I didn't get a chance to take any photos as we were double-parked but this place is definitely going onto my Marbella food shops list.

The Best of 2009

When the clock struck midnight on the 31st of December, the first decade of the 21st century ended.  The past ten years have passed so quickly and so many important events have taken place.  I began the noughties with my wedding in Napa, followed by several moves: first to Santiago, then Dubai, then Montreal and now Marbella.  My two children were also born in the last ten years and my blog was created in the last part of the decade.

Now, I'm facing the next year and am both eager and wary of what the future may bring. There is one thing I can be sure of though, and that's the best gourmet experiences I had in 2009. So, Happy New Year and here's to sharing more gourmet travels with you in 2010!

Best Bang for the Buck - Chocolateria San Gines, Madrid
This is a bang for the buck that's satisfying for all the senses.  A short walk off a pedestrian street and in a tiny alley is where you'll find Chocolateria San Gines.  Open 24 hours, they serve freshly-made churros and thick chocolate to dip them into all day long and into the night.  Great for a mid-morning pick-me-up or a late afternoon treat.  Aside from jamon Iberico, this is my other favorite Spanish snack.

Best Bistro - Itineraires, Paris
This new and cozy bistro in Paris' 5th arrondissement was a revelation.  A young chef, his wife out front greeting diners, fantastic prix-fixe menu, modern interiors and best of all, really good food.  This will stay on my Paris TO GO list for a long time.

Best Breakfast - Break of Dawn, Laguna Beach
No one does big breakfasts like the Americans do and this out of the way restaurant located in a nondescript strip mall in Laguna Beach is a perfect example.  Ex-Ritz Carlton chef who leaves the busy hotel kitchen to set up his own place and spend more time with his family.  The result is impressive - breakfast classics like corned beef hash, french toast and oatmeal are on the menu alongside an Asian-influenced spicy Hawaiian sausage with rice, eggs and pickled shredded papaya or a Mexican-influenced chorizo and scrambled eggs.  Mugs of fresh drip-coffee, free iced water, large tables filled with families makes it almost like a diner.

Best Hotel Buffet Breakfast - Woods, Geneva
Hotel buffet breakfasts are all starting to blur into one - assorted breads and pastries, yogurts, cold cuts, cereal and a small selection of cooked items (scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon) kept warm in chafing dishes.  Well, not at Woods in the Intercontinental hotel where breakfast was an aesthetic experience - a large wooden table piled high with baskets of assorted breads and pastries, artisanal jams and honeys then a cold section of marble-topped shelves where yogurts, fresh fruit, fresh juice in individual carafes and cold cuts were laid out and finally, a hot food section where a granite topped counter with built-in warmers kept the food in the serving dishes hot.

Best Chinese - Hakkasan, London
Another Alan Yau  and Christian Liagre partnership, this time with Michelin star as well for the creative Chinese haute cuisine.  I went there first in 2002 when they just opened and was already impressed with what they had created.  Seven years later, it's still a pleasant shock to the senses - dark, sexy interiors and sexy, snappy servers just add to the atmosphere and honestly with food this good, I can tolerate the attitude.  Lunch is a bargain but the dinner bill can become astronomical with the colorful cocktails and first growth wines.  No photos are allowed so I wasn't able to document my lunch there so you'll just have to imagine it.

Best French - Joel Robuchon at the Mansion, Las Vegas

Elegant, check. Cozy, check.  Haute cuisine, check.  Hypertension-inducing prices, check.  Dinner with my sisters, priceless.  My sisters and I try to meet up at least once a year and when we do, we always go somewhere new for dinner and last year was Joel Robuchon's fine dining jewel at the MGM hotel.  We decided to skip the degustation and go a la carte so we could all order different things and have a taste of each others' plates.  The food was classic French haute cuisine with some modern twist but thankfully, none of those molecular/hyper-modern foams and dry ice creations that are a bit of a turn-off.  Was it delicious? Yes.  Was it worth it?  Yes, once every decade.  The experience was impressive but we're still saving up for another anti-recession meal like that one.

Best Home-Cooked Meal - Mahnaz's Persian Kebabs, Marbella
Mahnaz invited us over for a traditional Persian dinner of kebabs - both chicken and lamb - served with grilled peppers, tomatoes and buttery long-grain rice.  She also made fesenjan, the traditional lamb and pomegranate syrup stew.  Persian comfort food at its' best.

Best Japanese - RAKU, Las Vegas
My sister and her husband had been raving about this tiny off-strip restaurant for ages so when we finally made it there in February, our expectations were high.  After lots of little plates - creative Robatayaki-based dishes,  super fresh sashimi,

Best New Gourmet Discovery - Foie gras carpaccio, Paris
I have Tonger to thank for taking us to Comptoir de la Gastronomie, a deli/restaurant near Les Halles.  He insisted I order the foie gras carpaccio and I was glad I did.  The plateful of paper-thin slices of foie gras drizzled with honey, balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sel de Guerande.  It made for a terrific cold lunch and it was such a pleasant surprise to try foie gras in a new way.

Best Tapas - La Moraga Iberica, Puerto Banus

I was never a fan of Dani Garcia's, Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant, Calima.  On the other hand, his tapas bar concept La Moraga in Malaga has always been a favorite.  This year, he opened a second tapas bar in the middle of Puerto Banus - La Moraga Iberica.  Modern interiors with a large bar where diners can sit and watch the action from the show kitchen.  His modern version on the classic Spanish tapa of boquerones (anchovies) served in an opened sardine tin with roasted peppers is fun and fantastic.   It's been packed ever since they opened and because no reservations are taken, the wait can be unbearably long but worth it.  I'm looking forward to his new creation La Moraga Sweet just down the road which should solve the problem of where to go for a nice dessert around here.

Best Thai - Busaba, London
2009 was all about recessionista dining and this Alan Yau concept and Christian Liagre-designed Thai restaurant brought the best bang for the buck with its' spicy flavors, generous portions, modern interiors, efficient service and most of all, reasonable prices.  Perfect for both yummy mummies and slummy mummies, businessmen and tourists, families and couples - the large communal tables and shared dishes make for convivial dining.

LA FAMIGLIA

Yesterday, we had dinner at a tiny restaurant in Marbella's Casco Antiguo (old town).  La Famiglia has been there for ages but we had never been as it's one of those places that people know of but forget to mention, not because the food isn't any good but because the place is so good that they want to keep the address to themselves.  Before we went, I tried to Google the restaurant but not much appeared except a few listings in directories - no write-ups or reviews.

We met up with E and E at the parking lot of the Mercado Municipal and walked to the restaurant from there.  Just off the Plaza Puente de Ronda is the tiny (two-step) street, Calle Cruz and right smack in the center of the street is the brightly-lit facade of La Famiglia with the entrance enclosed in wrought-iron gates.  Peep inside and the first thing you'll see is the antique red hand-cranked meat slicer right by the entrance where a large hunk of Prosciutto di Parma sits (a good sign).  Inside is a long narrow room lined by tiny tables on both sides and with an open kitchen at the end.  We were led towards the back to a cozy table by the gregarious owner who knew E as one of his regular clients.

Menus and grissini were left at the table and drink orders taken.  The menu is a simple two-page spread with about half a dozen each of starters, pastas, main courses and desserts (another good sign).  It's always better when there aren't that many dishes to choose from as it's better to have fewer dishes made well than so many choices and just a few that are worth ordering.

Since we had never been to La Famiglia, we left it up to E to order our starters.  He asked for a plate of assorted antipasti, some Prosciutto and a bottle of Sicilian red - Corvo.  The platter of assorted antipasti arrived soon after - thinly sliced grilled aubergines and zucchini, sweet roasted red peppers, button mushrooms and flat beans in vinaigrette and Parmesan-covered pan-fried tomatoes.  Along with this came a platter of extra-thin slices Prosciutto di Parma to be eaten with crunchy tomato bruschetta.  The food was simple but delicious - the sweetness of the grilled vegetables, the saltiness of the Parmesan and the sweetness of the sliced tomatoes and the amazingly sweet and nutty flavor of the soft ham (a rest for the palate from the salty and more fatty Jamon Iberico) on top of the warm and crispy tomato bruschetta. 

After such a promising first course, I was slightly worried that my main course couldn't possibly be better and was pleasantly surprised with my simple dish of thinly-sliced sauteed veal with lemon.  The veal was tender and flavored subtly with lemon and came served with some potato gratin. E had ordered off the menu and his pan-fried veal with home-made pasta and fresh tomato sauce looked even more delicious than mine.  E had sauteed chicken with mushrooms and A the rigatoni alla amatriciana - pasta with bacon and onion in tomato sauce - of which I had a few yummy bites.

Dinner ended with two desserts - a shared tiramisu for us and a shared chocolate tart for them.  The tiramisu was the only disappointment in the otherwise perfect meal - it lacked Mascarpone and bitter espresso to make it just right.  We skipped coffees and lingering over the meal as we got a call from our seven-year old who was supposed to be on a sleepover and had changed his mind.  We left quickly, said our goodbyes in the parking lot and planned to meet up for another meal in Las Vegas over the holidays.    Our night ended with us picking up our half-asleep son and taking him home.  Good thing that dinner turned out so well.  So much so that we're already planning our meal at La Famiglia.

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La Famiglia

Calle Cruz, 5

Casco Antiguo, Marbella

+34 952 77 54 12

Open for dinner only.

Reservations highly recommended as the place is tiny.

Coffee mornings

Since the cafe scene in Marbella is spread out along the coast, we end up going to the same ones over and over again and forget that hidden away in some of the areas west of Marbella and Puerto Banus are several places great for a mid-morning al fresco coffee - alone, with a toddler or with other tot-toting mums.  Here are a few of my favorite places to do just that:

Laguna Village has two cafes - the Spanish Star Cafe near Flamant and the new-ish Terra Sana Express on the Purobeach side.  Both have outdoor seating, serve coffees and light breakfasts and are ideal for a quick mid-morning snack before going to the beach for the kids to run around. (*Best for coffee mornings with other mums)

Another place that is right beside the beach in Costalita is the Villa Padierna Raquet Club where there are half a dozen Padel courts, two tennis courts and a nice little restaurant which serves sandwiches and grilled food.  Best of all for those with children is a play area and a mini football pitch within the racquet club surrounded by gardens with lots of shady areas to park the stroller. Open daily from 10 to 6 during the winter and 10 till late in the summer.  (*Best for a quiet chat with a friend while the kids run around)

Just by the Mercadona in Bel-Air is the Viveros del Valle garden center where there is a Child's Play wooden play set with a climbing wall, swings and a slide right beside a little cafe so you can have a coffee while the children have fun next door. (*Best for a quick break)


All places I've listed have free parking, easy access and are open daily.

Indian summer lunch on the beach

After the rains last weekend, I was surprised with this morning's bright blue skies and sun.  An Indian summer's day perfect for an al fresco lunch on the beach, probably the last one for the season before the chiringuitos (beach restaurants) shut for the winter.

A and I sat at a table right by the sea with our toes buried in the sand and enjoyed a quiet lunch a deux of tomato,avocado and tuna salad, chopitos (deep-fried tiny squid) and a small seafood paella.  The last time I was at La Playa Fantastica was at the end of August with my good friend T whose birthday is today and who is now back home starting a new life.  (Here's to you T - Good luck and Happy Birthday!!!).  Till next summer and more al fresco lunches and lazy days on the beach.

TERRA SANA's New menu

One of our all-time Marbella favorites has updated their menu - more appetizers and small plates to share, new sandwiches and main courses plus the fantastic wraps and all-day breakfasts.

On a recent visit, a friend and I shared several small plates for lunch - chicken satay with peanut sauce, crispy corn cakes with spicy tomato relish and grilled eggplant and Feta salad. It was a nice change from my usual eggs Benedict.

Aside from the two Terra Sana restaurants in Nueva Andalaucia and Marbella's golden mile, there are also several Terra Sana Express restaurants now open (salads and wraps plus a small breakfast selection) with the newest one at Laguna Village - ideal for a weekend breakfast or lunch al fresco. Best to try it on these last few days of summer.

LA MORAGA IBERICA

On the last week of August, three girl friends and I went to Puerto Banus before they all headed back home (R & V to Paris and T back to Madrid). I promised to take them to my new favorite boutique - Uterque (part of the Grupo Inditex brands which also own Zara). We ended up trying most everything in the store to the point that the Uterque image manager who was at the boutique setting up the window display, started to bring out stuff for us to try. Good that he did because we left with several items each and had lots of fun as well. After our shopping spree, we met up with A for dinner at the brand-new week-old tapas bar right in front of El Corte Ingles (where the office of Andalusian dream homes used to be).

La Moraga Iberica is Michelin-starred chef Dani Garcia's newest concept and a more modern version of his other tapas bar in Malaga, La Moraga. I had seen the space being kitted out for it's reincarnation from real estate office to funky restaurant and was eager to try it after several delicious meals at La Moraga.

The all-white interiors are sleek with a very low, wide bar in front of the show kitchen and grill. Several tables line the windows overlooking the street while each side of the restaurant is devoted to a display: one of wines and the other of Jamon Bellota (ham from acorn-fed black-hoofed pigs). On each end of the bar are large sunken buckets filled with several bottles of Cava and Champagne filled with dry ice which makes for a very interesting and smoky display.

The menu is very similar to the one in Malaga with tapas listed as hot or cold, a few salads, a few small main courses and a large selection of ham, chorizo and other cold cuts, all of which are from the famous black pigs that produce Spain's world-class ham.

Since we were starving, we started to order a whole selection of dishes (about 10 in total) with a few glasses of ice-cold Cava and some tinto de verano (a sort of sangria made from white wine, fruits and fizzy water). The plates started to come fast and furious, one after another, and our little table started to fill up very quickly. It got to the point where there wasn't any more space for any dishes and the server grudgingly stated that the food comes out of the kitchen quickly which is why we ask clients to order their dishes one by one. Well, we obviously didn't get that memo. Besides, this is supposed to be a tapas bar, and tapas usually come in small plates so I guess they need to sort out that part of their service sequence.

The food though was delicious and different - fresh white asparagus draped with several sashimi-style slices of hake, goat's cheese and olive oil mixed and served in a jar to be spread on melba toast, hand-chopped steak tartar also served with melba toast, little sandwiches of crushed chorizo on mollete (Andalusian soft white bread rolls), a salad of langoustine tempura with baby greens. Classics were given a twist - boquerones al vinagre (unsalted anchovies in vinegar) were served with roasted red peppers and a bit of tapenade in an open sardine tin, ensalada Rusa (Russian-style salad) was a chunky potato and tuna mix that wasn't overpowered by mayonnaise as it usually is and of course the infamous tortilla de patata (potato omelet) was smaller and perfectly-formed although the insides were a delicious gooey diced potato mess. There were also a few small main-course style dishes like the secreto Iberico (Iberian pork) pan-fried and with chunks of chorizo Iberico and what seemed like sweet potato, and the cocotte of beef cheeks cooked until meltingly-soft which came with a rich gravy and extra-smooth mashed potatoes.

We finished off our multi-course tapas dinner with two desserts to share among the five of us: the dark chocolate and bourbon pudding and the lemon cream dessert - both of which were gobbled up in about a minute. It was close to midnight when we finished yet the place still had a few tables getting ready to order.

The last hiccup of the evening was when we asked for the bill to be split evenly among the five of us and cashier came over with the machine and grumbled that we were making her job very, very difficult which shocked us into silence. La Moraga Iberica shows a lot of promise and it's great that they've got the food right, they just need to work on their service and remember that the customer is almost always right.

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La Moraga Iberica

Calle Ramon Areces, 1

29660 Puerto Banus, Marbella

(right across the street from El Corte Ingles)

+34 952 817 448

* No reservations taken at the moment but a table is normally ready in about 20 minutes. Have a drink and enjoy the scene.

* Fantastic outdoor seating (not yet open when we went).

KATSURA

One of the things we miss the most about living here in Marbella is sushi. For the amount of fresh fish that seems to be available, good sushi restaurants are scarce. There are a few restaurants that are good, Sushi des Artistes and Taro, but their exorbitant prices make eating there both a pleasure and pain.

Katsura, on the other hand, is a Marbella institution that has been in the same spot since 1994. It isn't stylish or fancy but the sushi is consistently fresh and good. We had been to Katsura several times but not recently (or at least not since the Japanese owner/sushi chef passed away a couple of years ago). They were closed for a bit then re-opened under new Russian owners who have retained the assistant sushi chefs and servers (all Filipino). Although it now lacks the special atmosphere it used to have because of the grumpy Japanese chef/owner, it has been spruced up with a minor renovation and more importantly, the quality of the sushi is the same as before, the service efficient and courteous and the price, amazingly reasonable.

Having already had dinner there last week, we went again yesterday evening after a fun day at Purobeach for a simple and delicious meal of sushi, sashimi and our favorite tofu agedashi. The place was packed with a mixed crowd of diners and several others waiting for their sushi takeaway at the bar. The food was very good, as usual, and after our quick dinner, we finished with two scoops of ice cream: green tea and red bean and left the restaurant feeling sated and not cheated.

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Katsura

Avenida Ramon Gomez de la Serna, 4

Edificio Granada 29602 Marbella

Tel: +34 952 863 193

* Parking building alongside

* Takeaway

* New location: Katsura Sushi bar takeaway

Centro Plaza, Local 42

Nueva Andalucia

Tel: +34 952 818 583

Birthday Dinner

Monday was my birthday and as since it always happens in the middle of the summer holidays, we usually have friends visiting. In 2007, we had three groups of friends here and we all went to Calima , a one-star Michelin restaurant for dinner. In 2008, we had a quiet family dinner at Thai Gallery, our favorite Thai restaurant in Marbella.

This year, we have my brother in-law, his wife and three children visiting so after some cold Lanson champagne at home on the terrace, we went to Casanis Bistro in Marbella's Casco Antiguo for an al fresco dinner with the kids. As usual, the place was packed and we were seated right outside their deli/wine store where we saw many people, both tourists and locals, taking an evening stroll through the old town.

We shared some appetizers: tuna tartar and a green bean salad with shallot vinaigrette while the children had their nuggets and fries. A few of us, including myself, had the special main course of cochinillo (roasted suckling pig) with chimichurri but they only had two portions left so my brother in-law had the gigot d'agneau (roasted leg of lamb) instead while my husband and sister in-law both had fish - grilled tuna for him and the sole meuniere (pan-fried sole) for her.

We shared some desserts - mostly lemon sorbet or ice cream to beat the heat and were about to pay the bill when the servers brought out a mini-chocolate souffle cake with a scoop of ice cream on the side and a very big sparkler. My nephew had snuck in to the restaurant to let them know it was my birthday and so I was serenaded by the waiters (it was payback since we did the same to him a few days ago when he celebrated his 17th birthday at Laguna Village's La Pappardella). My brother in-law insisted on treating us for my birthday which was really nice of them. After my second dessert, we finished the meal off with some espressos then walked over to the Plaza de Los Naranjos (Orange tree square) then headed home past midnight with the smaller children asleep during the car ride home. Another year gone and another fun birthday dinner spent with family.

A very, very busy week

I have been neglecting my blog recently and there really is a valid excuse - an event-filled week and one of the busiest ones we've had in a long, long time. Once you see how I spent the last six days then you'll understand why I haven't had the time to post anything.

MONDAY - Dinner with friends of very good friends from Moscow, F & S. We went to their rented villa in Las Chapas for some rosé champagne then walked towards the beach to a little restaurant, Club 500 filled with locals having seafood. We all shared several appetizers - pulpo (octopus), calamares a la plancha (grilled squid), sardinas a la plancha (grilled sardines) , boquerones fritos (fried anchovies), pez espada a la plancha (grilled swordfish) and a large mixed salad. For our main course, we all had the dorada a la sal (salt-baked sea bream) with lots of cold, white Viña sol. It's always a pleasure to go on a "blind dinner" with people who you've never met and have a good time.

TUESDAY - Morning churros at the Plaza de Los Naranjos in Marbella's Casco Antiguo with a friend, Jacqui, along with her husband and two daughters. I haven't seen her since we left Dubai in 2004 so it was a reunion of sorts and we spent an hour catching and eating churros while the children ran around the shady orange tree filled square.

WEDNESDAY - Our first summer guests arrived. My brother in-law, his wife and three children arrived from Buenos Aires and took the AVE from Madrid to Malaga where we met them at the train station and drove straight home for a simple dinner of barbecued chicken, potato salad, tomato mozzarella salad and a summer dessert of peach tarte tatin (recipe to follow in another post). We also had an impromptu birthday "cupcake" for their eldest son Marcos who was turning 17 the following day. I ordered delicious red velvet cupcakes from Cake Marbella.

THURSDAY - Cocktails in Puerto Banus for the opening of the brand new Tod's store right on the port. There was a cobbler making Tod's famous driving moccasins by hand on a table in the corner giving guests a chance to see how labor-intensive it is to make their shoes. We also passed by the Ferragamo store to see the new Yohjo Yamamoto collection before we picked up the children and had dinner at La Pappardella sur Mare, an Italian restaurant in Laguna Village to celebrate Marcos' birthday.

FRIDAY - Invited to a White Party where we enjoyed Cocktails and dinner at the terrace of La Veranda at the Hotel Villa Padierna. Lots of Taittinger Brut-Reserve with delicious canapes of peking duck, chicken curry skewers, shrimp and pistachio skewers, goat's cheese in filo bundles, smoked salmon and sea bass ceviche. We sat down to dinner at 10:00 p.m. and were served a delectable five-course dinner: foie gras millefeuille with smoked eel and green apple, roasted scallop on tomato juice, seared sea bass with cauliflower puree, roasted tenderloin with fork-mashed potatoes and caramelized raspberries and pistachio ice cream. Both white and red wine were served with the dinner but I stuck to champagne the entire evening. Petits-fours and espresso rounded out the meal and while some of us headed home, most of the party continued at Olivia Valere.

SATURDAY - Finally, the end of the week and we spent the whole day on the beach in Marbella at Playa Fantastica where we had our usual lunch of calamares fritos (fried squid rings), gambas pil-pil (prawns in chili and garlic), tomato, red onion, avocado and tuna salad. We had ordered their delicious seafood paella but there was some confusion and it never arrived (the first time it has ever happened) and we ended up just having a very light lunch and spent the rest of the day on the beach. For dinner, we had a simple meal at home with my in-laws and the kids and stayed on the terrace chatting till almost midnight.

Iranian Dinner

Last summer, my son made friends with two well-behaved Iranian boys, P & A, at the pool who had recently moved to Marbella. Over the course of the year, the boys have stayed friends and have gone biking and played together a lot. I also made friends with their mother, M, and we have even gone to the Marbella market together. She is one of my readers and has tried a few of the recipes from my blog. This summer, she and her husband A had a grill built on their terrace and when all was ready, they invited us over to dinner. We were so looking forward to this evening as she had promised to prepare a traditional Iranian meal for us and it was going to be the first time we would eat authentic Persian cuisine.

We arrived a little bit after eight and the three boys went off to play while we sat on their terrace had some Iranian tea - black tea flavored with cardamom seeds and sweetened with nabat (saffron-rock sugar crystals) in a glass inside a silver-filigree holder. The tea was sweet with a whiff of aromatic spice. With this we had some pistachio nuts and gaz - a traditional sweet made with pistachio nuts, sugar, egg whites and saffron - an essential ingredient in Persian cooking . There were also all sorts of fruit - peaches, kiwi, apples, tiny pears and figs - piled up beautifully on a small tray table which looked too good to eat. We talked about the current situation in Iran and life in Marbella before starting up the grill.

While it was still bright and sunny, we went upstairs to their back terrace where with the view of the mountains and the Mediterranean, A started to fire up the traditional grill for the kebobs (kebab). The table was set with crystal glasses, silver serving dishes and maroon napkins. A started grilling the many skewers of yoghurt-marinated chicken kebabs and ground lamb/ground beef kebabs while M started to bring up the many different salads and dishes that she had been preparing since the day before.

M explained that these salads and vegetable dishes were eaten with the kebabs and that Iranians ate family-style with the platters in the middle of the table and everyone sharing the different dishes. There was a salad shiraz, named after the famed city in southwest Iran, was a mixture of diced tomatoes, cucumbers and onions mixed with chopped dried mint and tossed in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil and lots of fresh lemon juice. There was another mixed salad of lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes and cucumbers and a platter of beets, tiny pickles and mashed aubergine. The star of the salads though was the large cut glass container of cucumber, walnut and yoghurt salad which M had lovingly topped with rose petals, saffron and mint in the shape of a flower. There were also two other dishes - kuku sabzi (green vegetable frittata) made with leeks, parsley and cilantro and kuku atun (tuna frittata) made with leeks, carrots and tuna. Both were very similar to the Spanish tortilla. There was one more pot on the table - not vegetables or a salad - but the traditional dish fesenjan - meatballs stewed in pomegranate molasses, crushed walnuts and sugar. There was so much food on the table that I was sure we weren't going to finish all the kebabs lined up on the grill.

By this time, the kids were chanting ke-bab, ke-bab and so we sat down to eat just as the sun was setting. M prepared us a plate of lamb and chicken kebabs, grilled peppers and tomatoes and long-grain saffron-flavored rice mixed with butter. The lamb was crisped on the outside while the chicken chunks were moist and tender and accompanied by the cooling cucumber yoghurt salad and the tasty rice, the meal was truly delicious. I was wrong about the number of kebabs because we had at least four each and even my son had two lamb kebabs and lots of rice and so there really wasn't much left. When we had finished with the kebabs, we each had a plate of rice topped with the fesenjan - a last taste of sour-sweet to end our dinner.

The sky was now dark although the night was still warm and after a last mug of hot cardamom tea, we thanked our hosts and walked slowly back home around midnight. It was a delicious introduction to Persian cuisine and an invitation that we will have to return with either a Philippine-themed dinner or an Argentine asado. Mamnoon M & A!

MESSINA PUERTO BANUS

The day started out overcast and cloudy so we decided to skip the beach and head to Puerto Banus instead.  We finished a few errands at the Club del Gourmet of El Corte Ingles - buying jamon Iberico (Iberian ham from acorn-fed black hoofed pigs) and jabuguitos   (Iberian chorizos) for a friend in Paris and getting the usual stack of weekend papers. 

We were about to go back home when I suggested we stop by for a quick lunch at the new branch of Messina Puerto Banus on the Plaza Marina Banus.  We had been to the Restaurante Messina in Marbella on several occasions and had heard about a new trendier tapas restaurant that Argentinean couple Mauricio and Pia had created in what used to be The Liquid Lounge.  Where Restaurante Messina is all "small-plates-fine-dining", Messina Puerto Banus is "tapas-style-all-day-dining".

The place has been given a designer makeover with black, white and grey interiors offset by splashes of  yellow.  The menu is divided into two parts - on one side (the light green one) called Dia, meaning day, is a longer list of breakfast items, mini sandwiches, salads, sandwiches, hot and cold tapas and desserts while the flip side (the dark purple one) Noche, night, is a limited version of the day menu.

Since we had a late breakfast and we weren't that hungry, we decided to order a few of the small plates with some fresh basil-flavored lemonade.  A basket of assorted bread was served with some spicy Andalusian olive-oil.  We chose two mini-sandwiches and two hot tapas.  The mozzarella and black olive mini-sandwich was served first in a mini floury baguette - it was salty (from the olive paste) and sweet (from the fresh buffalo mozzarella) and was a simple yet delicious combination.  Next was the other mini-sandwich of crispy duck served on another type of bread, a sort-of pita, filled with slices of duck and a confit of red and green peppers. Equally delicious and finished in about two bites.

Next up were the two hot tapas - a cornetto (cone) of morcilla (blood sausage) and the olive gnocchi.   The ice-cream looking appetizer was in fact a cone filled with morcilla, both in paste form and in tiny cubes, and a salty cream cheese made to look like ice cream.  It was fun to look at and good to eat.  The gnocchi were several black olive flavored chunks of potato pasta in an olive-oil based stock - good but lacking in texture.

Still feeling peckish after sharing those four small plates, we ordered one more dish.  The lamb was a double cutlet served off the bone in one large chunk.  It was cooked perfectly - still pink in the center, and was complemented by chunks of lamb sweetbreads made sweet by a balsamic vinegar glaze and the wonderful combination of crispy sweet potato fries and caramelized onions.

Five small courses and three non-alcoholic drinks later and we were full enough to skip both dessert and coffee.  Here's the best part, we only spent €27 (US$38 or £24) and in these credit crunch times that's definitely bang for the buck.

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Messina Puerto Banus

Plaza Marina Banus

Tel: +34 952 815 9840 

info@restaurantemessina.com

*Open all-day, Mondays to Saturdays

PUROBEACH

Sundays are lazy days and today was no different.  Our son went on a play date, the baby was asleep at home with the nanny and that left me and my husband free to spend a long, lazy afternoon together.  It was our first day at the beach this season and since the weather today was perfect - blue skies, hot sun, light breeze from the Mediterranean - we decided to go to nearby Purobeach at the Laguna Village.

This trendy all-white themed beach club was launched three years ago and took awhile to get its' act together.  Last year, they hired a new manager who knows what he's doing and tweaked the menu a bit and this time, it looks like they've succeeded.  Service was courteous and efficient - there were towels on hand, the sun loungers were neatly laid out in a row, umbrellas were no longer heavy and impossible to move around.

As soon as we settled into our loungers, we were given an ice-filled bucket with two bottles of Voss mineral water, two mini lavender water misters, two cold towels and a small wooden tray with watermelon, pineapple and melon - a nice touch.  We spent a couple of hours reading and working on our tans before ordering some lunch - a small Caesar salad, some french fries and a tandoori chicken wrap along with some frozen lemonade. The food arrived quickly and was simple yet delicious - a far cry from the choices on their old menu.  After lunch, we read some more and snoozed a bit.  Later in the afternoon, a DJ arrived and the music was turned up and switched from chill out to lounge.  We left around 6:00 p.m. while it was still bright and the sun was still warm. Great to know that Purobeach has got it's groove back and just in time for the summer.  We'll definitely be back soon.

*NB: The old Trader Vic's  in Laguna Village will be split into two new restaurants: a branch of the well-known La Pappardella has already opened and right beside it there will soon be a Terra Sana Express.

P.D. Jan, 2010 - Purobeach used to be open all-year round but closed for the winter season in 2009 and will reopen in Easter 2010.

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Purobeach Marbella

Laguna Village

Playa El Padron, Carretera de Cadiz Km 159

Estepona

Tel: +34 951 316 699

Email: marbella@purobeach.com

CASANIS BISTRO

There's nothing better than walking into a restaurant buzzing with atmosphere and packed with a crowd enjoying themselves.  This is often difficult to find in a seasonal town like Marbella where some months are so slow that restaurants often stay closed for the winter except for a few places in Marbella that have survived the years with a regular clientele of locals, weekenders and foreigners and Casanis is one of them.  

Casanis is a small homey bistro located in the Marbella's casco antiguo (old town).  Right by the entry is a bar and further on is  small courtyard with a few tables on the a mezzanine floor. The main restaurant consists of a large red leather banquette (bench) that lines the walls and where a dozen tables are set.

We first ate here two years ago and had a good meal then somehow forgot about it until yesterday when it was mentioned in a conversation with a couple of French mums at a children's birthday party. As we were hankering for a meal somewhere "new" or at least somewhere we hadn't been to many times, we booked a table there yesterday night.

Arriving slightly late for our 8:30 booking and were surprised to find the restaurant half-full with the first seating of early diners.   Aperitifs were offered, menus were set down and specials were recited.  While we were deciding what to have, a basket of fresh bread and salted butter were served.  After making sure that my husband and I had decided on different items so we could taste each other's food, we placed our orders and asked for a carafe of Rioja.

Both my choices were from the daily blackboard specials while A chose from the regular menu. I started with the bruschetta of boquerones en vinagre (vinegar-cured fresh anchovies) on a toasted slice of bread with roasted red and green peppers which came with a few greens.  The anchovies were mouth-puckeringly sour and complemented by the sweetness of the roasted peppers.   A's copious salad with goat's cheese was as it should be - a warm chunk of creamy cheese over greens with a hint of honey in the dressing.  

Our table was right by the entrance so we watched as more than a dozen people were refused a table since they hadn't reserved.  Even before our appetizers arrived, the restaurant was already packed with just one table for four right beside us that was also reserved.  More people were still streaming in without reservations and it was already 10 p.m.  To seat a few of them, they had set up a few more tables at their delicatessen and wine shop right across the restaurant. 

By this time we were enjoying the ambiance so much that we didn't mind the slightly longer wait for the main courses.  Steak tartare for A with frites (bien sur) and a grilled Presa Iberica (a pork-loin like cut from the famous flavourful acorn-fed pigs of the region) which should have been served with a baked potato but I asked for french fries instead.  The tartare was good but lacked a bit of zing that was fixed with lots of freshly-ground pepper and Tabasco.  The presa, on the other hand, was delicious - crisp on the outside but soft  inside and served with a tangy homemade chimichurri (the typical Argentine sauce of oil, vinegar and herbs to accompany grilled meat).  I thought I wouldn't be able to finish the four chunks of meat but A helped and we somehow polished it off.

We were going to forgo desserts but in the end succumbed to a Tarte Tatin for A and the special banana crepe flambe for me.  Both were generously served with homemade vanilla ice cream (a rarity in Spain where for some strange reason plain vanilla ice cream isn't available in the supermarket and even Haagen-Dazs only sell it at their special counters).  The desserts and the ice cream were very good but we just couldn't finish them and even skipped the coffees and asked for the bill straightaway as the table beside us had just arrived and were smoking non-stop.  We needed to step outside for some fresh air and walk off the big dinner we just had.

Leaving the restaurant close to midnight, we meandered in and out the tiny cobble-stoned alleyways of the Casco Antiguo to make our way back to the car.  A lovely diner a deux in a convivial atmosphere that made us realize that there is some night life in Marbella's old town. We definitely won't wait another two years to come back to Casanis for simple delicious food in a lively setting.

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Casanis Bistro

Calle Ancha, 8

Casco Antiguo, Marbella 29600

Tel: +34 952 900 450

Open daily for dinner from 6:00 till late

Closed on Sundays

* Casanis also has a delicatessen with specialty food products and a separate wine shop just across the restaurant

PASSION CAFE

Having lived in Marbella for three years, our weekends are now a routine.  Wake up later than normal, breakfast out then buy the weekend papers before going back home to spend the rest of the day lazing around reading and not doing much.

The only variation would be where we have breakfast.  We normally end up at  Terra Sana  but recently we've been going to Passion Cafe which is nearer to home.  Breakfasts are one of the best meals to have out, not because it's difficult to make but because there's quite a lot to prepare to have a full breakfast and by the time everything is cooked and served, it's almost time for lunch. Having breakfast out solves all that.  

The breakfast menu at Passion Cafe is varied - pancakes, granola, porridge, full Irish breakfast, bacon and eggs and even bagels and lox and Lavazza coffee.  This time, I ordered a breakfast special of three potato pancakes with two fried eggs and accompanied by a sweet tomato salsa.   A had the healthy home-made granola topped with fresh berries, a caramelized a banana and served with yogurt and honey.  Our son had his usual scrambled eggs and bacon with toast.  The food was delicious, the service efficient and the prices less than Terra Sana.  Open for breakfast daily at 9:00 a.m., Passion Cafe is open all day, everyday and serves meals till they close at 11:00 p.m.

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Passion Cafe

Centro Comercial La Colonia

San Pedro de Alcantara

+34 952 781 583

PEGGOTTY'S

Some days, the only thing that works is deep fried food and Tuesday evening was one of those nights. Our son suddenly asked for fish'n chips which he's only ever eaten one other time. Since I had often heard about a little fish and chips place near us, we decided to try Peggotty's, which is probably the most popular fish and chips place on the Costa del Sol. It's located in El Paraiso behind the strip mall which has the British supermarket and the English Butcher.

The place is similar to a diner - brightly lit and clean with checkered black and white floor tiles, metal tables and chairs and cheerful waitresses (all of them English) in light blue uniforms with caps on. We sat down and were given the menus. There were three types of fish: cod, haddock and plaice plus cod roe and whole scampi accompanied by fresh-cut chips. Also on the menu were hamburgers, Southern-fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, baby back ribs, three kinds of pies (steak and kidney, mince and onion, chicken and mushroom) and a list of sides from green salads to onion gravy.

J had the kid's menu cod and chips, A had the chicken ringer which came with crispy onion rings, bacon, lettuce, tomato on a sesame seed bun and I had the haddock and chips.  All were served in about 10 minutes.  The fish was crisp, hot and flaky and the chips were excellent - just the right combination of crunchy on the outside and mushy on the inside.  Portions were  large but I have to say that we all managed to finish our food except for a few leftover chips on the plate.

Peggotty's is open from 6 p.m. daily except Sunday and is a great place for a quick dinner.  The food is not fancy but it's freshly-made and tasty and the prices are reasonable.  Takeaway is also available from the counter near the entrance and the prices are less than what it costs to eat-in.  I wish we found this place sooner so we could have done our Lenten fishy Fridays here.