In search of excellence: Hito, a restaurant review

Sunomono and green beans

Round about the time of the last Spanish economic boom, Las Palmas witnessed a proliferation of Japanese restaurants. Japanese cuisine had become trendy. A few years behind the rest of Europe, perhaps, but, it's never too late.

Prior to that, there was only one,  a small, nondescript, more-a-café-than-a-restaurant type of place in one of the seediest part of town. But, yes, with an authentic ageing Japanese chef. The food was good, but the place was known only to a privileged, and dare I say bold, few. For many years, his wish was to retire and for his son to take over but, unfortunately, his son wanted no part of it. So, instead, he groomed one of his staff, an authentic Canarian. The place still exists, the area no longer as seedy as it had been.

This leads to the question: can we have genuine Japanese cuisine without a genuine Japanese chef? Can we experience its grace, its style, its excellence?

Unbeknown to most of local residents, there is not one Japanese restaurant with a Japanese chef; hell, probably not even one Japanese worker. Not as far as I know. The majority are staffed with Chinese staff, owned by Chinese immigrants.

Yet, the restaurants prove to be popular. So, perhaps, yes, we don't need Japanese chefs to prepare Japanese food, just as we don't need a French chef to churn out French cuisine [in fact, there was an excellent French restaurant in Las Palmas with an English chef, but, sadly, it no longer exists].

Later, much later, along came another authentic Canarian, with the look of a Canarian wrestler - and the luchadores canarios do have similarities with their Japanese counterparts - who married a Japanese lady, and who went to Japan and trained to be a sushi chef. Dani was his name. He and his wife opened their own place, established a reputation, moved to another location, and carried on devoting his life to the art of sushi.

Until, one sudden day, he left our presence. RIP Dani.

Meanwhile, a roving beach bum set out of his home in Johannesburg, searching for himself. From the west to the east, he covered such ground as Thailand, California, Spain and Greece, to name but a few. Somewhere along the way, he discovered that his interest and talent lie in the world of catering, and started honing his skills under numerous chefs, eventually, focusing on Japanese cuisine.

To cut a long story short, Oliver met his partner, Olga, in Greece, and they decided to invest all they had in a restaurant of their own. The spot they chose was the spot left by the departed Dani. They brought with them, Javier, a sushi chef who trained under a Japanese master in Mallorca.

So, again, not a Japanese; no, not even an Oriental in sight. Olga hailed from the Czech Republic, Javier from Ecuador, and the waitress is Italian. Mamma mia! What can we expect? What should we expect?

Just like the greatest samurai, two strokes is all it takes. "Hito", which comprises just two simple yet elegant strokes, means man, people, mankind, character. Look at the symbol and you may see two legs, a roof, or perhaps something else. Walk through the doors of Hito and you'll find yourself in a smallish, clean, 35-seater functional dining room, and most likely, looking into the eyes of the sushi chef, Javier. No tatami rooms in sight, but space is at a premium around here.

Japanese in concept, Hito goes beyond the popular dishes, inventing some of its own, and not afraid of introducing non-Japanese recipes, such as Pad Thai, but, always aiming for the Japanese standards of style and quality. The fusion of the culture mix of the staff spills onto the hospitality, the art and the quality.

We were welcomed to open up our appetite, courtesy of the house, with some hors d’oeuvre, which included the famed Japanese cucumber salad, sunomono, a green bean salad, and another dish which I can't quite recall. The slight tangy taste of the sunomono was just what we needed to tame the heat in our bodies. October in Las Palmas is summer, weather wise. The seeds of the beans were crunchy and flavourful, but getting them out of their pods were rather awkward with a pair of chopsticks.

From the cold hors d'oeuvre, we then went on to the hot, the steamy, sexy gyozas, with skins that slip onto the back of your mouth effortlessly. I am not normally a fan of gyozas, but these got the thumbs up from me.

The tempura came piled up to look like Mount Fuji but tasting far better, I bet. Fluffy, crispy and not too greasy, it didn't take too long for the mountain to vanish.

I couldn't leave without trying the Pad Thai, naturally. I'm one of those die-hard addicts and ever since the only Thai restaurant known to have existed here closed (the crisis hit the service industry extremely hard), I haven't had any. Of course, I didn't expect to eat a Made-in-Thailand kind of Pad Thai, but I was willing to settle for something even remotely close. Its appearance was "cleaner", more Jap than Thai, and even though it was "watered down" to suit Canarian taste buds, it still carried the distinct flavour those familiar with this dish would recognise.

The limes weren't Thai limes, of course, and I made the mistake of squeezing one whole wedge. Caribbean limes are bigger and juicier than Asian ones and I have reason to believe that these are of the former breed. Also, I would have liked it to be spicier; the next time I'll have to remember to tell Oliver.

After the memorable Pad Thai, we went back to the cold: how could we eat in a Japanese restaurant without sampling the sushi, right?

The tuna and salmon we had were as fresh as though they'd come from the sea 100 metres away, but the rice was a bit plain for my taste. I'm used to a slightly more vinegared version. The makis were just as lovely and one, especially, caught us by surprise. These had something warm inside: a piece of fried prawn, I believe. Brilliant!

To end the meal, we had fried ice cream (tempura de helado) with pineapple sauce. The first time I heard of fried ice cream was in London and I thought my leg was being pulled. Then, years later, I had my first taste of it in Bangkok and I was wowed. The sensations of hot and cold at the same time was exotic, but the pineapple sauce was too sickly sweet for my liking. I'd ditch that. Personally, I'd decorate it with something darker to give it more contrast, something like miel de Palma, for example. It is similar to what is locally available in many parts of Asia under different names such as nam tan pip or gula jawa. So, if anything, its exoticism value is far greater than that of the pineapple.

Hito may not have the presence of a Japanese person, but it does not lack his spirit. Innovative and arty, it seeks to introduce the exquisiteness and marvel of Japanese cuisine to the general public, to the common 人. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other temptations offered in their menu, which you can see here.

Type of restaurant: Japanese, fusion

Verdict: Recommended!

Average cost: €20-30 per person

Telephone: 928 05 82 89

Website: http://hitorestaurante.es/
Location:

La Marea, a restaurant review

It is a strange place to have a restaurant, I thought. Although you can see the sea, a very busy thoroughfare, known as Avenida Marítima, which leads to the GC1, heading south, separates it from the sea. Because of this proximity, you get the cold north wind blowing towards and around you, hence the presence of the screen, serving as a windbreak. Rather ineffective the day we were there.

Why didn't we sit inside? Well, it was rather full, in spite of the time. It was almost 4pm but the kitchen was open all day. The indoor seating didn't appeal to us at all. It was very crammed. Even the outside tables were quite close to each other.

After waiting for a few minutes to be seated, we had to wait a few more to be attended to. A waiter appeared - not sure if he was the head waiter, but if he were, he was too nonchalant to be of much use to the restaurant, I thought. When he was taking our orders, he wasn't writing them down, which was fine by me. I 'd been a waiter in a past life and I had prided myself on being able to take orders without the need to write them down. BUT, he didn't recommend anything, he was quite cold, he didn't repeat our orders, and worst of all, he was looking elsewhere! His eyes were roaming all over the place. I wasn't even sure if he was listening - had to repeat several times to make sure he was!

So, a big zero for service.

Perhaps he had been busy, overworked and underpaid, but that isn't the paying client's problem.

Food was average. Honest. The tempura was basically a fancy label for a simple deep-fry, and the crujiente (= crispy) of something or other was deep-fried and I was expecting baked filo pastry. We had black rice again, the memory of the others we had recently was still fresh enough to allow us to make a comparison and the verdict was a unanimous "disappointing!" It was somewhat dry, ali-oli wasn't offered as an option, and the Saharian squid was as stiff as they come. Maybe it wasn't even squid - I wouldn't be surprised in the least!

Well, what with the cold and the insipid food, we couldn't wait to get out of the place.

They have another branch in San Cristóbal and a bistro in the next street, but I doubt I will be in a hurry to try them.

Type of restaurant: Canarian, Mediterranean
Verdict: Not recommended
Average cost: €20-30 per person
Telephone: 928 29 00 79
Website: Their Facebook page
Location:

La Corona de Arucas, a restaurant review

After being closed for more than two years, El Mesón de Arucas finally opened its doors to the public in late 2014 as La Corona de Arucas. Completely refurbished, at a cost of more than half a million euros, La Corona offers enough capacity for 800 people, and a panoramic view of parts of Gran Canaria from an altitude of 430 metres above sea level. On a clear day, you may even be able to see Fuerteventura, or so it is claimed.

We had no such luck the day we came up here. It was a damp, drizzly, cloudy day which offered us hazy views of the cathedral of Arucas, which isn't really a cathedral, but that's another story.

Arriving at mid afternoon on a Sunday, I was surprised to find the car park almost full. Just as well I'd made a reservation, I thought. Walking through the doors, further surprises were in store, although I wasn't sure which startled me more - the amount of people or the single huge dining room. My jacket stayed on me throughout the time I was there. I imagined that, on a weekday, with fewer guests, the place must be absolutely cold! In more sense than one.

It struck me as a setting that is ideal for large celebrations, such as a wedding reception, but for a normal lunch or dinner, partitioning the hall into several smaller sections would have made it a little cosier.

They also have an open-air chill-out lounge for smoking guests or for those wanting to have a drink or two, while soaking in the views.

The problem with having a huge restaurant is that it isn't easy to provide first-class service unless your business is fairly constant. Somehow, I doubt that this would be the case here. So, even though there was quite a handful of waiting staff, I suspect, the majority of them was there only for busy periods, such as weekends.

We had to wait for a while before the maitre d' came to take our orders. He was friendly, smiley and efficient, but you could see that the staff had their work cut out for them; for the number of guests, they could do with a few more waiters, especially experienced ones.

While waiting, I had time to muse over the general feel of La Corona. For a restaurant that cost more than half a million euros to remodel, the tableware, I suspected, hadn't received too much of a cut of that budget. What I saw was more appropriate of an average sort of restaurant, somewhat lacklustre for a place of this calibre.

For starters, we ordered lamb rolls with orange strands, stuffed mushrooms and a fava bean stew. You can see the official menu (in Spanish) here.

Rollito de cordero con hebra de naranja

The Oriental influence in this dish was unmistakable. Crispy rolls with a slight tang, and no overpowering taste of lamb. Whether this was due to a lack of lamb pieces or because it was good lamb, I couldn't really tell. In any case, they were delicious, leaving me craving for more.

Stuffed mushrooms

Next to arrive was the stuffed mushrooms, which was off-menu and I wasn't sure what they were stuffed with. Might be with mushrooms and pork, so if you're vegetarian and these are offered to you, ask first. The look and taste of this dish was distinctly Mediterranean. Needless to say, they quickly vanished too.

The stew was standard fare, fairly ordinary. I wasn't particularly interested in it, so I just had a spoonful and that was it.

For the main course, we wanted the roasted shoulder of lamb, whose virtue the maitre d' was extolling. This was off-menu, too, I think, or at least, only available at the weekends. Minutes later, he returned, apologised, said they'd sold the last piece. Perhaps, the leg? Oh well, all right, the leg then.

Unfortunately, he returned again, slightly embarrassed because, even the leg had been sold out. So, a word of advice. If you fancy having roast lamb, reserve it at the time of booking for your table.

We, then, opted for rice with mushrooms, apple and foie. It was tasty enough, but not exceptional. We'd ordered two portions to share among three people, but we were left wanting a little more. So, unlike the other restaurants where we'd ordered rice, the quantity was not quite enough for an extra person.

Arroz con boletus, manzana y foie

We had room for some desserts and coffee but, in the end, we decided to head elsewhere. Somewhere warmer and cosier, perhaps.

Type of restaurant: Canarian, Mediterranean
Verdict: Recommended
Average cost: €20-30 per person
Telephone: 649 330 287
Website: http://www.lacoronadearucas.com/
Location:

Kano 31, a restaurant review

All photos on this post were taken with my cell phone.

I've walked down this pedestrian street, Calle Cano, with a "C", parallel to and beside Calle Triana, many times before, and I'd walked past this restaurant just as often, but had never been tempted to go in. I'd never even noted the name.

Browsing through the names and reviews of restaurants around the Triana area, and which were open on Sunday, I decided on Kano 31, with a "K". Only when I got there did I realise what I'd mentioned in the first paragraph. A few tables on the terrace were occupied in spite of it being a cloudy and windy day, not very pleasant, worse when you take into account that this particular street doesn't get much direct sunlight anyway. So, the terrace was definitely not for us - the smokers could have it. We took a look at the menu and agreed to enter. Their menu can be seen by clicking here, albeit without the prices.

It was fairly full. They also have an upstairs room, which I suspect is used only if they really need to. We were shown to a barrel table. Literally a beer barrel, a big one, big enough to serve as a table for three. I presume when they get busy, these barrels come in handy as they're high enough for customers to stand around and have a beer and tapas. But we had high chairs to sit on.

Service could have been a bit quicker, considering it wasn't that busy, but staff were very cheerful and friendly. Warm bread was served with some alioli and all three of us find warm bread impossible to resist.

For the first course, we shared grilled morcilla de Burgos (rice sausage from Burgos) and fish croquettes. The former was somewhat disappointing. Having tasted finer efforts elsewhere, these were more on the bland side. The croquettes were better, crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. Still, nothing sensational. These were probably the wrong choices.

Morcilla de Burgos a la plancha

For the main course, we decided on arroz negro con calamares. Minimum order for all the rice dishes, except the risotto, is for two people, which was what we ordered but shared the two rations among the three of us. The portion was perfect. If we'd ordered for three, it would have been too much.

This dish was simply spectacular! It was served with alioli (garlic mayonnaise) on the side, and I'd recommend you to stir it in. The arroz negro wasn't salty (a common complaint with rice dishes here in Spain), the rice was al dente, and the resulting taste was a perfect blend of the creamy alioli and hints of seafood. The taste left me dreaming of it for a week or so!

If you've been reading my other reviews, you'd be forgiven if you concluded that I don't eat anything but arroz negro! It does feel like I'm going round the island trying to find the best arroz negro, but I've been lucky and kept getting good ones, so much so I can't remember how good the previous one was! Needless to say, this won't be the last one I review [I've pencilled in yet another place to try].

The proof

The damage

Type of restaurant: Spanish, rice

Verdict: Highly recommended!

Average cost: €20-30 per person

Telephone: 928 431 331

Website: http://www.kano31.es/index.php

Location: Calle Cano 31; 35002 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Majuga Restaurant, a review

Located on the same street as two of the more famous restaurants in Las Palmas, Amaiur and Deliciosa Marta, Majuga is up against some stiff competition. However, it can depend on a significant advantage: Deliciosa Marta is always fully booked (I'd tried to book a table 3 weeks in advance and had no luck) and Amaiur is rather more expensive. Having said that, when I walked by it, there was a For Sale sign on a window, so it could very well be that they'd already closed down.

Majuga looked bigger outside than it was inside; actually, it wasn't small, but the tables were large and you'll find the place spacious and comfortable. There were a few tables out on the street for some al fresco eating, but the day we were there, it was much too "fresco" to be sitting outside.

Lighting was somewhat on the dim side. We were not seated by the window, so I didn't have the assistance of natural light and had to push the ISO all the way up to be able to take these shots, not having brought my flash and not wanting to use the built-in one.

Olive oil with salt & vinegar

Artwork donned the walls, but I think we were eyeing this little dish more! In the dim lighting, it looked opaque and I was wondering what it was until I realised that it was olive oil with a splash of vinegar. The vinegar was sweetish, so it was probably mixed with some honey, or possibly, palm syrup. In any case, it didn't stay on the plate very long in spite of the maître saying to us, "Don't even dream of touching that!" Haha.

We were there on a Saturday, just after 3pm and these people in the above photo were the only other customers - a couple and a table of three. Considering this, I'd expected a brisker service, but it wasn't so. Service was more of a laid-back kind, though professional and attentive.

We usually have at least a salad or vegetables of some sort, but probably because of the weather, which was damp and grey, we didn't fancy one that day. We also had had our fair share of eggs lately, so eggs were out, too. Finally, we opted for some steamed mussels.

These were fresh, juicy and steamed to their al dente point. No complaints here except it's a pretty simple dish.

Steamed mussels

Next up were some sausage rolls, but probably not the kind you'd think of. I'm talking Morcilla sausage, which seems to be the trendy ingredient these days. See my review of Pier 19. It was rolled in filo pastry (I think) and served on a bed of mushroom sauce. This dish went down really well, the pastry, crispy and crumbly.

Note that the price on the menu is for two rolls, but you can have as many as you want for €3.25 a piece.

Crispy morcilla roll

For the main course, our choice was rice as it seemed to be their speciality. We chose the black rice with fish and baby squid (arroz negro de pescado y chipirones), and rice with scallops and duck (arroz con vieiras rellenas y jamón de pato).

If you order the black rice, you'd be asked if you would like some alioli with it. I'd recommend you to say yes. It made the rice nicely soft and creamy.

Both the rice dishes were very tasty indeed, but I found them just a little too salty. What happens is that often, stock is very salty so either no additional salt needs to be used or it needs to be diluted with water, but not so much that they kill the taste of the stock. Comparing the black rice with Pier 19's, the latter gets my vote.

Two rice dishes

We don't often have desserts, but the tentación de chocolate en dos texturas was just too much temptation, I guess. This is precisely one reason why naming/describing your dishes well will result in more sales! The milk chocolate had us going mmm, in spite of our preference for the darker variety. Perhaps it was the texture, perhaps it was the taste, but it won this round.

Double chocolate temptation

I was glad I'd asked for a cortado because it was perfect. Consider me a fusspot if you like, but I am seldom satisfied with the coffee I get served with. To be perfect, it has to have the correct balance of coffee and milk, frothed up until just the right point. And the temperature has to be hotter than warm, cooler than boiling. Of course, the coffee has to be good, too.

Like I said, it was perfect. Enjoying my coffee together with the dessert, the combination left a satisfying taste on my palate.

Type of restaurant: Spanish, rice
Verdict: Highly recommended!
Average cost: €20-30 per person
Telephone: 928 381 791/659 746571
Location:

Guggenheim, a video slide show in HD

To watch on HD, click on wheel icon at the bottom right, select 1080p HD. Go into full screen mode by clicking on the rightmost icon at the bottom.

Pier 19, Las Palmas Marina Harbour, restaurant review

Las Palmas Sports Marina (El Muelle Deportivo) strikes me as one of those places which doesn't seem to take off. Through the years, businesses have come and gone, changes have been made, and still locals seem to shy away from it apart from weekends and holidays. Part of the reason could be attributed to its location, lying more or less midway from the shopping districts of Mesa y López and Triana.

Even getting there isn't straightforward. I suppose the bulk of the clients in the bars and restaurants in the marina are those who have their boats docked here. It's a shame as the harbour can be quite picturesque and there are a handful of restaurants to choose from, either from the shopping complex or the street running alongside the harbour. Parking is free for clients (get a validating ticket from the shop/restaurant).

Muelle Deportivo at dawn

Our choice for the day was Pier 19. It was Sunday afternoon, about 3.30pm. There were quite a few customers, some waiting for food, while others were on their last course. It's quite a big restaurant and for one this size, there weren't a lot of serving staff, so perhaps, they are seldom full. The waiting time between us getting a table and getting our food orders taken was a bit too long. But, when we were waited upon, the staff were smiley and helpful. Food didn't take too long to reach the table either.

Rollitos crujientes de langostinos y verduras sobre guacamole y salsa de soja

This dish is a fusion of Oriental & Mexican cuisine, "rollitos crujientes" being crispy rolls. When we ordered this, I must admit that I hesitated on the guacamole bit, but I was pleasantly surprised. The guacamole I've always tasted has been strong and heavy (strong on garlic and lime and heavy because of the creamy  and calorific avocado), but this wasn't the case at all. These should be eaten hot, and my only complaint was that the filling was just lukewarm. However, my companions said that was because I'd been busy taking photos! They might have been right as this was the first dish to arrive.

Crujiente de morcilla de Teror con miel de Palma

Morcilla de Teror (Teror is a town in the northern part of the island of Gran Canaria) is a sweet sausage made from ingredients such as cow's blood, lard, almonds, sweet potatoes, raisins, onions, cinnamon, aniseed, and other condiments. Miel de Palma is palm syrup. 

With ingredients like these, you can expect it to be sweet, and sweet it was, but it wasn't sickly sweet; they were rather tasty and, as the name suggests, crispy. We were fighting over who had the right to the last piece!

Revuelto de boletus con espárragos trigueros y trufa

I always appreciate it when chefs make an effort on presentation; it gives me the impression that they are keen to please not just customers' palate but their eyes, too. This dish of scrambled eggs with mushrooms, asparagus and truffle would taste just as good, no doubt, if it was slapped onto the plate, but it looks so much better like this. :)

Risotto negro de chipirones, langostinos y ali oli gratinado

Stirring in the ali-oli

Chipirones are what I called baby squids and ali oli is traditionally garlic and olive oil, but in the Canaries, it is usually a form of garlic mayonnaise.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read "ali oli gratinado (grilled)", but I was certainly surprised by the aspect of this, so much so that I forgot that it was ali oli, thinking it was grated goat's cheese instead. Expecting it to be rather heavy, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. Nor was it salty as a lot of black risottos here in Las Palmas tend to be (the blackness comes from the ink of the squids). Creamily yummy!

Ravioli de ricotta, puerro, cherry y langostinos

This was the last of the surprises. Surprise because of the size of the raviolis! I'm more used to the small ones - I've never seen them of this size. These raviolis were stuffed with ricotta, leeks and maybe some prawns. I'd expected the cherry to be the fruit, but they meant cherry tomatoes! Haha.

This was the least popular of today's dishes although it was very good, too. The prawns were more like shrimps and the colouring was somewhat unnatural. Nonetheless, at the end, we were using what bread was left to clean up the sauce!

Name: Pier 19
Location: Calle Joaquín Blanco Torrent, 35005 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Website: http://www.pier19.es/ (the website isn't very good; the menu can be seen directly here)
Type: Spanish, fusion
Tel: 928 24 39 21
Verdict: Highly recommended!

Casal Coton, a review

If you walk along Rúa do Franco, there's a good chance you'll come across these ladies, dressed in traditional costumes, offering you goodies to try. Do try them! There are at least 5 shops selling them but they all belong to Casal Coton, a family business which has been around for a long time. You're under no obligation to buy anything, but once you've tasted their offerings, chances are that you'll walk away with something.

Apart from pastries and biscuits, they also sell chocolates, cheese and liquors. Most of the pastries and biscuits have almonds as the main ingredient. You've probably heard of tarta de Santiago, which is basically an almond pie. They do that, of course, but I prefer their Tarta de Apostol, which is also an almond pie, but less sweet.

They also have these biscuits (or cookies) which are just heavenly. They're called Caprichos de Santiago (Santiago's cravings). Mmm, I wouldn't mind some right now!

Santiago's cravings

Caprichos de Santiago

Almond pie (Tarta de Apostol)

Name; Casa Cotón
Type: shop (pastries, cheese, wine...)
Website: http://www.casalcoton.com/productos.php
Location: All along Rúa do Franco (see their website)
Verdict: Don't go home without some of their products!

O Curro da Parra restaurant, a review

Sunday night. Time, about 10 pm.

I was somewhat disappointed with the type of restaurants we had been eating in the previous few days because I'd been "on strike" and did not partake in the decision process. This time, I didn't give any option, I just led the way.

Google Maps on. Destination: Rúa Travesa 20. Start navigation.

We were staying near the Cathedral (if you've been following my posts, you'd know), and it was a short walk, yet away from the populated centre. As with a lot of restaurants here, O Curro de Parra has a small terrace and a small entrance. The kitchen is on your left as you enter where you'd expect a bar. At the back, there are tables with high stools - a bar-like seating arrangement - and leading to this area, running along one side of the wall, is a narrow counter. The place looks bigger than it is because at the back, there's another entrance, a glass door. This makes it appear as though it led to another section of the restaurant. I only realised that it was an entrance when I saw new customers walking in.

According to Google Translate (mmm, they should really be paying me for the amount of times I mention them! Ironically, I've even been banned from their ads programme, and their ban is lifelong, haha), O Curro da Parra means The Vineyard. A good name for a wine bar-restaurant, but it's actually named after the street on which the other entrance resides.

Upstairs is a more formal affair, with the standard seating arrangement. It isn't very big, perhaps 16 covers or so.

I was impressed by the decoration. Now, I thought to myself, this looks more like it, thinking of all the other restaurants we'd recently been to. When a place is tastefully decorated, it has an identity; and when it has an identity, you'll have some hope that its food has some sort of identity, too.

Any reservation? No? Sorry, we're fully booked.

That aroused my interest even more. I wasn't going to give up that easily. Eyeing the counter down the side, I asked "How about standing? " "Ah, yes, that's possible." After convincing the others, we stayed. They had a large group booked and that was why they couldn't take any more people.

Our order for drinks were taken, but then, we were almost ignored after that. I myself noticed the menu and took it. We hadn't been offered one. A group of 3 ladies walked in and did the same as us. They were willing to stand. Being thoughtful, I passed them our menu. And what happened?

The waiter - probably the head waiter - took the food orders from them first! And, believe me, it took me a full 5 minutes or more later, and that, after frantic hand waving, for him to approach us. And, not an apology. So, for that, they lose some service points. Being busy is not an excuse for "discrimination". 

But, to our surprise, a few minutes after our food orders had been taken, a table became available and we were ushered upstairs. Fortunately for the previously-mentioned waiter, he hadn't given the table to the 3 ladies! Or fireworks would have flown. Upstairs was a more sedate affair. Almost all foreigners. Speaking in hushed tones, smartly-dressed, and at least the service here (from a waitress) couldn't be faulted.

The food. Fabulous. I appreciate home-cooking style, but, as a paying customer, I always expect a little more, and this little more is felt in the effort, in the creativity, in the ingredients... In this aspect, O Curro da Parra didn't disappoint. Everything we had were wonderful: the salad, the prawns, croquettes, skewered pork... Perhaps the pork was a little too dry.

So, yes, definitely recommended. But make a reservation, especially at weekends and in the summer. 

Sorpresa de langostino (Prawn surprise), €8.50

Croquetas, €8

Ensalada de temporada, (Seasonal salad), €6.50

Brochetas de cerdo (Skewered pork), €6.50

Name: O Curro da Parra
Type: tapas, gourmet, fusion
Price: not cheap; budget for €15-20 per person
Location: Rúa Travesa, 20; 15704 Santiago de Compostela
Tel: 981 55 60 59
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ocurrodaparra
Verdict: Highly recommended! Reservation is advisable.

Santillana del Mar

After lunch, our following destination was to be Santillana del Mar, the village of three lies, so called because it is neither a saint (santo), nor is it flat (flat), nor is it by the sea (mar). Haha.

This was a day where I had to drive a lot, practically the whole day, and I was becoming increasingly tired and consequently, irritable. Navigating and driving are two things that I don't do very well together. One or the other, I'll get by, but both of them together? Mmm... So, we almost missed this village. Spanish is a language which likes to use a lot of words. Ever noticed their street names? Cantabria is relatively very small, but it turned out to be where I got "lost" the most!

There was already the previous episode. This time, I was too tired to notice that the destination had been unintentionally changed - this is the problem with touch technology and smart-suggestions software. One warm slip, and you'll end up somewhere else! As I drove on, I was thinking this doesn't look right, this is taking too long, bla, bla, bla. We ended up in Liencres! Oh-oh, I don't think this was part of the plan...

Eventually, we got on the right track again. Remember my mentioning the name problem before? Well, I was on the lookout for Santillana del Mar. When I saw the sign Santillana, I thought no, this wasn't it, and carried on. When there was no sign of Santillana del Mar, I said, damn, that must have been the one. Forget it. We'll go on. It's too late.

But, then, the sign to Santillana appeared once more. I decided to take it. Basically, we were turning back. Oh, well. In the end, I was pleased.

It's a very attractive village. It boasts of 'the prettiest village in Spain' title and, yes, it is very pretty. It's like stepping into a mediaeval village, its stone houses clean and well-maintained. We walked around for a bit, and so did a few hundred others. Yes, as should be expected, especially, this being August, it was full of tourists. You could see that tourism was the mainstay of their economy. And it is very likely that their summer trade tides them over for the rest of the year.

Let me share the photos I took here with you.

Typical stone house converted into a tourist shop right opposite the village car park

Lady catching some sun just outside her home

I though she might object to her picture being taken,
 but she was probably quite amused to be my subject!

The prettiest chemist's I've ever seen ;)

A hostel. The village is on the coastal route of El Camino de Santiago

The greens captured my attention. May be a good restaurant...

Colours and textures

Handicrafts

A typical cobbled street

Organised chaos. Funny, this. It's happened so many times before. No-one looked
up at this balcony. But when they saw me aiming my camera at it, it suddenly
became the focus of everyone's attention! Haha

A posada. Looks good.

Alone in the night, in the pouring rain

Continued from One-foot-long sandwiches in Pasai Donibane

We managed to catch the 22.30 bus back to Donostia, arrived safely, and began the long walk back to Isabella's. The drizzling followed us from Pasai, and accompanied us during the walk, on and off. Just before the tunnel, I told my family to carry on without me as I wanted to take some night shots.

Compared to the amount of people that there were during the day, especially around the Boulevard, La Concha Promenade was deserted. I found myself pretty much alone, except for the odd couple or walker. Traffic was also scarce.

I spent a long time. Shot after shot. While trying to protect the camera from the rain, when it did. Deep down, I knew I wasn't happy. Something wasn't right. Because they were long exposures, some as much as 60 seconds, and another 60 for the camera to "develop" and save it, each shot, from setting up until completion took me about 5 minutes or so, I guess. I don't know how many I took. Some was deleted on the spot. Others travelled with me home.

I don't know what time it was when I decided to pack it in. Walked briskly towards Isabella's. This was to be the last night. I'm the first to acknowledge that I'm bad with orientation. You see I think I suffer from prosopagnosia, albeit mildly, and this extends to topographical disorientation issues. To cut the story short, I must have either taken a wrong turning or overshot a turning, or possibly both, and ended by some bus stops, and I knew it was wrong. I should have arrived by then. A blessing in disguise, in some ways. Because, without warning, the heavens opened up...

And I mean opened up. Even the bus stop shelter didn't provide 100% cover. If you've been to the tropics, you know what a torrential downpour is. Well, this was one. Except I wasn't in the tropics, was I? And I thought, gee, and I still have to take my shower, I still have to pack up...

It didn't let up. It went on and on. And I was getting more and more nervous. The battery on my phone was also dying. Finally, the rain appeared to slow down a little. Enough for me to make a dash without getting soaked to the bone. If I have trouble getting my bearings during the daytime, you can imagine how much worse it is during the night. Somehow, I managed to get it right this time and found my way.

Boy, what a day.

Tonight, I looked at the shots again, and I felt another surge of disappointment. What remained from previous purges also found their way to the recycling bin. All except two. Even the first one should go to the bin, really. Boats on the sea don't take too kindly to long exposures. Rivers and lakes may be calm, but seas move too much.

What do you think?

Ghost ships off Santa Clara

Vacant

One-foot-long sandwiches in Pasai Donibane

Continued from Pasai Donibane, how to get there and other information

What I didn't have information for was the boat ride. The bus stops about half a kilometre from the jetty. Basically, if you keep the estuary to your right, you'll eventually find it. I don't recall seeing any sign, but you're likely to see people waiting for the boat. It's a small boat, with one boatman. Like I'd mentioned before in the previous post, he provides the service until late and he goes back and forth. The ride is only a couple of minutes so you don't usually have long to wait.

By the time we arrived, light was getting low. If we had been an hour or so earlier, it might have been perfect. To add to the darkness, it was also drizzling. It was almost a miracle that I'd managed to get as many decent shots as I did.

Pasai Donibane from the boat

That's the boat, leaving the jetty

 As you can see, they're small boats. You can see people on the boat on the right. There's a similar green one on the left. I don't know if it belongs to the same boatman or someone else also works the route when there are more passengers.

Pasai Donibane, from its jetty

San Pedro, from Pasai Donibane

Like I mentioned, it was almost night and it was drizzling, so we didn't get to look around as much as we would have liked. There wasn't much activity and it looks like a fairly laid-back and tranquil village. Do be careful when walking along the cobbled streets if it's raining!

To know more about Pasai Donibane, I suggest reading the Euskadi Tourism website. There's some useful information there.

50 shades of brown

Rooftop-to-rooftop

Hanging out at the local square

Pink flags abound

You must be wondering, as I did, about those pink flags. It was hard to find any information, but I think it's got something to do with the regatta, and their rowing team is represented by this shade of pink. Of course, I may be wrong and it's more political than a day of fun. You would have also noticed that a lot of these pink banners are alongside the more ominous Presoak-Etxera ones, so perhaps there's more behind the scenes than the calm façades would have us believe...

The village square

After a quick walk-through, we came to the decision to have dinner here rather than back in San Sebastián. We'd previously seen a rather busy restaurant up the hill for budget-conscious customers like us, so back up we treaded. Actually, we found a lift! Since it was raining, in and up we went.

Name: Ontziola Taberna Jatetxea

Type: café, bar, restaurant; casual; budget

Location: Juan XXIII, 34; slightly up the hill - you can take the lift or walk (only a minute or two)

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Ontziola/page_map

Verdict: Recommended! Their speciality seems to be bocadillos!

Don't expect beautiful, arty pintxos or exquisite dishes. Here, you'll find tasty, no-frills, you-get-what-you-pay-for type of food. We had two bocadillos, one full, the other, half, a salad, and baby squids (chipirones). These plus 3 drinks, all for less than €30. Service was casual, friendly, superb. There were two waitresses, one was stuck behind the bar, the place was full, this other was going back and forth non-stop, and she was loving it all.

These are photos taken on a Samsung S3 mini mobile phone camera, so don't expect the quality of my other photos.

To be honest, when we placed our orders, we didn't know what to expect. The food took longer than it should - there might have been some confusion in the kitchen, perhaps, but, sometimes they are to be expected in places that are caught by surprise and find themselves unexpectedly busy. If I remember correctly - I'd ask them if you're having something similar - their sandwiches are what the Spanish would call bocadillo, though not a foot long like here! Their bocadillo would be what the Spanish call montadito, a one-sided open baguette sandwich, though, again, not a foot long!

Squid and ali-oli, and other wholesome goodness!

Anchovies and ham

The grated goat's cheese salad tasted better than it looked. Loads of goodies in it. Reminded me of the pathetic one we had in Egosari.

Salad with grated goat's cheese

I had to have the healthiest, most boring dish LOL! Grilled baby squid. In any case, I stole some calamares, hehe!

Grilled chipirones