edible barcelona: chocolate, churros and turrón

praline hot chocolate at escriba

the italian operatic tenor pavarotti once said - "one of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." it is as if this was written for o, whose love for sightseeing must be tempered with ample breaks along side the customary three meals of the day. my tourist map therefore always includes circles around streets with cafes and patisseries. in barcelona these assume the form of granja’s, xurrerias’ and turrón boutiques.

we had espresso cups of hot chocolate stained with praline and crushed nuts at escriba, a fourth generation pastry shop founded in 1906. spanish hot chocolate is thick like french hot chocolate but with a mellower richness, as it is made with cocoa and thickened with cornstarch. escriba’s façade is done up with tiles in candy colours with gold writing. there is a display of delicate and refined patisserie along with bags of powdered hot chocolate, one of which travelled home with us.

edible barcelona: tapa, montadito and pepito

tuna tataki and white fish ceviche at tapaç 24

o and i were in barcelona in early december last year and were instantly charmed by its cheerfulness. the cold was mild and there was plenty of warm custard coloured sunshine. some of gaudi’s architecture dotted around the city is reminiscent of the candy-esque colours of the witch’s house in hansel and gretel. even in the barri gòtic (gothic quarter) the sun illuminates the otherwise grey-black architecture giving barcelona lightness. our five days featured a whirlwind of museums, la sagrada família, park güell and of course plenty to eat.

salted chocolate olive oil granola + fauji cornflakes

salted chocolate olive oil granola

breakfast cereals never fascinated me as much as they did my brother m. i had a brief affection for frosties but looking back that had more to do with the novelty, rather than the taste of them. baba first bought them from a bonded warehouse where diplomats used to purchase the familiar tastes of home. they were a treat rather than a breakfast staple. perhaps m liked cereal more because he was from the generation that did not have to eat fauji cornflakes; the military brand of cereal that was lacklustre and limp at the first introduction of milk. my dadi would eat them with hot milk. m’s particular favourite were coco pops, a talking cereal that crackled like popping candy in milk. the puffed rice grains would relieve themselves of their sugary chocolate coating colouring and flavouring the milk to a nursery like chocolate milk.