Cal Pep, Barcelona

Now, I went to Europe for my honeymoon and to spend time with my husband, not just to eat. No really, I did.

Who am I kidding?

Before I left Oz, I compiled a list with restaurants, cheeses and other things I HAD to eat while in Europe. I didn’t quite get to everything, as eating rich food every day can get a bit too much for this vegetable loving girl. But one thing I knew after reading a few blogs and magazine articles was that I really wanted to go to Cal Pep’s. And I am glad that I did.

There were quite a few tourists so the word really has got out there, but there were a few locals too, which was reassuring. It was a small bar, full when we got there at 715pm (too late to get there on opening as planned, as ‘someone’ had an afternoon nap), which meant we had to wait. Now, I am not one to wait for food, particularly when hungry, but I really wanted to eat there. So we waited. Patience is good for the soul.

Finally we got a table, ordered some wine and got to business

This is how my ordering to Mr Cal Pep went.

Me ‘Hablo un poco espanol’

Cal Pep ‘No hablo inglese. Tapas Mixtas Cal pep’

Me ‘Si, gracie’

Ordering out of the way, we waited as each dish surprised us. Some dishes were prepared in front if us, and others were brought in from the small kitchen to the right. Watching the cutting, slicing, frying and finishing touches was the entertainment for the meal, as was talking to the very friendly Cal pep.


I just love the Spanish style of bread, toasted bread rubbed with a cut tomato, oil, garlic and sometimes parsley or basil. So good!


Clam and Ham. Fabulous. We had been overdoing somewhat on the shellfish but these just blew us away


An egg and potato tortilla with a very garlicy aioli smeared on top


Chickpeas and mussels


Tender calamari


The best whitebait I have ever had


And to finish, a crema catalana. I have a new obsession. I have sourced a recipe and can’t wait to make it and see if I can replicate this version.

This was Tapas dining at its best. Fresh ingredients, a real buzz to the place, no smoking (which in Barcelona is not a given). When we go back in 2020 to see the completed la Sagrada Familia, I hope there are still places like this around!

And I just worked out that it cost as much as our meal last week at Bar Lourhina and we didn’t have any seafood there. Though that might have been the wine mark ups.

I miss Spain

Honeymoon Europe 2008 -the best and the worst

I have been back for a few weeks now, and have been finding it incredibly difficult to settle back to ‘real life’. Even more difficult has been coming to grips with the reality that I am not going to be having nice bread again, ever, until I get back to France. And cheese. And olives. Oh God, I think I need to have a little cry.

For now here is a photo presentation of the best – and the worse- eating experiences from my trip. Posts on Cal Pep in Barcelona and L'Os à Moelle in paris to follow, but for now, please enjoy the food porn…

My Italian addiction, the macchiato

There were 2 contenders for the best pasta in Italy. Number 1 is the Pesto al Genovese, eaten in Manorola, a town in the Cinqe Terre. Fresh pesto with potato and zucchini. Simple. Beautiful.

Number 2 Pasta aglio Olio. Garlic, oil, parsley. That’s it. Simplicity at its best!


This was an awesome yoghurt and fruit salad in the Cinqe terre. For travellers, getting regular fruit and veg can sometimes be a problem. I had this 3 times while we there ;)

The best wine bar in the world. Cinqe Terre. Light lunch of Campari, anchovies from the local waters, and brushcetta. A perfect light meal before a leisurely stroll.

Crema Catalan, Cal Pep, Barcelona. I think I am in love.

The best whitebait I have ever had. Cal pep.

A typical lunch for us while in France. Roquefort, bread, olives.

Fantastic wheel of camembert that our hostess in Nice bought us. I don’t know exactly what it was but it was the BEST version I have ever had.

Our host in London, Chris, setting up the ‘barbeque’ in Hamstead Heath. It was 25C for a few days in a row, a heatwave was announced, all the Londoners were happy for a change and people everywhere descended upon the Heath to cook some sausages in disposable bbq packs bought from the supermarket. Somehow I think a little fire in grass in a park during summer would for never be allowed in Oz. Followed by a kick around. Lovely.

The worst. Number 1. Fonzies in Italy. Like Twisties, but bad

Number 2. Every French Onion soup we had in Paris. Seriously? My version is way better than this.

What have I been eating?

I have been a very lazy blogger. I do have a good excuse though. I am getting married in 3 weeks. And going on a fabulous honeymoon afterwards. I shouldn't complain. But there have been many good food moments I want to share. SO here is a picture show to tempt your taste buds...

Bill Granger's Cherry Pie (from Holiday)

Terrible photo but great pie. Made with fresh cherries, I had a great time making a huge mess pitting all those cherries. but for someone who can't bake, I think it was impressive.

Soba Noodle Salad

Easy summer staple. Boil soba noodles, toss in sesame oil, add any vegies you want (prawns if you are feeling extravagent) and dress with fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. yum!

Roast tomato soup

Still need to tweak this recipe but basically, roast tomatoes, garlic and basil, add some potatoes and puree!

Pizza on the Barbie

Taken from an article in the Age by Karen martini. This pizza base is more a piadina style bread and the toppings added uncooked such as boccocini, procciutto, peaches, tomato, whatever is on hand! Really nice and suprising.

Fennel and Anchovy salad (Bill granger's Holiday)

I love this salad. I found some white anchovies at a deli near me and have been making this a lot!

Luke warm pies

Pie in the Sky
43 Olinda-Monbulk Rd, OlindaPh 9751 2128

I have been wanting to come here for a very long time. I love a good pie, and I love driving up the hill to Olinda and Sassafras on a weekend. This weekend my future mother in law (FMIL) and I went for a drive and a wander through some of Olinda’s overpriced knick knack shops as well as a late lunch.

Now maybe my expectations were too high. I had heard good things. And they had won awards (but which pie shop hasn’t?). We decided to eat in (though it is 2 dollars more a pie) to people watch the weekenders. I had the beef and burgundy and FMIL had the chicken korma. I also went with the spirit and ordered some mash on the side, though it wasn’t really necessary.

So, on to the pie. The filling, was very tasty, the wine flavour is strong and the beef has been slowly cooked till it breaks down into that lovely stringy but juicy consistency. Pastry, nice, holds together, not overly flaky. My pie was hot but not scalding.

FMIL’s chicken pie… was cold. Slightly warm on the outside, but cold. The filling was nice apparently though. She decided to eat it as she was too hungry to wait for a new one. This really is not good enough at 6 dollars a pie. Now maybe we should have got the waitresses attention straight away but they seemed to be having cash register issues and were not really attentive. After our meal, we brought it to the attention of two waitresses that the pie was cold, but were not offered an apology, just a ‘Oh, they should be hot’. Yes, yes it should but it wasn’t. At the very least, our drinks should have been free and an apology offered. I was going to get a takeaway pie (the Guinness beef sounded good) but after that I decided to not go there again. There pies were nice but not enough to have me go back.

There are enough good places to eat around town that we do not have to put up with bad service.

BTW, there is a great new… Pie Blog! That is worth checking out for all those pie fans. They still haven’t reviewed my favourite pie on Highett, but here’s hoping!

Fish and Chips - please help me!

This is not a post, it is a question to all melbourne residents. I have lived in Melbourne for 5 years now and have NEVER had good fish and chips anywhere! Coming from Sydney where I would often skip uni to go to Coogee beach and eat fish and chips and other fried stuff (known to my friends as 'the trough') or even better fresh oysters and prawns, I often pine for the seaside fish experience.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to St kilda one night, with the sole purpose of getting fish and chips and eating it on the beach. Do you think we could find a fish and chip shop? This is a travesty for a bayside suburb! We ended up eating at Hewys Barney Allen which had some pretty nice fish cakes, ALMOST fish and chips but not quite!

SO, please help me and reccommend the best fish and chippy in Melbourne to a very fish deprived girl!

Tempura Hajime

60 Park Street, South melburne

Last Tuesday night, I finally got a chance to go to Tempura Hajime. Tempura Hajime first made its appearance in the ‘press’ when reviewed by tummy rumbles, and was subsequently and elegantly reviewed by ed at Tomatom, Jack at Eating with Jack, and esoteric rabbit, and probably more. Then of course, the Age reviewed it, and within a day, the place was booked out for months. I am a very lazy booker of restaurants, I only think to book one week ahead and then when I am rejected, give up. It is usually Nathan who books us in to nice places to eat (usually at my suggestion!), and this was no exception – after I tried twice to get in last year I gave up and told Nathan to do it… and he delivered!

I am not going to go into the details of the food, as the photos and reviews of the above sites are beautiful and made me want to go in the first place. What I am going to say though, is that it is a lovely experience. We had the 6:30 booking – the restaurant only serves 12 people a night (hence the long waiting lists!) and they are staggered so the chef is not rushed (630, 7 and 730pm slots). I liked getting there first, as it gave us a chance to speak to the chef. There was American couple there also, who asked questions like ‘What is a sea urchin’ to which the chef replied by hunting down a book of seafood and showing them a picture! We asked him abut the oil he used (soy bean oil, sesame oil and tea oil) and where he got his supplies (Vic markets and Footscray markets), and he was happy enough to talk with us.

Nath later said that what he liked most about the place was the chef was just a normal guy and it wasn’t stuffy – a bit like being invited to someone’s house for dinner (albeit a Japanese guys house with lots of tempura). It could have gone that way though… there is almost a day spa feeling to the place when you first walk in – dark lighting, candles, a large bunch of flowers, and a ‘waiting room’. The 12 seats arranged around the main stage (the two tempura oil baths and the preparation table) made it feel a bit like a dinner party.

And the food really was magnificent. Simply prepared, the freshness of the ingredients were allowed to shine, and I forgot I had just eaten over 10 courses of tempura as it didn’t really feel as if I had eaten a lot of fried food – it is not overly oily and the tempura is not fried too long, leaving things crisp and fresh. Surprisingly good courses were the baby corn, left quite crispy, and the sweet potato, which upon frying became remarkably sweet. And the oyster. Oh yes the oyster. I am a bit of a purist with oysters, I think they should be eaten with lemon, salt and be freshly shucked. But these were not overcooked so though they were warm and crispy on the outside, the oyster still remained fresh and dipped in the lemon and salt was so good I had to eat it in. little. bites.

And the other good thing about this place? Set menu means I don’t have to go through the agonising process of choosing what to order, and the food comes straight away meaning I don’t have to wait for the food. If only all places were like that!

Koukla Café, Daylesford

82 Vincent St, Daylesford VIC 3460

Last weekend we took a drive through the torrential rain towards Daylesford to visit some friends who had moved there. After a lazy afternoon of sausages and sitting on the front porch and enjoying the view, we decided to walk around the lake before heading back to Melbourne. I have been to Daylesford before, but all I have seen is the Hepburn springs and a highly recommended tarot reader with some girlfriends (and no, nothing she said came true). This afternoon in Daylesford was so peaceful- the weather had cleared a little but there were not too many people around, making the walk very quiet and private.

After the walk we decided to have dinner in Daylesford before the drive home. We debated trying the Lakehouse, a highly recommended restaurant that has consistently won accolades over the years as being the best country restaurant in Victoria. Realising that we were not in a mood for white tablecloths and formal service (and the distinct possibility we would not get a table), we decided to try something less formal. Strolling up and down Vincent St, the main street in Daylesford, we could not see too many places open. Considering what a roaring trade this town does from Melbourne weekenders, we were surprised. About to give up, we spied Frango and Frangos, a wine bar/ restaurant that looked promising. Walking closer to it I saw those damned white tablecloths and my heart dropped a little. On closer inspection, next door was a café/ pizza place called Koukla that looked more what I was craving – long wooden tables made from a dark rich wood, a wood fired pizza oven, and a comfortable atmosphere.

Settling in on a beautiful old table, amongst some mismatched furniture, we ordered food and some red wine. The night was cold for summer and the warmth from the wood fire was welcoming. The atmosphere was one not unlike something you would expect to see in the inner city of Melbourne, if a little quieter. In one corner was a group of girls on a hens night, but they were quietly enjoying their food.

We decided on a pizza to share, and a roast tomato and basil soup. I am not a big fan of tomato soups, but there was a basket of the most beautifully red ripe tomatoes on the front corner that made me want all things tomato. I asked Nathan to take the basket and run on the way out later that evening but he didn’t and my handbag was too small ;P I love the tomato season, it reminds me of my childhood when we grew tomatoes and would pick them off the vine and eat them, warm, sweet and juicy, with a smell that I never get from supermarket tomatoes.

I discovered that my phone takes photos and can end up on the computer. Bless technology; I think I am slowly getting it! Of course, I realised this halfway through the meal, so apologies for the half eaten photos but I have to share…

The soup was incredible. It had basil leaves scattered through it as well as some small potato chunks and was warm, sweet, and so so good. It was served with some good sourdough. I am inspired to try to replicate this at home, so hopefully will have something to show for this soon!
The pizza was a mushroom, caramelised onion and sage pizza. It possibly had some boccocini in it too. This pizza had a sourdough base according to the menu, and was just beautiful. Nath made the rather bold claim that this was better than the pizza at I carusi and D.O.C, and he might almost be right. The toppings were not too overpowering and the sage was a great flavour enhancer to the pizza.

After one glass of red and our mains I was feeling a little sleepy, but the dessert menu had caught my eye. Particularly the peach and mascarpone pizza. We ordered this to share, and by this time my phone had run out of battery so I have no photo to share. This was just beautiful. The sweetness and juice of the peaches cut through the heaviness of the mascarpone well. Oh god I want some now!

A perfect meal for a lazy cold summer day. The wine and food knocked me out as soon as I got in the car, and I slept like a baby until we got home. I am definitely coming back here next time I am in town.