La Boqueria and Pinotxo Tapas Bar, Barcelona

our mission to La Boqueria market was this!!!!!

Iberico Ham!!!!! hua hua hua hua :)))))))))))))))

La Boqueria or known as Mercat de Sant Joseph de la Boqueria
phewww wat a long name :))))))
this is one of the top tourist spot in Barcelona along the famous La Rambla strip
built in 1853 and rebuilt over the years we have totally lost count

First thing first at the market
FOOD!!!!
the famous Pinotxo Tapas bar
Pinotxo = Pinocchio

lil Pinocchio starring at us
we were so honored to be served by this very genial gentleman
u usually see him in all interviews of La Boqueria market documentaries
he's the soul and man behind Pinotxo

the Tapas bar is located near to the entrance and it's quite easy to locate
if all else fails, check out their layout on the official market's website
the bar looks long but it isn't so usually u'll need to wait for a seat

egg omelette and bread scrubbed with garlic and tomatoes with some sea salt on top
we were there for breakfast so bread is a must!!!!
at 9.30am it's a bit too early for tapas though

and our dearie friends had tapas anyhow
since they were already serving them, might as well

I find the tapas here a bit too oily though
but if u wanna try some tapas experience in the market, this is the famous bar

really really good sardines in olive oil

chickpeas!!! cooked with some innards

nom nom nom
the pastries here are not too bad either
no pics of it though....cameras loaded with too many pics, can't remember which camera store which pics :P

Later we walked around the market to burn off all the food we whacked
hehehehhe

Iberico Ham is a must buy here and we didn't know which store to go to
finally we arrived at one that was very friendly
they even took the time to explain the different cut, from different region of Spain, etc

Basically ppl in Spain are friendlier than those in France :P
so us in our broken Spanish and them in their broken english
guess the universal language is still Numbers when we start punching onto the calculator
hua hua hua~~~~~

a medley of chillis!!!!
only 6 Euros for the whole string of it *about RM 25.20*
Chillis of all sorts, shapes, colors, spiciness level
we noticed the chillis here are very very very spicy.....than those in Malaysia
it hits u right into ur nose and all the way up into ur brain
just like Horseradish
and it lingers in ur mouth for quite a bit

more more more chilis!!!!!
nope these are not decos.....they are REAL chillis!!!!

sumore chillis!!!
I wanna pick up Spanish
it's such an expressive language....just like Italian
:)))))))))))

as the saying goes, do wat the Romans do when u are in Rome
so we were speaking with a lot of hand movements and intonations
ohhhh I love SPAIN!!!!!!

Sweets!!!!
crazy madness ~~~~ so many of it!!!!

I'm not a fan of sweets and looking at it, I felt my tooth just came off :P

hehehehehehehehe my favourite!!!
look at the orangie goodness oozing outta its shell
wahhh so yummy!!!
and if u r still wondering...it's SEA URCHINS!!!

and we've walked over to the Fish Market side
everything is housed under the same roof with sections
from cooked food *tapas* to vegetables, fruits, Pork, Seafood, Meat and spices

the fish section is so clean and there's no smell at all
we saw so many different types of fishes and sea produce
and probably only recognised 40% only
the rest looked so foreign!!! and yet we were so curious on its taste and texture

really really fresh small fishes and sardines
just grill them or deep fried them
so yummy and sweet~~~~

salted Cod and Botargo
*remember the story of me buying Bottega Veneta and JS buying Botargo back in Italy*

well the same applies here....I went crazy on bags and he went mad spending $$$ on Botargo
Botargo = cured fish roe
it's such a delicacy

also known as poor man's caviar
if it is a poor man's food how come it is still so expensive??????

as we were immersed in all the craziness in the market
a man swing by with loads of errrr lamb!!!
and we followed him to the Meat section

the Meat section was like a slaughter house
everything is FRESH
couldn't get any fresher than this

and u can get all PARTS of an animal
when I mentioned ALL PARTS...it's really from head to tail
from Brains to Testicles
-_-"
full specs!!!

ooooOoooo smelled so good and I turned my Monkey head
MUSHROOMS!!!!
all sorts of it!!!!!

yep this stall only sells mushrooms
nothing but fresh and dried mushrooms~~~~

Fruits and vegetables~~~~~ and a typical Barcelonian
well Ppl from Barcelona do not regard themselves as Spaniard
bcoz they are considered more European than the Western Spain

just like how French regards ppl fr Paris = Parisien
"they are not french but Parisien....and shrugged off his shoulder" said a frenchman
yep French are very particular if u compare them against Parisien coz the later is known to be living in a world of their own not to mention snobs :P

despite the vastness and size of the market, we alwiz stick back to Iberico stalls
huaaaaa hahahahahahaahahha

yep if u were wondering, we bought quite a few blocks home
and got our priorities right
all my beautiful handbags were stuffed and cramped into the luggage bags
while these Iberico Bellota were cuddled and hand carried all the way home
alongside the Macaroons
sigh...yes our tummy are more important

:))))))))))))))
visit their official website here

www.boqueria.info