Jose Maria Restaurant, Segovia

When u see a piglet like this outside a restaurant....it has got to be good hahahaahah.

Dinos the Great was hungry and started hunting for lunch around 11-ish in the morning...He asked a local and we were directed to this restaurant....the most famous restaurant in the entire city of Segovia..well not like it's a huge city anyway.

Situated right smack at the Plaza Mayor, the largest plaza at the city, it wasn't difficult to locate. Started in 1982 by Jose Maria Ruiz himself, it is a must visit whenever you are in Segovia.


the front facade of the restaurant....u cannot miss it..
however it looked small...but don't be fooled bcoz this restaurant can seat about 300 diners.


You will need to come here early....bcoz though it can seat 300 pax...the entire Segovia comes here. And all the tourists are here as well :P
Thinking it may be a tourist trap, we just walked in coz the smell of roast suckling piglet was too difficult to resist...


We were then ushered into a large comfortable dining hall...and past by a leg of ham...hehehehe
look at the marbling of fats...so so so yummy


using a special knife, it was then carefully cut as thin as paper for full enjoyment
aaaAAaaaaaa.....our favourite in Spain..can't live without it each day, even early in the morning we have that for breakfast :P


oh the napkin has got Jose Maria's name on it...
and it's linen :)))

ordering *or trying to* some food off its menu....in my super broken can die dot com Spanish

Thank goodness there's english in the menu but then the description does not reflect the actual thing so u just need to ask what was it and let them describe to you in perfect spanish while u scratching your head trying to figure out was that leeks or shallots he was saying....

Somehow French bread is still the best as compared to the Italians and Spaniards


Amuse bouche was then immediately served.
Prollie the looks on our face - We.Are.Hungry.

it looked so normal but actually very very appetizing!!!
the sweetness from local tomatoes, green peppers, onions and then topped with eggs.

It's sweet and sour from the acid of vinegar used.
Hidden in between those greens were pieces of squid and prawns.

No meal is complete without Vino :))))
heeeeeeee yes we are alcoholics :P At such restaurant u don't expect to find our kind of drinks but any good local produce is good enough. Never under estimate spanish wines and alwiz be open mind to try everything :))))

There's even emblem to all of its plates.....beautiful!!!
Apparently this restaurant received a bad from the Minister of Tourism of Spain...
wow!!!


We ordered a local starter of HUGE SWEET yummy Leeks grown locally, drizzled with vinaigrette made by the monks in the Monastery of Segovia...
wow how special was that :))))


local greens of zucchinis, asparagus and brinjals.....grilled and then served with local olive oil and sea salt...so simple and yet very very very yummy

This was a very good dish...highly recommended

I do not know what dish this was called but the description alone is gonna make u salivate...hehehe
thinly sliced "best ham in the world" which was the Iberico Bellota served on top of soft boiled eggs...oh my...eggs and ham is alwiz a good marriage..so as u dig in, just break the yolk and mop the plate up with your slices of hams.

then there's pieces of tender artichokes which was fried on the sides with crispy fried flat-leaf parsley. Really really good combo of earthiness and savourines.

Then the "bomb" came
our main course....u can nose it everywhere in the restaurant...
I know...:))) I'm a lucky gal!!!

Then the bigger "bomb" came.....Mr. Jose Maria Ruiz himself!!!!!
WAHHH we are sooooo lucky!!! He's gonna serve the piglet!!!
Decked in clean white chef shirt, he was wearing a few medals which I supposed must be some kind of honors/awards he has obtained from some really really important institution

In case if u are wondering, nope he did not break the plate
he cut it with such precision that each blow breaks the crispy skin, the soft juicy meat and all the way to its bones.

If you would like to compare these to our dearie El Cerdo in KL, Malaysia...
Please. Don't.
It's so different and so suckling yummy good
out of this world~~~

the skin is very very thin and cripsy, while the meat was so soft
I noticed there's no fat at all...so it's not something yucky as compared to-you-know-who
served with a clear juice from the pig itself...
no other sauce needed...can u believe it?

I have never enjoyed suckling pig this way - without the sauce..
It was really so so so damn good, u just need to eat it on its own.

See what I mean when I said there's no thick layer of fats???
everything was finger licking good right up to the bones.

Later we found out that Mr. Jose Maria Ruiz has his own farm rearing pigs to his high standards. His pigs eat barley, corn, rye and wheat to give it this delicate texture of meat and skin with good flavour.

Since we were so stuffed with all the yummy good local food...everything locally grown or organically reared, we can't possibly put anymore food into our mouth. So Dinos the Great suggested we will have local cheese.

Yes the local sheep cheese..
baaaaaa my innocent lambs and sheeps eating sheep cheese...how funny!!!

Monkey and her innocent lambs and sheeps with one sheep snapping this pic

U must be wondering why do I refer them as my innocent lambs and sheeps coz they'll just tag along Monkey wherever she goes...just like Mary and her lambs :))))) With no questions asked...they'll just followed innocently...even if I am bringing them to the chop-chop-house...hahahaha. Thank you for accompanying me to all the ridiculous and not so ridiculous places that I wanted to go :)))

Plaza Mayor overlooking the Cathedral of Segovia...This was actually taken outside the restaurant

then a really really super duper cute mini bus scooted by....

so folks..if you are traveling to Madrid..do make time to drop by at Segovia...
A day trip will do, afterall it's only 30 mins by the high speed train :))))

Jose Maria Restaurant
Cronista Lecea, 11
40001 Segovia,
Spain.
Tel: 92 146 1111, 92 146 6017
http://www.rtejosemaria.com/

Segovia, Spain

*pic stolen from the Web*

They said pics can be deceiving but it was this exact pics that made me visited Segovia...hehehehe. My curious mind was bobbing inside...what was that??? so beautiful!!! I must go!!!!

*more pics stolen fr the Web :P*

further searches lead me to more beautiful pics of this medieval city
The name Segovia means City of Victory and it was believed that Segovia was the the very same spot where battle between Mettelus and Hirtuleius back in 75 BC....yeah BC...so let's do some maths...2013 + 75 = 2088 years ago.

Since it's only 30 mins by fast train....really really fast high speed train as Segovia is about 90km from Madrid...
Wow if Malaysia has that sort of train I can go home from work place with a high speed train in less than 5 minutes hahahaha.

Thank you to JS, Saint Veeny and Dinos the Great for accompanying Monkey for this expedition. Coz none of them knows what lies ahead......neither do I. And all innocence my sheeps and lambs hopped into the fast train with Monkey that Sunday morning. Awaiting for adventures...hehehehe..Well when u travel with Monkey, rest be assured there's plenty of fun and new things to be discovered :)))

After the short comfortable train ride, we arrived at Segovia. It looked barren to us, bcoz we couldn't see anything beyond the slopes and mountains....just green green grass and moo moo cows. The innocence sheeps and lambs then followed Monkey and hopped onto the shuttle bus to get to the medieval city.

*another aerial view pic stolen from the web*

and when our shuttle bus finally reached the top of the mountain, holy molly we can see what's behind it...valleys and valleys of tiny houses and there lies the City of Segovia. Soon my contingent of innocence sheeps and lambs began to bleat baaaaaahhh what is this beautiful place?????




our lil shuttle bus dropped us at the bottom of this huge aqueduct.
It's really huge trust me....I have no idea how did they build this. Built around the 1st century with no machinery...u go figure..

Soon tiny sheeps and lambs started snapping pics
hahaha that includes Monkey



then we started our ascend up the ancient city. With no maps and compass and guidance...we set our eyes on the dome of Segovia Cathedral.

since it's still very early in the morning....none of the shops were open yet...
Don't forget this is Spain...on a Sunday morning. They partay hard.

so beautiful in person - the Cathedral of Segovia
built not too long ago...around 1525, this cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary

The architecture is very Gothic
since it was a very very very extremely cold and windy morning...all the sheeps and lambs baaaaaaah their way into the cathedral.

WOW it's even more beautiful on the inside!!!!!
so tall and spacious~~~~~

All these were standing tall for more than 500 years???
with beautiful stained glass depicting the story of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary

The Dome looked so small here....bcoz everything else were huge!!!!!

Iglesia de San Estaban

with the bell tower....
we had a bonus bcoz as we were down the tower snapping pics...it striked 10 *I think*

Soon we slowly moved down the small alleys to the Alcazar....
it's so clean!!!!


So beautiful and so lush right???
I can sit here all day :))) but my contigent of lambs and sheeps are baaaaah-ing at me to move on


it was then I decided to play sorcerer...

"Sheeps and Lambs....u better be good...or I'll turn to Sky black with thunder and lightning and all of you would be so afraid...very very afraid...."
look at the sky!!!! hahahahahaha


There were paths leading down for the curious ones to explore...



Next we arrived at the end of the city....the Alcazar
This is the very same castle that inspired Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle

oh my oh my and We were here!!!!!
Cinderella!!!


Nope, definitely not my Prince Charming....hahahahaha


and not my Knight on Horse
hahahahha
all the equipments were very very heavy including the long spear/weapon he's holding...
Gosh how do u even have the energy to fight when all were consumed and used just for handling these stuffs.


The room for the King and Queen
such beautiful stained glass

a courtyard with a fountain in the middle
You can see one of its fort tower from here

From the Queen's chamber, we have such a spectacular view over the valley
wow!!!! waking up everyday to such views

There's a monastery in between these yellow hue trees
autumn is such a beautiful time to visit Europe huh?

I'm tiny~~~~~~ or the trees are huge?

Dinos the Great and Saint Veeny
my sheep and lamb for the day.....baaaaaaaaaa
 

JS my other sheep hehehehe

We walked around the city and had a lovely lunch, which I'll post soon

Finally we decided to trace the beginning of the aqueduct
it's so small at the beginning



before it headed outta the castle into the city
wow!!! I think it's at least a few stories high

Eppy Eppy Monkey :))))))
yeah I'm such a hoolingan...never seen an aqueduct before

If you are in Madrid...do make time to visit Segovia..
Totally worth its beautiful sights :)))))))

For more information:
http://www.segoviamint.org/english/segovia.htm