Decided to give Fish Market a second try. I really had high hopes.
Well, it resulted in a 40 minute wait for our food, and “meh” cuts of fish in my chirashi. I was pretty disappointed. I was really hoping that maybe the first time we went, the restaurant was simply having an off-day. Guess I was wrong.
This is just an addendum to my Boston sushi rant… Pretty disheartened at the moment.
One afternoon, Jonathan and I were strolling and browsing through Mercado Antón Martin when we stumbled across YokaLoka. We are obsessed with sushi, but we were in Madrid. And in Madrid, you eat like the Spanish, not the Japanese. After a few minutes of convincing (Jonathan: We’ll just have a few pieces, it’s kind of like tapas, right?), I caved in. After all, it was the first sushi restaurant we had seen so far, and how good can sushi be in Madrid?
Boy, was I wrong. The sake was amazing - it was extremely high quality, and the best part, you could easily taste that it was fresh! I guess that’s the great thing about being located in a fish market in the Iberian peninsula, fresh seafood all the time. Since we ordered the sake (I’m all about the salmon), we had to order the anago too (Jonathan’s all about the eel).
I’m not a huge anago connoisseur, but according to Jonathan, it was great. If you can get his picky approval on eel, then you’ve really done something right.
Unfortunately, there were slight downsides to everything else but the fish - the rice was not properly cooled, the pieces wobbly shaped, and the nori ripped like a 5 year-old. But the Japanese YokaLoka ladies were so kind - they tried to speak English with us, served us complimentary drinks, and even green tea chocolates! It’s hard to come by such hospitality at dining establishments, especially in Madrid.
If you’re a tourist in Madrid, you probably shouldn’t eat a full meal here. After all, you’re in Spain! But if you’re a local, and you just can’t resist some good sushi, YokaLoka is a stop you need to make.
They point to the fish to clarify that “toro” is not bull, “jajajajaja”.
Jonathan excited for sushi!
I was a bit embarrassed when I saw the date of my last post, but life has been keeping me on my toes and lots of exciting things have happened since. To list a few:
1. I am officially a Boston University alumnus!
Graduated summa cum laude and received a top marketing concentrator award. The best part was sharing my Boston life with my family and friends who flew all the way from LA to see me.
2. I am moving to Seattle!
I am starting work with Procter & Gamble in June, and I got assigned my dream position: working with my favorite brand, Tide! The Seattle housing market is a mess; with Amazon and Microsoft hiring like crazy out there, apartments are being snatched up right and left. Rental prices are also sky-rocket high like Boston and NYC especially in downtown. After hours of online searching, I was lucky to find an affordable place 1.3 miles away from Pike Place Market (many food photos to come) and a 5 minute walk from the Frye Art Museum. Just signed my lease today!
3. Jonathan and I celebrated his birthday and our anniversary in Madrid.
Even though Jonathan is from Hawaii, he has never been outside the country (Montreal doesn’t really count…), so I surprised him with flights to Madrid for his birthday! We went to a bullfight, saw the Spanish art masterpieces, saw flamenco, drank wine, and ate lots and lots of jamon… (cured ham). Photos to come!
4. Got an iPhone. Or two.
Why is this significant? Well, it completes my Apple family: MacBook, iTouch, iPad, and now iPhone (I’m such an Apple junkie), but more significantly, my first iPhone broke 4 days after I got it. Dropped it on Jonathan’s pebbly porch and the glass completely shattered. According to my friends, my face looked like I saw a ghost. My wireless carrier told me I had to purchase a new one/pay a deductible. If I had to pay for a replacement after only 4 days, maybe a fragile iPhone wasn’t for me. I decided to go to the Apple store to see if there was any hope left, and lo and behold: Tyler from the Genius Bar replaces my phone for free. His reason? Because he felt horrible it broke after 4 days.
And this is why I will forever be brand loyal to Apple. They take care of their customers, in some way or another.
Do I miss my Blackberry? Yeah, some days, especially when I’m reminded of the iPhone’s short battery life, the lack of an external push notification indicator, and its fragility. But I do enjoy the interface and iPhone apps, they do make life easier.
The movers just came today and packed up all my stuff. I will be in Boston until June 3rd before I make the move. I’m going to revisit all my favorite Boston restaurants and finish my Boston to-do list. The next few weeks are going to be hectic, but I’m truly excited for what’s to come!
My first made-from-scratch baby malasada!
After leaving Hawaii, there were two things that I really really missed: surfing and MALASADAS! Those Leonard’s malasadas were sooo amazing, and for a few months, I dreamed about them constantly. Sometimes, I get extremely frustrated with the lack of food diversity in Boston (#firstworldBostonproblems), but it fuels my resolve to make things from scratch! And so, I decided to give malasadas a go.
The recipe I ended up using was “A Punahou Recipe” (you can find it here). The directions were straightforward and didn’t require any fancy machinery. **One thing the recipe does not mention, though, is that the recipe makes a batch of approximately 3-4 dozen, so have hungry friends! For your convenience, here is the recipe as well:
Ingredients
Directions
Note: If the malasadas have a tendency to come out with the center still doughy, turn the heat down on the oil which will allow them to cook longer.
Some Tips and Observations…
I have never baked/cooked with yeast before, so I was a bit concerned with my dough, but luckily it turned out just fine! The dough doesn’t raise immediately, so it might look like this at first:
Place the dough in a warm spot (approx. 85º - I used my oven), and after one hour, try to turn the dough upside down. Let it sit for an hour more, and it should double in size like this:
This process may take up to 2 hours before any deep frying (I wish I knew that beforehand…) so plan your schedule accordingly!
Although the directions suggest coating the malasadas in a paper bag, I used a Pyrex tupperware so I wouldn’t have sugar slipping out of any holes or cracks:
Jonathan is from Hawaii, and he had one (then a few more…) and certified that they were Hawaii-scrumptious! The dough has a great airy/spongy texture that reminded me of the cinnamon-sugar coated malasadas.
Suggestions For the Future
If I attempt to make this from scratch again (I would prefer not to, but if I’m stuck in Arkansas for work, I might have to…), I think I will increase the flour in the recipe by 1/2 a cup. The dough was extremely sticky, which made it hard to form shapely malasadas. Additionally, though tasty, the dough lacked a bit of flavor, so I might add a teaspoon of vanilla extract. And lastly, I think I will attempt to make the coconut cream-filled malasadas eventually. If you slit the fried malasada, and pipe cream into the center, you get the same effect as the Leonard’s ones (of course, not as delicious!).
It seems like making malasadas is an extremely tedious chore, but I saw the cheater recipes using Pillsbury dough or bread? Uh uh, I don’t think so. I would love to find an easier recipe, but until then, I will make my malasadas this way again!
Cochinita pibil tacos and carne asada @ Los Arcos at the Hotel Chichen Itza in Chichen Itza, Mexico
Cochinita pibil is slow-roasted pork from the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. It was amazing - succulent and flavorful. By far the best thing I ate on my trip in Cancun.