The journey continues as I talk about the greatest restaurant in this world. It is elBulli, a Michelin 3-star restaurant located near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by the #1 ranked chef in the world, Ferran Adria. I went there 4 years ago and I can still remember the flavors of the food that are beyond words. My parents brought me to elBulli to celebrate my 13th birthday, and I actually insisted them to book 2 years ahead.
elBulli never fail to amaze people with its unique twist on their culinary experiences. This restaurant is the home of molecular gastronomy. Those of you out there who is obsessed with chemistry and food, this is your heaven and paradise. The food that are offered here will leave you with a lasting impression. I promise.
This best travel experience of my life started with a taxi drive along a dark and windy sea cliff road that leads me to the restaurant overlooking a small cove on the Mediterranean. It is simply majestic. If I can have my last supper, it will definitely be in that restaurant overlooking the sea. At 7.30 PM precisely, my parents and I were given a host who led us through the kitchen to see the chefs at work and met with Ferran Adria himself. After that, the host brought us to the table that we request 2 years ago, right outside the patio overlooking the magnificent view of the Mediterranean. And then, the experience of being in the food paradise began.
This is the place where I had the best family dinner with my parents. We had the 35-course taster's menu that offers a grand experience of tastes, textures and wonder. The creations are majestically designed to surprise you in every single way. Imagine a simple Lollipop that is enhanced with liquid nitrogen that creates a flavor of web of white chocolate, lemon and coffee candy. Next, imagine rabbit meat with hot apple jelly that is topped with liquid nitrogen liquid bubbles that are filled with lime jelly flavor. There's also the spherification, the shaping of a liquid into spheres, of chocolate and eucalyptus with pear sorbet. Then there's "couscous" of cauliflower with solid aromatic salsa, "quince paste" of red fruits with curd, hot and cold trout roe tempura, bread with oil and chocolate, white asparagus with hot mayonnaise, and the list goes on.
However, I still remember it crystal clear on that 25th course. It is called "Pillow like a cocktail." It is a styrofoam-like hot-dog bun with a garish green center. As soon as it touched my tongue, it liquified in my mouth to create the perfect burst of pina colada. Then there's the olive oil chip which was very playful and fun. Next, there's the tomato tartare looking like a perfect tuna tartare. I was expecting to taste the tuna, but it blew my expectations away and I experienced the most delicious tomatoes I've ver tasted. The last course was a lavish dessert box filled with at least 75 chocolates, the box even had drawers which include directions from our server on how to best eat it: such as
"Eat it now" to "take two bites" to "smell the truffle bag first, then eat the food, then rub the truffle bag to your food and smell it again." This experience was truly magical, words can't simply describe how amazing it was. Ferran Adria totally played with my expectations, blowing them away, making myself question exactly what food is and why we like what we eat. I questioned myself over and over again what I just ate, and the taste was completely different in each course.
Our dinner last over four hours as we were being served with six different servers. After the amazing experience, we went to the edge of the patio to fully enjoy the view of Spain. It was truly amazing, because the restaurant was built on the highest part of the town of Roses. And finally, when I walked through the gate of the restaurants into my taxi, I turned back and stared at elBulli asking myself, "Did tonight really happen? Was it a dream?"
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| Razor-Shell Clam Sushi with Ginger Spray |
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| Beet in Textures |
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| El Bulli |
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| Spherical Egg of White Asparagus with False Truffle |
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| Rose of Beet with Mandarin & Almond Sherbet |
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| Mango & Vanilla Ice Cream Roll |
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| Spiral (Lavender) |
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| Sorbet of Cheese-Stuffed Strawberries with Campari & Orange Confit |
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| Bread with Tomato |
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| "Quince Paste" of Red Fruits with Curd |
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| Chocolate & Eucalyptus with Pear Sorbet |
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| Bread with oil and Chocolate |
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| Hot & Cold Trout Roe Tempura |
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| Lollipop of White Chocolate & Lemon and Coffee Candy |
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| Rabbit with Hot Apple Jelly |
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| Patio Dining Room |
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| Oysters with Smoked Iberian Pancetta |
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| "Gran Creu Negra" |
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| Letter Soup |
Additional Links:
http://www.elbulli.com/
That mango and vanilla ice cream roll looks amaaaaazing!!
ReplyDeleteThe food almost looks too good to eat! How much was the meal though?
ReplyDeleteThe whole 35-course meal was around $450/person each when I was there, excluding tax and service.
ReplyDeleteOMG!! Those foods look so great!! Do they have any chain restaurants in U.S?
ReplyDeleteSadly, no. I guess you can go to Spain with your family and go to El Bulli. Remember, you need to book one year ahead. To book, you need to go to the website and look at when they open the booking session for next year. The restaurant is fully booked for next year in less than 2 hours.
ReplyDelete