Cafeteria in Barcelona - 2. PAUL

Cafeteria where I was visiting often when I was in Japan was PAUL, and in Barcelona I am still visiting.

Also my husband brings me Macaron from PAUL when he gets back from business trip via Paris so that I can enjoy cafe time with some of them at home.
（Normally they are from PAUL, not from Ladurée, which can be for only special occasion...(>_<) so, I usually derive happiness from PUAL's one...）

I had eaten one before taking the photo!

Today I prepared Matcha Latte.
Taking Matcha which helps burn fat and prevent from absorbing oil makes me feel less guilty to enjoy sweets...

There is a space to sit and eat, so it is quite convenient if you are a bit hungry in Barcelona.

PAUL
Calle Rosselló 235
08008, Barcelona (Barcelona)
Very near from Provença station.

Bon profit!!!

Cafeteria in Barcelona - 1. CUP&CAKE

Cupcake once again.

It was around 3 years ago when I met Cupcake first time.
When I was walking near Provença, in Barcelona, I found this Cupcake shop, CUP&CAKE.
They were too cute to ignore, so I bought them. But I didn't imagine they would be this popular everywhere!

Here is the shop information:

CUP&CAKE
Enric Granados, 145
Barcelona

C/Tallers 79
Barcelona
New cafeteria is opened near Plaça de Universitat.

Bon profit!!!

Cafeteria in Madrid - 4th Recommendation - Living in London

As my friend knew I loved Scone&Clotted cream, she was planning to bring me to a cafeteria, called "Living in London".
It was Sunday and it just opened from 16:30, so we went there to the opening.

And we found people waiting for the seat inside. Wow, it is popular!
In the shop, we can buy sweets, tea, lots of products from UK.

Finally our turn came and we could sit.

Inside was dimly illuminated and there was another room with more seats at the back.

We enjoyed English Tea Time with scones&clotted cream and tea for a while.

Here is the shop information:

Living in London
Santa Engracia 4, Madrid 28010
TEL 91-319-7958
Principe de Vergara 34, Madrid 28002
TEL 91-435-4897

If you start missing UK in Spain, please try.

Bon profit!!!

Cafeteria in Madrid - 3rd Recommendation - Vailima

I had been interested in since I had seen this cafeteria in Madrid, "Vailima" on TV, so I took the opportunity of being in Madrid and went there.
The entrance was pastel color and tea pots and ornaments on the window were lovely♪

In the shop, we can buy variety types of tea from THEODOR. Tea caddies in different colors were so cute♪

From the selection of baked goods in the glass case, I chose a scone and my friend chose a piece of carrot cake and we had them with a cup of tea.
The cream served with the scone was not clotted cream but whipped cream, but I was quite fine with the scones which I had for the first time in ages.

If you feel to go to a cafeteria with homey atmosphere, please try.

Here is the information：

Vailima

C/ General Pardiñas, 54

28001 Madrid

Next time, I will introduce another cafeteria where we can have clotted cream！

Bon profit!!!

The Best Croissant in Spain - 2011-

I wondered which shop had been chosen for the Spanish Best Croissant in 2011? So I checked it...
Then wow, in 「Concurso Mejor Croissant Artesano de Mantequilla de España 2011」, Turull in Terrassa was chosen as the best! Surprised!!!

Terrassa is located in Barcelona (not in Barcelona city, but Barcelona prefecture(?)) and it takes around 40 minutes from Plaça Catalunya by Ferrocarril. We can find Turull in Plaça Vella, centre of Terrassa and this bakery shop is quite popular in Terrassa. I had bought croissants there a few times but I didn't get impression that this was the best croissant! Moreover, I couldn't find Butter Croissant (Croissant con Mantequilla) during weekdays before... (Here in Spain, we should ask if this croissant is made with butter or not, because some croissants are not!)

So, I tried once again.

I went there the weekdays, but this time I could get one with butter.

I forgot to take the cutaway...

Indeed, the crust was crunchy, when I bit, it was crispy, and I felt the butter taste and it was quite nice, but still had doubt to say this was the best... I thought that I had had better croissants in Spain.

And another doubt was why the best croissant was found in Barcelona again (not Barcelona city but still in Barcelona)? Then it turned out that this contest was organized by la Escuela de Pastelería del Gremio de Barcelona and those who were interested in applied.
Condition is: Croissant made with butter, should be 45-65g once baked, no filling inside, etc.
Then the judges check the croissants baked and brought on the day, and decide the best after evaluating various factors, like aspect of the top, down, cutaway, the colour, texture, the rayers, taste etc.

If you are interested, you can see how they are chosing ↓
  
http://www.lavanguardia.com/ocio/20111005/54226844634/como-se-elige-el-mejor-croissant-de-espana.html

Here you can find the shop:

Forn Turull
Font Vella, 1 - Tel. 93 780 41 14
Carrer de Gutemberg, 2, 08224 Terrassa - Tel. 93 788 45 96
(↑ This shop is located in front of Terrassa Station and there is Cafe space)
Ctra. de Rellinars, 82 - 08225 Terrassa - Tel. 93 788 49 88
"Centre Comercial Terrassa" - Av. Abat Marcet, 43 - Tel. 93 735 03 00
Passeig de Les Lletres, 12 - Tel. 93 733 41 68

Bon profit!!!

Cafeteria in Madrid - 2nd recommendation - Le Pain Quatidien

I will recommend another Cafeteria in Madrid, which is Le Pain Quotidien, my friend, who now is quite Madrileña, often visits to have a breakfast.
As the name, Le Pain Quotidien, means, they are offering the bread made from high quality organic ingredients, which has real bread taste and make us feel to eat everyday.
I thought the shop started in France, but actually it was Belgium and now they have 152 shops in 21 countries, then you may think that it is just one of chain shop, but the quality is much more than we expect from the chain shop.
The shop and all furnitures were made from woods material and very natural, and we really feel to go even everyday.
If you pass near by, please drop in!

There are 2 shops in Madrid, C/ Serrano 27 & C/ Fuencarral 95.

There is one in Japan, too!
Shibakouen 3-3-1, Minato ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-6430-4157
Open 7:30 - 22:00 (21:00 L.O.)

!!!Bon Profit!!!

Cafeteria in Madrid - first recommendation - Harina

During weekend I went to Madrid to see my friend, who now lives in Madrid.
The city which recieves more tourists in Spain is Barcelona, where we can enjoy sea, mediterranean food, gorgeous builidings, like of Gaudi, Montaner, and I understand why so many tourists visit and of course I love Barcelona, but Madrid has different charm and actually I also love Madrid!

Due to being capital of Spain, I feel Madrid has more sofisticated atmosphere, the way poeple dress, the design of shops, the beauty of parks in the middle of the city. There is more movement and all shops, cafeterias, restaurantes, tapas bars are full of people, Madrid has more energy and liveliness, it is after all capital!

And what I envy more is, there are lots of nice cafeterias! Maybe because of my taste, but I found several, which would have been dangerous for me if there had been in Barcelona or somewhere near my house. I would not be able to resist but drop in so often! And I can imagine the result easily... Maybe I have to be happy not to have them near by???

If you live in Madrid or visit Madrid, please drop in!

HARINA
La Plaza de la Independencia 10, Madrid

The shop is very bright, designed based on the country style on the white colour and offers wide range of tasty artisanal breads made from wild yeast, sandwishes, cakes etc. Buttery crunchy Croissants never let you down! Uhhhhhhhh I want some right now!

Bon Profit!!!

PS　Last night I was so happy to see Barça's victory after having suffered a lot during the last 2 matches. But  Real Madrid trainer and playeres' comment on the news upset me a lot..

I think that Red Card was given not because the referees favored Barça but because Real Madrid lost the spirit of fair play. Especially Pepe is always playing dirty, I did not imagine the referee would give Red Card because it would be tough desicion to take and I expected Yellow, but thinking about all he did, it seemed fair to me. Of course I would prefer Barça's victory against Real Madrid with 12 players to 1 less. But TV was showing several images where they were hitting, kicking and stepping on Barça's players even when they had no ball. I did not see any fair play spirit on their play. And more sad to see is Ramos, he plays so well as a member of Spanish National Team, but changes and plays dirty when he plays as a member of Real Madrid... (At least it seems to me like that)
I would praise for their victory if Real Madrid played fair as before and won, even though I prefer Barça. I hope both team show the spirit of fair play during the next match...

The Best Croissant in Spain

"The Best Croissant in Spain" in 2009 was badia roca.
I had been interested since I saw this news, wow, in Barcelona we would be able to eat the best croissant in Spain!
But... 2011 has started before trying...
And "The Best Croissant in Spain" in 2010 was also selected...
What am I waiting?


So I went to badia roca;-) The shop was designed with brown, simple but chic.

Finally I bought them. Uhhhhhhhh they look crispy.

Cutaway.

In Spain there are lots of Spanish type Croissant, like coated with apricot jam(so sweet) or made with lard instead of butter, but I feel I encounter real Croissant.

Here is the shop information：
Padua 91 　　　　　　　or　　　　Riera Blanca esq. Bassegoda
08006 Barcelona　　　　 　　　　08028 Barcelona

I went to Padua, very near from Padua station(L7).
But I was wondering if the shop assistant could be more friendly?

For your information, "The Best Croissant in Spain" in 2010 was Hofmann.
I also bought the croissant but ate it before taking any photos... So
Please check Hofmann's croissant from here!

The shop is in Born：
Flassaders, 44
08003 Barcelona

The shop was so cute with pastel color.
The croissants were refined and light. But the taste was satisfying.
It is pity that there is no proper cafe space in the shop, but if you go to Born, it is worth trying!
Bon profit!!!