Saturday November 7, 2009
Spain’s food revolution
Nothing can beat char kuey teow or nasi lemak. At least that’s what I thought when faced with a menu that looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Tomato ice cream, bite-sized soup squares, smoking cocktails, whipped asparagus cream . . . uh, OK.
Beside me, Turismo Madrid delegate and the Spanish ambassador’s wife to Malaysia Ana Garcia de Barañano had just pinched a piece of loaf and plunged it into extra-virgin olive oil — a pre-meal ritual most Spaniards love to indulge in.
Ana Garcia de Barañano and husband, Spanish ambassador to Malaysia, Jose Ramon Barañano. — LOUISA LIM & TURISMO MADRID She took a bite and said: “Not many people know it, but Madrid has the second biggest seafood market after Tokyo. We have Americans and Brits who spend a few days in Madrid for a gourmet tasting tour.”
Garcia is like most Madrileños: immaculately dressed (summery green dress, sheer floral cardigan, kitten heels), vivacious and fiercely devoted to her city and its food. She had just introduced me to the delightful, astonishing and implausible cuisine that hails from la nueva cocina (or “the new kitchen” movement).
We were at Ramón Freixa, one of the newest restaurants in Madrid owned by a Michelin-star chef of the same name. While Ferran Adrià is widely credited as the creative force behind Spain’s new culinary movement with world-famous El Bulli (apparently, you need to reserve up to one year ahead to get seats there), it’s chefs like Freixa who make avant-garde cooking accessible to casual diners.
This “molecular gastronomy” involves the use of new techniques and unconventional elements like liquid nitrogen and dry ice to create dishes that defy any common sense.
When the waiter laid down a stupendously small plate of codfish in front of me, I began to have my doubts. However, something magical happened. Before I could pierce into the fish’s delicate flesh, he ordered me to “wait” and, with a flourish, poured from a silver pot some steaming, clear soup, which jellified in my plate within a few seconds. It tasted fabulous. Who would’ve thought?
Despite being well into our fourth course, I still felt a thrill at this new discovery. Then again, I should’ve known well enough to expect the unexpected when I saw the entree come cruising down the aisle.
Magic happens at Ramón Freixa’s restaurant. “You’re supposed to eat it clockwise,” announced the head waiter to his visibly flabbergasted audience. “You’ve got liquored Coca-Cola lozenges here and a spoonful of spherified foie gras there.”
The menu at Ramón Freixa is not extensive, but is, in fact, sorted into three sections — starters, main course and desserts — that does not allow room for you to pick and choose. This is because minute attention is being given to the creation of each recipe, which usually takes ages to come up with although it consists of no more than a few bites (the small portions, spread out over a few courses, are meant to stimulate a thoughtful, conscious eating experience).
But if you think this sounds a little too uppity, think again. There are 10 different textures for tomatoes, six kinds of chocolate for your coffee, three different ways to cook fish. It’s real food prepared in a surreal manner. There’s no way you’ll be hungry, or bored, or both, after a meal at Freixa’s.
The menu, meanwhile, rotates every day, and this menu is eventually replaced by a new one one week later. I’m told that the silverware (shiny goblets, silver-motifed plates) and cutlery (sleek stainless steel forks and knifes) aren’t spared in the quest for novelty either, as they too, are substituted with new ones daily.
I watched as a serious-looking man in a business suit took a tentative bite into his hot lemon fizz. He’s dazzled, and so is the rest of the world. Move over, France, because Spain is the new kid on the (chopping) block!
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