Carme Ruscalleda's Sant Pau has graduated from my list of must-trys to my list of "To try again and again and again". She is woman! Hear her roar! I'd say if you died and never had the chance to dine at Sant Pau, that's a really big shame. Personally, I didn't want to simply dine at Sant Pau without making a big deal out of the whole affair. Yes, I was keeping it for a special occasion so naturally, when my wedding anniversary came along, I knew exactly where we were going to celebrate it!
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| The view from our table |
The place.... tucked between narrow little streets, in a lazy fishing village. We were there in winter. All we saw were locals and old people. That added to the local flavour and when we drove up to the restaurant, we were so pleased to find it melded as one with the rest of the local housing. Very quaint, very charming and very blue. Yes, the predominant color around seemed to be the color of the sea.
Our table was like a front-row seat with a view of the restaurant's fenced garden and sea-view beyond. Indeed, it evoked an almost dream-like, pensive environment in which we were to dine in. Over the course of the meal, we were given lots of literature, menus, detailing everything we were eating.
This was really helpful cos there are times where the waiter mentions the many ingredients of the dish but by the time you're done ohh-ing and ahh-ing and plunge your fork in, you've forgotten what was said. It happens to me, perhaps because of my short-term memory and I end up cluelessly savouring the mouthful of "whatever". Sant Pau clearly did not want that happening here. Come to think of it, it does seem like the practice these days in many restaurants to provide menus to be taken home and sometimes, even dated!
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| Cod brandada, colored peppers & black olives |
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| Pistachio, aubergine & blood sausage in dashi broth |
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| Vegetable ravioli & Joselito ham |
The tasting menu was composed of melt-in-your-mouth seafood and deftly-baked vegetables. For the meat dish, I chose the deer loin with pear, apple and almonds in a demi-glace sauce. Divine! Worth mentioning in the seafoods, was the Gamba Tails, apparently a staple in their tasting menu. These were succulent prawns swimming in a creamy artichoke sauce with expertly baked and fried artichoke, and topped off with some crunchy artichoke chips.
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Gamba Tails with artichokes of various textures |
Our cheese serving was pretty avant garde. Instead of the customary cheese trolley which sometimes leave you wondering if you've made the right choice, lamenting that social graces dictate you should not ask for more than 4 or 5 different cheeses or that you should really ration yourself at this stage or you would not have space left for dessert, Sant Pau invents a cheese platter for their diner. We had a beautiful pairing of cheese and sweet accompaniments in the form of jams, cakes, jellies and fruit. There were 5 different spanish cheeses. Nothing extreme in taste and all very safe. My palate might have preferred somewhat more edgy flavours but I was more than happy with the inventive pairings with the sweets.
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| Organic Roses & Bilberries |
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| Dark chocolate ganache, mushroom preserve, anise and dill perfume |
The staff was generous with their hospitality. Knowing that we were celebrating our wedding anniversary that day, they even dressed up an extra dessert with candles to help us celebrate the occasion. It was a nice gesture. Chef Ruscalleda even came out to speak with some diners, including us and yes, I gushed and told her what a big fan I had become from this one meal alone. Certainly, not our last as we plan to dine at Sant Pau the moment their tasting menu changes for the next season!
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| A confectionery shop on a plate! |
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