Bistrot Guggenheim, Bilbao

We caught the tram over to the Guggenheim Museum, which is a little oasis on the edge of the river with green grassy knolls laced with daisies lined with students, families & groups of friends taking in the morning sun.

Admittedly, the art that drew us to the museum wasn't Jeff Koons’s Puppy .. although the discovery of this beautiful piece was a delight on a glorious sunny day. The giant puppy towering into the sky, embezzled with all sorts of bright flowers ...



Nor was it the works of Anselm Kiefer, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, James Rosenquist, Clyfford Still, Cy Twombly, or Andy Warhol. It wasn't even Richard Serra's sculptures that had as anticipating this visit .... Local artists Eduardo Chillida, Cristina Iglesias, Juan Muñoz, Jorge Oteiza, Antonio Saura, and Antoni Tàpies weren't enough to draw us in, but the culinary art, tasty creativity & edible sculptures of Josean Martínez Alija is what brings us to the Museum.

Of course we do go into the museum, and spend a few hours wandering around and appreciating some of the pieces. The works of Anish Kapoor, which were a limited show at Bilbao, were amazing. Giant tubs of red wax in various forms, and all sorts of artwork & sculptures that changed over time. But back to my favorite sort of art, the stuff that sits in glasses, or on ceramic ... that is appreciated with the use of a silver implement and excites all of the senses.

Restaurante Guggenheim the Gastronomic Restaurante & the Bistrot on premise. We are taking up the unbeatable 18€ set course lunch at the Bistot today - 3 courses with red wine, mineral water & bread. The menu is announced at the table along with the arrival of the amuse buche, a refreshing tomato & watermelon gazpacho.



There are several options for each course. Lighter appetizer options excited us, so much foie, jamon & fried foods were taking their toll. I start with a bulgur wheat. It was amazing! So much flavor, brunoise of vegetables throughout, with a vibrant & viscous sauce coating each grain.



Kim chooses the mange tout with potatoes. Perfectly plump mange tout still with a nice bite sit above chunks of potato floating in an intense green broth with a dusting of paprika.



Pork meatballs with curry sauce are rich and robust. The meatballs are juicy and exploding with flavor - herbs, seasoning, onion and vegetables. They are sitting in light curry broth, which is delightful mopped up with the crusty bread.



The prized work of the day is the little chicken wings. Deboned and pan fried until golden, they are sitting on a polenta spiked with black olives and a little of the pan juices. It's so nice to see the humble little chicken wing take centre stage, and really deliver on flavor. Yum!



A duo of cakes completes a delightful lunch. The pear and vanilla cake still warm, with a pear & vanilla puree and chocolate sorbet.



Rice cake with cinnamon ice-cream arrives at the table, it's a little bit abstract art and a whole lot of yummy. Light cubes of rice-pudding like cake with a rich cinnamon ice-cream.



It certainly beats the expensive sandwiches & average museum meals I remember from my childhood.

Restaurante Guggenheim Bilbao
Avda. Abandoibarra nº 2
48001 Bilbao, Vizcaya
T +34 944 239 333
F +34 944 242 560
E info@restauranteguggenheim.com

1/4 of a century

Yup, that's right!  This December just gone seen me turn 25 years young.  

The day was divine.  We started with a sleep in then proceeded a long lunch at none other than Bistrot le Cochon.  Two glasses of Syrah set the mood.



We started with a brilliant pork and chicken liver pate.  Like hidden little gems throughout the salad we discovered pickled carrot, daikon and green tomato.  



We then shared a nice big bowl of spaghetti that was coated in a rich tomato sauce with black olive cheeks scattered throughout.  A good crack of black pepper and parmesan topped it off just nicely.  



The supreme of chicken breast, roasted on the bone, was cooked to perfection.  The meat inside tender and juicy with a nice crisp golden skin.  There was a nice citrus sauce and a medley of vegetables including mushrooms, carrot, turnip and broccoli.



They somehow got word that it was my birthday and I received a brilliant dessert sampler.  There was a vanilla brulee, a scoop of lavender honey ice-cream, diplomat (like bread and butter pudding) with fresh fruit, chocolate cake and financier tart.  Awesome!



Then we jump in a taxi back to Hirafu.  Kim suggests a coffee at Powderlife Cafe.  I order a latte, Nick delivers it with some special birthday coffee art, a cute little flower.  



A moment later the whole cafe is buzzing, there's fire and smoke.  And I can just see Dennis through all the smoke carrying a big cake.  It appears they didn't have any candles so just stuck a few fireworks in the top of the cake.  There's no chance of blowing these out, as it's carefully placed on the table in-front of us to wait for them to defuse.  It's then apparent that little meteorites are flying off in all directions and we try to avoid damaging any furniture, or ourselves.  The cake though, a delicious apple, rum and walnut cake.  With some added texture of meteorites :)



Now I actually have to head to work to do a couple of hours.  Kim heads home.  As we quieten down I call him up to head back on over.  He arrives while I finish packing up, and, appears with another cake.  A croquembouche.  This is shared and birthday wishes sung with the guys at work.  



It's still early, so we head up the hill in search of somewhere to sit, eat and be merry.  We try Bang Bang's, kitchen closed.  There is one little place just off the main street that's in a nice wooden building with a sign out the front 'Izakaya'.  We try there.



We perch ourselves on the counter and again are wishing we could real Kanji.  The menu's around the wall are always way more exciting that the gajin-English menu you're given.  



The cheese mochi here were delicious.  Crispy exterior encasing a delicious, gooey, cheesy centre.



After a few beers and a few snacks at the Izakaya, we find ourselves at Wild Bill's.  It's great to catch up with some people we haven't seen in a while and any excuse for doing a few Jager-bombs.  Here a glass of red bull and a shot of Jagermeister are taken.  The shot is then dropped into the glass of red bull and downed in one go.  Happy Birthday!



I'm surprised I actually remember, but at some silly time in the morning, like 2am, we find ourselves at Jam bar.  Luckily it's not too far from Bill's.



A few of their delicious square pizza's were a perfect ending to a perfect birthday.  I love you Kim! XX

Sipping latte's in Tokyu

We're winding our way up through the escalotors of Tokyu Department store, Sapporo. We're on the lookout for relaxation massage on the 10th floor (my neck is killing me) but we don't make it past the 4th floor. There's a sign at the turn for the 5th floor draging us both in ...... It's that of a delicious looking chocolate pudding, with a pumpkin cream centre. Even though my neck is quite sore, we're both immediately dragged towards Cafe la Mille.



It's full! We don't mind waiting a few minutes and just scope around. Kim does however notice that there are no other males within the cafe. It does definately seem to be a shopping lady's pitt stop (mind you, we late noticed Tokyu department store is mainly for older women). Nevermind, we head on in. We order one of the chocolate pumpkin pudding. It was slightly warm, rich dense pudding revealing a creamy and sweet pumpkin filling.



We also have a piece of chestnut cake. Delicious and fluffy, with layers of sponge and chestnut cream and a few toasted walnuts on top.



We both try a Hokkaido milk coffee, which is a mild roast latte topped with hot, creamy, delicious Hokkaido milk.



As we depart, we know we may be joining the latte sipping lady's on the 4th floor again soon ........