Our fam LOVES seafood. So it was such
a delight to be able to visit Portugal and eat seafood in practically every
meal!
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| Grilled Sardines @Restaurant Farrol |
Pastel de Bacalhau at Casa
Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau—we first saw this store in Sao Jorge castle. I
felt it was such a tourist trap, touting “Portugal Experience” and even
offering a combo of Pastel de Bacalhau with Port wine. The prices are also on
the expensive side at over Eur5 each. But after seeing the third branch and
feeling like I have yet to try an amazing Pastel (called Bolinhos in the North)
de Bacalhau, we gave in and got some. And boy, was I glad we did! We bit into
the warm and creamy codfish cake with Queijo da Serra in the centre and it was just
utterly delicious! Bacalhau (dried, salted cod) is a staple in Portuguese diet
from its history of exploration, using salt to preserve the codfish caught
during long naval voyages. Interestingly, cod is not native to the coastline of
Portugal. The Serra de Estrella cheese from the mountains of Serra da Estrela
region was soft and rich and has a protected designation of origin in the EU
(like Port). And rightly so, given the rigorous process to make this from
sheep’s milk. Whether or not you have the opportunity to try other Pastel de
Bacalhau from local bakeries (which we did), I recommend you give this one a
try.
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| made fresh in house Pastel de Bacalhau @Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau |
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| Pasteis de Bacalhau at Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau |
Bacalhau com Natas (salted
cod with cream)—a traditional Portuguese dish, Bacalhau com Natas is wonderful
comfort food. We tried this at Churrasqueria Lebre, a cafeteria-style joint at
Fatima. While there were some big fishbones to watch out for, the dish was very
tasty. The fish was moist with chunky flakes easily falling off with the fork.
The cream was a nice contrast to the saltiness of the cod. Prices were very
reasonable at Lebre and as it is cafeteria-style, it made for fast dining,
which is especially important if you have a bus to catch at the nearby station.
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| Bacalhau com Natas @Churrasqueria Lebre |
Sardines—depending on
which reference you trust, Sardines can very well be Portugal’s national fish.
It is, after all, and unlike cod, fished (in abundance, so they say) off the
shores of Portugal. Canned or tinned sardines are available not just in grocery
stores. You can find them at stores selling only sardines. One of the fun
places we got some sardines was The Fantastic World of Portuguese Sardines
(Mundo Fantástico Da Sardinha Portuguesa). There was one right at the Lisbon
airport but went to the one in Baixa. They showcase sardines in fun, colourful
tins. They feature tins with the year (from 1916 to present) and includes some
interesting trivia related to that particular year—a great souvenir. The store
itself was a fun place to explore, feeling like a carnival with vibrant staff
on hand to assist. There was a variety of flavours (spicy, tomato, olive oil,
etc) and even other seafood such as shrimp, octopus and cod.
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| tinned seafood from Mundo Fantástico Da Sardinha Portuguesa |
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| Mundo Fantástico Da Sardinha Portuguesa |
Grilled sardines—of course
we had to try grilled sardines instead of just the tinned ones. We had some at
Restaurant Farrol in Alfama. It was a humble dish, nothing pretentious, just
the plain, grilled sardines. It had too many tiny bones (that I couldn’t just
swallow) so I didn’t quite enjoy it as other meatier fish.
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| grilled sardines |
While this is supposed to
be about fish, I do have to mention octopus. We usually have octopus either in Takoyaki
form or grilled from frozen. Imagine what a delight it was to have it fresh,
grilled. Utterly delicious. Cooked well, the octopus was not rubbery at all,
but deliciously tender to the bite. We had grilled octopus, octopus salad and even
octopus rice from various places such O Corrido in Alfama. Some are tastier
than others, and servings vary, of course (the one at Gelo in Baixa was half
onions) but we enjoyed all our octopus meals.
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| grilled octopus @O Corride |
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| octopus rice @Restaurant Farrol |
I did
have to try the bifana (pork sandwich) and, of course, Francesinha. I cannot yet
abandon my love for red meat, but I will take seafood any day in a heartbeat.
