CJWDT´12 Gastr´N´omad tour 2nd stop: Lisbon!! I don´t think I have many opportunity to eat Portugal cuisine in the past. Compared with other European cuisine such as French, Italian and Spanish, Portugal cuisine may not be big as others, least in the U.S....... But one thing interest me ... it is one of the most famous & popular Japanese dish is originally imported from Portugal .... which is Tempura!
Well, more precisely Japanese changed Portuguese fritter into Japanese version when it was introduced in Japan 4-500 yrs ago. But history remains, ¨Tempura¨ is actually named after Portuguese word ¨temperer¨ which mean flavor / season. But just same as American invented California roll, American pizza, sake bomb and other own developed fusion cuisine, Japanese changed Portuguese fritter into their style. That is Tempura.
Indeed Japanese does many foreign dishes in their own way such as Japanese curry, Japanese Korean BBQ, Japanese ramen noodle.... They don´t steal or copy that, they just make it better! (laugh) But still... I´ll see how ¨original¨ tempura is in Lisbon. PLEASE BE CRISPY... I hate any deep-fry item which is not crispy.... Soggy & greasy? Pack ur knives, go home ALREADY, chef!!!!
..... ANYWAY I also heard some of Japanese western sweets(called yougashi) such as castella is influenced by Portugal dessert as well, so interested to see their origins in Portugal.... It must be funny to see some sweets remind me Japanese one in Porgual!! Just like Tapas bar in Madrid, there're many pasteralia throughout the city, so I'd try many of pastry and pao during my visit. The picture above is pastel de nata from Casa pasteis de Belem. It was the best egg tart I ever taste actually.... better than HK and Macau!! Thin crispy outside, very light, but kind of rich, not too sweet, but flavorful... I can eat 10 of these!!!!
And the following are some dishes I want to try during my stay in Lisbon.....
Percebes, Bifana, Codizo a Portuguesa, Arroz de pato, Arroz de tamboril, Migsa de porco, Carne porco a alentejana, Bacalhau, Fieletes de polvo, , Xarem rico, Migsa je porco, Arroz doce, Molotofe, Papas de milho, Baba de camelo, Pao de lo, Pastel de nata, Fios de ovos, Travesseiro...
And good link for Lisbon restaurants:
http://www.lisbonlux.com/culture/lisbon-chefs.html
http://portugalconfidential.com/category/trendy-restaurants-portugal/
http://www.ezimut.com/en/restaurants/page/10
http://portugalconfidential.com/category/trendy-restaurants-portugal/
http://www.ezimut.com/en/restaurants/page/10
I've been in Lisbon 3 days for now and stay 5 more days. And Gastro'N'omad tour heading into Dublin, Ireland first time!! Irish beer and.... I guess I need homework for this!