Spain

[asterixsg]

Jeanie,
I agree on the Spaniards good looking part. Every woman in the office - whether she was a 20 something or a 40 something was a stunner ;p So difficult to concentrate in meetings. :sweat:
Now, Crysania. Don't include that in your presentations

Boo to Alonso :sticktong . ha ha.

Every country is an experience. Makes me appreciate the good things we have in Singapore. :thumbsup:

 

[zekai]

party city of the world. trance music capital!!! inspiration for zouk, cafe del mar, km8!

Spain has the sunny island of IBIZA

 

[Crysania]

Thanks for the replies! Sorry have been busy at school. I'm still planning my presentation, so any photos is welcome! I've tried searching the net, but I get pretty weird results, and I'm not sure if the photos are really taken from Spain... and I believe that friendly clubsnappers have better photos to share.... hehehe

Anyone knows which dishes are authentic to Spain, besides gazpacho and paella?

 

[Klose]

Thanks for the replies! Sorry have been busy at school. I'm still planning my presentation, so any photos is welcome! I've tried searching the net, but I get pretty weird results, and I'm not sure if the photos are really taken from Spain... and I believe that friendly clubsnappers have better photos to share.... hehehe

Anyone knows which dishes are authentic to Spain, besides gazpacho and paella?

Spanish Hamon :thumbsup:

 

[Montmelo]

Spanish Hamon :thumbsup:

Its pronounced as "Hamon" but spelt as "Jamon".
"J" in Spanish is pronounced as "H"
Paella is pronounced as "Pa Yee Ya". Double "L" is pronounced as "Y".
Please get that right when you make your presentation (helping you score in your presentation)

Authentic food or drink?
- Paella (there are many variations, including the one with black squid ink called Paella Negro). This is a national dish, so you can't go wrong.
- Calcot. This is a seasonal dish which is BBQ onion bulbs. You eat the stems only by dipping it into a sauce of wine & olive oil. As it is very messy, restaurants issue raincoats (really!!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calçots

The rest are mostly variations of Mediterranean food. Some that are particularly interesting in Spain
- Tapas
- Using the Purron to drink wine
- Sangria

One strange but interesting thing about Spanish culture? Authentic Spanish restaurants open at 9.30pm. Typical dinner time is around 10pm.

 

[Crysania]

Woah! Thanks for the interesting information!

Besides the presentation, I will also need to prepare a 5 course spanish meal... :embrass:
Still thinking what will be nice, simple and easy to prepare. Anyone knows if there are spanish restaurants in SG?

 

[laugh]

Have your guest seated with bread, olive oil and salt ready.
Start the meal with some simple tapas (recipe can find online).. worst case just put some olives on a plate..
Dont think you can go wrong with paella as the main (nothing more spanish than the national food!). Serve it with cava or sangria.

oh yah.. and start dinner at 10pm.

Besides presenting about the history (Visgoths, Moors, Catholics, Queen Isabella etc) and all the mesquitas and cathedrals..
You must in some point bring out the more modern heroes like Picasso (arguably french) who aimed to paint what a camera cannot produce and most definitely Gaudi, whose work is inspired by nature (where there are no straight lines).

The other thing distinctly spanish as my wife would argue would be.. LOEWE!

 

[jeanie]

spanish food is seebuay giam ah!:bsmilie:

 

[laugh]

Its pronounced as "Hamon" but spelt as "Jamon".
"J" in Spanish is pronounced as "H"

Speaking about Spanish Jamon.. i ate at this place in Madrid called Museo del Jamon.. I remember eating fresh, raw slices of ham with rockmellon (or was it honeydew).. Quite a refreshing experience I must say.

 

[Montmelo]

Have your guest seated with bread, olive oil and salt ready.
Start the meal with some simple tapas (recipe can find online).. worst case just put some olives on a plate..
Dont think you can go wrong with paella as the main (nothing more spanish than the national food!). Serve it with cava or sangria.

oh yah.. and start dinner at 10pm.

Fully agree on the above.
Paella is a lunch dish and usually served on Thursdays.
Typically they don't have Paella for dinner.

There are many books about Spanish dishes in the library. I know of 2 Spanish restaurants in SGP but they have closed already (Andorra @ Robertson Walk area & SOL @ Goodwood Park Hotel). I believe a tapas place called Ochos is still open.

You may consider the following easy ones for some of your dishes
1) A variety of Tapas
2) Gazpacho (cold tomato soup)
3) Paella (starters or mains) or Fidua (a noodle variety of paella)
4) Cream of Catalana (dessert)

Famous Spanish wine is a brand called Torres which is available in the local supermarkets (~$25+)

 

[Pablo]

Go to the Pig & Whistle in the old town in Benidorm.

Meet a few people there and get them to show you a few interesting sights.

St Patricks day is an interesting time in Spain. Much to see going on.