A trip to Barcelona last year made me fall head over heels in love with Spanish food. I remembered going to this tapas bar in Barcelona at least once a day (sometimes twice) because I have always love variety but to enjoy variety, I need smaller portions so an assortment of tapas is certainly perfect for my appetite.
As people in Spain tend to eat dinner very late (9pm – 11pm), tapas are hence created as pre-dinner snacks for anyone who feels peckish in the day but not hungry enough to eat a full meal.
While I was searching for authentic Spanish food in Singapore, I happened to come across this restaurant at Orchard Hotel. We ordered Sangria which is a popular Spanish wine punch and several tapas including my all-time favourite Jamon Iberico Bellota (at $24 per 40g) which was served with nice warm baguette. Full marks for the ham. We had two plates of that. Or were there 3?
The Pulpo A Feira ($15) which is traditional octopus sprinkled with paprika and served on potatoes is another must-try Spanish dish. Though totally different from what I had in Barcelona, the octopus was slightly chewy but still tender and reasonable on its own. The Chorizo Frito (Spanish sausages $10) was a disappointment though because I could taste the overwhelming fatty oil when I bit into them but I could be biased as I am never fond of chorizos anyway.
Loved the way the bread was presented and served. I couldn’t remember how many slices of bread I had. They complemented the tapas we ordered so unless you are a bread (carbo) eater, tapas would not be suitable (and filling) enough for you.
Bodega Y Tapas
442 Orchard Road
#01-29 Orchard Hotel
Singapore 238879
Tel: 6735 3476
Opens: 11.00am to 12.00am daily