NP: Bobby Womack - Across the 110th Street
Mood: Hungry
Based on restaurant menus offering local food, the Portuguese diet seems to consist mainly of seafood, potatoes, bread, sausages (chorizo), pork, beef and greens. Lunch is typically eaten around 1 PM and dinner around 8 PM which is a tad later than I'm accustomed to. But these times actually work better for my schedule.
Breakfast at our two-star hotel, Ibis Lisboa Jose Malhoa, is a flexibly timed buffet. You can go have it anywhere between 6:30 AM and 12 PM. The extension of time till midday is awesome for those of us who like to sleep late. The selection at the buffet is pretty typical for western hotels except that there's no bacon, boiled sausages or scrambled egg on offer. But they do serve the Portuguese custard pies (Pastéis de Nata) in addition and have a machine for squeezing oranges and make your own glass of fresh orange juice.
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| Breakfast at Hotel Ibis Lisboa Jose Malhoa |
Cod (bacalhau in Portuguese) is the favourite fish of Portugal and seemingly available everywhere in Lisbon. As are other types of fish. Apart from yesterday, so far I've eaten fish grilled or in pastries every day here.
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| Codfish |
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| Seabass |
Typically fish dishes seem to cost around 13-15€ in touristy restaurants but I've seen prices around 7-8€ in some places filled by locals.
Fish was available near MAAT, Standard of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery - all of which are nice sights to see in Lisbon, the last two in particular.
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| Fish and meat pies at Velha Taberna |
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| Decent swordfish at the scammy Garphus where they bring additional dishes to your table even if you didn't order them, and charge a lot extra. Avoid. |
It certainly seems to be a city rich with fish and sea food in particular but those are not the only things on offer. O Poke (Kiko's Place) in El Corte Ingles offered a mix of nice Hawaiian and eastern food.
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| Hawaiian Iberian Pork (with broccoli puree, pineapple and "farofa") |
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| Nero Rice with King Crab and Mussel (with green papaya salad) |
Yet the best dish to my taste so far has been a good old pepperoni pizza at a touristy but friendly place (with a great waiter) called Luso Central. It was surprisingly tasty with wonderful tomato sauce and delicious mozzarella.
All in all, Lisbon has turned out to be a great place for eating and the Portuguese cuisine definitely something to go for.
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