Casa Xica, ten years of Catalanized soy noodles

The heart of Barcelona's Poble-sec neighborhood hides a small restaurant that is well worth visiting from time to time. Located on França Xica street, Casa Xica opened its doors ten years ago and has established itself as one of the few gastronomic references in this part of the city thanks to a disruptive proposal that fuses Asian and Catalan cuisine. Its dishes do not leave one indifferent, rather they surprise; one only has to check it by choosing from the menu a very curious surf and turf omelet made Okonomiyaki style.

Behind this original and at the same time daring fusion cuisine is the married couple formed by Raquel Blasco and Marc Santamaria. Both are chefs and for a long period of their lives they resided in Shanghai, where they managed three Spanish restaurants. Previously, they had also worked in London. Twelve years ago they returned to Barcelona eager to open their own restaurant and that's when they devised this Catalan-Asian cuisine formula that combines Mediterranean ingredients ---they only use olive oil--- with the techniques and preparation methods they learned in China. The result is a cuisine marked by mixture and very enjoyable, as they are dishes full of flavor and contrasts that turn the evening into a different yet intimate experience, as it is an ideal place to go with a partner, with only eight tables and excellent table service.

"We are rigorous with technique, but we like to let loose with ingredients and mixtures," explains Raquel Blasco. According to the chef, many diners arrive at the restaurant after attending, for example, a performance at the nearby Teatre Lliure and, when they see the menu, she admits they get scared. "I always tell them that if they don't like it, I won't charge them," she assures, adding, obviously, that everyone pays and leaves happy for having enjoyed a different gastronomic experience. Many of these skeptical customers have ended up becoming regular customers, so it is always recommended to book a table in advance, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.

In ten years, Blasco and Santamaria have conceived up to 550 dishes, with continuous menu changes, but there are some proposals that are a must of the house and that they have not been able to eradicate from the menu, such as their iconic green soybean noodles, red shrimp and tobiko, and their incredible homemade bao filled with oxtail. It is not just any bao, it is supreme, so they keep the recipe a secret, which they admit deviates from the Asian style, as it undergoes a double fermentation process and is made with olive oil instead of lard.

To celebrate this tenth anniversary, the owners of Casa Xica have self-published a book to share with their friends and clients the ten recipes that best identify them. It has not been easy to choose among the more than 500 creations that have come out of their kitchens, but, evidently, in the 80-page book, the green soybean noodles and the oxtail bao appear in a privileged position. Prologued by Albert Raurich ---chef of the Dos Palillos restaurant---, the book details the recipes of each dish and is accompanied by abundant photos of both the ingredients and the finished dishes, all seasoned with texts by journalist Núria Bigas where anecdotes that contribute to defining the peculiar style that characterizes Blasco and Santamaria are also revealed.

The monkfish head al pil-pil with rice pasta or the squid tartare with coconut ajoblanco and lime are other recipes included in the book, which does not forget other emblematic dishes such as the crispy Hong Kong-style suckling pig, the super tasty cod liver gyozas with shrimp and spinach, or the disconcerting pork belly and shrimp Okonomiyaki tortilla. All these creations can now be enjoyed again at Casa Xica, which has just launched the tenth anniversary commemoration menu (10 years, recap), consisting of fourteen dishes ---at a price ranging between 8 and 20 euros--- and which also includes the possibility of enjoying a tasting menu for 60 euros. The pig's trotters carpaccio with egg yolk sauce or the Penang foie and mushroom curry are other proposals from Casa Xica, without forgetting the Iberian feather Buta kimchi or the smoked Chinese eggplants with caramelized miso and Cantonese dried fruits.

Raurich says in the prologue that the cuisine of "Rak y Marc" is "a reflection of who they are. A fun, fresh, casual, tasty cuisine, full of nuances and textures, a mix of Asian street, Blanes beach and New York suburb, and with no other pretension than wanting to please and make people happy." "Good, authentic people, who have clear principles and life philosophy. There's no Coca-Cola because they don't believe in it, there's no commercial wine because they're not interested," says the renowned chef from Dos Palillos, who is a neighbor of the restaurant.

The commemorative book with Casa Xica's most iconic recipes is on sale for 15 euros starting this week at the restaurant itself, with the possibility of combining it with a special edition of the house wine, for 30 euros. It is a natural reddish wine made by Ignasi Seguí ---from Vinyes Singulars--- with a coupage of the Xarel·lo, Sumoll, Parellada and Macabeu varieties. At the end of the year, to close the anniversary, Casa Xica will also organize four-hand dinners, that is, with the participation of other friendly chefs and restaurants.

The establishment, located in França Xica with Concordia street, opens every night from Tuesday to Saturday and, from Thursday to Saturday, also serves lunch at midday. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays. The average ticket is around 45 euros. For the past two years, in summer, coinciding with the Grec Festival, the owners of Casa Xica manage Farm to Table, the ephemeral restaurant that is set up in the gardens of the Teatre Grec and which has one of the best terraces in the city to enjoy a dinner with a sunset.