You don't have to travel to Asia to enjoy some of the most heterogeneous, ancestral, stimulating, and delicious cuisines in the world.
In Barcelona, we have great restaurants offering Asian cuisines. From the ancient Chinese cuisine to the exotic Thai, from the minimalist and exquisite Japanese cuisine to the spiced Lebanese.In this article, we propose traveling with your palate, aroma, and sight to several Asian countries. Four restaurants to enjoy Asian flavors.
Shikô by Yamato, a Japanese barbecue with a street style accent
The Japanese wordshikôrefers to that which is "successful, powerful, brave." And brave is the proposal ofShikô by Yamato,a restaurant specializing in Japanese-style barbecue. Located at number 76 Balmes Street in Barcelona,Shikô by Yamato it is, without a doubt, a unique space in the city. Unique for its spaciousness and its interior design, with that very Japanese kitsch touch, and unique because it offers different atmospheres to savor authenticShabu Shabu, thehot-potJapanese made with brothdashiof fish, or exquisiteSukiyaki, one of the most well-known meat and vegetable stews in Japanese cuisine.
These are two of the star proposals of this restaurant, which has also just launched a new cocktail menu. Combinations to whet the appetite, to pair with dishes or to extend lunches and dinners.
Led by José Luis Jin Hu ---promoter of Oishii Ramen Street---, Shikô by Yamato is, without a doubt, a different restaurant that wants to offer a tailor-made proposal for each diner. For carnivorous palates, who appreciate high-end noble meats, or even for the youngest foodies, who seek the most spectacular photo with a street style background, in addition to eating well and having fun.
And it is that, although the singularity of this Japanese restaurant is its commitment to BBQ, the menu is seasoned, as it could not be otherwise, with a large assortment of dishes and small plates with a more or less pronounced Japanese accent, from the fusion of Iberian rolls with cheese and edamame to donburi that can be yakitori chicken with ginger, shikô beef, meatballs and curry, pork belly and kimchi, or volcanic beef.
Address: C/ Balmes, 73.
Nomo, new establishment in the Eixample, and that makes eight
They were just over 25 years old and eager to start a business. More than 15 years after the inauguration of their first establishment in the Sarrià neighborhood, Borja and Juan Molina-Martell, his brother-in-law,Ramón Jiménez, and its Japanese partner,Naoyuki Haginoya, continue opening new restaurants with a strong Japanese accent. The latest one in the heart of Eixample, which joins the other seven that theGrupo Nomotreasures in Barcelona, Girona, the Costa Brava, and Madrid.
In each and every one of them, excellence is sought in Japanese elaborations made with the best local products and designed by Haginoya, known for his impressive career in the best sushi bars, izakayas, and yakinukus in Tokyo.
Thus, the menu of the new Nomo offers a variety of Japanese tapas such as the Sukiyaki Croquette (Japanese oxtail croquette) and the Yaki Hotate no Foie (scallop skewer with Empordà foie); and starters such as the Okonomi Omelette (open omelette with octopus) and the Ebi Chilli (spicy prawns), which capture all the essence of Japanese cuisine. The menu also features a selection of yakitori created by the chef exclusively for this establishment.
By the way, a place that transmits minimalist calm, and signed by Ricard Trenchs. From its walls hang a collection of Keshiki, which means "landscapes" in Japanese, created especially for Nomo by Esther Mir, an artist who uses pages from old books bought in Tokyo markets as a base for her collages.
Address: C/ Consell de Cent, 256.
Boa-bao, colorful and heterogeneous Pan-Asian cuisine
In 2019, and with luggage full of recipes, inspiration, and Bordalo Pinheiro swallows, among other decorative elements, the firm born in Portugal dedicated to Pan-Asian cuisine, Boa-Bao, landed in Barcelona. The place, a former art gallery, transports us to a sophisticated Asian canteen through an aesthetic meticulously cared for, but, above all, through its traditional Southeast Asian cuisine recipes.
Its gastronomic proposal is fun and informal. A rogue street food to taste a little bit of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Japan, and China. Delicious are the fried strips of dehydrated beef with sesame Isaan style, and the braised scallops with Nam Jim seafood sauce. The king of the house is, however, the ramen, although it is a reign that is tottering due to the dominance of the baos, perfectly cooked.
But, without a doubt, its strong point is that they remain faithful to traditional culinary formulas. For this, they often have Asian chefs who do an internship at the premises to leave their cooking secrets.
Address: Plaza del Dr. Letamendi, 1.
Addictive soups at YGF Malatang
The so-called Chinatown of Barcelona's Eixample has been incorporating Chinese specialty restaurants in recent years, almost always through small entrepreneurs and in modest premises. But last year the pull of the area attracted the first opening in Europe of the Yang Guo Fu (YGF) Malatang chain, on Gran Via. In the following months, other cities followed, but the one in Barcelona fueled the hot spot fever, demonstrating that with a fast food formula you can eat an addictive and healthy soup.
The Asian giant has more than 6,000 restaurants on that continent. And the businessman who dared to open the floodgates in Barcelona, Xiaobao Wu, maintains ambitious expansion plans in the city.
Its proposal of Chinese hot pot is based on a self-service of vegetables, meats, fish, gyozas and other preparations that are chosen by weight (2.19 euros per 100 grams) in a bowl and with which in the kitchen they quickly prepare an enormous delicious personalized soup, which is then seasoned with spices and sauces to taste, among various specialties.
The key to its success is the broth they prepare for eight hours and which causes a sensation (given the queues from the very beginning) among purebred Chinese who know the famous formula in their country, as well as Barcelonians with no borders in their palate and of all ages who have already become regulars of its different versions.
Address: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 732
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