The Holiday Inn, Lisbon (photo above) is very well located. 500 yards from Saldanha metro station and 700 yards from Alameda metro station. Saldanha, as mentioned in my previous post, is great for the red line to the airport.
Alameda (see the green area around the station, above) is on this same line, but also on the green (verde) line which leads to the station in the central area of the city - Cais do Sodré.
Metro and Bus
We had two objectives this evening, one, to confirm Drew's registration and pick up his information pack and t-shirt/bib for Sunday's half-marathon, the other to get to our dinner booking at Alma Restaurant at 7.30pm.
Given the timings it seemed a reasonable ask as the two places are only four miles away from each other and on one bus route - the 728.
This of course makes perfect sense, except when you forget that a bus can go in both directions!
Leaving the hotel at 4.30pm we catch the metro on the red line and arrive at Cais do Sodré within 25 minutes, we walk out of the station and, before taking our bearings, we see a 728 with people boarding, so we rush ahead jump on, present our day ticket at the machine and get on.
The bus leaves Cais do Sodré and drives over a cobbled area and past a huge statue that I'm sure we will be visiting again, it continued on for a few stops until coming to the Cruise Ship Port, it was at this point, half along the number of stops I was expecting, that I checked google maps on my phone and spotted that we were heading away from, not towards Mosteiro Jerónimos (Jerome Monastery) which is the stop we needed!
As soon as we realised our (my) error we got off the bus and looked for the return bus stop - this proved more challenging than one might have expected. Due to roadworks the stop we had found, and which google maps indicated was the right one, didn't actually have any buses passing it! After about ten minutes we gave up and walked back along the route we had travelled up until we saw a 728 going in the direction we needed.
Centro Cultural de Belém
The location where Drew was to collect his stuff for the race is the Centro Cultural de Belém an impressive centre with a large courtyard, a cafe and other rooms. We arrived at 6.30pm.
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| Drew heading into the centre |
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| The Courtyard |
I wandered around, saw the end location of the race (outside the front of the centre) and in ten minutes Drew had arrived with his items.
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| Runners - this way |
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| Drew with his race bag etc. |
Travel to Alma
Leaving Belem at 6.45pm, we had an uneventful trip on the 728 returning to Cais do Sodré and walking 1/2 a mile to our destination arriving at 7.22pm. So, as it happened, even with our detour, we arrived well in time for our dinner at 7.30pm.
Alma
Lisbon is a city with 16 Michelin starred restaurants, 2 with 2 Stars and 14 with 1 star. So, choosing where to eat was not at all easy. We had booked for both the 2 Stars, but due to the flight delay our first booking at Belcanto had had to be cancelled. So, Alma was to be our only 2 star of the visit - and it more than lived up to expectations.
The Michelin Guide says of Alma:
If you’re keen to experience contemporary cuisine, Alma offers a treat for all the senses.
Behind its stone façade, this restaurant is teeming with personality. It occupies a 18C building that served as a warehouse for the famous Bertrand bookshop which first opened in 1732 and is recognised as being the world’s oldest. In its contemporary interior full of marked decorative contrasts, choose between a seasonal à la carte and two tasting menus (“Alma”, featuring the chef’s signature dishes, and the maritime-inspired “Costa a Costa”). Their dishes offer a culinary journey with traditional, Mediterranean and international touches and a technical skill that brings out the best flavours and showcases local ingredients. A restaurant that is best enjoyed in unhurried fashion!
I'd say this was an excellent description of the experience. It was leisurely, unpressured and like being in a cocoon of sanity in a busy world.
We were welcomed through the unpretentious door and shown to our table. The building is separated into small sections which makes the restaurant feel much more intimate than it would if we were all in one dining room. The room we were in had three other tables in it - there was great separation between each table.
There were warm, embroided, napkins to refresh us on arrival.
Even the Table Napkins are served silver service style.
Each item of cutlery was clearly designed to be distinctive, as you can see below, when the first spoon arrived.
It was followed by the first taste of the meal served in a small bowl. This was Fennel Dashi with Cucumber Jelly - We knew we were in for a real treat of an evening when this delicious amuse-bouche arrived - such subtle flavours, yet such rich depth – amazing.
Next was a tapioca crisp with dabs of black olive, green olive, tomatoes and red pepper - this was crisp with every bite giving an amazing, and subtly different, flavour to the mouth - wow. Can I have another one? Luckily, given how much more food was on the way!
We normally drink sparkling water with a meal, but the young gentleman who had shown us to our seat told us that we had arrived soon after the launch of a new range of mocktails.
The first one I tried was called a Soul Mocktail, it was made with Elderflower, lemon, cucumber, egg white and soda - tangy, but thankfully not sweet. I normally don't drink mocktails, but I'm so glad I took the advice and tried this one.
Drew opted for the Sielu Mocktail (note, each of the mocktails is called soul (which is what alma means in Portuguese) in the country which inspired it. Sielu is Finnish, the one I had, obviously, is English in inspiration. The Sielu was Pineapple, lime, ginger beer and mint - a chilled metal drinking container made this spectacular - the flavours were great too.
Our next amuse was Pork Crackling, spiced mayo and rosemary crust – A little tasty treat – I love cracking and this was extremely crisp, with the mayo, rosemary and other flavours drawing out the porkiness of the crackling in an exceptional way.
The tasters keep coming, this time with a crispy chilli,
stuffed with red pepper with a vinegar gel and tomato consommé base – I like
these people, yes, they did give us a spoon to eat what we'd not mopped up with
the tangy, smoky chillies an astounding consommé.
The next amuse-bouche was a Sous vide octopus with Beetroot relish and Nori – Wow the octopus was so tender. Not only was the octopus juicy, but the nori provided a crispiness and the beetroot and other gels were singing on the tongue, brilliance on a plate
The Octopus was followed by Broad bean, tuna and bacon crumb – The broad bean foam, which included whole broad beans was like an early taste of summer. It was delicious on its own, the tuna cubes and the bacon crumb being condiments to enhance the Broad bean, rather than elements in their own right.
Our final amuse was a Blueberry consommé, balsamic vinegar, dashi and parsnip sorbet – What an amazing flavour profile, the underlying balsamic tang with the little bursts of blueberry sweetness was a treat in its own right - the parsnip sorbet was all the flavour of parsnip with the texture of sorbet - strange, but very pleasant.
Next came the bread course - Wholemeal Sourdough Bread with a smoked butter with sherry and apple and Olive Oil from the Duero valley. We ended up having three loaves of this bread, they were very generous with it, - not only was it a rich bread, moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, but it was great for dipping in the Olive Oil and mopping up the other plates on the menu.
The smoked butter was unusual - it really tasted like the butter had been turned into ash and then re-creamed, the combination of an apple flavour was just odd, or mind-blowing, depending on your perception.
It was time for some more cocktails, this time I opted for the, Chinese inspired, Linghun Mocktail. This was a Lime, soda and mint drink - a sharp delightful contrast to the rich flavours we have been eating.
We had been asked at the beginning of the meal if we would prefer to opt for the classic or the fish/shellfish menu (after the amuse-bouche). I opted for the latter, Drew for the former, so from this point in the meal our menus diverge. I started the main set of dishes with a Sea Broth – This red bean, monkfish, mussels and smoked eel broth was in a rich fish stock consommé - mind blowing in a good way.
Drew’s first dish was simply called – Carrots. This was carrots with bulghur wheat, apricot purée, goat's cheese and cumin oil.
This was probably more to my taste than Drew's, but he didn't leave any after sharing some with me. The cheese went down really well somehow bringing the carrotynes of the carrot out.
My second main dish was Red scarlet shrimp, a dish of red scarlet shrimp, pumpkin, harissa and black garlic.
The pumpkin came as both foam and crumb and worked really well with the juicy, succulent, full bodied shrimp/prawn. The small pieces of hispi cabbage provided a crunch which was a good contrast with the other softer textures, a wonderful set of flavours.
Drew's dish was a Foie Gras, this was made of foie gras, apple, granola, beetroot, coffee - a gentle foie gras with tangy coffee grounds, that would have been bitter if they weren't so well combined with the foie and the apple, a real success.
My next delicious dish was Dover Sole. This was a combination of Dover sole, leek, chanterelles and caviar - the leek was done four ways and the chanterelles three, making them more than just veg on the side but a central part of the dish. That being said the Sole really stood out. It is not a fish I've eaten often, but its lovely subtle flavours worked really wonderfully in this dish.
Drew's next dish was also fish, the local delicacy - Bacalhau, this rich flavour of the salted cod, so typical of Iberian cooking, was perfect with the brandade and complimented the coriander foam and crispy kale, there are few fish that could carry off such strong flavours but the bacalhau did.
The salted cod looked even prettier from the side.
Drew's next course was suckling pig confit. The suckling pif was served with turnip top purée, pickled onions, black pepper jus - The meat was perfectly cooked hardly needing a knife to cut it - the veg, especially the pickled onions, were a great accompaniment as were the turnip crisps.
My course was Red Mullet. The Red mullet was cooked Portuguese style with grilled sea lettuce and sour bell pepper. This is another fish which I don't eat often but which has an amazing flavour. The red pepper foam was combined with all the vegetable flavours I associate with the Mediterranean - wonderful in taste and texture.
Our mains over the first pre-dessert was Green apple, celery, pine nut and samphire - the apple was Granny Smith tangy, the pine nuts provided additional crunch and the sorbet also had a sharpness that suited me. The colour and its contrast to Drew's pre-dessert was spectacular.
Drew's pre-dessert was called orange and almond. It was very vibrant in colour. These vibrant colours were only mastered by the vibrant flavours. So many different aspects of the orange and almond that Drew was in heaven.
Drew's dessert was called Madeira banana. It was a banana with a walnut and chestnut sorbet - the walnut méringue stood out as a distinctive flavour.
My dessert had the title: Sea flavours and citrus 2.0. This was a yuzu sorbet with crystallized algae and a citrus curd.
The sea flavours were in a cloud of foam and the strong citrus contribution included Lemon, freeze dried, as well as sorbeted. The citrus curd looked like chunks of chocolate but were sharp and tangy instead. The algae was like eating laverbread - I've never thought of having it with lemon, but I can see the attraction now, I so, so loved it.
We were encouraged to have a post-dessert like a pre-dessert and Drew was really tempted by the Azores island pineapple and passion fruit. This one was again a great mix of sharpness and sweet. The Passion Fruit sorbet was too sugary for me, but the scorched pineapple was perfect, so we shared it.
The meal ended with three Petit Fours. As usual Drew was 'forced' to consume all the Petit Fours - the apple one (bottom of the image) was wincingly sharp, the chocolate truffle had the addition of black olive powder. The top one was filled with liquid caramel which was the main flavour and burst in the mouth as soon as it was inserted.
The whole meal was completed by a delicious espresso served in an attractive cup.
Return to the Hotel
After the amazing delights of Alma, it was two blocks to the nearest metro station, called Baixa-Chiado, this is on the green line and it was six stops back to Alameda and a 10 minute walk to the hotel, where we arrived at 10.50pm, we were ready for bed, but wanted to re-live the pleasures of the meal by editing the photos, before we finally got to bed at midnight.
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