Don Elmo’s Paella: Castilian Gastronomy in Bicol

Paella de Don Elmo
Castilian Gastronomy in Bicol 

The prominently Hispanic and authoritative name of

Don Elmo’s Paella attracted us to dine at restaurant.

 

The honorific title of “Don” added to the

allure that we are in for something grand.

 

There was an all male staff and

they were attentive and friendly.

We ordered both their Clam Chowder

and Cream of Mushroom as starters,

both were salty, as expected with most

Spanish dishes but were very delicious.

 

 

The Seafood Pomelo Salad was served as a huge mound of
  lettuce, generously topped with various seafood that went well

 with the tangy and citrusy pomelo. It was bathed with savory 
salad dressing. A perfect appetizer for our heavy dinner.

 

My family love eggplants so when

we saw Tortang Talong on the menu

we decided to order one. It was good.

Don Elmo’s Spanish Munggo was a delicious version

of the very popular ginisa that most Pinoys have gotten used

 to. It was topped with pungent chorizo that added delightful

flavor to this unique version of an all- time family favorite.

Callos is a traditional stew common across Spain, often is
 referred to as Callos a la Madrileña.  Don Elmo perfected
 this dish to the hilt and one of the most delicious version
 I’ve tasted. The oxtripe was sinfully tender and seem to 
melt in the mouth. It had generous amount of garbanzos,

topped with Chorizo and spiced with bell peppers.

While most people view paella as Spain's national dish, 
but most Spaniards consider it a regional specialty. 
Valencians regard paella as their identifying symbol 
so  it is but fitting to try Paella Valenciana despite

having several flavors offered in the menu.

The Paella Valenciana contains chicken,

chorizo, pork prawns, mussels. clams, eggs,

green peas and spiced with red pimientos.

The rice, on the downside was a little soggy, but it had an
 awesome layer of  the prized socarrat- the delicious crusty
 caramelized paella rice at the bottom of the serving dish.

When my family was in Madrid, our hotel was just few

steps away from the iconic Chocolateria San Gines,

established in 1894 where people from all over the world

come to sample the most popular churros con chocolate.

We loved it and we still crave for it after returning to Naga

 

We were thankful to see Churros con Chocolate

on the menu. The churros were a bit burnt and the

chocolate was more of a dip rather than of a hot

chocolate drink. It was okay, but not crave worthy.

We had a very  pleasant dining 
experience at Don Elmo’s Paella,

 

... as the service was excellent and made us feast .
on Castilian gastronomy right in the heart of Bicol