Explore the wonders of Spanish gastronomy at 18 Restaurants from Spain during this year’s Eat Spain Drink Spain initiative by ICEX Spain.
A fan of Spanish food? We have good news. Eat Spain Drink Spain is currently ongoing, with a large number of participating venues – including the Restaurants from Spain – flying the Spanish culinary flag high. Organised by ICEX Spain and the Spanish Embassy in Singapore, this year’s campaign not only puts those restaurants up front and centre but also sees a slew of food- and wine-related activities take place across the island.
That the Spanish authorities have seen fit to promote Spanish gastronomy in the Lion City in such a big way comes as little surprise. The original 12 Spanish-themed restaurants appointed as Restaurants from Spain back in 2021 has since grown to a list of 18 this year, denoting how Spanish cuisine has gotten so popular in Singapore in recent years.
For those not familiar with the Restaurants from Spain, it is a certification programme by the Spanish cultural authorities recognises and supports restaurants around the globe as true culinary ambassadors.
What that means is that you can expect quality Spanish dining from these appointed venues.
Tapas, Tapas Everywhere!
Like tapas, for instance.
What began as bar snacks or small plates of food to accompany your glass of wine or other beverage has become a Spanish dining tradition so well-loved around the world that today it’s heavily borrowed by other cuisines.
There’s the tortilla, a Spanish omelette made with eggs, potato and onion, for example. Also known as the tortilla de patata, this is a simple yet iconic dish that defines traditional Spanish cooking. The version from Tapas,24 is an absolutely scrumptious Mallorcan-style tortilla that comes piping hot with the insides still runny, while the one offered by Tapas Club and Pura Brasa are more classic takes that’s thick and hearty.
Or how about patatas bravas, another humble dish of deep-fried potatoes lashed with garlic alioli and tomato sauce? The standard cubed potato version is delicious enough, but contemporary Spanish restaurant FOC has an elevated version with beautifully presented mille-feuille potato.
Another popular tapas is gambas al ajillo, a delicious of garlic shrimp cooked in olive oil. The tapas bar at Binomio serves up an excellent version with just a sprinkling of parsley for some added freshness, while Next Door Spanish Cafe spikes theirs with heat using cayenne. Either way, you’ll need some bread for dipping into that flavoursome oil!
And of course, no exploration of Spanish cuisine would be complete without jamón ibérico. This prized cured ham – made from the native Iberian pig commonly fed on acorn – is almost always ordered at every table in Lumbre.
That’s not all – other popular tapas include croquetas (deep fried crispy rolls with fillings such as jamon, mushroom, or cheese), pimientos de padrón (grilled padron peppers), and pan con tomate (bread rubbed with tomato).
Sample The Diverse Flavours Of Regional Spain
Spain is a vast country with geographic and cultural diversity, and each region offers up its own culinary identity.
There’s Catalonia in northeastern Spain, for example, whose cuisine is heavily influenced by its proximity to the Mediterranean sea so seafood figures prominently. One of the champions of Catalan cuisine in Singapore is Restaurant Gaig, and its menu regularly features the likes of bacalao (salt cod), pulpo (octopus), and recently even held an exclusive dinner showcasing the prized carabineros red prawn, a species that can be found off Spain’s coastline from the eastern Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
Otherwise there’s Andalusia in southern Spain, the birthplace of gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, or Galicia on the top leftmost corner of the country right next to the Atlantic, with pulpo a la gallega – octopus cooked with olive oil and spiced with paprika – one of its regional signatures.
Then there’s inland Castile y Leon too, where roasted suckling pig, or conchinillo, is a Segovia specialty. Spanish grill restaurant Asador has an excellent traditional version of this, while the one at Esquina is more elevated with the suckling pig served with rhubarb and green apple alongside and drizzled with a mulled wine jus.
Or how about Basque country, home to many of Spain’s most award-winning fine dining restaurants? Singapore gets a little taste of Basque with the Basque cheesecake from Olivia, which recently even opened artisanal cheesecake shop Queic by Olivia at Scotts Square just to sell this specialty.
And not forgetting possibly the most internationally recognised dish in all of Spanish cuisine – paella. Traditionally a farmer’s dish from the region of Valencia, this is rice cooked in a shallow, open pan with a variety of different ingredients. The classic paella Valenciana – made with rabbit, chicken and green beans – is hard to find in Singapore as rabbit is not commonly eaten here. But UNA over at Alkaff Mansion serves up a great mariscos (seafood) version with carabineros prawn, clams and mussels, while Kulto dishes out another with sea bass, mussels, clams and squid that’s coloured black with squid ink.
Bring Home A Taste Of Spain
Along with the rising popularity of Spanish gastronomy in Singapore, it is also increasingly common to find top quality produce from Spain brought in by specialist purveyors.
You can pick up premium Azada olive oil and top quality Carrasco jamón ibérico from Isle Grocer, for example, a family-owned online grocery stocking carefully-sourced produce from Spain. Or Manzanilla olives and canned smoke sardines from Ecolah, another family-owned online business that carries a wide range of organic Spanish goods, as well as chorizo sausages from Repertoire Culinaire. If you’re a cheese lover? Huber’s Butchery carries a wide range of artisanal Spanish DOP cheeses, ranging from creamy Tetilla and robust Oveha to funky Idiazabal and Cabrales cheeses.
Wine lovers are spoilt for choice too, with wines from iconic winemaking regions across Spain – such as Rioja, Rías Baixas, Ribera del Duero, Priorat, Jerez, and more – made available on retail shelves or online by suppliers such as The Cellar Door, Alfa International, Monopole, or Wholesome Harvest.
For example, Alfa International offers wine delivery through its online retail arm EwineAsia.com, so you can easily have the Spanish wines in their portfolio – such as Ribera del Duero’s Bodegas La Horra, renowned Cava producer Gramona from Penedès, or even Priorat’s cult producer Alvaro Palacios – delivered right to your doorstep.
And with the ongoing Eat Spain Drink Spain campaign promoting Singapore’s slate of Restaurants from Spain, there’s no better time to dip your fork into Spanish cuisine. Eat Spain Drink Spain runs till 15 October.
This article is produced in collaboration with ICEX Spain and Restaurants from Spain. To find out more about Restaurants from Spain, visit https://www.foodswinesfromspain.com/en/certified-restaurants-from-spain.
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