Portugal is renowned for its eclectic selection of food on offer. I assumed that, as in many other European countries, the simplest of ingredients from the humble lettuce to quality cuts of pork would be much nicer than the one's available in the UK. It is amazing how much the facets of sunlight, rainfall and soil affect the flavour of food. This is something I always notice when abroad, and deepens the blow of holiday blues when I come back. As with most places, my initial reaction was to immediately romanticise every aspect of the country, anything from the architecture, culture and nightlife to a carrot was undoubtedly better than its UK counterpart. This was something that a friend of mine, who was also on the trip, pointed out to me on more than one occasion. Perhaps though, it isn't romanticism but rather a fact. Is it just better out there? Or, am I being fantastical?
The following post is essentially a recount of where I visited but focusing on food, what was good, what wasn't (hardly anything besides a few dodgy hostel provided lunches). I am something of a self-proclaimed foodie, is that pretentious, or rather, enjoyer of food - I've just got a taste for the good stuff! So, lettuce (let us) begin!
The Shops
Let me be honest, as I am a graduate who at the time of this trip was jobless, I was on a budget. This meant that a large majority of what I ate throughout the week was from the supermarket. If we're being realistic, this is obviously the most cost effective way of eating when on holiday, especially if you have access to cooking facilities, which thankfully I did! Can you really describe a supermarket? It's just a bog-standard supermarket where you can buy everything you need, but the one I saw about frequently was called 'Pingo Doce'. In most of the one's I visited there was an excellent selection of hot counters, a cheesemonger, deli and fresh fish counter which is something definitely notable. These little sections were a good opportunity for me to suss out what sort of food would be available when out and about, and what to expect during any day trips. I found this actually really useful as not only was it an opportunity for me to find out new dishes, pastries and snacks but also to work out basic language skills regarding food as I don't eat certain things (meat) so I had the chance to figure this out. Mainly though, I took on what is arguably my favourite hobby which is eating a variety of miscellaneous tinned fish, which was particularly exciting as it is something of a delicacy here.
Oh, and something else that I thought was interesting was the fact that the supermarket itself was inside of a large shopping centre, which I haven't often come across. This was really handy as literally everything was available, including both a proper pharmacy and small medicine counter in the supermarket itself. Beware though, if you need any medicine such as ibuprofen, you will need to get it from behind one of those counters as it is not available on the shop floor as it is in the UK (this might be different in other countries, but I was slightly taken aback by this). This is something I personally encountered leading to an awkward exchange of "Eu gostaria de ibuprofeno, por favor" and then "ibuprofeno por favor" along with lots of pointing towards the medicine cabinet.
Anyway, to the good stuff.
Time Out Market
An impromptu tattoo appointment led me to abandon my group and head on a solo trip to Lisbon from Carcavelos. One of the most important steps before getting a tattoo, especially if you have a wicked hangover, is to eat a decent meal as it greatly helps with pain management and stops you from passing out. So naturally I headed to a nearby food market close to the studio, which coincidentally had been recommended to me by a prospective manager.
Time Out Market is a renowned hotspot for foodies seeking a large array of unique dishes. I was initially quite overwhelmbed by the colosseum-esque room lined with fooled stalls; the diners gladiators fighting for a seat amongst the large rows of tables and bar stools. I took a brief look around, realising quickly that the menus did all vaguely resemble one another, totally repeating themselves every few stalls. Wanting to eat something that wasn't bread, cheese or beer I began the search. The search itself was a short one, ending after walking along a row of burgers, chios, interesting looking sandwiches, fresh pastries and local rice dishes, I decided on the latter. The fresh fish, paired with citrusy rice sounded appealing so I ultimately chose a take on the traditional dish arroz de marisco.
It was a welcome change from the stodge that I had been eating all week, not that I didn't love every second of it. The rice was incredibly flavoursome, having deep umami flavours throughout the risotto which was cut through with a citrusy, lemon edge. Apparently eating swordfish is actually quite risky but it was delicious and I didn't get sick so I'd say it was fine! They had seared the fish itself, leaving them as a thick slice of sashimi, something which I'd assume has an official name but I have no clue even after doing a fair amount of googling.
Gorgeous food that sorted me out for the tattoo!
Beach Food
Just a short section here on the fantastic beachside bars, cafes and restaurants which made life much easier, especially when trying to source a bottle of water after hours sunbathing in the relentless heat. Everytime that I visited one of these cafes I was handed an English menu as a standard which was quite presumptuous, useful, but also understandable due to, you know, the pronounced QE accent and glaringly pale skin. They usually had the basics on offer, carb herby, cheap and cheerful. It was places such as Angels Bar where we'd pit stop on a beach day, loading up on gaspacho, chips and obviously some form of alcohol - usually a mega pint of Super Bock or a cheeky mojito. Something worth noting here is that when the waiter/ess says "big?" when ordering a beer they mean MASSIVE. I "accidentally" ordered these jugs of beer several times, again not complaining, which I'd say were about 600ml or thereabouts. It was certainly a novelty but the beer at the bottom of the glass would usually be lukewarm by the time you came round to it. So, unless you fancy chugging an insane amount of larger, light work for some, just specify a pint or medium size.
They never seemed to overcharge in my opinion, which given their convenience was very surprising. The full meal sets were all under 15€ which were quite large actually, but I always opted for something lighter as I don't have much appetite in hot weather...especially when I've had a few mega pints over the course of the day. I understand here that I may sound like something of an alcoholic here but the truth is, and this is something that you must understand, is that I am a mere twenty-one year old who just graduated, is from the North of England and is just a woman who can
handle her booze. Drinking is something within my rights and culture, so I obviously must act accordingly.
A nice and easy alternative to a packed lunch at the beach.
The Culinary Delights of Lisbon
If you've not figured it out by now, I quite prefer being on my own especially for exploration, adventures, sidequests - whatever you want to call them. THis is something quite monumental and a newly rediscovered trait of mine after battling with mental health issues for a vast majority of my adolescent years. In retrospect I did often default to semi-reclusive behaviours, especially during darker days but ironically I also struggled with being totally alone, especially when leaving the comfort and security of my bedroom... depression pit. Now, being alone is something that I typically ain to do, at least for a little while, as I find peace in the fact I can do whatever, whenever, however I want to, especially as it helps me to reconnect with myself, giving me ample opportunity to reflect on whatever it is that I am doing. So this is something that I did several times during this holiday. I'd head off armed with only my headphones, phone and a vague idea of what to do.
As this post is dedicated to good scran (that is slang for food for you non-brit readers), I will spare the details of my adventures...for now, but I did in fact absolutely take advantage of the local eateries - predominantly to quench my insatiable thirst for black americanos. After checking in my bags at one of the many bag drops I began the quest for the lunch, which was well needed after lugging a 20kg suitcase up, down and back up again the hills of Lisbon city centre. I had wandered around for a while, weaving around the streets congested with fellow tourists all presumably hoping to find somewhere good to eat. It was the penultimate day of the trip, so by this point I was well and truly knackered, so I craved somewhere small, tucked away so that I might finally be able to ditch the crowds that I usually love getting lost in. After some time roaming the maze of streets, and walking past several popular sightseeing destinations I found a secluded cafe next to an old railroad. Perfect!
It was clean, well decorated and most importantly quite empty, the few who were seated were locals which is always a good indicator of the quality of the experience ahead. I just went for a simple mushroom and spinach quiche paired with my favourite drink, a black americano - all of which was quite frankly delicious. The quiche was obviously freshly made using high quality ingredients, which elevated the simple dish by packing it full of natural flavour. A light lunch with a caffeine kick was exactly what I needed to continue on with my adventures... heading back to my bag, checking into the hostel and taking a much needed shower (I stank by this point) before I went on a hot date with a guy I had met at an event a few nights prior. Erm anyhoo, I recommend just having a look around and finding a place that suits your needs when it comes to cafes as the likelihood is that there won't be anything terrible, especially not in a city centre like this. Most, if not all places are super accessible and accommodating in Lisbon, making your experience easy as pie when it comes to ordering, making conversation and allergies. Luckily we live in the technological age so frankly, there is nothing to worry about when it comes to ordering and eating food whilst travelling.
So that was a brief recount of what I ate in Portugal, I'm still getting the hand of this blogging malarky and writing style so please let me know what you would like to read about or any other pointers because I'd like this to be actually good. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.
Cheers!