Nelumbo - Menu

After a very disappointing meal at a highly and widely recommended Thai restaurant in Barcelona I had decided to stay off exotic cuisine in Barcelona and stick... read more After a very disappointing meal at a highly and widely recommended Thai restaurant in Barcelona I had decided to stay off exotic cuisine in Barcelona and stick to local cuisine. Occasional foray into Chinese and Japanese restaurants were comforting. Then about a month or so ago, I happen to read about Nelumbo in the local newspaper and was intrigued. That the chef is a vietnamite living in Barcelona for more than three decades; he runs another restaurant which specialises in eclectic East-West fusion food; that he decides to open Nelumbo to serve authentic South East Asian Street food at affordable prices without compromising on quality. Now that sounded promising to me. So today I lunched there with my companion. Fixed menu €13 including dessert/coffee and drink gave not numerous choices that could confuse the guest, but sufficient enough to showcase South Asian cuisine at its best. Ravioli is actually steamed dumplings stuffed with just the right mix of meat, vegetables and herbs and served seared. The soy sauce that accompanied it was deliciously redolent with fresh ginger. For mains we ordered Beef with tender onions with freshly crushed black pepper and Kaffir lime marinated beef skewers on a bed of acidic-sweet rice noodles salad. Exquisite. Both beef dishes came with fragrant fried rice with hints of prawns and vegetables. In addition to the fixed menu we also tried their Pad Thai. The delectable dish had all the right flavours minus the notorious chilli heat. While Vietnamese food as such sits light on the stomach and the portions served at Nelumbo are just right, the dessert of cocunut cream can sit heavy. Very like the much loved Thai dessert Tab Tim Krob (sweet water chestnuts in coconut milk), at Nelumbo the coconut cream is heavier with rose petals drenched in honey swirling in it and the wild berries acting the perfect foil with their sweet and sour taste. I loved it. Service was impeccable as was the food. No flavour was in excess. The ambience and decor leans towards the zen side, minimal and serene. You could hear the frogs croak now and then, interspersed in the soft background music. I have heard that in Singapore there is a hawkers stall that boasts a Michelin star for the chicken dish that they serve. I can wager that Nelumbo has the potential to play in that league. I shall be definitely visiting the place again. And again!

We decided to eat here as it was just a block or two from our apartment, and the menu looked pretty appetizing. We ordered some Vietnamese spring rolls, a chick... read more We decided to eat here as it was just a block or two from our apartment, and the menu looked pretty appetizing. We ordered some Vietnamese spring rolls, a chicken spicy curry, and chicken satays. Before the food arrived, I excused myself to use the washroom. Much to my surprise and chagrin, the mechanism in the door broke, and I was locked in a stall with a floor to ceiling door. After 10 minutes of pounding on the door and shouting, a staff member came to help. It took 20 more minutes of breaking through the door at the latch to free my from my imprisonment. During all of this time, the staff only told my wife that I was O.K., and they were trying to help me. They never told her what the issue was. As I do suffer with heart disease, she had all sorts of negative scenarios rolling through her mind. She was nervous to leave our table at the door with our coats, hats, etc. in case they disappeared. On top of all this, they served the food before I was freed! They did reheat the food, but that changed the taste and texture of our meal. At the end, they never offered to reduce the bill for the anxieties they put us through. As other reviews state, the food was probably pretty good the first time it was cooked, but we felt that the staff really did not care about what we went through, both being locked in, and the mental anguish my wife suffered.