PS Tapas 西班牙餐酒館
Address: 台北市大安區安和路一段21巷19號 (忠孝敦化站)
Phone:(02) 2740-3636
Website: https://www.facebook.com/PSTapas
Date: 2014/2/14 6:30 PM
Price: 1364 NT (including 10%)
Valentine's Day Special
How long does it take for both Valentine's AND the Lantern Festival (元宵節) to be on the SAME day? The answer is, 19 years!
Therefore for this rare holiday, I planned ahead and scheduled myself to be free for the night。After handing over the shift, I was set to embark on a culinary journey with Eunice to explore Spanish cuisine。Eunice hasn't had many chances to try Spanish food。She had only gone to La Paella once in Gongguan, which I thought was decent，but there are definitely better restaurants out there。Plus, I haven't had Tapas for a long while now, the last time was at the Tapeo Restaurant & Tapas Bar in Boston more than a year ago。There is room for improvement, but the $5 Tapas menu at Tapeo was cheaper compared to many other places。I decided to give it a try in Taiwan, and wanted to book MVSA Spanish Restaurant & Bar，but it was fully booked。So I went online to search for another。PS Tapas is highly recommended by Eztable and many bloggers，so I chose this restaurant for this very special night。
Red flowers for Valentines!
The bar for the ones who could drink that night。Eunice had the late-night shift in the hospital and I was not in the mood for alcohol。However, quite a few bloggers mentioned that their Sangria tasted great。Next to the bar is a sign that shows the ingredients of the paella，their most famous dish。
History: Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in the mid-19th century near Lake Albufera，on the east coast of Spain。There are mainly three types: Valencian，seafood and mixed。Chefs use bomba， Senia，Bahia or Calasparra rice for this dish。
Another view of the bar
The couches for private parties
Tapas in Spanish means "to cover"。The Joy of Cooking mentions that tapas were the slices of bread or meat (ham or chorizo) originally used by sherry drinkers to cover their glasses between sips. This was meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry。However, the meats are salty and lead to thirst，so the bartenders created a bunch of dishes to serve with sherry。Because dinner is served between 9 and 11 PM in Spain，many go bar hopping and eat tapas in between。
Open kitchen where the chefs and kitchen staff cook the delicious food that numerous people are talking about
The star of the restaurant，Chef Lorenzo Pablo，from Valencia。It took a couple of tries to get a picture of him facing me。What a busy man! If I visit this restaurant again, I would want to take a picture with him。
Our table...no，the table adjacent to ours。You can see how tight the spacing is between our table and this one。
Our table
Menu
There are a variety of tapas，including Spanish omelette，garlic shrimp，stuffed mussels，ham croquettes，fried squid rings，bravas potatoes，Pulpo Gallego octopus，and anchovies marinated in vinegar。We ordered the Spanish omelette，the paella，and their special for Valentines。
The waitress told us to dip the bread in sauces or eat it with other dishes。But I was feeling ravenous to wait for the other dishes to be served，I gobbled down my share of the bread。It tasted bland。
Tortilla Española (Spanish Omelet)
The most common dish served in Spain, some call it the national dish of Spain。It is simply made from eggs，potatoes，and onions。It can be served as a tapas，main dish or as a filling。The blue container held the sour cream。
I cut the omelette into four slices。You can see the individual layers and the inner texture of fried potatoes， onions，and egg。Eunice was saving her stomach for the other dishes，hence I ate three-quarters of it by myself。Surprisingly, I did not feel half-full，most likely due to a busy day。
The potatoes were soft and moist，and the onions were sweet。The browning was prevented by using an excess of olive oil，which was later strained。I think the potatoes and onions were drained pretty well，since the omelette did not taste very oily。The omelette tasted starchy after the second slice，so dipping it in sour cream added another layer of flavor。
Valentine's Day Special 1: Arrollado de Pollo con Salsa de Arandanos 香脆培根菠菜雞肉捲佐雪莉酒小紅莓醬
The star of the night: spinach-stuffed chicken thigh wrapped in crispy bacon and coated with a delicious cranberry sherry sauce，and with herbs drizzled on top。The portion was generous，four large wraps for two。
The star of the night: spinach-stuffed chicken thigh wrapped in crispy bacon and coated with a delicious cranberry sherry sauce，and with herbs drizzled on top。The portion was generous，four large wraps for two。
The wraps were huge! Each one was like a half of a burrito。The chicken was well-cooked and had a savory aroma。The meat was tender and moist。The herbs gave the sauce a savory flavor，which complemented the tartness of the cranberries。
Grilled Seafood Paella with scrumptious shrimps，tender mussels，meaty clams，and swordfish
Socarrat (鍋巴), the golden caramelized crust layered at the bottom, is said to be the key player of the dish。Socarrat in Spanish means "to singe"，therefore a high-quality paella would have the bottom layer of rice yielding a thin crust that smells toasty，tastes crunchy and feels a bit hard when you poke it with a spoon。The paella was not overloaded with too much seafood，which would compromise the flavor of the rice。
The paella should be cooked with the type of rice that has the following qualities: 1) absorbs liquid well and 2) remains relatively firm during cooking, and 3) does not stick together。PS Tapas uses Bomba rice for its paella。Bomba rice is a short grain with a pearly color，highly prized by cooks for its ability to absorb around three times its volume，unlike the average rice grain that only absorbs two。This is important because the rice absorbs flavor from the liquid。Valencians say the cooked rice should be only about 1/2 of an inch to maximize the amount of rice touching the bottom of the pan，where most of the flavor comes from。
The flavor base is provided by the sauce made from aromatic ingredients, called the sofrito。Tomato, onion, and garlic are commonly used for this purpose。Pimenton，fresh herbs，or a dried red pepper called ñora are used occasionally by some cooks。
The rice had a glistening golden brown color，and stayed as individual rice grains。The rice was very rich，wet outside and relatively firm inside。I am not sure if I appreciated the crunchiness of the socarrat，but that also could be due to my lack of experience。
The marvelous，plump mussels tasted briny and sweet，reflecting the pristine sea from whence they came。The shrimp tasted slightly sweet and buttery，not fishy at all。
Valentine's Day Special 2: Coulant de Chocolate 甜蜜熔岩巧克力蛋糕
Molten lava cake is one of our favorite desserts，so we decided to order one。That decision cost me 180 NT，but it was well worth it。The presentation was appealing; sliced strawberry with dusting of powdered sugar and a sprig of mint on top，and a drizzling of orange sauce on the bottom。
This was my favorite dish of the night! The confession of a chocolate enthusiast
Overall:
Food:
We tried their Valentine's Day Special and two of their most popular dishes: the tortilla de patatas and the seafood paella。The dishes were delicious，I would recommended this place for ones looking for a descent Tapas restaurant。I didn't get the chance to check out their bar，maybe I will try their Sangria next time。
Environment:
The interior of the restaurant has a lounge feel with dim lighting，easy-listening lounge music，and relaxed atmosphere。This place is ideal for dating，dining with families，chilling with friends，getting a drink，or enjoying the sun and fresh air at the outdoor patio。The downside is that the tables are tightly spaced; sometimes you would have to speak louder when it gets too noisy，and the staff may bump into you sometimes while serving a dish to the adjacent table。
Service:
Service was acceptable; some of the staff were attentive to your needs，while others were more interested in their Line conversations and facebook notices。The dishes were served promptly，we did not need to wait for too long。
Price:
Medium-to-high cost，each dish is around 200 ~ 400 NT。
Location:
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The warm，oozing chocolate filling was moist and rich in flavor，and more bitter than that of Danny's Steakhouse。I like this one more，but there was not as much filling and it tasted dry after a few bites。A scoop of vanilla ice cream might have kept my craving going。 And sweeter strawberries would have been nice。Aren't we in a strawberry season?
Overall:
Food:
We tried their Valentine's Day Special and two of their most popular dishes: the tortilla de patatas and the seafood paella。The dishes were delicious，I would recommended this place for ones looking for a descent Tapas restaurant。I didn't get the chance to check out their bar，maybe I will try their Sangria next time。
Environment:
The interior of the restaurant has a lounge feel with dim lighting，easy-listening lounge music，and relaxed atmosphere。This place is ideal for dating，dining with families，chilling with friends，getting a drink，or enjoying the sun and fresh air at the outdoor patio。The downside is that the tables are tightly spaced; sometimes you would have to speak louder when it gets too noisy，and the staff may bump into you sometimes while serving a dish to the adjacent table。
Service:
Service was acceptable; some of the staff were attentive to your needs，while others were more interested in their Line conversations and facebook notices。The dishes were served promptly，we did not need to wait for too long。
Price:
Medium-to-high cost，each dish is around 200 ~ 400 NT。
Location:
View Larger Map
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