It was our first trip to Spain and we decided to set aside time for a nice dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Barcelona as it would be too rushed in Madrid. Mandarin Oriental’s Moments, managed by chef Carme Ruscalleda (and her son Raül Balam) who has won seven Michelin stars for her restaurants in Spain and Tokyo, offers "creative, fresh and healthy cuisine inspired by Catalan culinary culture". Made reservations for four and brought or bought what we thought would be appropriate wear, only to realise upon arrival that we were overdressed. Ordered from the à la carte menu so everyone could eat what they wanted as the tasting menu was meant for the entire table. There was no variety of bread, neither served warm nor with butter, to choose from. Requested for olive oil and vinaigrette that took so long to arrive that we thought our request was forgotten. Liked how the mango cubes in my appetiser made the Mediterranean red tuna tartar with wasabi ice-cream less cloying.
