MOSCAVIDE, PORTUGAL Bifanaria Portuguesa

We stayed at the Moxy hotel by the LISBON airport on our last night in Portugal. Looking for a last good meal, we found a tiny mom-and-pop diner run by the young son and the cook, called Bifanaria Portuguesa. We took the metro from our hotel, and walked on the way back. The streets were very empty on our walk back, which was such a different feeling from our walks in old town Lisboa. This area was more of a suburb of Lisbon.

At Bifanaria Portuguesa, we made small talks with the son, who was very friendly. As more customers arrived and started to pack up the place, we also talked to another family and asked what they ordered (it was fried cuttlefish and they highly recommended it.) Sadly we were too full to try it.

Watching the cook build our sandwich by picking out the thinly sliced pork from a big vat of sauce made us feel like we were getting a very authentic meal. The juice from the sauce soaked up into the bread and the addition of bacon and runny egg put it over the top. We decided this was the best bifana we had in Portugal. The whole meal was so cheap we added a dessert (a slice of the flan-like dessert).

 RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended! If you are around the LISBON International Airport and looking for an authentic and cheap meal, check out Bifanaria Portuguesa. If we return to Portugal, we will order the fried cuttlefish as well as the bifana.

Address: R. Francisco Marques Beato 81 A, 1885-034 Moscavide, Portugal

PORTO, PORTUGAL Famous Porto Sandwiches

The night before, we received recommendations from Chef Vasco Coelho Santos on where to find the famous Porto sandwiches. He recommended two places for different things, so we went to both for first lunch and second lunch.

The first recommendation was Conga Casa das Bifanas, where a line of locals was forming before it opened. We got in line and got a table right away. We split four ways a Franceshina, per Chef's advice. We also ordered a Bifana, but regretfully we decided to go without the bread. The thought was to save room for second lunch, but we think we should have ordered the bifana sandwich for the authentic taste.

 

Restaurant Conga

The second recommendation from Chef was for Cachorrinho the Portuguese hot dogs at Gazela. He said they were small, so we should each get our own. His claim was, if hungry, you could eat four of them. He was right, the hot dogs were delicious, and there were more on the menu that also sounded delicious, that we came back that night for dinner. We ordered some more hot dogs and shared a garlic steak. A very down-to-earth and yummy meal.

Restaurant Gazela

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended! This is what Porto is about, and we found where to get the amazing Porto sandwiches and hot dogs (thank you Chef!) So cheap and delicious!

PORTO, PORTUGAL Euskalduna Studio (a one-Michelin star restaurant)

We researched ahead of the trip with the help of Ricci and Amy to make a reservation at a fine dining during our trip to Portugal.

We chose Euskalduna Studio, a one-Michelin star restaurant in Porto, because of the interesting menu and good reviews. It was pretty easy to make reservations during the low season.

The restaurant was only 5 minutes away from our apartment, which made it very convenient.

We ordered the chef's tasting menu, and Phil and Ricci added the non-alcoholic drink pairing, which turned out to be tea drinks rather than fruit juice or vegetable juice.

The food was delicious, and the most memorable dish was the French toast, which was perfectly caramelized like a crème brulée top, but somehow became so juicy and oozing of milky cream when we dug in with a fork. We have never had French toast like this before!

The staff was very friendly and very good at explaining what were being served. For example, we learned that the French toast took a couple days to make, which included flash freeze to keep the cream absorbed into the bread.

Chef Vasco Coelho Santos came to our table to talk to us and make jokes about his staff. At the end of dinner, he wanted to know where we have been dining, so he could make recommendations. He had recommendations for fine dining but we asked where to find the best Franceshina, it being a specialty sandwich from Porto. He looked surprised, then advised us to split a Franceshina, a Bifana, then go for a Portuguese hot dog called a cachorrinho (one each because they were small). Franceshina and Bifana at Conga, and cachorrinho at Gazela.

At the end of the meal, we asked Chef for a picture, and he brought us to his kitchen for a group picture.

RECOMMENDATIONS: We really enjoyed our meal at Euskalduna Studio, especially for the great service, the friendliness of the staff, and the interaction with Chef. We have never been to a fine dining where the chef came out and talked to us as much as Chef Santos. The food was very good too, but the chef and staff made it an especially memorable experience for us.

 

PORTO, PORTUGAL Time Out Market

Right next to the São Bento train station was the Time Out Market Porto. The lineup of chefs and restaurateurs at the market was impressive: chef Ricardo Costa (two Michelin stars chef at the Yeatman), chef Rui Paula (two Michelin stars chef at Casa de Chá da Boa Nova), chef Vasco Coelho Santos (one Michelin star chef at Euskalduna Studio - we had reservations for dinner here on this night, see our post), chef Rafaela Louzada (Michelin Bib Gourmand at Gruta.)

Phil and Thanh went to Chef Ricardo Costa to share a seared tuna salad and a suckling pig sandwich. Amy ordered a shrimp dish at Chef Rafa Louzada (the only female chef in the impressive line ups at Time Out market), and Ricci got the suckling pig sandwich. Everything was amazing.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended! As we have said before, we love marketplace and food halls. The Time Out Market Porto had an amazing group of fine dining stalls in an informal setting. It was easy to get seats at the large communal tables. There was something for everyone. Must go.
 

PORTO, PORTUGAL Mercado do Bolhão

We loved going to marketplaces when visiting Europe, and whenever possible, always intentionally chose apartments within walking distance of one.

The apartment (Thomaz Palace) we stayed in Porto was exceptionally nice in terms of amenities, and had a private parking space. It was also within 10 minutes of walking distance to the Mercado do Bolhão.

We checked in around 5PM, and after settling in, we walked to the market to get dinner around 7PM. The market was surprisingly empty, most of their stands had been cleared. This must be one of those markets that were active early in the morning and ended early. We settled on a pasta food stand, where they cooked the pasta then sauced it up in a big thing of cheese. It was pretty good.

We returned to the market every morning after that. During the day, the market was very lively with seafood stands, fruit stands, and dried food stands. We tried cherimoya (a tropical fruit Thanh remembered from her childhood in Vietnam) and it was delicious!

On the last morning of Porto, Thanh returned to the market one last time for round 2 of mocha and cherimoya. The mocha was from C'Alma, which had a stand at the market as well as a coffee shop in Porto. The mocha was one of the best mocha's we had. 

 

MEALHADA, PORTUGAL Pedro dos Leitoes

We told Ricci and Amy about the suckling pigs we had in Coimbra, and this really peaked Ricci's interests. Thanh did some research and discovered that a little town called Mealhada, located between Lisbon and Porto, was known for its suckling pigs.

Since the 18th century, Mealhada has been serving these piglets, basted with garlic and roasted until crispy, to the truck drivers between Lisbon and Porto. Soon this became a magnet for locals and tourists.

As we approached Mealhada, neon signs of Leitoes appeared on roadside buildings. We continued our drive to Pedro dos Leitoes, the best-known and said to be the first Leitoes restaurant in Mealhada.

Despite being a very large restaurant with 400 seatings, we arrived at 1PM and waited until 2PM for our table. We were famished and excited for the piglets. There were other things on the menu that we ignored. The piglets were sold by the weight, and we trusted our waiter to order enough for four famished people.

The sides we chose were homemade chips, orange salad, and rice.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended! The suckling pigs were delicious, with such tender and juicy meat and such crispy skin. A worthy stop when traveling between Lisbon and Porto, or visiting Coimbra (the town was less 30 minutes from Coimbra.)
 

LISBON, PORTUGAL Hello Kristof Specialty Coffee

Hello Kristof was a specialty coffee shop in Lisbon. We read good reviews so we decided to check it out.

We arrived at the location based on Google Map but they have moved. Luckily someone pointed us to the general directions where they moved to. We wandered toward the general direction, and somehow found it.

We were still full from our wonderful seafood meal at Sea Me, so we only ordered specialty coffee drinks. Thanh really enjoyed her mocha drink, with a shot of espresso and chocolate syrup. Yum. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended for a nice coffee break.
 

LISBON, PORTUGAL Sea Me

Sea Me was a food stall at the Timeout Market where Amy ordered oysters and seafood pasta and really enjoyed their food. So we decided to make a reservation for lunch for the four of us.

The restaurant was very nice, and we were extremely impressed with their seafood display. All of us wanted to try their grilled fresh fish, and after getting the recommendations by the staff, we picked the black belly rosefish (Cantaril Boca Negra), a fish local to the Azores in Portugal with firm meat. Thanh was also very interested in the jumbo prawns from the Algarve, at 20 euros a prawn. We ordered a couple sides to go with our seafood, and raw oysters as appetizer based on Amy's high recommendations.

The fresh oysters came out first, served with a lemon-vinaigrette, and were simply amazing. Then came the prawns, one prawn for each of us. The prawns were grilled to perfection, and served with a wonderful butter sauce. For perspective, we have included a picture of us with the prawns, as they were more like the size of a lobster tail! Finally, the grilled black belly rosefish came out (the only one in the display, and I guess the only one being served that day). The deboned fish was seasoned just right and grilled to perfection. What an incredible meal!

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended! This was one of our most memorable meals in Portugal with Ricci and Amy. It was tied with our seafood meal in Salema (see our post for O Lourenço) where we ordered a very similar meal, so we felt very lucky to have had two such amazing seafood meals in Portugal.

 

LISBON, PORTUGAL O Arco

We searched for a good cataplana for Ricci and Amy, and decided on O Arco for their high reviews.

We ordered the seafood cataplana and the lamb chops, with sides of rice and fries. We also ordered their couvert with bread, butter and olives. Ricci was very unhappy with how much we were charged for each individual pack of butter. Amy and Thanh were not so impressed with their olives. As a side note, in Portugal, restaurants will sometimes bring a couvert (typically bread, butter, olives, chips, etc.) without asking, and if you touch it, you will be charged. If you don't want to be charged, you can send it back. To be fair, here, we specifically ordered the couvert and knew the cost of each couvert. Ricci just did not realize the butter we ordered was simply one of those individual packs of butter.

The cataplana was good, and the broth was a nice seafood broth, but it was not as big as the one we had in Lagos. Phil also liked the curried broth from the Lagos restaurant better. The lamb chops were not as well seasoned as we would like.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Pass. We really wanted Ricci and Amy to sample a seafood cataplana, but we were not impressed by the food here.
 

LISBON, PORTUGAL Alcoa Pastry Shop

Pastelaria Alcoa was Amy's favorite pastry shop in all of Portugal. We returned several times, and Amy and Ricci went back one last time on our very last night in Lisbon before flying home. While they uber'ed from our airport hotel to old town Lisbon (which took one hour in heavy traffic and costed Ricci his last 2G of data in Portugal), Phil and Thanh went to Bifaneria Portuguesa for dinner (see separate post for this.)

Alcoa offered a large selection of traditional Portuguese custard pastries, masterfully decorated. The young lady who helped us patiently explained the different pastries and made great recommendations. She even remembered us when we returned a couple days later.

Our favorites were the pumpkin tart and the Mimo de Freira (translated to Nun's Treat and tasted like a big sweetened egg yolk).

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended. Beautiful artful pastries. Portuguese pastries lean towards being very eggy, so it's great if you like eggs!

LISBON, PORTUGAL A Brasileira

A Brasileira was a historic coffee shop recommended by Rick Steve. It was a beautiful day in Lisbon, and we had hoped to get an outdoor table to people watch. But the outdoor section was full. 

We sat inside, which had a beautiful old-fashion style of decorations, as it was one of the oldest cafés in Lisbon.

We ordered their bifanas, bacalhau, and croquette. Thanh tried the Mazagran coffee, a cold coffee-lemonade hybrid drink with cane sugar and mint. The coffee was very unique and very good. The food was pretty average and non-memorable.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Pass. This may be one of the oldest and historic café in Lisbon, and it may be recommended by Rick Steve for its old charm and elegance, but we are not recommending it for the food and coffee.