We deliberately rented an apartment very close to La Rambla, mainly for the proximity to Mercat de la Boqueria. It is a real testament to how much the Spanish value food to have such an amazing food market bang in the middle of their equivalent to Oxford Street. Unsurprisingly, we all got a bit overexcited by the immense choice available there. Just look at how perfect these papaya are:
And ultimately what we came for - fresh seafood, and so much choice too! The langoustines below were so fresh they were still bubbling at the mouth:
The Spanish are extremely open about their love of eating animals, with sheeps heads and all sorts of internal organs on display. I have zero qualms about eating this kind of stuff, but even I felt a bit guilty with the following picture (Babe is one of my favourite films!):
We returned home with a huge turbot, prawns, and some amazing vegetables to cook our first meal in Barcelona. Unfortunately, we were also a bit too greedy and quick, so I could only take one picture before we scoffed everything. My dad was a bit of a genius with these prawns, which he simply dry-fried with some salt and pepper:
So simple, so delicious. It was helped with a recent family discovery of 頭抽, which is the first pressing of soy sauce. Very similar to extra virgin olive oil, it is the first pressing of the soy beans - most soy sauce you buy recycles the soy beans to make a much more diluted sauce. It was the first time I knowingly ate 頭抽, and god was it good!!! It is so flavoursome and rich in unami, you'd think it was completely laced with MSG. You can't buy it in the UK though, so I'll treasure the few drops my dad left at my apartment - will probably scoff it all very plainly with some plain rice :) 
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