Three Little Pigs Dumpling Restaurant Madrid

Three little Pigs Dumpling Restaurant / Los tres Cerditos: Paseo de las delicias 73, Madrid

三只小猪饺子店

Mixed Prawn and Veggie Dumplings  THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID
Mixed Prawn and Veggie Dumplings THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

Three Little Pigs Dumpling Restaurant Madrid makes some of the best Chinese dumplings in Madrid. Jiaozi or Chinese Dumplings (empanadillas in Spanish) have been popular in Madrid for a number of years, but finding the real McCoy, as you would in the old days in Beijing’s Hutongs, has been more of a struggle.

Making ian Bing   煎饼  / Chinese Pancake
Jian Bing  煎饼 / Chinese Pancake THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID
Making ian Bing   煎饼  / Chinese Pancake
Jian Bing  煎饼 / Chinese pancake THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID (Photo Marcel)

The opening of the Three Little Pigs Dumpling Restaurant 三只小猪饺子店 (Tres Cerditos in Spanish) has remedied the situation sensationally and especially for vegetarians.

Prawn Dumpling
Prawn Dumpling THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The tiny restaurant does three types of dumplings:  meat, prawn and vegetable. The dumpling dough, using wheat flour, is color coded; bluish for seafood, green for vegetarian and orangey for meat. You can have them grilled ( a la plancha) or steamed / boiled (hervido).

Prawn and Vege dumplings
Prawn and vege dumplings THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The prawn dumplings are simply delicious, while meat eaters rave about the veal or pork dumplings. My only gripe is that the homemade chili sauce is not spicy enough for my spoilt taste buds. However, there is Thai Seracha sauce on hand.

Meat and Vege dumplings Tres cerditos
Meat and veggie dumplings THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The vegetarian dumplings have an original filling of carrots, onions, leeks and herbs (fresh coriander). Not only is the combination wonderfully eye pleasing, but it is also unbelievably tasty.

Vege Dumpling
Beautiful veggie dumpling THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

Next on the menu are Jian Bing  煎饼 or Chinese Pancakes. These Tianjin style filled pancakes with vegetables only, or with chicken / beef and vegetables are enormous, delicious, cheap and filling. They are also one of my favourite beakfasts when I am in Beijing.

Jian Bing   煎饼  / Chinese Pancake
Jian Bing  煎饼 Stuffed Egg Pancake THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID
Jian Bing   煎饼  / Chinese Pancake
Yum THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The pancakes are made on a hot metal grill and you can watch the staff preparing them right in front of you. First the dough is spread onto the hot plate and then an egg is added.

Making jian Bing   煎饼  / Chinese Pancake
THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The process of making the pancakes looks simple but the number of different ingredients and various stages is quite mind-boggling. I imagine it is a case of practice makes perfect if you want to learn how to do it. However, I’d recommend leaving the task to the experts at the restaurant.

Hand-Made Noodles  THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITO
Hand-Made Noodles THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

Other dishes: Also on the menu are hand-made noodles. The noodles are cold and come with a scrumptious hoisin style Cantonese sauce and are accompanied with an assortment of vegetables.

Everything  THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITO
All the dishes THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

Rice flour is used to make the delicate and mouth-watering wantons (meat only). All the wanton wrappers are hand-made in the restaurant.

Cooking at THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITO
Working in the Kitchen THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The kitchen is open for all to see and kept incredible clean. The owner is from Zhejiang 浙江省, but the dumpling makers are from the home of dumplings, Shandong 山东省 province and further north in Dandong 丹东 Liaoning province 辽宁省.

Cooking  THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITO
The Kitchen THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The menu below is in Spanish only. If you are visiting the Museo de Ferrocarril ( the Railway Museum in Madrid), then a visit to the Three Little Pigs Dumpling Restaurant is a must! Just walk long the attractive street Tomás Bretón to get there. There is another Tres Cerditos restaurant in the neighbourhood of Manuel Becerra.

The Menu THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

The Barrio (Neighbourhood)

Delicias

Just off the Atocha station and the magnificent Reina Sofia musem, home to Dali’s Guernica, is the attractive, but little visited neighborhood of Delicias.

Barrio Delicias
The Restaurant

Delicias was the first neighborhood where we lived when we came to Madrid. Back then, 1993, it was a traditional working class neighborhood (or barrio castizo) and slightly seedy due to its closeness to Atocha station. Over the years, it has become a melting pot for immigrants from all over the world, but particularly from Latin America.

Menu THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

This change you can see everywhere on the streets, on the faces of the passers-by as well as in the restaurants. Delicas now caters to all tastes. If you want to eat Ethiopian, there is an Ethiopian restaurant: Habesha . Want to try Korean? There is a great Korean place: Go Hyang MatFancy Cuban food? Head for the fantastic Havana Blues.

Making Chinese Pancake
Making Jian Bing  煎饼 ( Photo by Marcel) THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

Chinese food had gone somewhat under the radar in this neighbourhood, but this has now changed with the opening of the Three Little Pigs restaurant.

Making Jian Bing Chinese Pancake
Making Jian Bing  煎饼 ( Photo by Marcel) THREE LITTLE PIGS RESTAURANT / LOS TRES CERDITOS: PASEO DE LAS DELICIAS 73, MADRID

Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid

Sabor Sichuan 川百味 (Taste of Szechuan)

New Name: 川辣香都 The Sichuan Capital of Fragrance and Spice

Calle Gabino Jimeno 6: Usera, Madrid

 

Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid
Wanzhou Kaoyu 万州考鱼 Sabor Sichuan 川百味

Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid: Do you like Spicy Food?

Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid. Madrid is a fabulous city for eating out. For the adventurous, boundless opportunities for exciting dining exist all over the city. However, those who crave spicy food, and I mean really spicy food, are often disappointed by the dearth of options.

Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid 川北凉粉 spicy mung bean noodles
川北凉粉 spicy mung bean noodles Sabor Sichuan 川百味

Some Peruvian restaurants make brave attempts to keep up their spicy tradition, but most succumb to the whims of their autochthonous diners by watering down the kick. Kitchen 154, a mecca for spicy food in the market of Vallehermoso, does a pretty good job. Cruel, there own chili brand, is pretty fiery .

四川凉面,cold Sichuan noodles
四川凉面,cold Sichuan noodles Sabor Sichuan 川百味

This after all is the country were the giant Tabasco Sauce company has almost given up the ghost. Sales in Spain are about its worst in Europe. Spanish tolerance of hot spice or chili is pretty low.

 川辣香都 The Sichuan Capital of Fragrance and Spice
Sabor Sichuan 川百味

Thank heavens for Sabor Sichuan (Taste of Szechuan) 川辣香都 The Sichuan Capital of Fragrance and Spice . This small little restaurant in the barrio of Usera , south of the River Manzanares, and  in the heart of Madrid’s China town is a godsend. It has recently changed owners and name, but the food is just as good as before.

Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid
青椒皮蛋 green peppers and 1000 year old eggs Sabor Sichuan 川百味

If you have ever been to Sichuan or Chongqing and continue to crave that lip burning and tongue numbing Mala 麻辣 spice then Sabor Sichuan is Continue reading “Authentic Sichuan Food in Madrid”