Alba and Annabel

Two lovely restos at Morato with very good food, both had lunch buffets - and  i indulged a bit, i must admit

the thing is, Spanish food - though very good - is a tad cloying

at Alba's buffet - i tasted their callos, which was ok, but i prefer my mom's Callos a la Madrilena
because my mom tamped down the richness a bit.  their callos was deeply rich, and i couldnt eat more than a spoonful of it.

- their paella was okay, and well, i just have to try my hand at cooking it

the lengua was very good, very rich, but less cloying than the callos - must be the way the tripe tasted .....

the mushroom .... i forgot the actual name was just right and so was the spaghetti
the lechon cochinillo (did i spell that right?) was simply good, but i couldnt eat more of it -
i couldnt even return to the buffet!

i loved the salads and the breads though - similar lovely taste as that of Annabel's

and Annabel;s - i loved the balance of flavors of the food they served in the buffet
i enjoyed the baked oysters - and you could taste the pimiento flavor in it
the beef steak that i had to have well-done because i am a KT, the gorgeous pork belly

i enjoyed the shrimp, but not as much as the oysters
the lengua was delicious, i thought it was a tad better than Alba's but this may been due to the fact that Alba's version was toooooo rich.  The fish was alright, but it was nothing special -

the soup at Annabel's was very delicious, it beat Alba's by a mile.  i should have indulged in another cup of soup - it was that good, yes.

the spaghetti at Alba's was a tad better than Annabel's, i dont quite know yet what made it special

i'm going back to Annabels soon but both restos are good, just make sure you dont overdo it on the richness ............ like i said, Annabel has a better balance of tanginess and richness but you will enjoy both places.....