Presentation, product quality and the rice cooked perfectly make a plate 10 of 10
I am not a person who puts titles, I do not like to talk about the best Jamón, or the best restaurant. I think that what we perceive at a special moment of a good Jamón, or of a good recipe, can always be affected by external sensations. Sometimes we simply get carried away by the emotions that a good environment transmits to us, the good company of some friends, etc.
That is why I do not like to put titles, nor do I get carried away by euphoria to say something. But recently, on a visit to a client, I was able to eat possibly one of the best black rice I have ever tasted.
Olé Tapas restaurant in Milton Keynes. I had a work meeting with chef Juan Vega, owner of the restaurant. He invited me to try some of the dishes that he is proud of, and the truth is that I loved it. I tried different things, but I don’t want to distract from this post. The black rice blew me away.
For many reasons, I valued it so highly. The first and simplest one, it is very funny that we can make a custom rice. In a society in which we are increasingly complex, it is very difficult for chefs to make the perfect recipe fr everyone.
In the menu we can choose the Black rice, which comes with the original recipe of rice cooked with squid ink, cuttlefish and prawns. The rice is perfectly cooked to order, meaning that you have to wait 20 minutes. The rice has body and the quality of the rice makes it perfectly flavoured.
If we also want to indulge ourselves more, that’s when the custom rice option comes in. We can add braised octopus. It is a good portion of octopus that will cost us £8 more, but if we want even something more special, chef Juan allows us to add some deep fried baby squids (£4 on top), which in addition to flavour will give us a really interesting set of textures.
Finally, if we want to take this dish to luxury we have the possibility of adding a couple of king prawns for £5 more.
I have been visiting hotels and restaurants for many years and trying all kinds of recipes, and this one caught my attention for its execution, for the quality product used and for the originality of making it to measure and to the taste of each client.
From here I would like to congratulate chef Juan Vega, his wife and all his fantastic team of Ole Tapas Restaurant. Not only for this fantastic black rice, but for all the passion and effort they make to share Spanish gastronomy. I invite you to visit them in Milton Keynes, I am convinced that they will serve you with the same care and affection with which they treated me.