I’m Cher. I started this space to trace the way cities speak through food and drink—and to share my reflections on sake, culture, and the stories behind the table.
I’m originally from Beijing. I completed my undergraduate studies at Purdue, earned my first master’s degree at NYU, and I’m now beginning a new chapter at Keio University. I believe every city has its own cultural rhythm, and the dining table is one of the most expressive and intimate ways to understand a place.
I love visiting fine dining restaurants for their craft and imagination, but I’m just as interested in the stories behind small, humble spots—the devotion, the choices, and the people who make them special. Through words and photographs, I hope to share these experiences with you.
I’m also an SSI-certified International Kikisake-shi, Shochu Kikisake-shi, and a sake instructor, and I continue to contribute in my own way to promoting sake culture.
Every country’s three-Michelin-star restaurants have a character all their own.
Spain’s three-Michelin-starred Lasarte sits in Barcelona, capital of Catalonia. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d call it pure.
Lasarte’s pedigree hardly needs an introduction. Chef Martín Berasategui, nearly 60 and still very much on the front line, was born in the Basque Country in northern Spain. Raised in a family that ran restaurants, he trained in kitchens from childhood and earned his first Michelin star at 25. He now holds the fourth-highest star count of any chef in the world.
The restaurant sits on La Rambla, Barcelona’s most famous strip of luxury boutiques. Spanish lunch doesn’t start until past one, and the street outside is thick with crowds — Lasarte feels like a pocket of quiet elegance tucked into all that bustle. Step through the door and you’re in another world.
The all-white space feels crisp and clean. Sunlight pours in through the skylight, warm on the skin and brightening the mood.
The server brought over the menu and wine list — a Lunch Menu on weekdays, Tasting Menu and A La Carte on weekends. Post-pandemic, the Tasting Menu has climbed to €345, but that’s still reasonable for a three-star.
I’d heard about the wine list before arriving. Lasarte’s list comes in two parts: a thick volume of the restaurant’s cellar, and — more unusual — a handwritten Wine Pairing book, elegant in black and white, recording each season’s pairing changes with a real sense of ceremony.
While we looked over the wine list, the restaurant unhurriedly brought out the welcome bites.
This season’s menu opens with six welcome bites, seafood-forward, closing on a beef tartare. Sweet, sour, spicy, salty, umami — each brushes lightly across the tongue, leaving a trace of smoke behind.
Texture and flavor throughout stay on the gentle side, easing your attention away from the freshness of the room and onto the table.
Mille-feuille of smoked eel, foie-gras
spring onions and green apple
The next welcome bite is a Lasarte classic, developed back in 1995.
The pairing looks simple: foie gras sandwiching smoked eel, capped with caramelized apple. It opens sweet and clean, and before you know it slides into the eel’s firm, dense flesh, followed by a trail of smoke and a faint, elusive lightness floating in between.
Every flavor lands exactly where it should, with no margin for error. It’s the kind of bite you sink into and drift off thinking about.
This dish is nearly elegant enough to earn the word outright — I finished it wanting more, and find myself missing it again just writing this.
What breaks my train of thought is a cart wheeled over, piled with bread: brioche folded with Iberian ham, butter rolls, a classic baguette, the restaurant’s own sourdough, and an Italian focaccia.
It comes with butter in five colors — colored, but not just for show, each with real, assertive flavor: plain, mushroom, tomato, spinach, and beetroot, each personality distinct.
Alongside it, a custom olive oil blended from nine varieties. On a trip through Spain, once you find an olive oil this good, it’s hard to resist tearing off just one more piece of bread.
Citrus pickled oyster, with a short poultry broth
hibiscus and coconut soup with radish granita
It arrives a beautiful pale pink, the oyster plump and full, yet tasting remarkably clean. Citrus, hibiscus, and coconut give the dish a rich, playful botanical quality. The one thing I couldn’t quite place was the poultry jus underneath — it felt slightly disconnected from the rest.
Fennel, sea cucumber and iodized sauce with Beluga caviar
In China, sea cucumber means the whole animal; in Spain, what’s called “sea cucumber” is really just the muscle — the equivalent of its tendon.
What I didn’t expect was that the dish’s brightest note would come from the fennel mousse — soft and pillowy, its faint sweetness meeting the caviar’s brine at exactly the right pitch, with the sea cucumber’s chew adding just enough tension. The whole dish is surprising and layered, finishing clean and precise.
Squid tartare with green apple juice and licorice emulsion
It arrives with a white doughnut-shape floating in a jade-green sauce — a genuinely charming-looking dish.
The baby squid is pressed into a ring but keeps its fresh, springy bite; the moment it hits your teeth, its sweetness spills out, leaving a faint honeyed note behind that makes you want to slow down and savor every bit.
Sea & mountain with a consommé of
forgotten vegetables and tubers
Most of the dishes we eat put an animal at the center and vegetables in a supporting role.
Here, it’s reversed: eggplant and ginger folded into small triangular dumplings, while abalone, squid, and sea urchin — the seafood — become the broth instead.
The bright flavor of fresh vegetables carries a solid undertow of the sea, and alongside it sits a piece of yellowtail with just a hint of Japanese influence, quietly stringing the whole dish together.
Duo of carabineros and avocado, celery, tomato and mint
The red carabinero prawn, served two ways.
The tail is kept whole for its own sweet, glutinous bite; the head is worked into a paste with a sauce made from simmering the head and tomato — richly savory yet clean. What lingers is a trace of pure, natural sweetness.
Crustacean’s ravioli and its own essence
burrata and Champagne
Pink foam, black caviar, and hidden underneath — lobster and ravioli.
This dish somehow manages to be both playful and moody, both glamorous and homely, all on one plate.
The lobster tucked beneath the pink foam is tender and naturally sweet, no need to say more. Inside the ravioli, a firm bite turns out to be a surprise of claw meat.
With the new year just behind us, biting into this oversized dumpling felt deeply satisfying.
Roasted “besugo” with cañaillas and cockles ragú
velvet crab juice, fine cream of pistachio and star anise
As the mains wind down, both the fish and the venison are cooked at a textbook level.
The besugo shows off perfect tenderness, its flesh snow-white with just the right bounce. The sauce here is the real seduction — clams and small sea snails carry the brine, bringing with them the feeling of a sea breeze.
The whole dish is cinematic: for a moment you’re transported to the shore, a long white table set up on the sand, sun overhead and sea wind blowing, a chef in black grilling a fish pulled straight from the water.
This might be the best venison I’ve had in the last two years.
Venison loin is naturally lean, and here that leanness is put on full display — a strong, clean line of texture, tender and refined all the way through.
It closes the mains on a beautifully wild note — for a moment, I could picture a graceful young deer running through a small forest.
Creamy basil, lime and bergamot
A palate-cleansing dessert, a classic pairing — lemon and basil, light and soft.
It rinses the whole palate clean and leaves you feeling refreshed.
Vegetal chocolate
For the main dessert: chocolate. A neat chocolate mousse base topped with a smooth scoop of ice cream.
Like a conductor in tails walking to center stage, taking a deep bow — elegant and glamorous as the curtain falls.
Petits-fours
The whole meal, in a word, was pure and beautiful — elegant and glamorous in a way that matched the room, while quietly carrying that unmistakably Spanish instinct for honest, true flavor.
Nearly every dish is built from familiar ingredients, cooked in ways that aren’t unusual for a Western restaurant, without much showy technique. And yet the combinations still surprise — nothing here feels rigid or predictable.
I remember, right after we sat down, a server mentioning that the table right in the center has a regular who comes in every Saturday at lunch, without fail. At the time I couldn’t quite understand how anyone could be that devoted.
It wasn’t until after the meal that I understood — Lasarte really does have a kind of magic. The food is high quality, the service exactly right, but what matters most is a sense of surprise that never feels forced. Every guest at every table walks away feeling a plain, uncomplicated kind of happiness that food can bring.
About 5,000 words in total — worth bookmarking before you read on.
Of all the countries we’ve visited post-pandemic, Spain is probably the best value for the money.
Whether it’s eating, drinking, or just wandering the streets, this country — rich in history and produce — delivers a real sense of happiness at every turn of the trip.
Today’s roundup shares some of the restaurants and hotels from Sevilla and Barcelona.
The piece is split into five sections; the full list is at the very end.
HOTEL
A few comfortable places to stay
Three hotels get a clean, confident recommendation here.
In Barcelona: the Majestic Hotel and Spa Barcelona GL, and Hotel El Palace Barcelona. The former sits right on Passeig de Gràcia with a more classic, aristocratic feel — book a corner room with a small balcony and you’ll get a gorgeous view over the passing crowds below. The latter is quieter, with more modern facilities and layout; you’ll occasionally catch a luxury brand event happening there, and the restaurant downstairs is itself a Michelin restaurant. It’s about a 10-minute walk from Passeig de Gràcia.
Both offer solid value and plenty of comfort for food lovers, but be careful when booking the Majestic not to confuse it with their serviced apartments.
Sevilla’s undisputed number one has to be Hotel Alonso XIII. It’s practically a landmark of southern Spain — commissioned by King Alfonso XIII and opened for his beloved daughter’s wedding. Every detail of the building’s exterior and decor reflects the height of the era’s art and culture, while the hardware and facilities meet modern travelers’ needs, and its location sits right at the edge of Sevilla’s most relaxed old town district. In short, an irreplaceable hotel unique to this beautiful city.
Fine Dining
Spaniards who take cooking seriously
We started booking restaurants two months out, and a friend who’s long lived in Spain talked us down: “Book fewer Michelin places — the street-corner spots have plenty of great food too.”
So for this nearly ten-day trip we only booked three Fine Dining restaurants: Lasarte and Enigma in Barcelona, and Canabota in Sevilla — plus one that sits somewhere between Fine Dining and Tapas, often called Barcelona’s best seafood restaurant, Estimar.
Lasarte
Barcelona Spain
When people think of three-Michelin-star Barcelona, Disfrutar is usually the first name that comes to mind — but Lasarte is just as unmissable.
Lasarte sits on La Rambla, Barcelona’s most famous luxury-brand strip — its credentials speak for themselves. Chef Martín Berasategui was born in Spain’s northern Basque Country, earned his first Michelin star at 25, and is now, at nearly sixty, the chef with the fourth-highest total star count in the world.
From the comfort of the setting to the smoothness of the service, every detail here shows exactly what a three-Michelin-star restaurant should be. There’s a natural ease to the Spanish temperament, and service that’s both disciplined and warm is always the most appealing kind. The dishes, meanwhile, carry an elegance layered with that distinctly Spanish streak of purity.
The menu changes with the seasons — you can never really go wrong with the Tasting Menu. Full write-up here → This Barcelona three-star is about a lot more than just great food!
Estimar
Barcelona Spain
No Spain trip is complete without seafood — when we asked Teacher Guan to recommend a seafood restaurant, Estimar was the first answer.
Compared to your typical seafood restaurant, Estimar takes a more refined approach, with bold use of ingredients. As a first-time visitor from a landlocked region, this meal delivered plenty of new discoveries and experiences.
The Cantabrian anchovy, for instance, is said to be the best anchovy in the world, prized for its intense umami. It arrived shockingly large — the biggest anchovy I’d ever had. Spaniards really do go overboard with salt, though — paired with tomato bread, the searing saltiness was just barely manageable.
Langoustine carpaccio is Estimar’s tribute dish to El Bulli — the langoustine’s chewy sweetness and freshness were captured perfectly, unexpectedly thick, silky, and delicate all at once, a pure joy in every bite. Paired with a crisp bread base for structure — genuinely stunning.
There was also fried baby squid, steamed gooseneck barnacles, sea cucumber tendon, sea urchin paired with red shrimp, and the most unpretentious caviar toast. Every dish looked simple, but the freshness of the ingredients and the overall balance were excellent — this is fishing-village cuisine at its most elevated.
Go if you get the chance — reservations open two weeks out!
Enigma
Barcelona Spain
We also booked another one-Michelin-star in Barcelona, the famous Enigma.
Enigma’s chef is Albert Adrià — his older brother is Ferran Adrià, the five-time head of the world’s number-one restaurant El Bulli and often called the father of molecular gastronomy. The restaurant’s design concept alone took three years to develop, and they only seat 24 guests per service.
With expectations set that high, how could you not look forward to it?
And yet, the whole meal left us… genuinely puzzled.
Not to mention the frequent service mishaps throughout the meal — dropped plates, a spoon that fell into a guest’s bowl, and a 45-minute gap between two courses at one point. The signature seasonal dish, a pigeon gelée wrapped around sea urchin, hit with a wave of fishiness straight to the head. The main courses ran entirely on rabbit, paired separately with crab and foie gras. Honestly, it was the first time in my life I’d tasted a rabbit dish with the gamey flavor preserved quite so thoroughly. (Enough said.)
The one genuinely commendable dish of the entire meal was a ricotta made from a blend of soy milk and almond milk — delicate texture, a gentle fragrance that was thoroughly seductive, showing off the beauty of reassembled worlds.
Life needs a variety of experiences to really make you appreciate truly great food, I suppose.
That said, having gone through it once, I’d recommend spending that time and money on something else instead.
Canabota
Sevilla Spain
A seafood-focused restaurant in Sevilla that loves to play with the life cycles of seafood and Mediterranean-style charcoal grilling. The website only shows a few pretty photos of fish and giant lobster, without much other information — no sample menu either. What you eat depends entirely on the day’s ingredients.
The restaurant keeps a low profile — the only sign of Michelin recognition is a small logo in the website footer. You can generally book a table about a week out. There are two set menus, a Tasting Menu and an Omakase, with not much difference in price or content.
Sevilla isn’t coastal, but the moment you walk into this little spot, you’re hit with a full seafood-restaurant atmosphere — a huge cooler with live blue lobsters still waving their claws, fish and shrimp all vividly fresh-colored, like they lifted the seafood counter straight out of the Encarnación market and dropped it in here.
The whole meal really showcased the natural flavor of each type of seafood — even a small fried fish dish stood out. Full write-up here → An unassuming little spot that turns seafood into something divine.
TAPAS
Every bite is good.
Tapas might be the single most representative dish of Spanish food culture.
Order slowly, eat slowly, sip a drink unhurriedly. It’s a leisurely pace of life that’s genuinely enviable.
Most of the recommended tapas spots in Barcelona need reservations or come with a line, but Sevilla is different — this old town is exactly the kind of place where you can stop for a drink whenever your feet get tired. So I just pinned every tapas bar I was curious about on Google Maps and ate my way through, wherever I happened to end up.
Paco Meralgo
Barcelona Spain
A seafood-and-tapas spot a chef friend put me onto — very popular, so book about 10 days ahead. We made it our first stop after landing in Spain.
While waiting on the food, we started with a plate of freshly sliced ham — good quality, with a nice, satisfying thickness.
The must-order beef tartare came piled on a thin slice of bread — tender meat, really good flavor.
On a local’s recommendation, we tried the buñuelos — a frying technique that originated in Puerto Rico, lighter than the fried foods you typically get in Spanish cuisine. This version was filled with fried cod: the crust was wonderfully crisp, and inside, alongside the milky richness, the fish had a surprisingly fluffy, shredded texture — a great, unexpected pairing with drinks.
There’s a rotating daily seafood selection, and we got lucky with big squid on the day. Grilled just to doneness, still springy when cut, paired with caramelized onion — sweet and savory in just the right balance.
The octopus leg here beat what I’ve had elsewhere in Spain — slightly springy texture, topped with air-dried pork jowl for fragrance, plus a seemingly casual dusting of smoked paprika. This combination looks effortless but is genuinely brilliant — impossible not to be won over.
Whether you get a good seafood rice here really depends on the chef’s mood — we happened to get the cuttlefish-ink rice, and Spain’s punishing saltiness couldn’t hide the sheer joy of rice grains packed full of seafood. A bit of green pepper hidden inside was the perfect finishing touch.
Overall, every dish was solid — the effortless spirit unique to tapas culture hides genuinely delightful cooking. Definitely coming back to work through the rest of the menu next time.
Quimet Quimet
Barcelona Spain
This is absolutely a place worth revisiting again and again — a tiny shop that earned a spot in the Michelin guide with tapas built from tinned seafood.
There was already a line at the door by 6:20, but tables turn over fast since dining is capped at one hour and there aren’t even chairs — everyone eats standing up. Even with ten tables, we only waited half an hour.
Worth noting up front: the wine here is very reasonably priced, with a wide range of choices. Sparkling, red, white, spirits, sweet wine, fortified wine — nearly all available by the glass. Full bottles are displayed on the wall, priced the same as retail, with just a €5 corkage fee to drink in.
Salmón, yogurt y miel trufada sits on a crisp bread base — a simple stack of yogurt, honey, and salmon that’s just brilliant. Huevos rotos comes highly recommended: the poached egg is the star, but it indirectly pushes the artichoke to its full potential, wonderfully soft. Alcachofas queso y caviar is actually built around tinned artichoke as the true star, on a base of slightly sweet tomato sauce and fresh cheese — genuinely interesting the closer you look at it. Chipirones, cebolla y alcachofas is also great, with tinned razor clams delivering a sharp sweet-and-salty flavor.
This is a tiny place absolutely worth the line — it shatters the assumption that tinned food has to feel cheap, using clever combinations to create a joy of drinking-and-eating that exceeds all expectations.
La bartola
Sevilla Spain
Before heading to Sevilla, I asked a friend for restaurant advice, and the answer was: just do tapas. A tapa with a drink, then move on to the next place for another dish, and repeat.
Having a drink in Sevilla is as everyday as a Beijinger having a glass of suanmeitang, and tapas here feel more like the late-night drinking snacks you’d find in Chaoshan.
The value for money here is far better than in Barcelona. Every dish at this little place comes in a small or full portion — take my advice, the small portion is already plenty.
The standout was the chilled tomato soup, topped with chopped egg and bacon — the first sip can be a bit of an acid shock, but you won’t be able to stop after that. The octopus leg was also excellent, with just the right chew and a lovely charred flavor. And the potatoes and asparagus that came with the steak — Spain’s produce really is something else, I have to say.
This is a spot that captures Sevilla’s easygoing, relaxed spirit — well worth a visit.
La Teresas
Sevilla Spain
Sevilla is a sun-drenched city, but the days we were there happened to bring rain. Maybe it’s in Sevilla’s nature to make you want to while away the hours here regardless. When you can’t wander outside, might as well go drink and daydream instead!
La Teresas came recommended by a local friend too. This 150-year-old spot occupies three storefronts on a street corner, and it was still packed even at 3 in the afternoon.
This is the kind of little place that makes you happy just looking at the facade — small outdoor tables and heaters, packed with people drinking and chatting. Inside, the walls are covered in old paintings, and the ceiling is hung with ham legs — from green-label to 5J, they practically function as the restaurant’s own decor.
A drink in the afternoon, a tapa on the side. Daydreaming, watching the rain through the glass — this place is almost too comfortable.
El Librero
Tapas Y
Quesos
Sevilla Spain
El Librero sits right next door to La Teresas, one of the rare restaurants in Sevilla’s old town that opens at nine, specializing in tapas and seafood rice. The doorway curtain is small, but the moment you step in you’re greeted by a massive cheese cabinet — and the aroma hits you right away.
We simply ordered one tapa — Atún encebollados, only four euros — plus a glass of house white.
The oil-cured tuna arrives just barely cooked through, falling apart at the lightest touch. It has a bit of that shredded-fish texture while staying moist, not dry at all, genuinely fragrant — paired with caramelized onion and local potatoes. This tiny plate might not win any beauty contests, but it hits every note: sweet, salty, savory, soft, tender. Can’t help but say it again — Spanish potatoes really are delicious.
This place makes the perfect pit stop on your map while wandering the streets of Sevilla.
WINE BAR
A few good places to drink
The wine paired with tapas tends to be everyday table wine — if you want something more interesting, you need to seek out a proper Wine Bar. We asked friends for recommendations before the trip and found a few spots pouring genuinely good glasses.
La Vinya
del Senyor
Barcelona Spain
A Wine Bar we stumbled onto by accident, right by Barcelona’s cathedral — never expected to find such a hidden gem right in the middle of the tourist area.
The by-the-glass list is huge, spanning a wide range of prices and styles — genuinely great value paired with a bold selection.
There were a few wines that were hard to resist. Take ALEMANY I CORRIO Sot Lefriece 2021 — stunning freshness, delicate texture, great balance. There was also a 2019 Pingus by the glass, exploding with floral and fruit aromas. They also had a lovely rosé, intoxicatingly aromatic, plus one very clean natural wine.
Honestly, every wine on the list has its own charm (if Beijing had a wine bar like this, I’d go every single day).
Vila Vinetica
Barcelona Spain
A shop that’s part wine store, part bar, part classroom — basically anything-works-with-wine.
There are two branches in Barcelona in total; the one in the old town has more of a proper drinking atmosphere.
Honestly, sitting down to eat here isn’t great value, but drinking is genuinely interesting — a good second stop after dinner. The wine selection is constantly, randomly rotating — over the course of two glasses, the by-the-glass lineup at the bar had already changed twice.
The wines they pour are bold and fun, a textbook combination of serious wine merchant and casual bar — recommended for wine lovers to explore early on in a trip.
Vinus & Brindis
Barcelona Spain
A small bar away from the city center. Recommended by a local sommelier friend, it’s built around a wine shop plus a handful of natural wines by the glass.
The owner is clearly a serious wine lover himself, and the bottles you discover here tend to have more personality across the board. There was a white Garnacha made by a 21-year-old winemaker, a very internationally-styled Mencía, and some wines the owner makes himself — not every style will be to everyone’s taste, but the quality across the board was solid, and each bottle had real character.
Natural wine fans should bookmark this one.
MARKET
Mercat de Saint Antoni
It seems every traveler these days has discovered the little secret that a market visit is a must abroad — Boqueria is already overrun with tourists at this point, so a local friend recommended Saint Antoni instead. It’s a market rebuilt inside an old building — classic on the outside, but brand-new and spotless once you step in.
The market itself isn’t huge — ham, olives, fresh meat, seafood, fruit, deli goods — basically everything on a Spanish dinner table can be found here, with more of an everyday-local feel. There aren’t as many places to eat here as at Boqueria, just a few simple cafés for a sandwich.
Overall, wandering through this clean, bright market to get a feel for the daily rhythm of Spanish life is genuinely worthwhile.
BTW, there’s a great Basque cake shop near Saint Antoni called Tartas Pastor — an easy stroll after the market. It’s an unassuming little Basque-cake specialist, with cakes from 4 to 6 inches and dozens of flavors — even the plain cheese one comes in several variations.
Their signature is rich, deeply milky flavor with a subtle, well-hidden acidity — a 4-inch cake to take out is just the right amount.
