I’ve said many times that having friends prevents me from losing weight- because when you have friends, you often meet for lunch, dinner, coffee, or merienda, as well as hold drinking sessions (including those done over the internet). I think that if I didn’t have friends, I wouldn’t eat nor drink so much. But you could also say that my friends are not the cause but rather the excuse for eating too much, at times like a glutton, and breaking my diet. It’s even easier to make excuses when these friends are visiting from far-off places. I justify whatever pigging out I plan to engage in by saying, “Well, I don’t know when I’ll see them again, so we have to eat and drink together as much as we can!”
The past week was a good example of this. My friends from college Dindin and Luis were in Madrid for a few days, and since they are based in Canada, I really couldn’t say when we would cross paths again. They wanted to go to Restaurante Ten con Ten, which is apparently a popular place to go. (A student of mine told me that she saw football superstar Cristian Ronaldo having dinner there). They had read good things about this restaurant from foodie blogs prior to coming to Spain. They also told me that they had tried to make a dinner reservation while they were still in Canada but were unable to do so. So I checked their website and as it turned out, there were some tables available, but for hours that were earlier than typical Spanish time. So I made a reservation for 7pm which is when a lot of people (who are not Spanish) usually eat.
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| Zamburiñas Ten |
I arrived on time but my friends had already been there for a few minutes. They had met up for drinks with another friend from UP in the cocktail area. The place was pleasant and contemporary, a good place to have a few copas with friends. After we were moved to the dining area, we decided to order several dishes and share everything (except the meat which I couldn’t eat). This is eating in true Filipino style, where sharing is not an exception but rather the rule.
We ordered the following dishes: zamburiñas ten (scallops), semolina truffle risotto, artichoke lasagna, and black seafood pasta. All this of course, washed down with a bottle or two of wine. We started off with the scallops, and after that, all the others came at the same time. It was fun to taste and share all the food with my friends. After all that, I still wanted to order dessert to cleanse my palate, but honestly we were all too full after eating so much. The waistband of my jeans was already considerably tighter.
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| Black Seafood Pasta |
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| Truffle Risotto |
Everything was delicious, but for me the best was the artichoke lasagna, which I’d never had before. As far as the scallops were concerned, they were good, but I was a little disappointed because I prefer to eat them prepared in a much simpler way, grilled with olive oil and salt, as I’ve eaten a few times in Galicia and Gallego restaurants. Also, though I enjoyed the truffle risotto and the black pasta, I’ve tried them in other restaurants, and at better prices. The artichoke lasagna was unique and well worth the price and the calories.
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| Artichoke Lasagna |
All told, my experience in Restaurante Ten Con Ten was great- the décor, the service, the music, and the ambience in general contributed to a very pleasant dining experience. The perfect place to share food and drink while catching up with long lost friends.
Restaurante Ten Con Ten
Calle de Ayala, 6
28001 Madrid
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