Hielo Y Carbon (Madrid, SPAIN) ★★★☆☆

I really wanted to spend my last day of this trip in style. We were in the right place to do so as Madrid has as much to offer as any city in Spain but timing was way off. Last night, little nugget was still having a fever (it's my fault, likely I passed it to him) and he was still a little tired today. The fact that we arrived late in Madrid from Toledo also didn't help (slowed by Jelloman's shopping time in Retiro).

As much as I wanted to explore Madrid and its dining scene in a little more detail, I had to settle with Hielo Y Carbon, the contemporary Spanish restaurant on the first floor of our hotel cuz it was getting late. There was really nothing wrong with the modern chic Hielo Y Carbon but we've dined here during our 2018 stay as well and a change of scenery was much preferred.

Well, at least they have updated their menu so it's not the same items from a year ago.



Some welcome bites from the kitchen. These looked like fried Japanese gyoza with mushrooms and squid, topped with a bit of cheese. Not bad. Or perhaps I'm just hungry?



Burratina salad (16 Euros) - Fresh slice of tomato was topped with grilled pepper, aubergine and a large ball of burrata. This was surprisingly tasty. A great refreshing dish to kick off the meal with.



Charcoal octopus (22 Euros) - I thought we had this dish here last year as well but after checking my records again, obviously my memory didn't serve me correctly. The charcoal grilled octopus was really tender (though not smoky enough) so some fried yucca, sweet potato cream, chimichurri sauce and olive mayo already made this dish very interesting. 



When I think back, there were some great regrets from this trip. Madrid, Burgos and Toledo, we were staying right in the heart of the city but yet, we didn't spend enough time (if any) strolling around the action before we took off for the next destination. That was probably the only blemish from this otherwise remarkable trip. 

Gran Vía so close yet so far.....instead of walking around bustling Gran Vía, I will be spending the next few hours packing my bag. Hong Kong, here I come.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: €€€
Address: Calle Gran Vía, 31, 28013 Madrid, Spain
Closest Metro Station: Callao
Tel: +34 656-682470
Website: www.hieloycarbon.com
Opening Hours: 7:00am - 11:00pm daily

Hyatt Centric Gran Vía (Madrid, SPAIN)

After spending a couple of hours walking around the Retiro district, we went back to our familiar territory in Madrid, Gran Vía and first, we're checking into Hyatt Centric Gran Vía, our home away from home in the Spanish capital.

We have stayed here for the second year in a roll. Instead of splurging on a double room (with two double beds) like we did last year, I have instead decided to save a few bucks by putting us in a twin room with single beds. After all, our stay will be a very brief one. Only 12 hours or so!

While the bedroom was noticeably smaller (than the double room), the bathroom was more or less the same size.

Of course, one of the nicest thing about staying here is the incredible location. Just a couple of blocks off the busiest part of Madrid, right in the middle of all the action.

We barely slept but it was time to drive off to the airport. I have a feeling we'll be back to Madrid at some point but will it be Hyatt Centric Gran Vía that we'll be staying at next time?

Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Price: €€€
Address: Calle Gran Vía, 31, 28013 Madrid, Spain
Tel: +34 918-371234
Website: www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/spain/hyatt-centric-gran-via-madrid/madct

Le Pain Quotidien (Madrid, SPAIN) ☆☆☆☆☆

It has been an absolutely brutal day at the office but things were finally looking up when we arrived in Madrid, the last stop of our trip. We split up into two teams in El Retiro. Jelloman will try to do her final round of shopping while I bring mom and little nugget for some afternoon snacks.



Little nugget didn't have much to eat when we were in Toledo so I had to find him a place where he could have a quick bite. After turning down a couple of places, he ended up choosing Le Pain Quotidien on Calle de Serrano because he's familiar with their menu (I am guessing that's the reason).



Then things began to unfold. The rustic cafe was pretty full and just when we finally managed to find ourselves a table, we were thrown out of that area as the staff claimed it was "reserved". We moved to another table close to the toilet and were unable to find anyone who would serve us so I had to come all the way to the front and order from the take-away counter.

After waiting for another 10 minutes (server went away to replenish a few things after serving the guy in front of me), it was finally my turn. But as soon as I told her I was dining in, she gave me this silly grin and asked me to leave the line cuz she's responsible for take-aways only. I explained to her that I have been trying to get a server to take my order but no cigar, and my little one was starving but she insisted that she could only help if I order take-away. And so I did! I told her let's pack everything I order up and I'll just eat them here in their take-away boxes, if that's what she insisted. She obviously lost that argument and reluctantly took my order at the very end.

All the exchange has left a bad taste in my mouth. Coming from the other side of the world where customers are always right (especially one with a child), this wasn't acceptable at all. The biggest problem was the fact that right from the start, even before I told her I wasn't ordering take-away, she gave me the feeling that she wasn't happy to serve me. Was it because of the color of my skin, I would never find out (I would think it has something to do with it). It's been a while since I had a discriminatory treatment in Europe (last one was in Munich many years ago) but this was way different cuz I couldn't walk away like I did last time. Because I had a child who was freezing and at the same time, in desperate need of food.



So, I got this for little guy. Scrambled eggs, bacon, a small salad and sourdough toast. Surprisingly, it didn't arrive in a take-away box. I wonder why.



I got myself a small carrot cake. But I could feel this going down my spine (食咗背脊骨落)!



Some caffeine for Jelloman while I started my rant about what just happened.

These days, I found it more and more difficult to travel overseas with little ones unless you're in kids-friendly countries like Japan. Of course, it gets worse when you run into servers who are racists or places with discriminatory treatment. That's the worst experience one can ever get if you're a traveler.

Price: €€€
Address: Calle de Serrano 27, 28001 Madrid, Spain
Tel: +34 914-354358
Website: www.lepainquotidien.es
Opening Hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 9:00am - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)

CHF Chocolate Experience (Toledo, SPAIN) ★★☆☆☆

After circling around the heart of Toledo's Old Town, we almost came back to where we got started - Plaza de Zocodover.



But that was when I spotted CHF Chocolate Experience thanks to its colorful display.



Talk about a jack of all trades. CHF Chocolate Experience is an ice-cream shop that also serves coffee and crepes but what really caught my eyes was their churros. 



Their gelato looked really amazing but I wasn't in the mood for something frosty. Not when it was already freezing out there.



Instead, this was what I was looking for - some tube-shaped fried dough.



It came with a small cup of warm chocolate ganache.



This was pretty disappointing though. While I was expecting my churros to be sweet, it was savory until it mixed with the chocolate sauce (which was both sweet and bitter). The combination was just very weird.



Let's hope this is not my only churros experience to kick off 2020. We will be in Madrid in less than an hour so we still have a shot at having the best churros in Madrid with Chocolatería San Ginés just around the corner of our hotel.

Food Rating: 3.5/10
Price: €€€
Address: Calle Comercio 25, 45001 Toledo, Spain
Tel: +34 913-060033
Website: www.facebook.com/chocolateexperiencetoledo/
Opening Hours: 10:30am - 12:00am daily

Mazapan El Foro Cafe Bar (Toledo, SPAIN) ★☆☆☆☆

We are spending the morning in the historic centre of Toledo and our walking tour started off with a visit to the popular Plaza de Zocodover.



It was one of the busiest segment of the city due to its proximity to a number of attractions including Museo del Ejército (Army Museum) and Alcázar de Toledo (Royal Palace).

After walking around in the cold for less than an hour, little nugget was already getting tired so we decided to find a place to sit down and grab an early lunch. Located on the corner of Plaza de Zocodover next to McDonald's, Mazapan El Foro Cafe Bar was the easy choice since there's really no other formal restaurant around.



Mazapan El Foro Cafe Bar is probably a better pastry shop than a restaurant. We later found out the hard way.



Spaghetti Carbonara (10.30 Euros) - This tasted pretty awful. The pasta was soggy with a strong cheesy flavor and we haven't even put in the Parmesan cheese powder!



Seafood paella with squid ink (14.90 Euros) - This took the kitchen a while to prepare and let's just say, it's pretty disappointing. Looks like I will be leaving Spain without having one decent paella. Sad!



Can't believe the cafe and bar has three stories. With the food and service they are offering, I think one floor is more than enough to host all their customers. 

This place is nothing more than a tourist trap. The McDonald's near door looks like a much better choice in hindsight.





Food Rating: 2.5/10
Price: €€€
Address: Plaza Zocodover 8, 45001 Toledo, Spain
Tel: +34 925-284555
Website: www.elforodetoledo.es
Opening Hours: 8:00am - 12:00am daily

Parador de Toledo (Toledo, SPAIN)

Just last night I was sitting there thinking it's been a long long trip and thank goodness, little nugget hasn't fallen sick (yet but I did). Like the rest of us, he's starting to fatigue a bit with all the traveling but he's not showing signs of tiring until this very last stop to Toledo.

We got a little tied up at the outlet mall so we arrived in Toledo rather late. I stopped by a couple of view points for some quick photos and that's when we realized that little one's having a temperature. Actually he was piling hot. Thankfully, our accommodation was just a short drive up the hill.

Parador de Toledo was our accommodation spot in Toledo. It was set on a remarkable site called "Hill of the Emperor" that boasts unmatched views out over the ancient city of Toledo. I was too busy transferring our luggage and little nugget to the hotel lobby so I didn't get to take any photos outside the hotel before we checked in. This was taken in the morning after. To be honest, I didn't do much research work on the hotel itself but judging by its size and history, I am guessing it's a monastery and there are a lot of those in Spain.

More signs pointing to the fact that it's a monastery based on the paintings in the lobby.

Our rooms were on the first floor of the 2-story building with a view to the back side (more on that later). I was a little worried at first that it's going to be noisy in the morning when everyone tries to check out but luckily, that wasn't the case. 

I walked around the hotel trying to find food but only to realize that there's just a small cafe on the ground floor. And there was no hot food being served at this late hour.

The more I walked around this place, the more it looked like a museum to me with all these historical decorations and furniture.

Our rooms were spacious for a party of two. Despite the little time that we had, we've already messed it all up!

While everyone was attending to the poor kid who's sick next door, I had the luxury of time to check out the balcony and took a few photos of the ancient city from up high (see first photo of this post).

The bathroom was pretty clean and organized. Not bad.

When we woke up the next morning, the first thing we did was to check out the view from the balcony. 

This was truly breathtaking and well worth the extra bucks we paid for a room with a view.

Another highlight of our stay was the complimentary breakfast buffet. 

It was served at their ground-floor restaurant with the same stunning view as our rooms.

Like I said earlier, breakfast was very very good. No one will say no to cured meat, sausage and egg in the morning.

I had a couple rounds of these smoked salmon myself.

Different types of dairy products and local cheese.

Not a fan of bread myself but others seemed to enjoy the fine selection of bakery goods here (no churros though!).

We didn't have anything to eat last night other than a couple of instant noodle cups so this would serve as our belated dinner.

There are two Spanish dishes I absolutely love, patatas bravas and this one - Spanish Tortilla (or omelette). I love the fact that they had loads of potato in between and I bet it would be even more delicious if there were chorizo there for the extra spicy kick.

After breakfast, we took a walk around the terrace.

More selfies with the ancient city in the background. I had to admit, I was beaten up. It's been a long long trip. I think it's about time to go home.

Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Price: €€€

Address: Cerro del Emperador, s/n, 45002 Toledo, Spain

Tel: +34 925-221850

Website: www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-toledo