Restaurant offers tasty Spanish fare - and some raucous fun

This summer the spirit of Spanish tapas extends all the way to the Expo 2010 Shanghai.

A taste of Spain's most authentic dishes is available at the Madrid Case Pavilion's Taska Tapas & Paellas Restaurant, where visitors can dine in a less formal and less expensive way.

"With wine or beer, you can eat tapas for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just for fun," said Jamie Jaudenes, general manager of the restaurant. "In Spain, rather than being referred as certain type of food, people understand it as a variety of appetizers or snacks. We even say 'let's go get tapas' at 2 am."

A tapas and wine venue is always an appealing concept. This meal of snacks and a variety of wines eliminates the need to commit to a large plate or one bottle of wine.

Dinners can be adventurous and fickle without overspending, often adding a lively atmosphere of anticipation.

Taska has that air of excitement. It's become popular and is bustling throughout the day. Be prepared, however, as it can be a little bit loud, especially with the music during the pavilion's bull fighting performance at 2 pm every day. Despite the noise, it adds to the typical Spanish experience offered to Expo visitors. Be quick to get the seats on the balcony as they are popular - it's the best place to watch the bullfight downstairs.

With the menu written on a chalkboard, diners will feel as if they're in a street caf in Spain. The restaurant also offers small menus in the shape of an orange fan that can be used to cool overheated visitors.

With white walls and bright orange tableware, the atmosphere is as unique as the food.

The gazpacho helps keep temperatures down during the hot, stuffy Shanghai summer. Despite the unfamiliar concept of a cold tomato soup, don't jump to conclusions without trying it first. The soup combines the thirst-quenching virtues of a cold drink with the nourishment of a salad.

Taska's chefs create a host of imaginative tapas. Eggs and chorizo picadillo over French fries is just one of them. "In Spain, we call it broken eggs," Jaudenes said. And even though the dish looks like broken eggs, it tastes like heaven and is a reminder of mum's home cooking.

"It is not a fine dining venue. All we have is what normal Spanish people would eat on a daily basis," said Jaudenes.

For seafood lovers, the prawns in garlic and chili pepper is another delight. Reaching beyond Spanish spices, chefs use a little bit of ginger to add an alluring accent to the shrimp, making the garlicky oil they are cooked and served in that much better for dipping bread.

Ibrico ham with tomato bread is one of the restaurant's best-kept secrets. But thanks to Jaudenes for suggesting it, we were lucky enough to taste the famous Spanish ham. Sliced into slivers, curled between small loaves of dry, crusty bread and coated with fresh tomato, the first taste of Ibrico ham is salty, sweet and nutty.

Hams and bread are best with some wine. According to Jaudenes, moments of fun for Spanish people are defined as "tapas-grazing, ham-snacking and wine-drinking". With all of the restaurant's wines supplied by the 175-year-old Spanish family winery, Gonzales Byass, the relatively new red Finca Constancia is recommended.

Paired with cured ham, Finca Constancia is well structured with a blend of six different types of grapes. Tio Pepe sherry is another good choice, complimenting oysters, anchovies or tuna capriccio.