Today we went to Simply Spanish. The two huge pans of paella being cooked out on the street under a canopy is usually pretty enticing and on this cold grey day, a plate of bright yellow rice can bring much comfort! It's $12.50 a serving and a king prawn is an extra $2. I went for the prawn and Steve didn't. The paella was tasty; slightly under seasoned for my liking but fine for Steve. The rice was just the right stickiness and rather than being a a clump of mushy mess as can be the case, it was like each grain was covered in a sticky goo which is a much more pleasant texture. The mussels could probably be plumper but the squid, chicken and chorizo worked well. The king prawn was good too. Next time I might have two!
We also ordered the pan Catalan to share which I thought would be mushed up tomato paste on bread but this version was so much better. Fresh tomatoes that taste tangy and sweet with fresh basil, olive oil, splash of balsamic and olive oil on crunchy bread. It was a good acidic flavour contrast to the comforting paella. Very quick lunch; we were probably done in 30 mins but deeply satisfying.