The Food In Malaga, Spain

Matt Cundill  0:01  
You May Also Like. A show about the things you may also like. Things like the food in Malaga.

Malaga is this place in the south of Spain that lies in the center of the Costa del Sol. It's home to over a half million people. The weather is often sunny, and the food is local and Spanish. Hanni Martini fell in love with this area, relocated, and now offers food experiences. I discovered Hanni in a video that James Blick from Spain revealed recording back in May of 2022. It really captured some of the best the city has to offer. Now once you're done here, you can go check out the video on the website at YouMayAlsoLike.net. And by the way, if you're looking for a broader, more Spanish experience, you may also like the episode I did with James Blick. You can just scroll backwards for that. Now I'm doing something that goes against my rules here: promoting something I want to keep quiet. But Malaga is too good not to share. And I know Hanni would love to see you there. And she joins me from her apartamento in the beautiful city of Malaga, Spain. 

Hanni Martini  1:11  
Well, like many Brits, I came down to the Costa del Sol on holiday a long time ago, about 15 years ago, and spent a week in a little town called Estepona which is within Malaga province, and just had a wonderful time sitting in sunny squares, drinking coffees or wines or gins and tonics depending on the time of the day, and had this really strong draw to Estepona and- and the Malaga province, really, and really fell in love with it. And you know, again, like most people do when they come down on holiday from the UK, got back on the plane to go home again back to my then corporate job and, and sat on the plane thinking I wish I didn't have to go home, and how can I actually make this reality that this becomes my life? And so I set about- long story short, but I set about setting up a business online so that I could work from anywhere, and quit my corporate job, and move to Malaga, and the rest is history. Took a few years, wasn't quite that straightforward. You know, there are a few bumps in the road, but generally, yeah, here we are. 

Matt Cundill  2:08  
Tell me about the relationship between the UK and the Costa del Sol. Because as we go along, we see there's a lot of Brits who are wintering there. 

Hanni Martini  2:16  
A lot of Brits that winter here. Yeah, I mean, the Costa del Sol did a great marketing job in the UK back in the 60s and 70s and really pitched Torremolinos especially as a resort that was a great place for Brits to come on holiday. Of course, the weather in the UK, as I'm sure everyone in the world knows, leaves a lot to be desired. We get a lot of rain, it's chilly and wet and gray most of the time, and so the Costa del Sol, which formerly was actually known locally as the Costa del Viento, which means the windy coast, they rebranded the Costa del Sol, the sunny coast. And yeah, hit travel agents in the UK pretty hard with it in the 60s and 70s. And it just became a destination of choice for summer holidays and it's perfect. You know, it's from- most airports in the UK. It's between two and a quarter in three hours flight time. And nowadays the flights are really regular in and out of Malaga daily from most airports in the UK. So it's highly accessible with the low cost airlines as well that we're lucky to have in Europe with Ryanair and EasyJet. It's just- Yeah, cheap and easy to get to, and why wouldn't you want to escape the unpredictable weather of the UK and come down and have a bit of sun for a week? 

Matt Cundill  3:23  
So when North Americans make their plans to go to Spain, Barcelona and Madrid will be the first two that pop up. I saw a sign in Seville that said Don't forget about coming here too. But my first time to Spain, I had no idea about Malaga. And then I saw it on a map and I said Honey, why aren't we going here? 

Hanni Martini  3:41  
Yeah, I mean, you're right. Malaga is now, I guess, nationally and internationally speaking, still considered up and coming as a destination. You're right. Barcelona, Madrid and Seville are now very well supported by tourism from North America. But Malaga really, the- the majority of tourists that we have from North America are coming in on cruise ships. We have a great cruise terminal, which is bringing in literally boatloads of people on the daily and so yeah, we have more North Americans visiting now. But as I say generally on cruise ships, I don't know the answer actually, why more North Americans don't know about Malaga as a destination. It's very well connected to Madrid. We have the Abbe the high speed train, which gets down from Madrid in two and a half hours. And there's as much history in Malaga as there is in Sevilla and any other city in Andalusia. You know, we have 3000 years worth of history. So it's super interesting. And we've got the beach, which Seville doesn't have. So yeah, it's a mystery to me. But slowly, slowly, I think it's starting to, with- with the help of the internet and different forums and Facebook and Instagram things, you know, it's starting to get a bit more of a profile amongst the North Americans. Yeah. 

Matt Cundill  4:47  
What sets the food in Malaga apart from the rest of Spain? 

Hanni Martini  4:52  
Good question. I mean, Spain is, gastronomically speaking, incredibly diverse. You will see such diversity between- even how- you know, if you think about tapas, which we talk about a lot as being a food of Spain, how different they are and how different that tapas culture looks in the north, and it does in the south. Then within each region, so if we consider Andalusia as being the region that occupies sort of the bottom quarter of Spain, you know, there's even more diversity. So what makes Malaga super special is that we're on the Mediterranean, but we're very, very close to the Atlantic. So we're along this bottom coast of Spain, which gives us just the most incredible seafood. In the Mediterranean we have this beautiful warm water we have the the variety of shrimps and prawns, the small fish, the mackerel type fish, the sardines, the boquerones we have here. And then as I say, you go west, not that far, just as far as the Strait of Gibraltar and the Med turns into the Atlantic, and we have just some of the world's best tuna fishing, and if not the world's best tuna is caught in- down in that part of the Atlantic. And so we've got all of that accessible. And we have the best climate in Europe. So we're on the Costa del Sol here in Malaga. But if you just go east, we hit the Costa tropical. And we have tropical fruits growing. You know, basically everything that you see on the central market in Malaga is grown within 100 kilometers of Malaga city, well- everything I mean, let's say 80%. So we have this incredible diversity of ingredients. And that really, really sings through the food. Now, the food is pretty simple. Because if you've got beautiful freshly caught fish and freshly picked veggies and fruits, you don't have to do a lot to it because it tastes like it should and it tastes wonderful. The typical dishes from Agra are very simple. And they're made using locally available, locally sourced seasonal ingredients. And I think that's become very trendy around the world. But actually, it's just something that the Malagenos have always done. It doesn't need to be in trend. It's because we're eating locally sourced and seasonal, out of necessity but also because we have, as I say, this incredible variety. So yes, super fresh and super delicious. And I think that is something quite unique to Malaga. I mean generally Spain has- has- all over, there's a good climate for different things depending on which region, but that was what stood out for me when I first came to Malaga. 

Matt Cundill  7:12  
Tell me about your food experience that you do, your- your tour that you do. 

Hanni Martini  7:16  
Yeah, so we run a couple of food experiences actually. And we're diversifying more each season. But the food experience came about via a need really to show people when they come to Spain, how to eat like locals, and specifically in Malaga, like say again, when this diversity of people have perhaps traveled to Madrid before. They're not necessarily going to understand the food of Malaga and how to eat like a local. And so we run three hour tours, which are on foot, small group walking tours, maximum of 10 people, visiting various spots around the city and eating delicious food paired with lovely local wines, and learning a little bit about Malaga's history and the culture of Malaga and how and why we eat what we do through the delicious things that we taste on the way around. And yeah, it's great fun. And I love showing people the insider's Malaga. And I love supporting the businesses that we support as well, because we visit small like Mom and Pop type shops. Second, third, fourth generation, in some cases, businesses and we're supporting those independent local businesses that are really at the heart of Malaga and have been at the heart of Malaga for sometimes hundreds of years. So yeah, everybody wins. It's a- it's a- it's something that we we love to do. 

Matt Cundill  8:33  
I want to just touch on the market for a sec, because the market is really the centerpiece of everything that you spoke about. But it's an incredible place. That's one of the biggest and most colorful markets in all of Spain. 

Hanni Martini  8:45  
Yeah, it is. It's absolutely fabulous. And it's been- it's been around in the format of a market for a long, long time. You know, we already talked about the variety of produce that we have here in Malaga. And it's all seen on that mark- on that central market. The great thing about the market is it's the market for everyone. So people who live within the city as I do, in the city centre, I live five minutes walk from the market, I go down there, in fact, my Spanish boyfriend has just been down this morning to buy our lunch for today. Do my daily shopping. It's also the market- the fish market with the trade market as well. So very often if you get in there early in the morning, you'll see the restaurant owners in there picking out that what's going to be their fish of the day. So it's a really really integral part of the food scene in Malaga is that market, and- and yeah the variety of produce, but also the fact we've got these really cool little bars and- and takeout places dotted in around the stores where you buy your veggies, you can go next door and have a glass of sherry and some prawns and I just think it's really really unique and fantastic and a must visit for anybody coming to Malaga. 

Matt Cundill  9:52  
So some of the words that you shared with James Blick when you shot your video with him- and by the way, anybody who wants to see that video, it is in the show notes of this episode, because I thought it really captured Malaga in such a great way, especially the four drinks you had before 1pm, which I thought was stellar, abs- absolutely stellar. 

Hanni Martini  10:11  
All in the purposes of educating the world about Malaga's food scene, of course. 

Matt Cundill  10:15  
Oh, gosh, absolutely. One of the places you did not get to, though, were the beaches outside of Malaga. Now, obviously, that was going to be a thing where you'd have to travel a bit, and you would lose some time. But I've been down those beaches a number of time. And to my view, I'm seeing fire on the beach with fish being cooked. It's a fantastic sight. And it tastes amazing. 

Hanni Martini  10:40  
Yeah, it's spectacular. And it is a shame, when we talked about how we could get that into that video. But James is just going to have to come down and we'll record a new video doing the beaches. But if you're on holiday here in Malaga, you can definitely get to the beach, it's it's only 10 or 15 minutes walking to the nearest part of the city beach from downtown. So it's totally doable. And you're right, yeah, so the culture of grilling fish on the beach is again, you know, we're talking decades, centuries old. So it's called the Espeto de Sardinas. You put a net down the Malaga part of the Mediterranean and you pull it up, it's going to be full of sardines and boquerones, which are the white anchovies that- the line is fine between what is the boqueron and what is a sardine. They're- They're absolutely abundant and plentiful in these waters. And so again, locally sourced, easily available, inexpensive, historically, they would thread them onto the canes, the sugar canes, which were growing around Malaga. And we have a big sugarcane factory, it was a big industry here for Malaga. And so they use the canes to thread these boquerones on and then cook them over the fire on the beach. And it's still to this day is one of the most Malageno things that you can eat, or activities that you can partake in, when you're here. And for me when I travel away, first thing I want to do when I get back to Malaga is go and sit in one of those beach restaurants, put my feet in the sand and eat an Espeto de Sardinas, and then I know I'm home. 

Matt Cundill  12:00  
Just back to the market for one second. One of the things that you said in the video is it's not a museum, it's a place where you do have to go buy things when you go to the market. And I think one of the things that has come up in your work that I've seen online, is that there are good tourists and there are bad tourists. I think being a good tourist means, you know, not just looking and taking photos of the food of the market, but actually making some purchases.

Hanni Martini  12:23  
 Absolutely. And I think we can all purchase something, you know, there's going to be something that we all need or want in the next couple of days while we're on holiday that we can get in the market and the market- our market's, as I say, so diverse. It's not just fresh produce, there's all kinds of stuff there. And lots of stalls, you know, selling the olives, for example, which are so abundant here as well, will backpack things for you. And you're right, I mean it's really really really important, because what happens is when tourism hits the city like it is hitting Malaga, it's wonderful in so many ways, and we want to show tourists the- the beauty and the culture and everything that's fabulous about Malaga and we encourage everybody to come to the market and see it, it's fantastic. But of course, tourists in the market gets in the way of local people and business owners doing their business, and using the market to shop and so on and so forth. And so what we don't want to do is- is get to the point where there are so many tourists in the market just looking around as if it's a museum, that the locals don't want to shop in there anymore, because it's too difficult to do that and then nobody is making any money and the market eventually can't survive. So yes, super important when you come to Malaga, if you're coming to the market, yeah, just spend- put your hand in your pocket. It doesn't have to be a lot of money. It might just be, as I say, five euros on some olives and- and whatever, but- but show that you are supporting those business owners that are slogging their guts out in today, 35 degrees and 73% humidity. Let's show them a bit of love. 

Matt Cundill  13:46  
So I've got a few hacks- actually, I like to go to the market and buy some fruit and some- some nuts and some- some olives. But if you're looking for a meal, I sometimes think that just outside the market, you get all these other great restaurants that are right beside it, for a little bit less. So across the street, there's a place that actually offers a menu del dia. I mean in North America we call them the hard hats, but where all the workers will go, and it's the most fantastic lunch I've ever had. And listen, the place is always full and a menu del dia is $11.50, and you get a first, a second, a salad, a drink. 

Hanni Martini  14:19  
Yeah, I mean the menu del dia is incredible value, it's incredible value. It's quite hard to find in Malaga city now, so you're right, that- that spot on Atalathenas opposite the market is a great place to go for a menu del dia. And I completely agree with you. There are lots of little places dotted around the market. There's a great little cafe bar called El Cid, which is just a fab place to go and have breakfast. There's another one on the other side of the market called Don de Carlos which is a real- real tapas bar, and the first time I was in there having something to eat when they recently opened, and I thought I'll just go in and try it, you know, as I do, in the name of research, and the guy that I buy my meat from on the market came in with- carrying a whole- whole sheep by his hind legs. I mean, it had been, it had been slaughtered, it wasn't still screeching. But yeah, he carried this whole- whole sheep in, directly from the market in there. And they were going to prepare it and make something delicious with it, obviously. But it just shows you how, you know, how that whole kind of system works between the market and those places around it, and you know that you're getting super fresh and really great value. 

Matt Cundill  15:20  
So the question was on the list here from my wife, she wanted to know why there wasn't more menu del dia in Malaga. Now, the menu del dia is a set menu that was created, I think, in the 60s or 70s, and was actually designed for tourists to have an affordable lunch, but it's kind of flipped. Now it's the locals who are really enjoying that menu del dia affordable lunch. 

Hanni Martini  15:42  
So a lot of workers will use it. But in Malaga city, it's kind of faded out because of the fact it was heavily used by people who are working in construction or whatever, who were maybe working away from their home and weren't gonna go home for lunch. So, you know, traditionally, we get a longer lunch break here in Spain, and people would go home for lunch. If you work in an office or a shop or in a job like that, you tend to work within a 10 minute walk of your home. And so you wouldn't necessarily need that, you would go home, you'd have a long lunch, the main meal of the day is at lunchtime, so you'd sit down and have your lunch. But if you're working away from home, or you're out on a construction site or something like that, the neighborhoods would have these menu del dias that you could go in and and get some lunch without- a decent lunch, a main- you know, a feed, a substantial feed, that- without having to go home. Now I think it is partly to do with how the- the shape of the city has changed, in terms of the demographic of people who are living here and working here and visiting here. And yeah, I- to be honest, the answer I would give you, although I don't really know for a fact why there are so few menu del dias in Malaga. But the answer I would give you is that there's an opportunity there for people to- to offer something that's a little bit more refined, I guess, for tourists and that are perhaps more in alignment with a tourist of today's taste. But yeah, for me, you cannot be a menu del dia and if you go out into the neighborhoods you will definitely find it. If you get away from Malaga old town which is the pretty bit that's been pedestrianized, and you go- you know, you just cross over the river and you go into one of the neighborhoods there, you will definitely, definitely find some great menu del dias. 

Matt Cundill  17:11  
So I want to give a shout out to Donde Carlos, where you had a wrap party one night. I ate there and I thought it was such an awesome lunch. And then I saw you in an Instagram post having lunch there. And I thought, Okay, now I'm homesick for Malaga.

Hanni Martini  17:27  
Yeah, they're so good. They're such great guys in there. And yeah, it's really- it's really nice. And that's the thing is with the food tours, you know, people always ask me how I pick places. And of course, there's lots and lots of criteria and things that ha- that go into designing a food tour. Unfortunately, it's not just about, where does delicious food. But they- Yeah, they're a really, really great place to work with. And sometimes we include them on the tour, sometimes we don't, depends on- depends on which route we're working. But either way, I just love working with them there. It's real- You know, that's- that's what I love about supporting small, independent local businesses, is you get to know the people behind it. And yeah, people- people ask me about putting it together. And what I will say is always, always, always the places that go on the route are places that I will go with my friends and family. 100%. You know, I don't deviate that far from the food tour routes to be fair in my everyday life.

Mary Anne Ivison (Voiceover)  18:24  
You may also like supports podcasting 2.0, so feel free to send us a boost if you're listening on a newer podcast app. If you don't have one, you can see a full list of them at newpodcastapps.com. 

Matt Cundill  18:36  
Okay, so anybody who got this far through the podcast, now the thing pays off, because now I'm going to share my secrets about what I've borrowed from you. These are going to be the Malaga hacks everybody. Meson Mariano for artichokes. 

Hanni Martini  18:49  
Excellent, 10 out of 10. 

Matt Cundill  18:51  
Another one that you did share is El Pimpi, for the goat in the bar. The tapas-sized goat. 

Hanni Martini  18:58  
Yes, it's fantastic. It's so delicious. So surprising. So tender, juicy. And not a lot of places you can get really well cooked goat. We do get a lot of goat in Malaga. But that's a particularly good example of it. 

Matt Cundill  19:12  
So I'll share a story, because one night I was at Meson Mariano, and the waiter, as much as we were ordering our artichokes and our tapas, he was so excited about the quarter size goat. He said, you've come to Malaga, you've got to have this. And we did, we had a quarter goat between the two of us. 

Hanni Martini  19:29  
Wow. Good work. Good work. They do it very well in there actually. And it is one of their speciality dishes. Actually, I will say there's nothing that Meson Mariano don't do well, they are the classic example of very well done local food. 

Matt Cundill  19:45  
Talk to me a little bit about the middle of the afternoon, because I was looking at a place like Cafe Agunda, or just coffee shops, but the activity is very, very consistent. People in Malaga like to have their coffee a certain time. Starts around nine, seems to go to just before lunch, they pack everything up. And then in the afternoon, after lunch is done at four, it all comes rolling out again, and people are having coffee. And churros. 

Hanni Martini  20:12  
It's true. 

Matt Cundill  20:12  
So when do- when do people work? 

Hanni Martini  20:15  
Everybody asked me this, and I can't really answer the question if I'm honest. Work gets squeezed in there. But what- what is absolutely noticeable here, compared to certainly where I'm from in other parts of northern Europe, and I'm sure North America, is that people don't prioritize work.That it- I mean, it's important, of course, it's an important part of everyone's day in their lives, but it's not number one. Number one is family. It's quality time. It's making sure there's great work life balance, but not in a trendy "I work in tech" way. In a- it's just the way it's always been here. And people prioritize that, you know, eating, because eating here goes hand in hand with spending time with families. It's not like- or your friends. It's not like- you would never ever find a Malagano sitting at their desk at lunchtime, eating a sandwich for lunch. I mean, it's just not, it's just not going to happen. So yeah, you're right. I mean, the thing of the coffee in the morning, and I've been to doctor's appointments at 10:35, which is the time that the surgery gave me, and got there and there's a note on the door saying gone for breakfast, we'll be back at 11. And you're stood there with a bunch of other people who had appointments given for that time as well. And they're just like, Okay, cool, we'll wait for them to get back from breakfast then. So the priorities around how we work, and how we live, and how we eat, and how we spend time with family are kind of in a completely different order than they are in other parts of the world. Work does get done. It's just not talked about as much. 

Matt Cundill  21:42  
Another great hack you shared with me, by the way, as we were talking about churros, was Churria La Malagena. 

Hanni Martini  21:48  
Yes. 

Matt Cundill  21:49  
Why are those ones different than the other ones? Because I ate them, and they were special. 

Hanni Martini  21:54  
They are special. They're a bit saltier, I think. First of all, churros come in lots of different shapes and sizes all over Spain and all over Malaga. And here in Malaga we have- the typical churro from Malaga is actually called a teheringo, which comes in like a little loop shape. And they serve teheringos in La Malagena. The recipe, I don't know what goes into it. But basically when you're looking for a good churro, you are- you have to find somewhere that's making the batter fresh and frying them fresh. You can buy frozen churros and put them into a deep fryer, and an unrefined palate might not know the difference, if it's the only churro you've ever had in your life, and you might still think it's good. But the ones that are really the creme de la creme of churros have to be freshly fried, and they have to be having the batter made there and then, and kind of the batter goes straight into the fryer. It's delicious. The ones at La Malagena definitely have more of a salty edge. So the interesting thing about Spanish churros versus, say, Mexican churros, is that Spanish churros are savory, and then it's up to you to sweeten them if you wish by adding- sprinkling salt on top, or dunking them into chocolate, which is of course something that a lot of people love. 

Matt Cundill  22:56  
Tell me about where you can start your night, with a drink of course, Antigua Casa de Guardia. 

Hanni Martini  23:02  
Antigua Casa de Guardia, yep. 

Matt Cundill  23:04  
Yeah, you gave a great hack, by the way, because I walked through and had some of the drinks, and they were a little bit bitter and not every one was one to my liking. This is sherry, am I right? 

Hanni Martini  23:13  
You're not, actually, but it's a very common mistake that people make. The wines in Malaga are generally made with the Pedro Jimenez grape, or they might be made with the mosquito, but the Pedro Jimenez is the same grape that they use to make a lot of the Sherry's with, not all of them, but they make Sherry with the Pedro Jimenez. And the sweet one the Paharete 1908, which we try on some of the tours, and I tried on the video with James, is- it kind of tastes a bit like a sweet Sherry, like a cream Sherry. The difference is Sherry is a fortified wine, so I'm not going to go into how Sherry's made, mainly because I will do it a complete injustice, because I'm not Sherry-educated well enough. I've drunk a lot of it but I couldn't tell you about the Sherry making process. But Sherry is fortified. It's- there's a lot goes into making Sherry, layers and layers of- in the process, literally layers of wine go into it, whereas Malaga wine, the winemaking process, which is what they serve in Antigua Cada de Guardia, the winemaking process is a lot simpler. It's a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, if not 1000s, actually, in the case of Malaga wine, and it's- it's a process that the abuleo or the granddad in his hut on the side of the mountain working the land could make in his- in his little hut, his little shed or in his garage, or you can make at home. It doesn't require special equipment. It doesn't- I mean, I might get shouted at for this, but by my understanding, at least, certainly by comparison to Sherry it doesn't. But you end up with this really delicious, very drinkable, sweet wine, which to a lot of Northern Europeans, North Americans can seem strange, seems more like a dessert wine. But we have it here, like you say, to start the evening a lot of the time as an apperatif, an aperativo. 

Matt Cundill  24:46  
And the big hack, by the way, you want to do half sec, which is dry, and half manzania. If you mix those two together, that was my perfect mix. 

Hanni Martini  24:54  
Yeah, so you can mix and match, and actually, it's a fun thing to go in there and just have a play around, really. Just point out a few barrels and say, I'll try that. I'd like to try that one, and that one, and then you can try a bit, you can mix them in, you know, in- into different combinations and see what you like. 

Matt Cundill  25:10  
You mentioned earlier that not everything is called the exact same thing across Spain. And I think my biggest example was, it took me a week to find something that was like salmorejo, and it's called porra. Nobody told me this. So it was- it was on the menu, I just was looking up the wrong word. How's porra different than salmorejo? 

Hanni Martini  25:27  
I mean, it's not really. It's basi- it's essentially the same thing. So porra antequerana is, again, a thick cold soup made with tomato, olive oil, garlic, and then bread is what they use to make it super creamy and thickened up. Really the difference comes in the toppings. So again, this is kind of down to interpretation. Your selection of toppings are generally in- in porra, will be hamon little haquitos of hamon, like little- what's the word I'm looking for in English? Little squares of hamon. 

Matt Cundill  25:36  
Little chunks of hamon iberico. 

Hanni Martini  26:00  
Yeah, exactly. And boiled egg on top, but you also might find some with tuna on. So yeah, I mean, if anybody listening can tell me the real difference between porra antequerana and salmorejo, then I'm ready to be educated but, as far- as far as the naked eye and the taste and the recipe list, or the ingredients list is concerned, there's not a lot of difference. 

Matt Cundill  26:21  
The tuna was the only thing I could figure out wa- was the difference. If at all- and we had a lot of it, like we had it at every meal. We were there in March, and kind of trapped between somebody who liked porra, and then the other one who liked a more traditional warm Spanish dish, so I leaned more fabada. We couldn't figure out if it was winter or if it was summer. 

Hanni Martini  26:40  
I mean March is a great season for that, because you can literally overlap the two. You can- it can be a winter on a day that you decide you want fabada, and summer on a day that you want porra. Yeah, fabada is amazing. I mean that's a- this delicious, meaty, beany stew that comes from up north and- and yeah, I mean it's- it's one of the best things about winter as far as I'm concerned. 

Matt Cundill  26:59  
Full disclosure, that comes from Astorias which is way at the other end of Spain, however, Malaga does have its own set of stew. And in fact, a very incredible stew that you tried in the video with with James. 

Hanni Martini  27:10  
I did, gazpachuelo. Which is- it sounds alarming. I won't lie. And when somebody first told me about this white soup, I was like okay, well you know, let's- let's give it a go. It sounds nice, got seafood in it, so on so forth. And they didn't tell me what was- what went into the broth. But I tried it, loved it, of course because it is delicious. But the fact that they add mayonnaise to the broth to make it this creamy white base just blew my mind. And if you know that before you try it, it could be- it could definitely taint your perception of that soup, but it is bizarre, but exceptionally delicious. Did you try it when you were here, the gazpachuelo? 

Matt Cundill  27:48  
Yes. 

Hanni Martini  27:49  
Yeah. And you liked it? 

Matt Cundill  27:51  
I did. 

Hanni Martini  27:52  
Yeah. It's- I mean, I don't know anyone that's ever tried it that hasn't liked it. Once, you know, like I say, once you get over the shock of the fact that it's made with mayonnaise in- in the base. What I will add is that it will be a delicious homemade mayonnaise. We're not talking about Heinz here, we're talking about a homemade mayonnaise with free range eggs with local oil. So yeah, you're looking at a great starting point. But yeah, mayonnaise soup, mayonnaise fish soup. 

Matt Cundill  28:16  
I believe in the video you actually did it at Meson Antonio. 

Hanni Martini  28:20  
So we did- the gazpachuelo we did at Meson Mariano as well, actually, which was fantastic. We went to Meson Antonio though, for the ensalada Malageno, which is another typical, typical dish from here, as the name implies, it's Malaga salad. Again, a very curious combination of ingredients, which came about out of necessity, people farming the land needed something that they could just throw together with what was being- what was being grown and what was readily available. And so until ensalada Malageno is a cold salad of boiled potatoes, oranges, white or green onions, olives, olive oil. And then, as if that combination on its own wasn't strange enough, we throw in a bit of bacalao, which is the salt cod for good measure. So yeah, that's- that's another strange combination of ingredients. But something else that's just, in my opinion, utterly delicious. 

Matt Cundill  29:10  
So something you've done very well, the way you present the food tour. It's not just restaurants. It's the market. But it's also a place like Albencin del Indiano, which could be like, you know, Americans will look at that as maybe their local deli or, y'know in Canada, you know, place where you go get your meats, but you can also sit down and you can have a drink and you can order some of the meats to have as an appetizer before you head out. 

Hanni Martini  29:36  
Exactly. Yeah. And there's so much of that scene here. In Spain in general, the scene of being able to go and combine your shopping with sitting down and having a drink or something to eat is just amazing, and I mean, it's like- it beats the supermarket approach by a longshot for me, and it makes the process of shopping for your groceries far more pleasant, of course. So yeah, the tours, you're right. We cover a number of different types of businesses in the tours. We have another amazing delicatessen which is now on fourth generation, called La Marquina. That actually isn't one that you can go in and sit down and have a drink and something to eat in, as- as a member of the public, but they do a special little tasting board. And they shoehorn us into the- into the corner of the shop. And we get to go in there and try some things. And very often we've got three generations of the same family working in the shop at the time we're in there tasting stuff. So we you know, we really do try and create experiences that are special, and experiences that, you know, you wouldn't be able to have on your own, or you wouldn't be able to get on a run of the mill food tour where they take you from Bar A to Bar D. 

Matt Cundill  30:39  
Something that I'm seeing creep up a little bit and becoming very popular are places to go and taste wine, they're very popular, they're- they're actually rather full. I didn't even get a chance to get in to- to sit down and have one of those big exploration of the local and Malaganian wines, but you'll just have to tell me, exactly, why are Malaganian wines rising in popularity, and how are they different? 

Hanni Martini  31:01  
So, we have- Malaga actually has two wine producing regions. So, Spain is split down in terms of wine into wine regions, DO's, Denominazione De Origen. So, each DO will produce their wines, and the wines coming out of one DO with Grape A can be completely different from the wines coming out of the DO next door with the same grape. So Malaga actually has two DO's. So originally Malaga had the DO Malaga, but under the regulations of that DO, Malaga can only produce the type of wines that we see in Casa de Guardia, the traditional Malaga wines. What happened was, wineries realized that there was so much diversity in the wine down here, and in the grapes down here, and they grow very, very differently. Because obviously the sea air, because of the climate, etc, etc, that they wanted to start making the more modern wines. And so we created another region in Malaga, called DO Sierra de Malaga, which is Malaga mountain ranges, which is now where these more modern wines are coming from. I mean, what makes it different is a very, very subjective topic, obviously. But I would say you know, what's fabulous about the wines from Rhonda, for example- In fact, I would say next time you come, Matt, definitely, definitely, definitely go up to Rhonda and try and visit some wineries, and taste some of the wines that have been made up there. I think the reason they're growing in popularity is just because we're getting more publicity around them, and people are talking about them a little bit more, they're getting distributed a little bit more. But Sierra de Malaga is a relatively new wine region when you compare it to Rioja, which everybody's heard of, in Ribera Del Duero. So yeah, I think they're growing in popularity, because now people know about them a little bit more. But there's some fabulous wines, gorgeous Chardonnays, just a great- a great, great selection of great wines coming out of Malaga. 

Matt Cundill  32:47  
And for those who are going to be traveling to Malaga, this is more on the hotel side, one of the things I have noticed is that there are more temporary apartments, whether it's VRBOs, places to stay. As opposed to just maybe putting in, hey, let's stay at a hotel, I've kind of been pushed to, you know, that other sort of segment of where to stay. That really speaks, I think, to the popularity of Malaga, and a lot of people just coming in and using it and staying longer, staying for a month, staying for three weeks, perhaps. 

Hanni Martini  33:14  
I see it a lot, actually, I see it a lot online, in various different forums and things for people visiting Malaga. And lots and lots of people are coming for at least a month, you know, like you say or longer. And so, staying in a hotel is- it costs more, but it's not necessarily practical for a month, you might want your own kitchen and things, and that's where I would say anyone staying in an apartment, again, please use the market, please use these small independent retailers to do your shopping. But yeah, you're right, I mean huge popularity in it. And, and actually, I've just been talking to a company that we partner with this morning, because I'm trying to find, again, other businesses to support that are locally owned, independent, you know, so that when people come and ask for where to stay, I've got places to signpost them to that aren't you know, like you say, just the Marriott or the- the larger- the larger group hotels. But I think it's great that people can stay in- in apartments in the city center. Of course, like I say, it affects this- it affects the- the demographic of the people living and being and spending time in the city. So that's where I, you know, keep hammering the same point, which is shop local, support small business while you're staying in the apartments. And it's a great opportunity to do that. 

Matt Cundill  34:22  
We stayed there a month. We need a kitchen, we need a fridge, we need a place to put all the food that we would get from the market in order to have those wonderful snacks in between the meals. 

Hanni Martini  34:30  
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Where are you going to- where you going to store your almonds? 

Matt Cundill  34:34  
Well, I think I, by the way, hit every one of the restaurants that I had here. How can people become a better tourist in Malaga? If you're coming to Malaga, what are some of the things that you can do to become a better tourist, that you should be conscious of in advance? 

Hanni Martini  34:48  
Okay, I mean, it's a good question. And it's a tricky one to answer but- without just saying, come on one of my tours. But I think you know, doing your research and trying to follow people on social media, or read blogs, that tell you about the places that are genuinely independently owned. Using common sense when you come to a city, for example, I understand that sometimes when we travel, we want some security, we want some familiarity. And sometimes we just want you know, some comfort of something from home. And so not saying, never in your life, go and get Starbucks when you're in Malaga. But at the same time, we all know that Starbucks is not a Malaga business. And so if we can be better as tourists in terms of supporting small local businesses, you know, mix it up and try and go and find something. Even if you don't do any research, you can pretty much tell when you walk past La Malagena, for example, or Casa Aranda, that they're local businesses, you know? So try and support those small local businesses. I- I know it's inti- it can be intimidating, especially if you don't speak any Spanish, to walk into somewhere like a small delicatessen and try and make your purchases. You know, all the weights are in different things, the temperatures are different, and the language is different. It's- I get that it's intimidating. But what I will say is, people of Malaga are so warm, friendly, I hope you found that when you visited, and welcoming, but if you want to try buying something, for example, from La Marquina, the little deli, and you go in there and you don't speak any Spanish, but you can point at the thing or you can ask to try things, they will really really do their best to help you so that everybody has a great experience from it. So be brave, I think, is my number one tip, and just go out of your comfort zone. And I think anybody doing that isn't going to get any kind of negative feedback for it. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Matt Cundill  36:41  
Well I want to thank you for being my research for the last couple of years on this, because I mean it's been an incredible way to see Malaga, is even just very simply through the Instagram, and to know that you're going about and doing all this research. You're an excellent follow on Instagram, and thank you for being the research for so many. And of course everybody should be signing up for your food tour when you get to Malaga.

Hanni Martini  37:01  
Thank you. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be everybody's research, let me tell you.

Matt Cundill  37:09  
My thanks to Hanni Martini for joining me on the show. And if you want to join Hanni on a tour, just go to FoodExperienceMalaga.com. I also put links to the places we spoke about on the episode page, at YouMayAlsoLike.net. This episode was produced by Evan Surminski and edited by Chloe Emond-Lane, and built for your ears by everyone at the Sound Off Media Company.