Confession.
I live in a house but I write in my closet. It’s windowless, filled with 20 years worth of shoes and a Vitra Uten.Silo organiser in white (yes it was a splurge, no I don’t regret it). That is what I stare at while I write. It’s full of menus, business cards, bits. In the main pocket was the menu from Melo-Jia, I picked it up a couple of months back when I’d passed the restaurant and thought “Look at that! A Chinese restaurant that doesn’t look Chinese.” I tentatively poked my head in but it had that empty slightly desperate look of a place that doesn’t get enough traffic.
Fast forward to the evening that I met the young local couple behind Very Tasty Blog. They rated Melo-Jia second behind Nanit for Chinese food in Barcelona.
Back I trodded with the family in tow, even going so far as to make a reservation. I love their logo, 2 cockatoos facing away from each other. Inside, you would be hard-pressed to guess that you are in a Chinese restaurant, with gray painted walls. The menu only lists 46 dishes. 7 of which are dim sum. The Xia-Jiao, shrimp dim sum (€6.80) we ordered were spectacular. I had a hot and sour soup (7.20), which was lovely and couldn’t resist the mapo tofu (6.20) the man went for Gong Bo Chicken (6.50). The kids meanwhile shared a plate of udon noodles with beef (5.80). They were given plastic plates with some animations on them, colourful glasses and forks and plenty of attention.
On one of the numerous trips to the bathroom (Dining with kids man, they have pea-sized bladders.) I caught a glimpse of the kitchen. It looked like just one man cooking. I suppose that the older woman in the dining room must be his wife and our young waiter their son.
I was positively surprised by the food, fresh tasting and authentic without that Chinese food slump that can happen sometimes. It lacks the buzz of a place that is loved but that won’t be stopping me from returning with my brood. I might even relegate it to my weekend family outing restaurant because the prices are right, the food is great and the owners friendly.
See this and more addresses on my Foodie in Barcelona Map
Melo-Jia
C/ Corsega 250
08008 Eixample
www.melo-jia.com
Hi there! I enjoyed reading your post on Melo-Jia. I actually discovered it in much the same way. back when it was still Can Melo. That´s why I entered; a sign reading “Can Melo” with some Chinese letters on it. Was it Chinese or not? I´ve since been back dozens of times. BTW: I cannot, for the life of me, understand how someone could rate Nanit ahead of Melo. I´ve been to Nanit 3 times and at best their dishes have been decent. Correcto, as it goes. Add the horribly slow service and you have…. reasons to not make that fourth visit.
Have a great weekend!
Chris
Nice blog .Thanks for sharing.