Perfect paella at Casa Molina

You might not think of rice as a main dish.

Accompaniment yes. Rarely do you order Indian food without it. At least in the West, rice in sushi serves as a vehicle, sometimes barely noticed, for the fatty tuna sitting on top,

Persian food takes it a little further with Tahdig, a crispy golden layer of rice burnt into a caramel colour, adding layers of taste and textures, yet still primarily as a side dish at places like Delarra in Kitsilano. 

But when it acts as the main dish, it’s usually disappointing. Paella comes to mind on one hot day in Málaga, a coastal city in southern Spain. I stopped at a restaurant with the look of a tourist trap, a mistake I knew as the big dish of unappetizing, barely edible hardened rice, and dull brown, flopped in front of me. Like a haunting dream, my dislike of paella stayed with me ever since. 

Yet as I sat at Casa Molina, at 2211 Manitoba St., a new Spanish place in the late spring, I was mentally preparing myself to revisit the dish. 

Casa Molina sits on an unassuming block in Mount Pleasant. Casa is appropriate. Spanish for home, the two-story structure is, in fact, a home, painted bright red. One wonders how long the building will last as redevelopments engulf the neighbourhood.

It’s not an easy place to visit. Reservations are hard to get, the bar is only four seats and I wasn’t the only walk-in, judging by how many people visited during my 20-minute wait for a bar table.

Inside the place is small. While somewhat spartan, the walls and bar splashback are partially inlaid with white tiles with darkened green icons of flowers, lemons and moons. Light, wicker-like chairs, lend the place to a warmer climate. It’s more modern than I prefer — there are too many restaurants embracing pale interiors, wooden chairs and other stale designs — but small little touches bring out the space. I could feel the Spanish sun. 

The sound of Spanish people working, and the bartender telling me she was from Spain, does increase the authentic feeling. My hopes for the paella grew.

The drink list features a robust set of Spanish wines, with classic and creative cocktails, ranging on the higher priced side of $16-$19. The drinks feature a range of local Spanish spirits, including Torres, Vermouth and Sherry and savoury ingredients such as manchego cheese, shishito and olive oil. It’s a creative drink list work exploring.

The menu includes appetizers, larger dishes and four different paellas. You will find classics like patatas bravas, but please, go with something a little more creative. 

While I suggested being creative, the server recommended the more basic croquetas and the squid ink paella, which I obligingly accepted. I also ordered the Salmorejo, an interesting chilled tomato soup dish featuring, of all things, manchego ice cream.

Croquetas ($18), three different ones featuring jamon (ham), gambas (prawns) and espinacas (spinach), were an odd recommendation. Creativity, when it comes to what is essentially deep fried batter, can be challenge. How can you elevate it beyond expectations?

It was cooked perfectly, crispy and browned on the outside, the interior gave way to a creamy melted cheese. Unfortunately, the three different ingredients added very little to the taste. The jamon saltiness was noticeable and enjoyable, but the prawn and spinach added nothing to the texture or flavour, both tasting the same. At $18, the dish felt like a real miss.

A miss yes, but what followed was a hit. The Salmorejo was tangy but with a laid-back flavour, the soup, while the main dish, served as a vehicle for the manchego ice cream. 

Not ice cream per se, the white submerged blob, barely cold, exploded with the sharp, biting flavour of manchego cheese, little bits rolling around in your mouth, mellowing the tangy soup taste. The crispy, salty jamon toppings balanced it all. It played on the traditional soup dish, experimenting with classic Spanish flavours in unique ways. Well done.

But back to the star attraction. I was told, and discovered online, that chef Javier Blanc’s specialty is paella, having won the second-best paella in the world at Concurs, competing against 44 others, including local Valencians, and running Paella Guys, a catering company focused on the dish. 

Casting aside my worry, the squid-ink paella ($62) was placed in front of me. Like a well-manicured zen garden, the dark squid-ink and seafood broth-infused rice was topped with bright orange Argentinian prawns, smaller shrimp, glistening white scallops, and what appeared to be clams. Little green shoots of onions decorated the top.

Each paella comes with a wooden angled spoon to scrap the rice off the steaming hot cast iron pan. The scrapping itself is cumbersome, the pan hot and untouchable, forcing a weird motion to get the flavourful rice embedded into the pan.

The extra bit of work yields a dish that is easily one of the best I’ve had all year. Rich, complex saltiness imbues the rice with unimaginable flavour. It’s a profile that’s soft and slightly crunchy from the hardened cooked rice layering the cast iron plate. The seafood broth adds an underlying intense fish flavour. Each bite was an epiphany

The seafood items doting the rice were also perfectly cooked, the Argentinian prawns with a sweet flavour similar to spot prawns. The scallops were also cooked well. 

Accompanied by a side of aoili and lemon, a little sprinkle of citrus intensifies the flavours of the dish. I recommend applying it liberally. The aioli added little extra, but does impart a creaminess to each bite. 

Finishig off the meal, I ordered the Basque Country Cheesecake ($15). Using blue cheese as part of the cake, you can taste the sharp, mellowness of the pungent cheese as it cuts through the rest of the dessert. Not as traditional as normal Basque cheesecake, another example of the team breaking with tradition and experimenting with classics.

It is no surprise Casa Molina is a popular spot. The paella is unlike any dish in the city and, by itself, is worth the visit. But you’d be missing out if you didn’t experiment with other dishes and cocktails — the team has brought a creative vision that stands out in the city. 

If Casa Molina does anything, it will have you reconsidering everything you know about rice.

Noise Level: A normal level of noise.

Recommended: The squid ink paella, Salmorejo

What I wish I ordered: Foie Micuit, Jamon Iberico.

Drinks: Cocktails focused on Spanish and Latin liquors and ingredients, a Spanish wine list, non-alcoholic drinks.

Price: $$$, drinks quite affordable while food was a bit more pricey.

Other details: Vegetarian options, not wheelchair accessible, vegetarian friendly.