I was invited by lovely Krista of the neon hub for a night of tapas & mojitos at the fab Azucar Tapas at the Brewery Wharf. I don’t often go towards the wharf area, so I had no idea that this little gem was there.

There was about 10 of us there, a gathering of blog owners and writers as such. Mostly localised content, it was a chance for me to meet other local people who blogs. It was definately interesting meeting some whose blogs I’ve been visiting (like Michelle of the Culture Vultures) and getting to know other transplanted expats as such like Reinhold and online farmer market owner Chris.

After downing numerous Cuban Libre and Mojitos, the tapas selection was served…and oh my, were they ever so lovely.

Missed out on a pic of the best calamari rings ever. It was so yummy I just scoffed it down, completely forgetting about a picture. And not to mention jalapeno poppers – omg, I do miss my jalapeno poppers from my days in the Central Valley…
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Ginormous meatballs. Each of them felt like a quarter pounder

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I believe this is Xin Xim, Pele’s favourite dish. I’ve ordered it before somewhere else, and even though this tasted very similar, it was nicer. Goes very well with rice.Mm

Nachos with chilli con carne with sliced jalapenos & melted cheese. Mmm..

Shot of the bar, with the camera propped up on the straw holder. The very funny barman was chucking around all the fixings for the cocktails all over the place that I was sprinkled with rum, ice and a squeeze of lime. The bloke eating at the bar had to move a couple of barstools down – the barman just had such a serious look on his face and he even ‘tasted’ the mojito with a straw(threw it away and gave me a new one tho) before serving it to me! OMG! It’s so weird, but in a good way as I thought it was hilarious – never seen a barman taste my cocktail before!

After the food & drink, the big secret of what were we doing there was finally revealed. Krista & David are organising a twitter treasure hunt-a-long later this month in conjunction with Havana Cultura and Havana Club. There is more to Cuba than package holidays and cigars, and the objective of the project is to introduce the world to the fabulous Cuban culture that Havana (and more) offers. I must admit though, for me Cuba had always been about cigars, almendrones (the term used for old cars in Cuba) and of course, Buena Vista Social Club. The images of packaged all-inclusive holiday only came to me when I moved to Leeds – no one ever talks about holidaying in Cuba in the States with the ongoing troubles between the two government, this wasn’t a huge suprise.

Before the night was over, there were some prize draws, and I got myself the fab coffee table book journeying through modern Cuban culture – the H, Havana’s Essential Lifestyle Guide . I love it, I love it – the beautiful emotive pictures and the stories it tells, bringing the core of Havana to life. I know most people (well, everyone actually!) were gagging for the bottles of Havana Club (we manage to get Katie one!) but me being a geek wanted the book – so I got it . Thanks Krista!

And of course not forgetting the baby bottle of Havana Club for being there early , complete with a bouquet of fresh mint and a whole lime for us to make up our own Mojito.

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The icing on the cake on that night for me was the CD that we were given of Gilles Peterson’s yet-to-be-released Havana Cultura New Cuba Sound album. Coming out on 26th October (preorders currently taken here) it was a excellent mix of traditional Cuban sounds like I’m used to from Buena Vista Social Club and the modern intrepretation of urban hiphop and rap in Spanish. Nice. Definately earned its space in my pod for looping during work hours. There’s even a sampling of Informer (omg, I so remember the rage that was Snow back in the mid-90s!!) in CD 2…which actually started out with the intro of Back to Black by Amy Winehouse! Brilliant stuff.

Launching on 17th October, I will of course be participating in the Twitter-hunt that will be lasting for two weeks – so watch this space! In the meantime, do have a peep at Havana Cultura’s fab website for a peek into the Havana that you never knew existed.

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