Let’s go “tapear” with Jorge Arnanz at El Tapeo

Approachability, not only in terms of the right price but also the right place and the right kick, is the thing that Spanish food needs when it wants to stay among those colorful, spicy, and cheap curries in Thailand, indeed. Jorge Arnanz has to bear it in mind since the “how” to transport the favorite dishes of los madrileños to Bangkok is not so simple.

The madrileño like Jorge has had El Tapeo as his own restaurant to be the place for sharing Spanish food culture for about 2 years now. The name derives from a Spanish noun that doesn’t have a direct translation to English, but it signifies an act of sitting down in a bar that serves pieces of bread with different kinds of toppings on each one. The name of the bread is tapas. The tapas culture is somehow so deep-rooted in Spain. Jorge always says to his friends, “Es la hora de tapeo” or “Vamos a un sitio de tapeo”. They mean “It’s time for tapas” and “Let’s go for tapas”, respectively. In addition, recently, there has even been a verb invention for that culture in the country. It is called tapear, meaning to have tapas. There we go. We are a little bit less ignorant now when we look up to the giant logo in front of the restaurant!

Jorge and his wife got the passion from his best friend, Rubén. Rubén followed his dream to open his tapas bar in Madrid, then Jorge’s wife worked there, came back to Thailand and decided to open a restaurant with Jorge. They were aware that this was not going to work if they didn’t select the right place. The two spouses strategically planned to open it in Thong Lor, where there is plenty of Izakayas--Japanese bars that are similar enough to a tapas bar. Without any doubt, El Tapeo has had Japanese people in Bangkok as its major customers since the very beginning. In addition, they can meet with the concept of approachability by situating the restaurant in the Thong Lor area either. Jorge mentioned that people in the area “don’t have to think twice” before coming in since the price is “affordable”. No, the “affordable” is not cheap, but the people can afford it. Yet, this does not mean that Jorge wants to go for a high-class presentation of it. He only wants to have a nice image of Spanish gastronomy and culture together with delicious food, which people can still pay for it, although the price is high to some standards. The Thong Lor area seems to be the perfect flexibility for those intentions and conditions.

However, all that only achieves the goal to sell very well. Another box that El Tapeo needs to check is to make Bangkokians understand what it means to be a Spaniard through its atmosphere and food. Due to the condition of tall buildings around Thong Lor, Jorge did not really have a choice but to make use of the narrowness of the building. With tiles and other materials from Chatuchak market and Index Living Mall, the couple decided to decorate the third floor like those woody taverns in Madrid, the stairs down using Andalusian-style tiles, the second floor to have the view of Plaza de España from Seville, and most importantly, the ground floor to have wine cellars and a bar to Spanishly welcome the guests. Hence, the customers can choose what kind of Spanish atmosphere they would like to have while eating dinner each night. Additionally, not only this magnificent vibe from the interior design helps Bangkokians understand how Spaniards are, but also the food. Thai people can learn about Spanish culture by trying the food in El Tapeo. The staff are kindly informative about Spanish food; they are always ready to tell the stories of Spanish food as good as the Facebook Page of the restaurant which always posts interesting notions about the Spanish kitchen. This will more or less help them understand how Spanish gastronomy is.

Unfortunately, since a good number of Thai people are not familiar with Spanish cuisine, there are pitfalls to avoid; but fortunately, Jorge and his wife managed it even before they opened the restaurant. So, there is no problem with the high level of saltiness or too little spiciness in gambas al ajillo (shrimps in olive oil). They have done their homework very well on that.

In these recent years, Jorge views that Spanish food has become more popular for Thai people, and it is easier for him to find Spanish food to eat instead of listening to the song Home by Michael Bublé. It might partly be the case that Thai people go abroad more nowadays and try Spanish food in those overseas countries. Jorge, moreover, hopes that there are more and more Spanish restaurants. “I think the more Spanish restaurants are there, the more it will benefit all of us because together we can make Spanish food popular among Thai people. And once they like it, they might like to try things in different places. And maybe they would say ‘I love the tuna in Broken Eggs’, ‘I want to go back for gambas in El Tapeo’, ‘I want to go to Barcelona Gaudí because of the croquettes’. You see, it’s good for everyone" said Jorge.

After all, Jorge can be considered the one whom we should thank for his positive visions to run El Tapeo and his goodwill to share Spanish food culture via it. He has also gained interesting cultural tastes from the Thai side. In spite of the fact that he loves paella valenciana, fideuà, and all Spanish dishes so much, he grows the love on Khao Soi, the northern-style noodles in Thailand and Kaprao Moo Sab. He even points out that croquettes for Spaniards are just like Pad Kra Pao for Thais; when they don’t know what to eat they just order those. Moreover, he really does like how sharing is embedded in Thai and Spanish food culture. Compared to other European countries that individuals will have their own portions, Thais and Spaniards have food in the middle of the table and it gets distributed to each person’s plate. Though there is the difference that Thais would be shocked by rabbits in paella or that Thais are not familiar with how Spaniards season the food too little, the similarity between Thai and Spanish food culture about sharing is delightful enough to know.

To end the story of El Tapeo, Jorge would like to tell us something about Spanish cuisine:

“Spanish food, compared to other types of food, is not very pretentious. We like to make the food very honest focusing on the flavor. We cook with any types of ingredients. Spanish food is easy-going and playful with the products” (Arnanz, 2019).

A special Spanish class with Jorge Arnanz

1. Estar como un queso = To be like cheese = To be (attractively) hot

2. Ser un pulpo = To be an octopus = To be too touchy (in a club, maybe?)

3. Se te ha pasado el arroz = The rice is overcooked. = You’re too old (to do something).

* Please do not forget to conjugate the verbs for using these idioms properly*