After seemingly coming out of nowhere and garnering 3 Michelin stars for his playful take on Spanish fusion at DiverXO, chef David Muñoz decided to also bring Michelin quality food to the street. Or in this case to the Corte Inglés Gourmet Experience food court in plaza Callao. An unlikely place to find such stunning food, and in fact StreetXO will be moving to larger premises soon (and a London version will be opening in November), but I was happy to have had the chance to sample (actually quite a lot) of this Asian-themed "street show".

My first visit was late on a Wednesday afternoon, shortly after arriving in Madrid (happily my hotel was just a five-minute walk away) and this was my first destination after checking in. The place was packed, as I had been warned it would be, but I ordered a nice glass of perfectly chilled godello and waited for a space top open up at the horseshoe shaped bar that surrounds the open kitchen. Finally a spot opened up and I went for it. Actually two spots had opened up and suddenly there were two guys behind me politely asking if I'd mind if they squeezed into the single spot, saying they'd both stand and not make me feel crowded... well, how could I say no? Also, I saw my chance to score a deal and said I'd be happy to have them squeeze in and asked if they'd mind me taking photos of their food (I knew I could only manage two or three dishes at the most). Deal struck, my new friends - Antonio & Marco from Valladolid - not only ordered almost the entire menu and let me take pics, they also insisted I taste several of their dishes. And it turned out that Marco owns a rather special place called La Pasión Café, which famously serves up various insect tapas along with its regular fare. But I digress...

I started off with the grilled bone marrow and bacalao cocotxa as it had come highly recommended by Twitter pal @Bacononthebeech and it was heaven. Next I tried the smoked razor clams (wow!) and finished myself off with the chicharrones served with lettuce leaves, three fresh herbs, marinated shitakes and two sauces. All I knew after that was I wanted to eat that last dish every day for the rest of my life. In between I had tastes of a few of my friends' other dishes and knew I had to come back.

Which I did on my final day in Madrid, meeting my friend @FredShively for my last meal in town. Had to have the pork belly again (of course!), and we also tried the crispy fried pig's ears on a Jackson Pollock background of sauces, the Pad Thai "paella version", and the chilli crabs. And if Fred didn't dislike sardines so much I also would have ordered the one with the sardines and duck tongue... well, wouldn't you?

As an experience - fun, frenetic and fantastic food. Although people were also getting trays of food from the takeaway counter and taking them to other seating areas, the whole thing for me was watching the show. It was also fun that both David @Dabizdiverxo and chef Jhonny @JhonnyStreetXO got into it, replying to my tweets and even retweeting them. A friendly and down-to-earth touch, especially as I hadn't met them.

chef Jhonny on fire!

A tip for when you go (which may or may not apply to the new place when they move) is to get there just before opening (1pm or 8pm) and hang around like a vulture to grab a spot at the bar. When I went with Fred we ordered a drink at the bar in front of StreeXO and ended up with the best seats in the house. And yeah, the music is a bit loud but not as much as I'd been warned about. A nice range of stuff too. Really wouldn't be the same experience without it. Below are the pics... enjoy the show!

takeaway

street show

grilled bone marrow with cocotxa, bilbaína, kincheloe juice and rice cracker

butterfish tataki a la brasa, anis and yuzu salad

roasted chicken marinated in sweet chilli, with Andalusi salad (olives, orange, Moroccan spices) You have to wait half an hour for this dish to be prepared

chilli soft shell crab with smoked paprika, chipotle and steamed Chinese buns

steamed club sandwich with quail egg, sashimi-togorashi

pork belly served with lettuce leaves, marinated shitakes, sauces and fresh herbs, topped with smoked mussels Instructions to follow....

put some of the fresh herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro), the shitake and the sauces (sriracha & XO tartare) on your lettuce leaf, then top with the pork belly and mussel ... and EAT

crispy thingies with sardines and duck tongues

lovely house wine

a jabalí dish that was an "off the menu" special of the day

charcoal-baked mackerel, yuzu, smoked bonito flakes, pickled onion rings, trout roe

smoked razor clames, ponzu of sishio and coconut cream

pad thai "paella style" rice noodles flamed in wok, bok choy, prawns, mussels, omelette "skin"

Pekinese dumplings, crispy confit pig ear, strawberry hoisin and alioli

some of the fabulous StreetXO team

the team at work...