A trip to Palma de Mallorca (or any other place for that matter), would be incomplete if you do not partake of the local cuisine. You don’t have to worry about indigestion though. Mallorcan cuisine is fairly traditional with pork or fish as main ingredients with generous servings of garlic, olive oil and vegetables. Because of the annual winter slaughter of pigs (called matanca), delectable sausages such as the sobrasada (raw minced pork with red peppers), botifarro (cured pork with blood), and jamon serrano (whole cured ham) abound in the city of Palma.

Apart from the sausages, Palma de Mallorca is known too for the frit mallorqui, a fried dish of potatoes, onions and tomatoes which is usually served with tumbet (ratatouille of eggplants, potatoes, pepper in olive oil) and a thick broth called sopes mallorquines. Other dishes you may want to try include the llom amb col, a dish where pork, together with pine nuts and raisins are wrapped in a leaf of cabbage), and the delectable lechona asada (roast suckling pig).

The famous all-in-one rice dish, Paella, does not hail from Mallorca but you may order it from restaurants. If you want to try something different, try the Paella Ciega or Blind Man’s Paella and the arros brat (‘dirty rice’). Arros Brat is the Mallorcan equivalent of the Paella. This dish is made up of saffron rice which is cooked with chicken, pork and other vegetables. Paellas made of fish and other seafood delicacies such as lobster, prawns and sea bass can also be requested. Incidentally, sea bass baked in rock salt is a dish that is endemic to Mallorca.

Finally, end a sumptuous Mallorcan meal with gato de almendras, a slice of almond cake with toasted almond ice cream. You can even have a bite (or two) of ensaimadas, delicious spiral shaped pastries that are filled with jam or sausages and lightly bathed in butter and dusted with sugar.

Most restaurants found in and out of the city serve Mallorcan cuisine. Why not experience more of Palma and veer away from international dishes (or McDonalds); after all sampling the local food is one delicious way to get to know a country.