Romantics chroniclers mention the smell of sweetmeats and fritters that prevails throughout the festive commemorations. The Fallas are fed on pumpkin fritters, it might be said. These sweet “buñuelos”, or fritters, can be accompanied by a drink of the famous “horchata”, or tiger-nut milk, in “horchaterías”, or hot chocolate in “chocolaterías”, because it is precisely these two drinks that traditionally accompany this feast. From the wee hours of the morning, the music never stops, nor are the lights turned off, and the fritters keep piling up for all hungry feasters in ancientlooking shops with their typical mirror walls, and marble or ceramic chequerboard floors. These still survive in the heart of the old guild quarters of Valencia, around the Plaza de la Virgen, Plaza Doctor Collado and the Santa Catalina church.

Buñuelos

Buñuelos. Traditionally eaten during the Fallas, these yummy fritters are a treat that should not be missed. Made from flour, water and yeast, buñuelos are perfect with hot chocolate. Enjoy them at an horchateria or open-air stalls.

bunyols (fried doughnuts, sometimes round shaped, sometimes like rings), widely available only during March. Dip them in hot chocolate if you want. Sometimes they are too oily, so don’t eat a lot of them or you will not be hungry again in several hours. If you can choose the ‘carabasa’ (pumkin) version, you should try it. They are generally tastier

Churros. Eat them plain with or without hot chocolate, in horchaterias or off the streets in paper cones. Churros are commonly served coated with sugar but the chocolate-covered variant is a must-try, too.

Churros

Llinares Ice Cream. You haven’t tried ice cream like this homemade ice cream. Shop owner Félix Llinares holds the Guinness Record for most number of ice cream flavors. Llinares is known for uniqueness. They serve vegetable ice cream and flavors like lentil, gazpacho, Spanish omelette, tortilla and different cheeses.

Llinares also offers ice cream therapy. Flavors based on medicinal plants and herbs promise to help you get rid of cellulite, lose weight, stop smoking and lower your stress levels. The popcorn flavor was perfect; too bad I couldn’t bring it home.

- Plaza de la Reina 6 valencia

- Archiduque Carlos 17 Valencia

Arroz al Horna

The great variety in Valencian cuisine, a reflection of the diversity of the region’s products, often comes as a pleasant surprise to visitors. Among the best-known dishes, Valencian paella takes pride of place. Genuine paella is cooked over a wood fire and uses rice as its basic ingredient. Considering how important rice-crops are in Valencia, this product has given rise to numerous recipes: arroz a banda (cooked in fish stock), arroz negre (cooked in squid ink), arroz al forn (oven-backed rice), arroz amb bledes (rice with chards), arroz amb fesols i naps (rice with beans & turnips).

Paella

You can also try other dishes, such as fideuà (noodle paella) originally from Gandia; all i pebre (eels in a piquant garlic and red peper sauce) typical of La Albufera; suquet de peix, esgarrat, figatell, etc. All complemented by Valencian wines, whites from the Alto Turia and La Serranía, or reds from Requena, Utiel and Campo de Liria.

And together with the excellent quality of Valencian fruit, with oranges at the forefront, you can find a very wide range of confectionery, with arnadí as its prime exponent, plus a series of typical refreshments that includes horchata de chufa (tiger-nut milk) accompanied by fartons, special cakes originally from Alboraya.

Paella. This best-known Valencian dish is named after the pan used to cook the rice. Purists believe paella must be cooked over wood fire and using water from Valencia. Traditionally, paella should be eaten in the neighborhood by the sea, but you can order the dish from many specialist restaurants around town. There’s a variety of paella you can order—chicken, rabbit, shellfish, vegetable, and mixed.

Jamon Iberico (known as Iberian Ham or Pata Negra). Produced only in Spain, this type of cured ham is made from black Iberian pigs who feed only on grains and acorns.

What to drink

Horchata. This sweet drink, served very cold, is made from tiger nuts, water and sugar. Alboraia is said to serve the best horchata in Valencia. You can buy horchata in bottles too, but there’s nothing like a fresh glass of this milky, creamy treat.

out Orxata (earth almond milk) with “fartons” (pronounce it with accent in the second syllable).

Horchata

Agua de Valencia. If you like cocktails, search for a bar that serves Agua de Valencia. Made from a base of cava or champagne, orange juice, vodka and gin and served by the pitcher, this sweet drink has a kick. If your alcohol tolerance isn’t high, you might want to save this for later in the night.

Hot chocolate. Spanish hot chocolate is so thick it tastes more like melted chocolate bar. It’s comfort in a cup.

Leche merengada (a kind of milk-based soft ice cream with cinnamon-lemon taste).

Agua de Valencia (Valencia water) is a very famous mix drink. There are several recipes, which mainly base on orange juice and Cava, the local champagne.

Cibada (an iced malt drink).

Llima Granizada (Iced Lemonade)

Café del Temps (Espresso on Ice).

Blanc i Negre (Iced Coffee with Leche Merengada). Watch out! They can extract a sandwich (Bocadillo) of sausage (longaniza) and black blood sausage (morcilla)

Wine. You must try the Valencia denominacion de origen wines. Don’t miss the reds, roses and cavas and the Alto Turia and Utiel-Requena whites.

Spanish beer. San Miguel’s still a big hit in Spain—but you might want to drink Spanish cerveza while you’re there. Mahou, Cruzcampo and Damm are some brands to try. Spain, this type of cured ham is made from black Iberian pigs who feed only on grains and acorns.