My quest for Ortiz anchovies found me over at Casa Iberica, the Portuguese grocers in Fitzroy. It's funny isn't it, when you know of a shop's existence for years and years and for some reason you don't go and when you finally get there, you wonder why you never went in the first place. I wasn't paying too much attention to the outside, though I do recall it was painted quite gaudily; it's not a shop front that you could easily miss, an important consideration as you drive down busy Johnston Street in Melbourne's Latin quarter. Be warned, parking is rather scarce.

The first thing you notice upon entering is the salty aroma from all the dried hams, chorizos and salchichons hanging over the deli counter. There are shelves all around packed to the gunwales with all manner of exotic goods, not only from Portugal but from Spain, Mexico and the USA. The first shelf I perused was full with a variety of canned seafood, very popular on the Iberian Peninsula. I felt for my glasses so I could read the labels, but had left them behind, no matter everything was in Portuguese or Spanish. There were sardinas (sardines), pulpo (preserved octopus), berberechos (cockles), atun (tuna), caballas (mackerel), zamburinas (scallops), anchoas (anchovies, no Ortiz though), mejillones (mussels) and many more things besides.

Down another aisle were all the spices, paprika, cumin, Spanish oregano, achiote, dried chiles - guajillo, chipotle and ancho - as well as all the hot sauces you would ever need, with nary a bottle of Mcllhenny Tabasco sauce in sight. It was down this aisle that I started to make some wonderful discoveries, like a tin of hominy that I needed to make this. On another shelf was a tin of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, I'm all ready swooning and then there was some masa harina, stone ground corn flour for my very own tortillas and tamales! Plus the full range of Portuguese and Spanish rices.

All this before I've even got to the deli counter.

At one side of the shop were paella pans, from the small to a monstrous 70 cm (28") pan to feed God knows how many. Next to the pans is an upright freezer groaning with more seafood and beside that was a shelf with different kinds of dried bacalao - salt cod. By this time I'm standing next to the deli counter and eyeing off some of Angel Cardosos's jamon plus a variety of other smallgoods and cheeses. I order some jamon and ask if they ever stock Spanish ones, the women serving me laughed and said it would cost me $300 a kilo. Damn, now I have to have it, but not at this moment.

I'm given a taste of everything I point at and finish up with some Spanish goat's cheese, some salchichon, similar to salami but strongly flavoured with paprika and a morcilla, which is a spicy version of a black pudding, again flavoured with paprika. Somehow I manage to stop ordering, but not before a portuguese pastel de nata, a custard tart, finds its way to my box.

When I get home it's straight into all the goodies. Pop goes the lid on a tin of legendary pimientos del piquillo, roasted and skinned like a small red capsicum but way sweeter. Next the lid comes off the mejillones de las Rias Gallegas, mussels in escabeche, a pickle sauce, that puts any tin of mussels here to shame. Then I swoop upon the jamon. It is similar in preparation to prosciutto but is a darker burnished brown, and has mouth filling deeper notes that linger. Unlike some prosciuttos that have a hard section of dried out meat opposite the fat side, this jamon is tender the entire way and is perfectly seasoned - some dried hams are way too salty, but while the salt is evident, it's perfectly balanced.

My wife adored the semi hard Spanish goat's cheese and they also had a semi hard Australian one for a very reasonable $24 a kilo. The morcilla we had for dinner last night and is a firm black pudding strongly flavoured with paprika and salt, plus other spices. I'm thinking about what partners would sit well with this on a kebab.

There are a few more things we are yet to try, but for me, this shop is a case of love at first sight. The range is extensive and interesting and the staff very helpful, willing to let you try new things, though you do need an open mind regarding new experiences plus a dash of blind faith would be helpful - go on, black pudding is all right.

Casa Iberica, 25 Johnston Street, Fitzroy & 24 Hughes Street, Yarraville

P.S. My blog is shortly going to have a little makeover, part of which is courtesy of a lovely Spanish person.