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2019-06-01
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Dinner with friends who suggested we try out Big Sur. Big Sur is located on Staunton Street, one of many Western restaurants. But the space was big with a number of people sitting outside, we decided to give it a try.Apparently, we discovered that if you just want drinks or a light bite, you can sit outside where it is self service. But as we wanted dinner, we decided to get bit is service and sat inside. As there were four of us and we hadn't made a reservation before hand, they were still abl
Apparently, we discovered that if you just want drinks or a light bite, you can sit outside where it is self service. But as we wanted dinner, we decided to get bit is service and sat inside. As there were four of us and we hadn't made a reservation before hand, they were still able to accommodate us.
The restaurant inside had a decent size bar in the center.
Seating was spacious with interesting paintings with a California theme to them. Glancing at the menu, it is a restaurant serving California inspired food. Thus, the name "Big Sur", a coastal area in California. The menu is in English and Chinese. When we sat down, the waitress informed us that it was happy hour with discounts on alcohol. As we weren't sure what to have, we were offered suggestions.
No 13 ($70). Apple, watermelon, lime and thyme fresh juice was what I ordered as I really don't drink alcohol. This was refreshing combination. Sweet but not too sweet as well.
Gin and Tonic ($75 Happy Hour Price). I gave this a try and usually I don't like gin and tonic but this was really different as they used lemongrass and lime. They also use Martin Miller gin and it was a much crisper taste.
Three P's ($75 Happy Hour Price). Another friend ordered this. The three P's stood for pear, pineapple and passion fruit. Wow was this strong! I guess to balance out the super sweetness of the fruit. Even the pears used for decoration were boozy. It seemed this place liked to use fruit as their base for all the cocktails.
It's Jeng by Young Masters ($55 Happy Hour Price). This is what boyfriend ordered as he's a beer type of guy. He liked it and said there was crisp fruity taste. Very clear and light. What do I know? I felt it tasted like bitter beer.
Salchipapas ($100). We decided to share the food and that was clearly all right as all the dishes were completely geared for sharing. We started with a few appetizers. This was hash browns but instead of using potatoes like traditionally, this place uses celeriac root so it didn't feel as starchy as potatoes sometimes are. It was topped with salsa and bits of chirozo sausages. There was also a garlic yogurt. Almost a lighter version of guacaomole.
Hummus ($100). The hummus plate came with various vegetables in both raw and cooked form. There was also some pickled version as well that boyfriend didn't like. He felt it wasn't needed. The hummus was good with a taste of tahini. There was miso egg that was SUPER salty. I don't think that was needed as well. But the winner of this entire plate? The bread! It was wonderful! Sweet and tearable. We wished there was more bread!
Scallop and Gazpacho ($160). This was a lovely cold gazpacho. Using cucumber and tomatillo, this gave it a more refreshing taste. The scallops were cooked beautifully.
Both Ribs ($260). Finally we dug into mains. As we had two guys, they wanted meat. And this was their choice. A platter of ribs but not just any ribs. There were pork ribs AND a beef rib. It came with cole slaw and sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries were both the purple and orange variety and were cut more like wedges instead of actual crispy fries. There was small dish of BBQ sauce on the side for dipping but honestly? There was so much flavor on the ribs, we really didn't need it! The beef ribs literally fell off the bone and almost as good as the ones I have back home in Canada. They were so good. The pork ribs were sticky goodness. Savory with a hint of smokiness. The cole slaw was not a cole slaw. It was just shredded lettuce with not cole slaw dressing. A bit disappointing for all of us as we love cole slaw and not able to find a good one in Hong Kong. I guess ... we keep searching.
Burnt Ends Fried Rice ($125). Us girls wanted something healthier and we chose a mixed rice dish. The rice had lots of shredded pork bits in it and it was topped with a poached egg.
It also came with the same BBQ sauce as the ribs.
And I couldn't eat spicy, they placed the chili sauce on the side for others to add.
It was interesting. After mixing it up, it seemed more like a Western take on the Korean bimbimbap. I thought it was great and I would definitely order this again. They used multi grain rice with a bit of mushrooms and tons of shredded pork.
Celebration Donut Sundae ($90). Dessert was what we ended with. When we spotted Celebration Donut Sundae, we were curious. What was this? So, we ordered it and this is what it looked like! Half a donut with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chantilly cream, raspberries and chocolate sauce. The cream was great and the donut? I'm a picky Canadian girl and Canadians eat a lot of donuts (we spell them doughnuts). It's an actual fact. Canadians eat more donuts than anyone else in the world. Thus, I thought the donut was ok. It just wasn't yeasty enough. Everyone else thought it was pretty good.
Food portion was quite large especially for Central. Prices not overly expensive and with drinks, it still didn't break the bank. Seating is comfortable and the waitress we had was super friendly and knew what was on the menu and gave good recommendations. She even immediately went to the kitchen to ask about an ingredient when we asked as friend was worried about allergies. Nice friendly vibe and would probably come again if in need of a place for a friend gathering. Because the drinks? Great.
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