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2017-01-05
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When I was walking around TST east area, surprisingly I found that Yayakiya is closed down and a Spanish restaurant Alzina took over the space! There is a display of veggies at the entrance and the interior uses small tiles embracing a strong Spanish vibe. The structure and the interior is same as Yayakiya but the colour tone is different. Threre are some bar chairs and tables for smaller or bigger groups of customers. I particularly like the tile design at the end of the restaurant because it
When I was walking around TST east area, surprisingly I found that Yayakiya is closed down and a Spanish restaurant Alzina took over the space! There is a display of veggies at the entrance and the interior uses small tiles embracing a strong Spanish vibe.
The structure and the interior is same as Yayakiya but the colour tone is different. Threre are some bar chairs and tables for smaller or bigger groups of customers.
I particularly like the tile design at the end of the restaurant because it gives a kirky enviornment.
The bar at the end of the restaurant is well stocked with different kind of beer, wine, and other hard liquor.
During happy hour, you can enjoy buy 1 get 1 free Sangri or Beer. However, I am doing a cleanse after the new year so I am going ot cut any alcoholic drinks for now.
Russian salad with marinated octopus in Mediterranean Herbs Dressing $68There is a wide range of cold and hot tapas for you to choose from and we have chosen a cold salad tapas to start with something light. It's basically a pile of mayo potato+carrot+peas salad, topped with a few slices of tender flavourful octopus dressed with herbs dressing that is less pungent than pesto sauce.
It's very creamy but is not overly greasy from the mayo. The octopus pieces are lightly grilled until smokey and the warmed up seafood releases its seafood taste throughout the Russian salad at the bottom.
The portion size was just enough to share among two people and we are definitely ready for more! A lot more please~
Paella Negra with Spanish baby cuttlefish with Iberico pluma and artichokes $178Our paella surprisingly came second before our meat dish which is probably not the order of Spanish cuisine because I would always have paella as the last course. Anyway, in Hong Kong, no one really cares about the order of the food anyway and we often treated like hungry animals because the dishes come so quick that we don't get to enjoy everything in the right temperature.
We have picked Negra because I have always been craving this since my last visit to Barcelona. I remember I used to have those paella with actually small broken pieces of pasta instead of paella rice. Their Paella Negra is interestingly complimented with one of the most popular cut of pork pluma and deep fried artichoke pieces. There are also some clams, mussels, and some hidden pieces of black cuttlefish mixed in with the rice.
The rice itself is not al dente but it's also not completely softened. I liked that they know how to use aioli to go with their paella because that's the one and only way to bring out extra flavours from all the seafood in this pot of rice goodness. I can also taste a hint of shrimp flavour so I guess they have probably used a seafood stock as the base of their paella.
Both of their clams and mussels are fresh with a juicy texture. Especially for their mussels, you can definitely taste the prominent white wine floral flavour from each piece of the mussel meat. Absolutely delicious and there is no better way to enjoy paella with these classic seafood ingredients.
Despite the delicious seafood, I quite appreciate their artichoke. First of all, it's not easy to find artichoke dishes in Hong Kong and most of the restaurants do not know how to prepare them. Instead of the usual bake / boil technique, Alzina decided to deep fried their very thinly sliced artichoke pieces, then deep tried until perfectly golden in colour and crispy in texture. The oily taste can also be cut through by the aromatic squid ink taste from the flavourful rice. What a powerful tray of paella to share with friends.
There are around 4 thick pieces of pluma and they are just the beauty. They are succulent, packed with porky flavour. It almost tastes like beef because of that strong meaty flavour from the perfectly cooked meat.
Assortment of the best parts from Iberico pork (Pluma, Presa, Secreto) $238At first , we were quite undecided of what to choose for our meat dish because they do have a good selection of pork, fish, and seafood dishes for you to choose. We have chosen an assortment of Iberico which is like a big sampler plate with 3 different cut of the delicate Spanish pig. The pork slices are served with 2 daily roast vegetables and we have got a big halved potato as well as a piece of zucchini.
Three different cuts are with 3 different flavours and textures from milk to strong and we were recommended to enjoy them one by one in order. Pluma
Same as the cut from our Negra paella. It's super soft but with a rich flavour that would melt in your mouth. A simple straight up meaty goodness that is going to blow your mind!
PresaThe next piece has an even stronger porky taste because it's also fattier with less meat ratio. It's also super succulent and the flavour of the pork changed a bit because it's a different cut even though it's just next to Pluma
SecretoThis "Secret" cut of pork has a bit more darkened in colour. Also, it's also fattier with the strongest taste in pork flavour. It's another level of mind blowing pork taste. It's amazingly smoky with a nice char grilled black colour on the surface. It's the cut of meat that we die for and you would want to enjoy them when they are still warm.
The potato is also grilled nicely with a buttery and rosemary taste.
Oh, and we have also an extra side of aioli sauce for $15 because we can never get enough of garlicky mayo for our Spanish dinner!
Though I still miss Yayakiya, I think Alzina is a nice alternative for people in TST to enjoy some quality Spanish food with good ingredients especially their meat. I think I will come back to try more of their tapas like egg tortilla and croquettes. The price is relatively reasonable for Spanish cuisine, it's so worth trying if you are a fan of this European style of meal.
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