Video
Read full review
2013-03-15
938 views
My first experience of having Tapas was in Barcelona in my college years. It was such a wonderful trip back then and I remembered the vibe and liveliness in a Tapas place where everyone happily enjoyed small dishes of mouth-watering snack dishes. I have been waiting for this dining day for long, left work early and walked up Peel Street, excited for the dinner! There were only 12 seats at the restaurant, and we were all sitting at the bar table, that overlooked the whole preparation and cooking
I have been waiting for this dining day for long, left work early and walked up Peel Street, excited for the dinner! There were only 12 seats at the restaurant, and we were all sitting at the bar table, that overlooked the whole preparation and cooking process. We picked the 'Winter Chef Menu' that consisted of more courses than the 'Trip to Spain menu'. The first appetizer already looked very appealing - Mediterranean Flowerpot. The 'Soil' was made of pine nuts, there were also diced tomatoes, basil foam and black olives beneath the soil. A very special combination of all the ingredients, and it was definitely a nice twist on the presentation!
While I was relishing the last bit of the taste of the previous course, our Iberico Platter arrived! Loved the Iberico Ham as always, and the milky light orange foam was a surprise, it was actually made from tomatoes which their skin and seeds were all removed. It was very smooth and appealing that served as a perfect complement for the toast.
Surprises came one after another. The last appetizer dish was the night was "Escabeche" mussels on Pumpkin and Herbs Cream. The pumpkins and mussels were both cooked with white wine, which was actually a traditional way of how the Spaniards preserved seafood 100 - 200 years ago. Mussels were fresh and it was the first time I realized pumpkins and mussels did go well together! The beetroot bubbles were also awesome!
The Three Hot Tapas followed after our appetizer dishes were cleared. There was this Black Trumpet Croquette, Broken Egg With Spanish Red Prawn and Spring Onion Foam, and Octopus "Gallega". This was rather ordinary when compared to the creative appetizers. The Broken Egg was quite nice, though I thought the prawn would have come in one piece. The octopus slices were quite fresh.
I was looking around what other people have ordered and suddenly realized the chef was pouring a couple Gazpacho! I probably looked too curious that the chef was so nice to offer us each a cup of it! OMG and I fell in love with it! I was not a fan of the different peppers, but this Gazpacho was just right! Thumbs up!
Our main was Sea Bream Tartar, Boletus Edulis Cream, Egg and Foie Gras. Sea Bream was prepared with green chilli pepper from the Northern part of Spain, it was a little light in taste when compared to the other rich plates, but matched quite well with the mushroom cream. Egg and Foie Gras was a nice combination too, think I would prefer egg white with foie gras rather than along with the egg yolk, which made the dish a little heavy to my liking.
The last main was a traditional Christmas dish in Spain - Traditional "Canalon de Saint Esteve". With Iberico Pork, Idiazabal Smoked Cheese and Beef Sauce. The cheese satisfied my taste buds with a pleasant aroma. A special dish it is, and Iberico Pork could not be any bad!
Moving to the climax of the night, desserts were always my favorite! Sangria 2.0 was totally a very refreshing dessert! It serves Sangria in a way that all ingredients were redefined. Things can be tasted separately or all in one go. Loved how it was cold and refreshing that prepared me to leave room for the last dessert - BCN Truffle. Yay it was made with orange zest!
Greater dinner, great chef and great hospitality. I love visiting private kitchens that you can really observe every tiny detail, and receive attention from servers and the chef. You get to know what you are eating and how they are prepared instead of swallowing them all up. This is probably by far the best tapas place I have been to in Hong Kong. I look forward to come back again and explore more of BCN.
Post
