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2016-01-04
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Gatherings came one after another in December, and by the end of December, meet-ups were still in the flow but apparently most of us got fed up with feasts. Choosing what to have for a brunch is not an easy task when each of us tried various kinds of cuisine in our vacation AND hunger was, ironically, a stranger in this kind of meal-marathon. Resembling the concept of yum-cha in Chinese style, we chose to have tapas for brunch at Playa de Papagayo in Tsim Sha Tsui.Tapas, featured by a wide spect
Gatherings came one after another in December, and by the end of December, meet-ups were still in the flow but apparently most of us got fed up with feasts. Choosing what to have for a brunch is not an easy task when each of us tried various kinds of cuisine in our vacation AND hunger was, ironically, a stranger in this kind of meal-marathon. Resembling the concept of yum-cha in Chinese style, we chose to have tapas for brunch at Playa de Papagayo in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Tapas, featured by a wide spectrum of petit bites, is an attractive choice to be shared among folks, but some of my friends worry about the cost-performance ratio - it doesn't seem a worthwhile go if dishes are small but relatively pricey. Price should not be at all a concern here - there is 30% off discount for weekend brunch on the à la carte menu from 12nn to 5pm!
Named after a beach called Papagayo in Spain, the colour tone surprisingly deviates from blue and white as you may think of, to blue and GREY. Although it is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, its location, being a highly accessible one in between two MTR exits (N1 and N2) in 30-seconds walking distance, has a drawback of having no seaview, artwork related to beaches and the blue window sill back it up a bit to create the relaxing and casual vibe as if you were chilling at the seafront.
Alongside the bar area is an array of stools. The same kind of stools apply to most of the remaining seats in the restaurant. Lazybones can feel free to pick the sofa seats at the wall though.
Although Christmas was over, Santa Claus apparently hasn't yet terminated his contract - he was still clinging to the ceiling lights!
Other than the 30% off discount, $118 with free flow of red/white wine and Cava is alluring as well. With this budget, one can at most get two drinks, but all-you-can-drink is offered here.
For the menu, half of it is what we came for - Tapas. Perhaps to balance the Tapas concept and appeal to big eaters, rest of the menu goes for Spanish dishes at normal size, including mains like pizza, burgers, pastas and grill. Pricing is not aggressive, with Tapas ranging from $58 to $138 and mains at $160 on average.
We, in a quad, ordered 3 tapas dishes, 1 Burger, 1 paella and 1 main course, which turned out to be just right with no leftovers nor hungry cravings! The baked egg cake and snails came shortly after ordering.
Baked Egg Cake in Spanish Style $68
Baked Egg Cake in Spanish Style
$68
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What held it firm were its fruitful content - potato slices, onion and ham. Potatoes inside didn't go too starchy, so the texture remains tender with moisture inside. If one doesn't feel right to go without eggs for breakfast, he must give this a go.
Baked Spicy Field Snail w/ Herb & Garlic Butter (6 pcs) $78
Baked Spicy Field Snail w/ Herb & Garlic Butter (6 pcs)
$78
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Wondering where the spice goes, I found it stuffed around the opening of the snail shell, therefore the dish remained sauce-less when all snails were eaten up.
The amount of spice is just right and it was not that spicy. The flavour was mainly herbal, however, garlic taste was not that heavy. Mashed potato below the snail seemed unrelated to the snail as it was basically sauce-less. It could be done better if the moist from the snail overflew to the mashed potato below.
Roasted Suckling Pig Cut w/ Homemade Sauerkraut & Smashed Potato $88
Sauerkraut probably gave this dish a little German twist. Just being a different form of roasted pork, this tapas dish resembles a German pork knuckle served with mashed potato and sauerkraut. The portion wasn't that big but acceptable for nibbles.Unlike the snails above, mashed potato was merged with suckling pig as a whole and didn't stand alone anymore. Suckling pig was perfectly roasted with a crispy exterior and tender flesh inside. Sour sauerkraut may shed sour highlights, balancing out the condensed buttery flavour of mashed potato.
Homemade Crab Burger w/Fries $118
Homemade Crab Burger w/ Fries
$118
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The crab cake was pan-fried to golden and crisp. It was thick enough to ensure not getting lost in a bite together with bun and veggies.
The crab cake had juicy filling, with delicate crab meat slices easily seen after a bite. Replacing beef, crab cake did a good job still, bringing a sense of seafood sweetness - this restaurant is named after a beach and seafood element is no stranger here!
Crisp was equally over the fries - not overdone and in a golden, appealing tone.
Seafood Paella (for sharing) $268
I thought this would be served in a traditional paella pan (a wide pan with a thin base), but it turned out to be in a pot. The portion would give two people a gratifying share, so sharing among four of us would be fine as a source of starch particularly for boys.
The prawn, nevertheless, seemed disproportionately large when compared to the pot of paella!
Broth might not be enough as what I expected from paella was moist with thick broth. The kind of rice picked might be a reason to blame - a kind of long-grained one which dried off quickly, leaving nearly no traces of broth but just the golden colour brought by Saffron. The taste, however, was good though not exactly in the caramelised form of paella that I used to have. Well served the purpose of getting substantial starch in boys' stomachs.U.S. Kurobuta Pork Chop (~10oz) $258
U.S. Kurobuta Pork Chop (~10oz)
$258
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Though similarly priced as the paella, this was indeed worth a try more.
Having high fat content, this kind of pork was a good fit for high temperature cooking. Having it rightly roasted and melting caramelized fat on the exterior, as evidenced by the brown finish, it was crispy on the first touch and juicy in the seconds after. Fat marbling evenly throughout the meat but it wasn't greasy at all.
The luscious flavour of fat-rich pork couldn't go without a highlighting sauce - caramelised apple pieces!
We in fact wished to try the lollipop-like caramel ice cream and mont blanc, but simply too full to do so.Having the bill with 30% off, I couldn't believe the per-head spending - around $150, possibly the cheapest tapas meal I have ever tried in Hong Kong. Though some of the dishes need improvement, price and variety made this restaurant a good choice to spend a laid-back weekend afternoon. Tapas shouldn't be appealing to big eaters, but this restaurant should have given them a go by its all-round menu of a wide array of mains as well.
Tapas are just for ladies or can just be snacks? Nope.
Other Info. :
30% off for a la carte menu (ie. dinner menu) for 12noon - 5pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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