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2014-08-19
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August is my birthday month =) Here kick start to my first birthday dinner with my dear friend No.1!Food isn't the highest priority but definitely a big bonus to make the night to perfection.I called my friend a lower profile foodie where she has a to-go list but never quite post or blog about it too much like I do.When you start feeling that TST, CWB, Central is too mainstream for you and fancy sth that's new, out of the crowd and with surprisingly good food, then dining @ Lai Chi Kok probably
Food isn't the highest priority but definitely a big bonus to make the night to perfection.
I called my friend a lower profile foodie where she has a to-go list but never quite post or blog about it too much like I do.
When you start feeling that TST, CWB, Central is too mainstream for you and fancy sth that's new, out of the crowd and with surprisingly good food, then dining @ Lai Chi Kok probably will tick off everything you want on the list.
Rustico is convenient as it's just opposite the crossing of Lai Chi Kok Exit D, while Rustico is also inconvenient in a way that there isnt much around the dining place. Not a boutique, Watsons or even 7-11.These few years restaurants inside industrial buildings are getting more and more popular but Rustico wasn't one that's hidden in the conrete building. Instead, it's nicely located at the corner of a big intersection which one could easily spot. I read up some post online to realise that Rustico was just opened a month-ish ago, but once you got there, you could know for just a month, they have already gained enough popularity to have their tables filled up (majority by reservation) even on a Monday night
Majority of the restaurants in Hong Kong still don't have a habit of having their own website, and if they do, they don't necessarily have their menu uploaded there. And.... EVEN if they do show the menu, they somehow don't want you to know about their prices for some bizzare reason. Sometimes I would try my luck on openrice and managed to find a few random pages of the menu on there. Given that this is a new restaurant, I guess you guys who planned to visit might wonder what exactly do they serve on the house. Hahaa, so here you go! 6 photos on the full menu which was taken bymy super dooper poor iphone 4 (yes still!) plus my shakey hands to satisfy your curiosity ;)
SPANISH OCTOPUS with VIOLET POTATO & SMOKED PAPRIKA OLIVE OIL: Where is my "violet potato" ??? I still don't know really. THOSE MASH is white while I was expecting a whole piece of royal purple mash but that's totally nothing like what I thought it would be. Luckily, that the slight disappointment is immediately overcome by the soft and warm slices of octopus. Perfectly cooked so it's not rubbery, and it's even better than the octopus on a piece octopus sushi because it's flavoursome and moist. And accompany with the almost transparent slice of crisp, great texture =]
CLASSIC RED WINE SANGRIA - Rustico serves 4 types of Sangria, Classic, Minty Orange (the one that I for sure would not pick coz it's minty so I remembered), blahhhh and blahhhhh (those 2 that I don't remember =P). Their Sangria is honestly so-so. Nothing much to be remembered, except I hate how they put a lot of small pieces of unpeeled oranges inside and I have to use my fork to pull them out one by one in order to enjoy the rest of the fruit together with the drink. They probably could be a little bit more thoughtful on this.
DEEP FRIED CHICKEN CROQUETTES - Very nice thin crumbs on the outsides and when you cut into it. The mash inside is so smooth, fine and it tends to lay on the "half-liquidy" side that it couldn't hold the shape of the croquette as you cut into it. The croquette comes with mayo but I would say it's good either with or without it. The only downside is that I totally could not recall that it is a CHICKEN croquette. The chicken is probably also too finely diced or sliced that I don't feel or taste its existence. But that's just me being super picky. Overall, this is definitely a delicious and above-average dish! Thumbs up to the croquettes!
GRILLED PRESA IBERICO with EGGPLANT HUMMUS: This is the HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT! And I wish I can encore on this dish right away coz it's J U S T T O O G O O D. I haven't really thought about whether Iberico (which is pork) can go pinky raw or not but the fact I didnt get sick today mean probably it's okay. The meat is soooo lean, well marinated and I can also taste a hint of cracked sea salt on top on some of the pieces. There wasn't a moment that I wonder why this dish do not have sauce and thinking of grounding some pepper or anything to go with it. The eggplant hummus is also an interesting idea too. Taste very much like soft mash, but made out of chickpeas, eggplant, tahini and garlic, all mashed. What I did is that I put a spoonful of the hummus together with a slice of Iberico, and it is absolutely divine.At first, we ordered 1 main and 2 tapas but obviously that's not enough for a hungry person like me @ 8:30pm. My friend also agree that she can fit in another main dish to share so we didnt opt for a dessert. My friend said she had enough of meat so I was picking between the lobster linguine and tyhe seafood paella. You all know how much I LOVE fresh made pasta, so I enquire whether their pasta are homemade from scratch or it's from dried pasta. Slightly disappointed to know it wasn't the former, I picked the seafood paella.
"RUSTICO" SEAFOOD PAELLA: They didn't say much on the menu what exactly is in the paella, but from what I can see, there's mussels, clams, scallops, a big king prawn and bacon dices. While from what I can taste, there is a strong lobster bisque kind of flavour in the rice (it's probably some kind of seafood stock) . As it wasn't served on a hot wok so the rice didn't dry out and get soggy and sticky. Rice is in a good chewy texture which is also a bit like risotto. I wasn't sure that's the most traditional paella but for sure a version of paella that I love anyway.Food is all in all impressive! The restaurant is divided into the outer part where it's like a pavillion/balcony (with A/C) with smaller high tables and chairs. While inside is the proper dining area in all warm color wooden design. As it wasn't opened at a particularly crowded district, people started finishing up and leaving at around 9ish pm and the restaurant has its last order at approx 10pm.
There are still several things on the menu that I wanted to try so I am totally motivated to go back very soon. FYI - T H E C H E E S E V O L C A N O with G O A T C H E E S E ! ! ! Cannot forget to try this one next time! We didn't order dessert this time so it's another thing that I shall be looking forward to. Usually, I could not forgive Spanish restaurant who does not serve my favourite churros but perhaps this place is an exception! ;)
Thanks God for giving me great friends around me who love food, love travel and who's passionate about life! My pretty bride-to-be, have fun @ Norway and I am here waiting for our next selfie collection when we see each other again! <3 xx
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