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Taverna del mar - spanish goodness (gracious)
2015-06-04 1463 浏览
We didn’t plan to dine at Taverna originally. But I have to write about it now that I finally found the time -even weeks after- because it certainly left an impression – a lasting one we didn’t expect. My friends and I are expats from the states – Chicago – and we came to Hong Kong for an internship opportunity at Christian Dior in island east. We were told that the Island East area had been blossoming in the past few years since the inception of one island east (typically tall HK highrise) whic
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We didn’t plan to dine at Taverna originally. But I have to write about it now that I finally found the time -even weeks after- because it certainly left an impression – a lasting one we didn’t expect. My friends and I are expats from the states – Chicago – and we came to Hong Kong for an internship opportunity at Christian Dior in island east. We were told that the Island East area had been blossoming in the past few years since the inception of one island east (typically tall HK highrise) which brought an influx of young workers from all over the world like myself. Naturally a number of restaurants and bars opened up to welcome these weary would-be yuppies for reasonably priced lunch sets and happy hour drinks and so on and so forth. Last Friday my friends and I got off a slightly later shift and wandered around the streets looking for something good and light. We were really just looking for a drink, maybe two, and something to fill our stomachs.
Taverna Del Mar is not located on a main street. In fact, if one weren’t observant enough, they could walk right pass it (nearly did). Tucked away in a neat little corner on Hoi Kwong st in Quarry bay – not exactly soho or wanchai or even Causeway Bay – it’s not the brightest star on the block. We walked in because a friend of mine stopped for a cigarette and peered through the transparent windows and saw that there were a good number of people inside and the ambience felt lively and homey (there’s a damn hammock hung from the ceiling – a hammock). A warm welcome greeted us and a pretty girl brought us to our table – we didn’t waste any time and ordered three pints of the house draft – Estrella – to start off with. It certainly beat the Coronas we were accustomed to, and the pint was generously topped off – little foam and foreplay. Quite an extensive menu – we were quite hungry after our beers and were extremely pleased by the photos that accompanied each dish (rusty Spanish on our part). Hailing from Chicago, we aren’t really familiar with Spanish cuisine besides the occasional trip to the local taqueria or Chipotle (frankly more Tex-mex and less European) – so the photos definitely helped us choose the dishes that answered our hungry prayers. We begun the night with some hot tapas – traditional snack-style Spanish dishes: the Huevos Estrellados con Jamon was delicioso. Basically a chef’s special of crushed (poached?) eggs with a generous helping of ham scattered in it, this dish was one of the best things we’ve eaten in a while. Much like a breakfast omelette of sorts, but so much more refined that my words probably won’t do it justice. Try it.
Huevos Estrellados con Jamon (crushed eggs w/ ham)
$75
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 For our main course we ordered a large sized helping of seafood paella – the only Spanish word we recognized in the whole menu (the large photo made us feel better too). It most definitely did not disappoint. The dish itself was quite enormous, bigger than we expected – at $500 it was more than enough for three hungry gents.
Seafood Paella
$500
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 We were actually recommended the regular size but we’re so glad we ignored our common sense on this one. The rice was cooked to near perfection – the last time I personally had paella was on a trip to the lower west side in chi town, where the paella was decent but nothing special; the rice was too soft, in fact – with a lovely mix of flavors that brought us out ‘to a sunset on the Mediterranean’ (my bud’s words, not mine) The seafood that accompanied the rice were large and fresh (to my surprise) and was certainly a good bang for the buck. But we weren’t finished yet; against our better judgment we decided to order more drinks – the waitress told us thirsty men that the sangria they made was off the charts. We didn’t expect much – sangria was something we made and drank a lot back to college – but when it was served up in a pretty jug we knew the stuff was legit. The chunks of fruit that were floating gorgeously on the surface (some sunk, pulp-y) speak for themselves – they pack great fruity flavor that doesn’t quite overpower the Rose, which is sweet on its own. I asked the bartender – quite a jovial character – for the special ingredient (ours was Sprite usually) but she just smiled and kept her mouth shut. Rather disappointed but otherwise bursting at the buttons and satisfied we left all with bittersweet smiles on our dumb faces. Dumb because we were quite tipsy, if not slightly drunk. Bittersweet because she guarded that secret and we’d never know. Satisfied because, man, will you just look at the photos? Authentic, 9 outta 10, will definitely become a regular soon if we ever got off late again. (:
题外话/补充资料： Unfortunately my pal couldn't salvage the beautiful photos of that sangria (yours truly was too dazed and confused to use his phone cam) just make sure to order it when you decide to go. Also, not sure if this was a dinner or a late snack. A hybrid of both, probably. with lotsa drinks
(以上食记乃用户个人意见 , 并不代表OpenRice之观点。)
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用餐日期
2015-05-28
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1 分钟 (堂食)
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$250 (其他)
推介美食
Huevos Estrellados con Jamon (crushed eggs w/ ham)
$ 75
Seafood Paella
$ 500
  • Huevos Estrellados con Jamon
  • Seafood paella
  • estrella house pint
  • SANGRIA