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2017-07-16
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With a plethora of restaurants in Hong Kong, sometimes one takes a chance on a hidden one and finds some surprising results.As boyfriend and I decided to do a quiet date night and we didn't want to usual popular choices that would probably be overly expensive or loud. So, we looked around and was suggested by this place from a friend for not only the quiet atmosphere, but good food that was also value for money.La Casa Bistro is a bit hidden in Central. It's located near the escalators in a bui
As boyfriend and I decided to do a quiet date night and we didn't want to usual popular choices that would probably be overly expensive or loud. So, we looked around and was suggested by this place from a friend for not only the quiet atmosphere, but good food that was also value for money.
La Casa Bistro is a bit hidden in Central. It's located near the escalators in a building that surprisingly had many other restaurants we had never discovered before. The restaurant is not large at all but there is enough space between the tables to at least not feel cramped. When we arrived, there was already a good number of other diners there. For a hidden place on a weekday, this seemed like a pretty good sign.
As it was dinner time, the waiter presented us with a dinner set menu. Menus are in English and Chinese. What you get is an appetizer, soup, main course, dessert and coffee or tea for around $300. For Central prices, that wasn't too bad and I decided to choose this set. They also had a decent wine list but as I don't drink, we skipped it.
As boyfriend was stuck on what to eat as he hates being forced to eat salad, the waiter also mentioned a more flexible set where you can choose any main and add $80 to upgrade with an appetizer, soup and coffee or tea.
The choices of appetizer seemed more appealing to boyfriend so he decided to go with this option.
As we were waiting, they gave us a bread basket to munch on. Bread was nice and a decent selection. Such a surprise as some upstairs cafes only give each person one piece of bread and calls it a bread basket. This place gave a pretty good variety. Notable mention is the focaccia because I generally love that bread.
As we mentioned we'd still like to share despite ordering sets, they staff were good enough to present the appetizers one by one, soup together and main together. Well thought out as some places present one person with food while the other person just sits there playing with their phone.
Octopus, Salami, Cucumber, Orange and Olive Salad. My set appetizer was an octopus, salami, cucumber, orange and olive salad. Yeah, eating out with boyfriend where the word salad must include meat in it. For an appetizer for one, this was huge and completely shareable. No wonder my friend said this place was value for money. The octopus was a sashimi laid on top and very fresh tasting. There were pieces of diced salami that gave this dish a bit of a fiery kick to it. The salty and spicy was balanced by the touch of acidity from the citrus salad dressing. A pretty decent salad.
Clams with White Wine, Lemon Leaf and Garlic. Boyfriend chose the clams for his appetizer. As it was a set upgrade, this was considered a half portion. To me, this was a lot for a half portion. I am starting to wonder what would be a full portion! The clams were a good size and very fresh. Though I did get a bit of sand in one of mine. The sauce was delicious and I did dunk my bread in it just to soak it up. I think this is my favorite way to have clams. Just as simple white wine to bring out the freshness of seafood.
Cream of Pumpkin Soup. The set soups were the soup of the day which was cream of pumpkin and minestrone. We chose one of each to try them both but I ended up giving the cream of pumpkin to boyfriend. It tasted like blitzed roasted pumpkin. A bit too starchy for me but I generally don't like starchy items. Boyfriend loved it and said it was like eating a whole pumpkin.
Minestrone Soup. The other daily soup was minestrone and I ended up finishing this off on my own. A simple vegetable soup in a soothing tomato broth. I liked it enough. By the way, the spilled oil on the side of the plate was not spilled oil. It was what they considering plating. I have no idea why upstairs restaurants ALWAYS must do this sprinkling of stuff on the side of the plate in an effort to make it look pretty. It doesn't. It makes it look messy. I watch enough Masterchef to know this major plating point.
Angel Hair Pasta with Scallops, Crab Meat and Dill Sauce ($228). Boyfriend chose this as his main. The pasta was perfectly cooked and not soggy and clumpy. A feat that is a bit hard for angel hair pasta as it is easy to go beyond al dente. The scallops were cooked well. The sauce had a slight dill flavor that I had never had for a pasta sauce. This went well with all the seafood though I think it could have used a touch more lemon to balance the creaminess. The only fault I could find with this dish is that the pasta sauce was a bit too watery. It didn't cling well to the pasta and just lay there, soup-like.
Daily Fish Fillet with Clams, Potato, Fennel and Saffron Stew ($328). I chose this as the appetizer as I love fish. The fish of the day was a barramundi. The waiter informed us they filet this fish themselves. The fish was perfectly cooked though the skin was not crisp but soggy. Is it due to it being in the stew? But then it was place on top of everything? I don't know. Other than that, the broth beneath it was delicious. It had a strong seafood taste that was highlighted with the addition of the fragrant saffron. Boyriend literally drank this all up.
Panna Cotta. The daily dessert was a panna cotta. This was a creamier panna cotta and I personally liked it. Less jelly like, it felt more decadent. The addition of berries and the berry coulis added acidity to cut down on the richness of the creamy dessert. What I found interesting was the addition of dill. I'm a bit confused the addition of dill. I've had savory panna cottas before where dill was added. But this was clearly a sweet panna cotta. But when I tasted it, it gave an anise type addition to the it. It was interesting and gave it a touch of freshness to the dessert.
A great little hidden location where the food was quite decent with generous portions. Waiter was informative and friendly. I can see why the diners seemed to all be couples. A lovely place for a date night without breaking the bank. Would recommend it to friends who also need a place to impress without stretching the budget.
張貼
