In Hong Kong it seems whenever there is something that is associated with celebrities locals will naturally flock to it hoping to glimpse some of the stars or whatnot. With restaurants it is the same, like the group of three recently opened by actress Carina Lau up in The One. Two Spanish, the more formal Zurriola and the tapas focused Tapagria as well as a Japanese establishment Kyo-Shun.
All three are arranged together on the 18th floor, more convenient for management I guess and being so high up, a night view overlooking the harbour is almost a guarantee, an alluring aspect to most diners nowadays.
The entrance is framed by an attractive glass wine cabinet and it is only a short distance before we reach the main dining room. The room is a lot smaller than I expected, with two private dining rooms sectioned off, coupled with the romantic mood lighting I would say it feels cozy even.
Not feeling particularly inclined towards their tasting menu, we opted for a la carte so we could try more variety.
A variety of bread was offered for our choosing and while there was choice it didn’t taste like they were made in house nor were they served warm. The accompanying olive oil was quite good though, thick with a strong olive fragrance.
Amuse bouche was a slice of Joselito Iberian ham layered on a puffy cracker. It is best to eat this in one mouthful as the cracker breaks open to release a gush of chilled tomato cream. The Iberian ham was so soft that it melted easily in the mouth and its deep flavour paired well with the light tang of the tomato.
The dish that I had come for, the sea urchin soup, was unfortunately unavailable that evening so we chose the only other soup option instead. Mushroom and porcini cream soup arrived as a medley of mixed mushrooms and chunks of sweetbread while the soup was poured table-side. We did tell them it was for sharing, but maybe they forgot or didn’t pay attention as it only arrived in a single bowl. While the mushrooms were earthy with the sweetbread sharing a meatiness to the flavour, the soup itself was not smooth enough and a sour tang was noticeable in every spoonful. Not so good.
Red prawns are always evident in Spanish cuisine so the red prawn carpaccio was a no-brainer. Appearance wise it reminded me of a similar dish served in another reknowned Italian restaurant also high up in the clouds in Kowloon side. Thin layers of raw red prawn dotted with an almond cream sauce, I wouldn’t say it was spectacular, but the prawns were fresh.
The Iberian Presa salad was possibly the dish I enjoyed most. Thin layers of black pork topped with a forest of fresh greens dressed in vinagrette with scattered kernels of caramelised hazelnuts. The pork was really tender and I liked the light sweetness from the dressing. A refreshing dish.
Not much can go wrong with scallops providing they are of course fresh and cooked to the perfect temperature. The pan-seared Hokkaido scallops were just that, soft and velvety with a slight kick from the chorizo emulsion, but I found the smear of almond cream an odd addition to the dish.
Rather than ordering a meaty main dish, we choose to try their broth rice. Choosing the seafood version, we were presented with a soupy concoction infused with saffron and topped with red prawns and calamari. The rice had the typical Spanish bite to it while the broth itself was rich in flavour. The first few spoonfuls weren’t bad, but it became boring pretty quickly since the flavor was just one tone. Once again, the server did not split this into two portions for us.
We shared two desserts. The first was a chocolate velvet cream paired with Williams pear sorbet. Essentially a mousse, it was creamy, but the chocolate flavour was dismal. If the main focus of the dessert is the chocolate mousse it should be more full-bodied and intense, but it tasted quite flat here. The pear sorbet was not too sweet, but it was too icy to be smooth. I think the best part were the caramelized almonds hiding underneath everything.
The cheesecake ice-cream fared better, smooth and sweet with the cubes of cake giving a little texture. The berries reduction didn’t seem necessary though as it didn’t give much flavour and it just made the ice-cream melt faster. Maybe it would be better if they just had the fresh berries only.
Finally to petit fours. Dark chocolate dipped orange rind, pistachio financier and mango bon bons. I would say only the chocolate dipped orange rind is worth trying.
Although I could see that effort had been made, there were more misses than hits to this meal. Service was relatively attentive since they weren’t so full, a little fumbly at times, but honestly is it so hard to split a portion beforehand for guests who are sharing?
Just Something About Me 