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| Outside of Restaurant |
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| Inside of Restaurant | Bar |
Oh the choices - there are actually quite of lot of hot and cold tapas so, being a true Asian, I picked two recommended dishes with a price tag above $10 in order to get my money's worth.
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| Steamed Barramundi Fillet with Ginger, Soy and Shallots ($16) |
The barramundi fillet is immersed in a sweet soy sauce and topped with a healthy dose of shallot strips (personal method as well as I find it brings out more flavour from the shallots than when it is chopped) and parsley. Having grown up on steamed fish - basically served at every special occasion at home without fail -, I can tell you that this fish was cooked to utter perfection. The fish was soft and just melted in your mouth. This dish was an absolute bargain at $10!
The second dish that I ordered was the fried chicken with kimchi sauce:
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| Crispy Spiced Fried Chicken with Kimchi Mayo Sauce ($13) |
The fried chicken definitely had potential - chicken pieces with a crunchy exterior and lightly coated in a chili powder, and served with a kimchi-infused sauce. However, due to the chicken pieces being of different sizes, some of the pieces that I was served were slightly dry (with hard stringy chicken). The kimchi sauce actually reminded me of peri peri sauce but with a distinct mayo taste.
Surprisingly, even though both dishes are labelled as 'tapas', they're actually bigger than what I would classify as an entree or side dish.
After I paid my bill, I was handed a pamphlet with a half price mixed tasting platter offer (RRP$ 60) - score! Not sure if they give it out to all customers but the voucher expires on 30th Sep 2016 and requires you to make a booking in advance so that they can prepare in advance, otherwise there is a wait for the tasting platter.
Visit #2
Armed with the given voucher, I ended up booking dinner for the following night - it was hilarious because the staff actually recognised me from the prior night. One even commented "long time no see..." - yes, 24hrs certainly is a long time =P.
Along with the mixed tasting platter, we also ordered their signature homemade chicken and prawn pan-fried dumplings ($15 for 6), which was recommended by staff:
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| Homemade Chicken and Prawn Pan-Fried Dumplings ($15 for 6pcs) |
The price seems rather dear for 6 dumplings until you realise there are actual chunks of chicken and prawn inside, along with enochi mushroom, inside the dumpling pastry (delivered from parent branch). The dumplings were pan-fried to perfection with a crispy exterior.
Soon came the highlight of the meal:
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| Mixed Tasting Platter ($60) |
The mixed tasting platter contained:
- Char-grilled salmon skewers with sweet soy mayo (2 pcs)
- Char-grilled wagyu beef skewers with spizy ponzu sauce (2 pcs)
- Char-grilled eggplant with soy miso glaze (2 halves)
- Sticky lamb ribs in hoisin sauce (2 pcs)
- Crispy spiced fried chicken with kimchi mayo
- Szechuan spiced squid with lime aioli
- Deep fried mantou buns, drizzled with condensed milk
- Seaweed and leaf salad
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| Close-up of Mixed Tasting Platter |
Highlights for me were the miso eggplant, lamb ribs (super soft and melted in your mouth), and the mantou (due of the condensed milk... yummm). Low points of the meal were the wagyu beef (not the best cut of meat so it had some sinew) and the squid (not quite crunchy). The salmon skewers, made using fatty salmon, tasted way too similar to the miso eggplant (perhaps even the same paste/glaze?).
One of my dinner companions commented that it would be better if the mantou was still warm but when you consider the time taken to consume everything else, it would have been a miracle if it was still warm.
I would definitely recommend people to come visit on Monday or Tuesday nights for the cheap $10 tapas, or try their $5 beers on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Perhaps you'll also be able to score the half-priced platter voucher as well.
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