Ole Spanish Restaurant  

I have walked/driven by this restaurant for so many years but never went in..well finally made it inside last night. The ambiance in the restaurant was fantastic. The place was full, you hear all kind of languages around you from the variety of customers, and there were some musicians playing some Spanish classics. Unfortunately, the food was soso. Did mostly tapas and 1 main course.

Iberico ham: can't go wrong with this, it was great. made a second order. 9/10

cheese: this was ok. 7/10

ham & cheese croquetes: these were disappointing. They were very dry. 4/10

cod croquetes: these were only a little better than the ham & cheese croquetes. also dry. 5/10

shrimps in olive oil: they were very small and ok. 7/10

patatas bravas: i'm used to having spicy tomato sauce and some kind of mayo with it, but that was missing here. there was some kind of spicy tomato sauce glazed over it. 6/10

lamb chops: these were such small pieces, i couldn't believe it. not much taste to it. 6/10

Spanish Food is experiencing a resurgence in order of interest, and although I haven’t tried all openings ranging from modernised so-called Spanish tapas to overseas imported brands, I have gotten the chance to eat at the more established places multiple times over lately such as Here, Fadango, Estudio, etc. Excuse the photos as it is very dark inside here, but despite the spades of openings and some are trying to reinvent the wheel - I still firmly believe that Ole makes one of the better tasting Spanish foods in Hong Kong. If only the Paella and Salted Baked fish were as good as the Tapas and Raciones dishes...


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1. Need to walk a long way up to the restaurant along ice house street. Given the hot weather, I consider this a exericse before the meal.

2. For lunch, you can order from the a la carte menu (salad or soup; main dish; dessert; coffee or tea). HK$168 per head which is a good bargain.

3. Order the Spanish seafood Paella - gorgeous. Maybe it is a bit too much tomato sauce.4. Waitress is friendly and helpful. Decor is mediterranian style and you feel relaxed.

5. Definitely will come back for another round of lunch - so many things I want to try out.

My colleague has recommended this Spanish restaurant to me for ages. As her number of annual leave is multiple times (!) more than mine, she can always take a half day leave to have lunch in weekdays here. Obviously tempted, I also took a half day leave and came for a lunch which was not quite live up to my expectation.

There were not many choices for the 3-courses set lunch. CM and I both went for a salad as appetizer. Before that, the bread basket and tapas were served. I could only finish the olives as the rest were not impressive.

Although the location is a bit difficult to find, you can get to 2nd floor (lobby floor) of new world tower on Queens Rd and then take backdoor. After a few steps, you'll see the ice house road and ole's band. Turn right u'll see the wood door on the first building. Really hidden one:

Haven't been here for a looong time so decided to take advantage of the valued set lunch. I had

- Gazpacho (cold vegetable soup): decent taste and quite unique. Must be esp refreshing during the hot summer days
- Suckling pig: skin is crispy but the layer of fat is quite thick. Meat is tender but amount a bit small. The fries that came with the dish aren't crispy enough
- Crema catalana: decent with the normal smooth texture like creme brulee. The caramalized sugar a bit too sweet
- Coffee: ok but the volume could be a bit more

Set lunch is $148, so with 10% should be about $163, but the bill came out to be $168, so doing back-of-the-envelop calculation means they're actually charging the tiny cup of hot water for $5, which is quite unheard of!

This is my 3rd time eating Spanish food in HK and it has to be the best Spanish restaurants in HK

About the food:

Starters

Traditional Spanish Ham from Jabugo
It was great, not too salty at all. The sliced was very poor, too think and small.

Baby squid ink sauce stuffed with Shrimps & almonds
This was brilliant and very nice and the stuff inside was good too.
The black ink sauce was cooked just right not too heavy taste.
A must try dish.

Garlic Shrimps
The Shrimps were not fresh it could have been much better dish if they used live Shrimps for this.
the Garlic was nicer than the Shrimps which was cooked just right.

all of these 3 dish was only Tapa portion so it is just right for 2 to 3 people. If there is more than 4+ people I would get the starter portion.

Main course

Traditional Spanish seafood rice
It was very good the rice was not dry or too wet just right.
I have tried some which are over cooked and the rice becomes hard.
There is allot of seafood inside the rice and the Shrimps are quite big in size but like before the shrimps are not fresh.
This dish is very big for 2 people to eat, it is very filling.

Dessert
House dessert
Which was fried milk with almonds ice cream.
This is very different, it was my 1st time that I tried fry milk and the teats is quite good.

About the place:

It is very Romantic place for a dinner.
Nice and quite and they also have a live band at night.
The interior design is classic no fancy stuff.
The service is ok not good just ok, they can improve on this allot.
The place dose feel like you are in Spain.

It's been almost a year since I went to Ole last time. I noticed they offer set lunch (well it's better to say fixed price since they allow you to pick basically whatever you want from the menu to create your own lunch set), and decided to give it a try with colleagues.

Since they're charging much less than dinner (1/3 of the price), the place was quite full when we got there and luckily we reserved a table. For $148+ 10%, you may pick 1 soup/salad, 1 entree and 1 dessert from the menu, with tea and coffee complement your dessert.

We ordered Sopa del Cocido, Gazpacho and Creme de Marisco. I had the Gazpacho and they did keep the same quality as I had it a year ago. My colleague said the Creme de Marisco was good either.

For the entree, four of us ordered seafood paella, and the remaining ordered a suckling pig, grilled swordfish and grouper in toasted garlic sauce. They offered us a big pot of paella, which nicely distributed to four of us by the waitress. The suckling pig skin was crunchy and smelled wonderful. I am not sure about the two fish dishes they ordered but the grouper did look nice.

For dessert, the pear in red wine sauce was very nice. The pear didn't become too soft while absorbed all the red wine flavour. The rice pudding was as good as before. The most interesting dessert we ordered was the fried milk with toffee sauce. It's a must-try for everyone.

, with its reputation and reviews, I had high hope

Kudos to the roasted pork, it was very tender, definitely among the tops I've ever had... however, and unfortunately, that was it.

we were a party of 10+, so we had a full tasting menu...

salads are salads; they're hard to go wrong
parma ham tasted great but slicing was poor
grilled squid was alright

calamari was undercooked
the seafood paella tasted like... it's from a 2nd rated restaurant. rice was overcooked, giant shrimp's was big but soggy and not cleaned properly
the steak arrived cold and under marinated yet the sides were hot
Fish was so overcooked it tasted like rubber
Sangria tasted like cheap mix of reds with fruit punch soda

The entire meal was so unspectacular I forgot what else we had already.

The main problem actually lies in the servicing; the waiter / waitresses were inexperience. At a restaurant like this, you'd expect a certain level of services...

it's just not there... perhaps they've recently had a change of the entire staff

1. we had to help clean the table so the waitresses can put down new dishes.
2. we didn't finished our food and they began taking them away
3. they forced us into taking more food so they can remove the dish (like you're at a chinese wedding banquet)
4. they have trouble understanding your orders, I asked for "an additionally bottle of water", gave her the empty bottle, and she thought I wanted "boiled" water... they just lack the common sense.

bottomline - I wouldn't mind giving it another shot, but it won't be soon

Took day off as I am going to work on Sat ... and it is really unpleasant to go back to Central even you do not have to work!!!

Luckily, I had a good time in Ole, with $148 (+10% Service Charge) including tapas, appetizer, main, dessert and drink. And you can choose in the menu!

We had cold veggie soup, suckling pig, coffee, crepe and creme brulee.

Tapas included olive, potato salad, meat ball, loaf with butter. I did not take olives, however, the others were very delicious. The potato was good, so as the meat ball. And the loaf was warmly served. Great start of the meal!

Cold veggie soup was soooooo refreshing for me after walking numerous stairs from Landmark to Fringe Club. Apart from water, the liquidary carrot soup was delicious and healthy, in addition with cucumber and green pepper. It was just the good summer pick.

Suckling pig was excellent! There is a Chinese saying called 'crispy skin and tender meat', it is exactly the brief description for the pig! The side was good as well, they had tomato peas and fries. Just yummy! And the dish was not small, I was quite full.

Then we had crepe with strawberry and catalan cream *i.e. creme brulee*. Great, though both dessert were not completely hot. The crepe was filled with strawberry slices and homemade cream. The cream was yummy. While for the catalon cream, unexpectedly nice and the sugar topping was superb! I prefer the pain creme brulee rather than having sago inside, even it might tasted like egg custard.

And the meal ended up with a nice coffee with hot milk cream served.

Just a little flaw was that when we were requested with drinks, the water they poured was from the HK W-brand ... obviously it had a cost ... and we were right. Yet...

Overall, the lucnh was very enjoyable. Great!

During 1 recent night visit, I ordered the following with much anticipation and wasn't disappointed. Most items were confidently executed to an exceptional standard that's rarely experienced in Hong Kong. Starting with an Olive oil, 2 types of unpitted Olives, White Bread and a complimentary small Potato Salad, the salad was a strong marriage of eggy sauce together with a profound taste of the natural potatoes itself. I certainly will not hesitate to re-order this dish but as a larger serving! AMAZING START. The olive oil wasn't plain old olive oil either but intermixed with real olive juice and therefore bordering on murky, I thought the base oil could still be improved however as it lacked depth and aroma! Now onto the real dishes I was here for:
**OK ONLY**
Blood Sausage (Morcilla de Burgos....)
Probably one of my own Top 5 repeatedly ordered Spanish dishes, from my understanding its partially different yet similar to a British blood sausage. Tonight's Morcilla version was really different however. I didn't like tonight's offering much as its a drier version than a fresher moist type, despite the presence of chorizo paste - it lacked the desired bold blood taste and came with really mushy, starchy fillers. Unfortunately this was further spoiled by an overwhelmingly pungent Smoked Paprika taste. This version is probably better served cold than cooked. Tapeo has a better wetter version, though that's served too chopped up.
**RECOMMENDABLE**
Bacalau Croquettes
Completely spot on golden colour externally, the potato mash filling inside was silky smooth - too smooth. Something was missing and it was the highly treasured Bacalau salted-cod taste and stringy textural bite, to be replaced by mainly milky and potato flavours. Its quite contrasting to the rougher and herbed version I tried afterwards in a Macao-Portuguese restaurant. I think Ole could give us a more potent version in thefuture without over-diluting away the bacalau taste. Thank you if you are listening.
Milk Fritter (Leche Frita)
Mainly made up of an eggy and milky taste, perhaps too custardy sweet. This is the house dessert but actually wasn't my 1st preference. I think the surface absorbed a tad too much oil, I'd imagine this was shallow fried rather than deep-fried as per the original 'Frita' definition. On the plus side, this doesn't have a batter coating like some other Spanish interpretationss of Leche Frita, therefore its less filling after a meal and more distinguishable from our Chinese fried milk! Comes with a scoop of Macadamian Ice Cream which magically complimented the main dessert and also slivers of fruit. This was great but can improve with more milk taste... (ironically a contradiction to the above Bacalau Croquette's too milky problem.)
**HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – JUST TOO MANY DISHES!!**
Trio of Jabugo Pork Cold Meats (Embutido Variado de Jabugo)
Ordered this with a Fino sherry. Decided against the Jabugo Jamon de Iberico this time because other Iberico Pork cured cuts are impossible to order in smaller portions in charcuterie shops, let alone finding Black Iberico pork versions. Consisted of thin cuts of lean meaty slices, non-spicy chorizo, and I believe a cured blood sausage. It was slightly too optimistic charging $80 for such an atrocious portion, also I think it can be served warmer via a heat light must like serving Jamons.
Baby Squids (Chopitos en....)
This was just brilliant. A highly viscous and naturally flavoursome squid ink unlike most readily bought packages, the thick sauce and the little squid babies were filled with diced up prawns and almonds. Perhaps I was lucky as mine dish this time was perfectly executed, the sauce was actually deeply flavoured unlike the other 99% of times and its 1 of the best squid ink dishes I have had for a while, perhaps ever! YUMMY with the bread for soaking up the juice! Still dreaming about it after so many weeks.
Baby Anchovies (Boquerones Fritos)
I had really wanted to try the Baby Eel 'Angulas' recommended by GourmetKC but didn't order them as that novelty costs upwards of $550. Perhaps save it for next time when more people chip in and share it, I can wait! My 2nd alternative was anchovies. AFAIK salted Spanish Anchovies are world famous and ultra expensive, the best of the award winning batches costing upwards of $200 for a few strands on the world market and not far off baby eel territory but it has so far proven ELUSIVE to find in Hong Kong, even on tonight's occasion. When I saw a similarly named item at Ole I was initially elated - here, you pick from 2 options, either a Vinegar Marinated Version (like Citysuper or Tapeo version, which I believe are treated locally to tone-down the saltiness) or Fried. The manager answered that the fried version aren't pre-marinated in vinegar, so I ordered this believing its actually 'salted but not vinegar marinated' anchovy not so dissimilar to the Italian version just 'fresher', but instead this turned out to be completely fresh anchovies, fried. This was great, it somehow reminded me of a similar dish in Japanese cuisine. I enjoy this dish a lot, probably more than its sibling the bony sardines and it makes you want to drink more wine! Bring it on!
Baked Suckling Pig Segovia Way (Cochinillo...)
The Plato Principal for every single table within sight, THIS WAS TO DIE FOR AWESOME! SHOCKINGLY GOOD! The complexity of flavour compacted into the fork-tender white meat had surpassed all expectations, also amazingly managed to be deeply infused into the bones and skin. It was a sensory overdrive experience that proves impossible to be coaxed out from any Chinese suckling pig.
The skin on this occasion was perfectly wafer-thin crunchy on each crackly bite, akin to a French suckling pig version but only more satisfying! Although I was told that my 'Babe' wasn't smoked via wood/mesquite enhancement whenever a different Babe travelled past from the kitchen to other tables, it carried a distinctive smokiness and fatty aroma trail in its path... In fact it smelt and in particular the bones tasted almost exactly like a well cooked 樟茶鴨's with its unique penetrating flavours that would excite any human senses. I speculate that there might just be a well guarded, hidden secret in its cooking technique here, otherwise our other Chinese or Western restaurant versions wouldn't be so far off the mark from this dish. ^O*' Its a bit porkily-fatty and won't help alleviate the bad cholesterol clogging the arteries but who cares when its this good! Can't comprehend this getting any better anywhere else. Without exaggeration - this was in a league of its own.

***The meal was finished off with an alcoholic 'spirit drink' on the house complimentarily. I couldn't catch exactly what it was when it was explained to me as I can't understand the Spanish accent, but I guess it was some kind of Grappas or a similar Digestivo.

*******************
So how about a direct comparison of this night versus a previous dining experience at TAPEO when I had allotted that meal an 'OK - 3' only? Perhaps it wasn't conveyed clearly enough in that particular separate review as it was one of my earliest reviews on Openrice, but my friend and I - the both of us actually spent well over $750 in that venue to try several of their tapas offerings. Not a single one of them were even memorable. The leitmotif of the meal being most dishes overly drenched in oil during the cooking - whether it was the prawn, squid or blood pudding or the mullet fish, not helped by a pork dish that was plain boring, possessed a skin that does not crackle and was even spelt wrong on the menu.. For $800 odd spent, I didn't even get seat backings.
Although both venues were equally stinghy with the small portioning of food versus the price, on a relative basis, by paying merely around $100 more here, I would receive on this night at this venue, a much higher percentage of dishes that tasted more exciting, more authentic and better executed to its true potential. Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight and having attained more experience writing on Openrice and if I'm allowed to alter anything, I would probably re-score my meal at Tapeo around 'OK - 4', as the difference in scoring isn't as big as it literally says. Afterall, Tapas and Suckling Pigs aren't meant to be sophisticated dishes at all, that's why they please the ordinary folks drinking to Sangrias and dancing to Flamenco music but the food's 'nature of simplicity' is also why they ought to be executed perfectly well to be rewarded a higher score, just as most dishes were with my meal at Ole I know which place I would rather choose when given a choice again, and I know just exactly how many points I'm going to score this place tonight. We shall all dream about that little piglet again in due time... !

Of course we would order a string of tapas, and the first one that showed up was boquerones en vinagre. The anchovies were marinated in vinegar and topped with lots of yummy garlic. Not bad.

Croquetas de bacalao has always been one of my favorites. Always soft and creamy inside and nice and crispy outside.

The salpicón de mariscos was excellent. Clams, calamari and shrimps were chopped up and mixed up red and green peppers, onions and drizzled in olive oil. Fresh and wonderful.

The highlight of the evening was surely the gambas al ajillo. The bowl came with shrimps buried in hot, bubbling olive oil. The shrimps were fresh and delicious. The oil was something else entirely. The olive oil was infused with the flavors of shrimps, garlic and chilli peppers, making it pure nectar in my world. I kept scooping up spoonfuls of this oil so I could soak it up with bread. I would have happily given up eating the rest of the dishes just to finish drinking the oil...

Pimientos rellenos de bacalao is another favorite of mine. Once you cut open the pepper, all the melted cheese and bacalao comes out and mixes with the garlic and pepper sauce. Yummy yummy.

A plate of jamón de bellota "JJJJJ" was delicious. The restaurant had just broken out a new leg, and it was fresh and moist. You can always count of these guys for good jamon.

The conchinillo asad a la Segoviana was awesome. This was just about the best suckling pig I could find outside of a Chinese restaurant. The meat was incredibly moist, falling off the bones as I poked it with my knife and fork. The crispy skin and the layer of fat underneath were heavenly. I was happy.

The manager offered us an after-meal drink, and I chose the Pedro Ximenez. Wonderfully sweet and grapey. A perfect ending to a perfect meal.

original blogpost with notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/05/spanish-evening.html

Tonight I caught up with a friend and unwound over a bottle of wine and some simple food. We were struggling with the choice of venue, when I suddenly thought of Olé. The idea of tapas and wine seemed exactly what my friend had in mind.

We started with 4 tapas, beginning with - what else - jamón de bellota "JJJJJ". Both of us absolutely love jamón, and this was a perfect way to start the evening. The Jabugo jamón was pretty decent - not as juicy and fatty as I would have liked, but I was thankful that it wasn't dry.

Pimientos rellenos de bacalao was pretty good. Our waitress served each of us with one pepper, then scooped lots of the garlic and pepper sauce onto our plates so that we can soak it up with bread. The bits of bacalao in the pepper were yummy.

Croquetas de bacalao were delicious - done exactly the way I wanted them. Soft and creamy potato and bacalao filling enclosed inside a thin layer of crispy batter. I could have had 5 of these myself...

Finally, one of my favorites which unfortunately was not to my friend's liking: morcilla de Burgos y sobrasada Mallorquina. I have always loved morcilla, the Spanish blood sausage with lots of spices. Here it is served on top of a slice of bread, as one would see in a tapas bar. Very yummy.

The two of us shared a plate of costillas de cerdo al Mojopicón. The roasted pork ribs were pretty yummy, and the garlic sauce was absolutely delish! To top it all off, the string fries on the side - about the size of spaghetti - were heavenly. Yes, I could have eaten a whole plate of these fries...

We shared an order of cheese, and finally I took in the crema Catalan by myself... The waitress came and poured Cointreau on top of the custard, then proceeded to light it. After the blue flames died down, I started digging in. The hard sugar coating on top now tastes of oranges thanks to the Cointreau. What a way to end the evening!

original blogpost with notes on wine: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2008/12/ol-olol-ol.html

Went to Ole for lunch with colleagues, environment is good though not very spacious (this is HK...). Anyway, I ordered a Lunch Set that comes with soup, dessert, tea/coffee, I had Roasted Suckling Pig for the main-course, tender meat covered by crispy skin, very nice, highly recommended, must try. Service was just so so(except the Manager), so don't expect too much for the service.