Sal Curioso (已結業)

It was the first year that I participated in the Hong Kong Restaurant Week.  Having tried two participanting restuarants during the Restaurant Week, I decided to try this one as part of the Extended Restaurant Week (as it was voted as the Most Popular).   I chose this place partly because of the name - Sal Curioso (spanish for curious?) and partly becuase of the cuisines it serves  - South American + Spanish (was curious what food they would serve).The interesting entrance led to an open kitchen where you see all the staff busy with preparing dishes.  We chose various Tapas to share.  The Squid Pop and Black (Mexico) came with squid, mussels and popcorn.  The seafood was fresh and the popcorn was lightly spiced to bring in an interesting addition to the dish.  Another dish served in a hotpan was the Albondigas (Spain) - lamb meatballs on chickpeas.  The meatball was tender and tasty, and balanced well with the chickpeas and the sauce.  The Sherry Marinated Tomatoes (Sal's Mum) was a simple tomato salad dish with refreshing flavour (served with mozarella cheese and herbs).  The Clam La Olla (Venezuela) was a supposed to be a hot pot of clams, chorizo sausage and white beans.  But it was served in a small plate and while the clams were fresh and juicy I found the white beans too bland and overwheming.  And I don't remember tasting any sausage.  The Nacho's Sal Style (Mexico) stood out when I read the menu, but it turned out to be a disappointment.  The corn crackers were not crunchy at all.  The avocado mousse and cheese sauce and the salsa sacuse all tatsted possessed rather than freshly made.  The Brandara Croquettes (Spain) was a ordinary and not particularly memorbable dish.  The presentation was good though. The Braised Duck (Peru) was interestly served in a jar with a pieace of potato bread on top. It came with a small spoon for you to scoop out the duck leg, which was perfectly cooked with a citrus based sauce.  Another creative and yummy dish!   For dessert I picked the My Mexcian Cheesecake (Mexico) and was very happy with my choice.  It ws a white chococlate chesecake with guava parfait, oragne and lime meringue.  It looked and tasted great!   继续阅读

與MADAM SIXTY ATE同屬一家的Sal Curioso緊緊靠著LKF，有些機靈搞怪的紅色眼睛Logo已不是第一次晃入眼簾，碰巧不知某個午夜在FB上看到Dining City Restaurant Week的廣告，閒來無事便點來看看，稀裡糊塗的就book了這間餐廳的週末Lunch Menu。Dining City Menu 相當抵食，4-tapas including dessert (without drink) 兩百有找！更何況餐廳的環境，服務，食物的質素都讓我相當滿意，實在是物超所值，可惜！就在第二天發現餐廳即將于一周后關門大吉，實在是掃興又惋惜！餐廳以淡色為主，入口處在斜坡上，上幾個階梯便是餐廳，入口處燈光偏暗些，也有一個相當寬敞舒適的休息區，彩色的馬克瓷磚鑲砌而成吧台是最為搶眼的。向裡走幾步便發現一個碩大的露臺，週日的陽光一直延生到餐廳里。餐廳的佈置或是正正經經的餐桌，或是三五好友促膝而談的沙發座，多變的設定也賦予餐廳多變的服務模式。開放式的廚房讓人一眼望到忙碌中的大廚小廚們，“耐看度”也頗高 O(∩_∩)OSal's Mum - Sherry Marinated Tomatoes; Torta del casa cheese whip, herbs and salsa全Tapas餐牌也不乏清新的色拉，清甜多汁的番茄配上好似朵朵白雲一般的cream，簡單又好味。淡忌廉入口輕盈，口感有那麼些絲滑，配上微涼酸甜的番茄，一個“酷”一個“柔”，作為開胃小菜再適合不過。Mexico - Squid Pop And Black (Seared squid, mussels, potatoes, mussel, aioli and spiced popcorn)漆黑如墨，一看便知與墨魚汁有關，新鮮青口和軟熟的焗豆均被染成墨色，吃口並不以香口為主，反倒是突出一股淡淡的原味，豆香泗益，軟熟亦有些粉粉的，青口也保持清甜的特性，可能是影像的時間長了，頂上的爆米花待吃的時候已經軟趴趴了，脆口不在。Spain - Brandana Croquettes (tomato and caper sofrito)炸的香脆的丸子配上特質的番茄沙沙，用上鮮番茄，洋蔥，好似也有些檸檬汁之類作為融合劑，整體口感較潤，清新非常；如此配上炸的脆脆的丸子是恰好！Dominican Republic - Chicharron De Pollo (Deep fry chicken marinated in bitter orange, lime, garlic and cumin floured with paprika)這一道很有秋季的感覺，焦糖色的雞翼配上紫紅色的葉片。添以青檸和橙的酸味，恰恰中和了炸雞翼的油膩感，同時也加入多種香料，光是聞著就已經讓人流口水。雞肉嫩滑，雞皮幾乎不帶脂肪，炸的通脆之後變成一片幾乎透明色的膠質覆在裏面白嫩嫩的雞肉上，多種香料的使得雞翼變得異常惹味，似乎刷過一層楓糖漿或是燒烤醬之類的，吃起來不但帶著清新的酸味，也有一份蜜糖似的甜味。Venezuela - Clam La Olla (Hot pot of clams, chorizo sausage, white beans and salsa of roast chili and oregano)一小鍋冒著熱氣騰騰的蛤蜊放在眼前增能讓人不食指大動，蛤蜊肉鮮甜軟嫩，食材是吃的出的新鮮，肉質相當鮮活有生氣。這一鍋別看是白花花的淡雅顏色，實則相當惹味，我像是因為配著香腸一起燜煮的關係，切成小段的香腸咸香非常，帶些肥膘吃在嘴裡的多汁又油潤的。鍋中的豆類也是出色一員，充分燜煮之後口感變得酥酥爛爛，外加吸飽了各種調料與湯汁的精華，嘴裡的味道相當豐富立體。Spain - Albondigas (Saltbush lamb meatballs on walnut braised chickpeas)又是重口味，鷹嘴豆裹滿油潤潤的湯汁，吃起來脆口的同時又是多汁的；最最罪惡的是那塊入口瞬間崩裂成無數液體小分子的鵝肝，無需過多調味，本身的鮮甜與油潤就足以撐起場面。三粒巨大羊肉球，外層煎的干身，裏面則是鬆緊恰好的羊肉肉碎，多汁已不必多提，最重要是那股羊騷味來得不緊不慢，羊味足又點到為止。Chile - Lomito (Small sandwich of roast pork belly, avocado and cabbage)相較之稍有遜色的迷你漢堡，略微“原生態”的麵包口感是乾燥有足而韌勁稍欠，厚切的五花腩肉用上類似韓式燒烤的手法，瘦肉緊實有“韌”有餘相當有嚼勁，白色的肥膏部份一點不油膩口感略帶凝膠質感帶有些粘度，也是不錯；精華之處是調製的青芥末醬，小小的辛辣配上適當的酸甜，中和油膩也帶出肉質的鮮甜。Spain - Patatas Bravas (Potatoes with cilantro salad)富有異國風情的一道純澱粉質，迷你土豆連著土豆皮來烘烤，出來的效果很wild，用上印度香料來調味，放在面前是止不住的陣陣香味，香的尤其獨特，這股味道是我第一次品嘗到印度拉茶之時便深深記住的，這個味道絕對不是人人能接受的，但要承認的一點是：至少聞起來相當誘人！Spain - Sal's fruit polvoron (mangoes, melon and pinapple, creamed, foamed and pressed with Spanish shortbread)相當相當推薦的一款夏日甜品，全鮮果宴，加之或雪皅或cream或泡沫的多樣手法，整道甜品無論是呈現還是品味，都十分有講究。鮮甜多汁的菠蘿、提子，清潤的牛油果醬配上略帶牛油香氣的麵包碎碎，酸甜沁人又輕盈的泡沫狀雪皅，三者平衡。Portual - The Illegal donut (Spiced churros and chocolate espuma)這道可算是signatured西班牙甜品，近似donut但卻有更多變的形態（通常是長條形的），周身滾著一層晶瑩的大顆粒的糖霜，吃的時候配上調和成稠稠的朱古力（榛子）醬。油炸的churros其實一點不油膩，外圍的糖霜大大粒的吃起來好有存在感，而donut內部則是略帶彈性的軟綿，意外的是整體甜度並不算大，貪心的在朱古力醬里滾上幾回塞入口中，幼滑甜蜜的朱古力夾著榛子濃郁的香味，好肥但好好味！似乎，店家知道大家吃了甜的必定擔心會過滯，所以這一道甜品也配上一味勁酸的冰涼甜品，野莓雪皅！相當原汁原味的雪皅，將野莓的精華都鎖住了，吃一口是讓人會縮著腮幫子的酸意，幸好底下墊著一堆可可粉，乾粉似的加上略微的苦味讓酸味降低不少。Mexico - My Mexico Cheesecake (white chocolate cheesecake, guava parfait, orange and lime meringue)白雪皚皚的芝士蛋糕，擺盤一樣盡納夏日的清新，用上鮮橙的亮色來做點綴。芝士蛋糕上層撒這些白朱古力霜，蛋糕也做的較為緊實一點，吃起來白朱古力的甜與芝士的酸甜搭配的不錯，幼滑而濃郁，口感厚厚的讓人滿足。 继续阅读

Restaurant week extended 2013 finished on 25/8. 6 restaurants were selected again & Sal Curioso was one of them. Got myself a Friday leave, so table was booked at Sal Curioso for lunch with my friend.Sal Curioso was selected again because it was the ‘most popular restaurant’ amount others on the list through out restaurant week at 5-11/8. Sal Curioso is actually under the same company (Woolly Pig Concept) with Madam Sixty Ate, which Chris Woodyard & Bronwyn Cheung (husband & wife) are the co-founders & directors.The restaurant is located on 2/F, 32 Wyndam Street, Central. The main entrance is on the Glenealy Street around Lan Kwai Fong. Once we arrived 2/F, there is a lounge area on the left side with all the colorful cushions & decorations on wall. Left side is the bar area, best for happy hour!Further down on the left side of the restaurant is their open kitchen. Smelled so good when we arrived. Really interesting to have a look at what they are cooking at the moment.The menu is more of a tapas style, which mean every person have an option to choose 4 dishes on the menu among the savories & desserts. Me & my friend chose 7 savories tapas & 1 dessert to share, which took us to 6 countries!!! LOVE this table-filled-with-lots-of-dishes scene! That’s the amazing part of a tapas menu, which everyone can share & taste everything.On the far right side is the Sal’s mum – Sherry Marinated Tomatos (Torta del casa cheese whip, herbs & salsa). Fresh tomato salad served on a rectangle white plate. Simple plating with micro-herbs.The 2nd right dish is the Chile – Lomito (Small sandwich of roast pork belly, avocado & cabbage).Actually I chose this dish just because of it has avocado in it. hehehe… But I believe the roast pork belly was supposed to be the main attention here. The bun was crunchy on outside, soft on the inside. Big slide of roast pork belly was sandwiched in between. Avocado & the cabbage were added to balance out the fattiness of the roast pork belly. But I think it’s still on the too fatty side for my taste. So, this dish was just alright to me.This was one of my favor dish, ’cause obviously there was avocado in there!! However, the name wasn’t accurately describe the dish. Apparently it’s not Nachos, but since it’s corn crackers with the sauce & relish serving alongside. I believe the name was just a metaphor.This dish was really like the real nachos & I kept eating it even my friend noticed that. I was imagining that eating a big plate of this when watching TV!!!The top right-hand side of the table is the Mexico – Squid pop & black (Seared squid, mussels, potatos, mussel aioli & spiced popcorn). Cute dish name: pop & black, which completely describe the whole dish.Never imagine popcorn can be added into a dish. Interesting & innovative! Seared squid & mussels were perfect without over-cooking, which would like eating plastic. Potato was in cylinder shape, which coated completely with squid ink sauce. It’s a bit funny to find a black potato. hahaha…The spiced popcorn added another layer of flavor & a bit of crunchy texture to the whole dish. Who doesn’t like fried chicken?!!! The marinate coated on top was tangy, sour, spicy, crunchy. So many textures & flavors all in one. This dish would possibly be the 2nd best dishes out of all that we ordered.The dish on the very left side of the table is Venezuelo – Clam la olla (Clams, white beans & chorizo in spicy tomato sauce). The clams was alright, not particularly fresh. Spicy tomato sauce was really match with the chorizo. But may be the white beans was a bit undercooked, so it tasted a bit chalky. Last but not least...This was the last savories dish we ordered. A big chuck of sweet potato bread with charred mark was placed on the glass container, which the citrus braised duck leg was served.Citrus was turned out to be quite match with duck. Never thought of that combination.Another proof to make Sal Curioso is the experimental innovator! Here comes the sweet ending of our meal. As the name tells it all! It’s totally “illegal”, ’cause it’s just too good!!The spiced churros reminded me of the churro truck at Melbourne Victoria Market & those from Chocolateria san Curro. It’s just that the cinnamon sugar was a bit overloaded. The chocolate mousse was light & airy. But need to be eaten ASAP when served up, since it became a bit watery over a while. The raspberry sorbet was refreshing & fruity. The chocolate biscuit crumbs added some more crunchy texture.The meal was very nice, the waiter/waitress were very attendive.Unfortunately, bad news came! 继续阅读

Had dinner at this restaurant for the 1st time as part of the extended restaurant week promotion. I guess there is no way to put this delicately, but I am really surprised that this restaurant was voted as most popular restaurant for the restaurant week awards!My first impression of the restaurant was not bad in terms of ambience -- lively music, nice decor and layout. The restaurant staff were nice and attentive, and explained the menu as soon as we were seated (basically, there was a list of tapas to be shared, and you could opt for add-ons). The first round of tapas came: Nachos Sal style, Clam la olla, and Jambalaya. All three dishes looked appetizing and made for a nice picture. Sadly, the taste of the food was a huge letdown. The nachos were actually more like "keropok" (a variety of prawn crackers commonly found in southeast asia), hence calling them nachos seemed kind of misleading. The taste was ok. At least one of the clams in the Clam la olla dish was not cooked, and the white beans were a little hard but burnt, indicating that they had not been cooked long enough and the fire used to cook the beans were too strong. The sauce for this dish also seemed to be pre-made (bought in a can rather than made from scratch?). And the Jamabalaya, I took it that it was supposed to bear some resemblance to the spanish paella. It was bland and tasteless, not anything like the flavorful paella you get to taste in Spain where the rice is full of flavor (despite the presence of saffron used in this dish).The restaurant staff was prompt to notice we had finished the first round of tapas and cleared the plates for us. Then came the next round of tapas: wagyu beef cheeks, pork ribs, broccoli, pork rind and cumin, and heirloom tomatoes. Unfortunately, the taste was just not there for any of these dishes -- they were all rather bland with the exception of the pork ribs which had been marinated such that there was a strong taste from the sauce to mask any original taste of the meat. It was difficult to understand how even the tomatoes were bland tasting, considering that it would be quite a simple and tasty dish (fresh tomatoes with olive oil normally tastes quite good?). By this time, i had completely written off the restaurant. But then came the surprise. The desserts were not bad at all! The Magdelena and the illegal donut were served, and for some reason, these desserts were fine and we enjoyed everything down to the last mouthful. I'd say if you decide to come to this restaurant, it's safe to stick to drinks and dessert, but don't come for the tapas!  继续阅读

Boyfriend and I have been to Sal Curioso for cocktails but this is the first time we had dinner there. We booked a table through Restaurant Week and it was on set menu and presumably it was cheaper than a la carte (?).The food was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! The set menu consists 4 tapas dishes and one main course. The hot pot of clams with sausage was full of flavors. The seafood with suckling pork cooked in rice was quite like paella. The prawn and squid were tender, and it was easy to tell that the rice was cooked with the seafood and the pork all the way through, instead of being put together before serving. The slow braised lamb in red wine sauce was worth dying for! The pork loin was quite tender and juicy, cooked to perfection. By the time dessert was served, I didn’t think I'd have room for it. But they looked so inviting and we had to try. Fortunately, the desserts were relatively light and fruity, and they went down smoothly.We were served by two waiters and they were very polite, friendly and attentive. 5 out of 5.Btw, other than cocktails, they also serve delicious malbec We are planning our next visit to Sal Curioso after the holiday. 继续阅读