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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!
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与MADAM SIXTY ATE同属一家的Sal Curioso紧紧靠著LKF，有些机灵搞怪的红色眼睛Logo已不是第一次晃入眼帘，碰巧不知某个午夜在FB上看到Dining City Restaurant Week的广告，闲来无事便点来看看，稀里糊涂的就book了这间餐厅的周末Lunch Menu。Dining City Menu 相当抵食，4-tapas including dessert (without drink) 两百有找！更何况餐厅的环境，服务，食物的质素都让我相当满意，实在是物超所值，可惜！就在第二天发现餐厅即将于一周后关门大吉，实在是扫兴又惋惜！餐厅以淡色为主，入口处在斜坡上，上几个阶梯便是餐厅，入口处灯光偏暗些，也有一个相当宽敞舒适的休息区，彩色的马克瓷砖镶砌而成吧台是最为抢眼的。向里走几步便发现一个硕大的露台，周日的阳光一直延生到餐厅里。餐厅的布置或是正正经经的餐桌，或是三五好友促膝而谈的沙发座，多变的设定也赋予餐厅多变的服务模式。开放式的厨房让人一眼望到忙碌中的大厨小厨们，“耐看度”也颇高 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云一般的cream，简单又好味。淡忌廉入口轻盈，口感有那么些丝滑，配上微凉酸甜的番茄，一个“酷”一个“柔”，作为开胃小菜再适合不过。Mexico - Squid Pop And Black (Seared squid, mussels, potatoes, mussel, aioli and spiced popcorn)漆黑如墨，一看便知与墨鱼汁有关，新鲜青口和软熟的焗豆均被染成墨色，吃口并不以香口为主，反倒是突出一股淡淡的原味，豆香泗益，软熟亦有些粉粉的，青口也保持清甜的特性，可能是影像的时间长了，顶上的爆米花待吃的时候已经软趴趴了，脆口不在。Spain - Brandana Croquettes (tomato and caper sofrito)炸的香脆的丸子配上特质的番茄沙沙，用上鲜番茄，洋葱，好似也有些柠檬汁之类作为融合剂，整体口感较润，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)这一道很有秋季的感觉，焦糖色的鸡翼配上紫红色的叶片。添以青柠和橙的酸味，恰恰中和了炸鸡翼的油腻感，同时也加入多种香料，光是闻著就已经让人流口水。鸡肉嫩滑，鸡皮几乎不带脂肪，炸的通脆之后变成一片几乎透明色的胶质覆在里面白嫩嫩的鸡肉上，多种香料的使得鸡翼变得异常惹味，似乎刷过一层枫糖浆或是烧烤酱之类的，吃起来不但带著清新的酸味，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)一小锅冒著热气腾腾的蛤蜊放在眼前增能让人不食指大动，蛤蜊肉鲜甜软嫩，食材是吃的出的新鲜，肉质相当鲜活有生气。这一锅别看是白花花的淡雅颜色，实则相当惹味，我像是因为配著香肠一起焖煮的关系，切成小段的香肠咸香非常，带些肥膘吃在嘴里的多汁又油润的。锅中的豆类也是出色一员，充分焖煮之后口感变得酥酥烂烂，外加吸饱了各种调料与汤汁的精华，嘴里的味道相当丰富立体。Spain - Albondigas (Saltbush lamb meatballs on walnut braised chickpeas)又是重口味，鹰嘴豆裹满油润润的汤汁，吃起来脆口的同时又是多汁的；最最罪恶的是那块入口瞬间崩裂成无数液体小分子的鹅肝，无需过多调味，本身的鲜甜与油润就足以撑起场面。三粒巨大羊肉球，外层煎的干身，里面则是松紧恰好的羊肉肉碎，多汁已不必多提，最重要是那股羊骚味来得不紧不慢，羊味足又点到为止。Chile - Lomito (Small sandwich of roast pork belly, avocado and cabbage)相较之稍有逊色的迷你汉堡，略微“原生态”的面包口感是干燥有足而韧劲稍欠，厚切的五花腩肉用上类似韩式烧烤的手法，瘦肉紧实有“韧”有余相当有嚼劲，白色的肥膏部份一点不油腻口感略带凝胶质感带有些粘度，也是不错；精华之处是调制的青芥末酱，小小的辛辣配上适当的酸甜，中和油腻也带出肉质的鲜甜。Spain - Patatas Bravas (Potatoes with cilantro salad)富有异国风情的一道纯淀粉质，迷你土豆连著土豆皮来烘烤，出来的效果很wild，用上印度香料来调味，放在面前是止不住的阵阵香味，香的尤其独特，这股味道是我第一次品尝到印度拉茶之时便深深记住的，这个味道绝对不是人人能接受的，但要承认的一点是：至少闻起来相当诱人！Spain - Sal's fruit polvoron (mangoes, melon and pinapple, creamed, foamed and pressed with Spanish shortbread)相当相当推荐的一款夏日甜品，全鲜果宴，加之或雪皅或cream或泡沫的多样手法，整道甜品无论是呈现还是品味，都十分有讲究。鲜甜多汁的菠萝、提子，清润的牛油果酱配上略带牛油香气的面包碎碎，酸甜沁人又轻盈的泡沫状雪皅，三者平衡。Portual - The Illegal donut (Spiced churros and chocolate espuma)这道可算是signatured西班牙甜品，近似donut但却有更多变的形态（通常是长条形的），周身滚著一层晶莹的大颗粒的糖霜，吃的时候配上调和成稠稠的朱古力（榛子）酱。油炸的churros其实一点不油腻，外围的糖霜大大粒的吃起来好有存在感，而donut内部则是略带弹性的软绵，意外的是整体甜度并不算大，贪心的在朱古力酱里滚上几回塞入口中，幼滑甜蜜的朱古力夹著榛子浓郁的香味，好肥但好好味！似乎，店家知道大家吃了甜的必定担心会过滞，所以这一道甜品也配上一味劲酸的冰凉甜品，野莓雪皅！相当原汁原味的雪皅，将野莓的精华都锁住了，吃一口是让人会缩著腮帮子的酸意，幸好底下垫著一堆可可粉，干粉似的加上略微的苦味让酸味降低不少。Mexico - My Mexico Cheesecake (white chocolate cheesecake, guava parfait, orange and lime meringue)白雪皑皑的芝士蛋糕，摆盘一样尽纳夏日的清新，用上鲜橙的亮色来做点缀。芝士蛋糕上层撒这些白朱古力霜，蛋糕也做的较为紧实一点，吃起来白朱古力的甜与芝士的酸甜搭配的不错，幼滑而浓郁，口感厚厚的让人满足。
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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!
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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!
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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.
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