I love tapas meals with friends. There is a lot of passing around and sharing and mmm-ing together. I especially love it when the tapas are in mismatched plates. Love the atmosphere! 

The first tapas we shared was the Hummus with Turkish Bread. This has got to be the best hummus I have ever tasted. Hummus is made from Chickpeas, tahini (sesame seed paste), olive oil and garlic. I’ve tried many varieties of hummus before and find that its sometimes too garlicky or bitter. This one here is smooth, somewhat sweet and has a lovely olive oil added to it. It helped that the turkish bread served with is so fresh and tasty. I could die in peace now.

Next is the Sardine Escarbeche…

The Sardines tasted poached and pickled. It might be my first time having escabeche – I doubt I have tasted anything like this. The sardine had a chewy texture to it and ends slightly vinegary. Little potato cakes came with it. I suspect the potatoes were first blanched and then layered with butter, spinach and other amazing herbs and then baked.

Next came the Chargrilled Prawns. This is actually a picture of the second round because I forgot to take a picture. We were full as hell but decided, need to eat another one of these yummy creatures. The prawns were delightfully fresh and succulent despite it being chargrilled. Burnt in some places, you could really taste the barbecue flavours. Really more-ish.

Second round of the amazing Chargrilled Prawns. Hand model credits: Sugi

Next, the amazing chef threw out baked feta with tomato and olive.

I think this was a hot favourite because everyone was actively offering it to others – you know that happens when the person wants to politely check if anybody else wants it before gobbling it up. The feta is firm and dense – and the tomato and olive puree on top of it was just gorgeous. It tasted like the tomatoes were first roasted and then mashed into a puree with bits of green olives in it.

The Grilled Chorizo was simple but fully displayed the quality of the chorizo. There was a chilli hit at the end of it.

Grilled Chorizo

Next: Balinese Rice. When I first took a bite, I could taste a strong coconut milk flavour about the rice. Other than that and the fried onions it was topped with, I didn’t think it was very balinese at all. Thats not to say it didn’t taste good. We felt like the dish was almost cuban with its lemony flavours spiked with bits of fresh tomato.

Not so Balinese Balinese Rice

An interesting dish served was the Salmon marinated with beetroot. I did not taste the beetroot (or perhaps my taste buds have been numbed with Sangria) but the colour of the fish definitely showed its participation in the dish. It tasted somewhat like Ceviche – fish cooked in acidity.

Salmon marinated in beetroot

The Broccoli with red pesto was a welcome dish after all the rich flavours. The broccoli was blanched, cooled to crisp and topped with a very nutty pesto.

Broccoli with red pesto

Other than the prawns, this was my next favourite. The Chargrilled lamb melted away in my mouth so quickly. It doesn’t look fancy but it was simply delicious. We had to have 2 rounds of this. There must be some special chip they use in their grill. Every grilled item of theirs taste so freaking good.

A Favourite: Char grilled Lamb

What’s a tapas session without Patata Bravas? Unlike the deep fried variety I am used to eating, these actually taste roasted. So if you were expecting the Spanish version of chips, best not order these. If you like roast potatoes, the potato skin is beautifully crisp. The sauce covering it was really spicy! This dish was a hit and miss with some of us.

The garlic chicken had a lovely crispy skin and moist juicy flesh that fell off the bone. The paprika aioli  complemented it perfectly. If you love garlic, you will love this dish. Beautiful food! I will be back for this.

I don’t have polenta very often. I have had it in fine dining settings but I am uncertain about what it should be like in a home made form.  I don’t even know how to cook it and apparently it is one of the most simple foods you can make.

The Polenta with Mushrooms was pleasing to me. Smooth, buttery and slightly plain, this complemented the meal like a bowl of rice to a Chinese dinner would. I can see the Chef’s French influence here – all the butter in the dishes makes it all taste so good. haha

Smooth buttery Polenta.

Here’s a fun dish called the Crunchy Thai Barramundi. Jay loves this because he loves spring rolls and this reminds him of spring rolls. Instead of a fully meat roll, this was filled with barramundi. The whole thing was painted in a sweet Thai chilli sauce.

The lamb kofta with mint yoghurt was beautiful! It was so soft and tender with surprising bits of what tasted like pine nuts in it.  It also had a bit of spice but nothing no one couldn’t handle.

Next came the Warm Chevre with hazelnuts and more of that lovely turkish bread. It was crumbly and soft. It was too strong to have much of for some of us at the table. I didn’t mind it. Have you run out of Chan Chan by now? This is a good one too. Lovely. I wish I drank so much that that I didn’t care if I danced around the tables.

Warm Chèvre. Hand Model credit: Peter Chong

Finally, the Beef Ravioli. I am unsure if we were too full to enjoy this dish but this was the least favourite. It was considered too floppy, too gamey and too salty.

Beef Ravioli. Finger model credits: Lorraine

I guess it didn’t look particular great either – I think it looks like the Singapore Beef Hor Fan. Haha right? Right?

Whatever!

We were very happy with whatever came before this. We had 3 jugs of Sangria, lots of great food, great company and lots of laughs! It was awesome for only approximately $50 per person. The service was excellent even if it was a bit rushed but they never once tried to chase us out even though they had another seating. (much unlike our experience at Pata Negra for Jay’s birthday)

Look how happy we are!