22 Ships

Woohoo! Another blog post already :) many more to come as I rush to get updated with all my previous reviews!

Hong Kong has been hit with a huge bout of Tapas fever and one of the most hotly anticipated and buzzed about new restaurants is 22 Ships. After seeing drool-worthy collages of the delicious offerings on instagram bestie C and I finally decided to have a taste ourselves. 22 Ships is headed by British celebrity Michelin star chef Jason Atherton who has trained under legendary chefs such as Pierre Koffmann, Nico Ladenis, and Marco Pierre White. Atherton has also launched numerous coveted restaurants such as Pollen Street Social in London and Pollen in Singapore. Lucky for us Chef Atherton has now extended his culinary talent to Hong Kong! The restaurant is tiny – only 35 seats, but the front façade of the restaurant opens out into the street which allows the restaurant to seem less confined and results in a bustling and intimate environment. There is a no reservations policy and waiting diners can stand outside and enjoy a drink until their table is ready.

Roasted Baby Gem Lettuce, Anchovy, Crispy Ham, and Parmesan Mayo
This dish seemed like a deconstructed caesar salad/wedge salad of sorts. It tasted fine, but not something I would want to get again. I believe we ordered it just because everything else was meaty and heavy and we felt that we should balance things out with a bit of greens. The crispy ham and the mayo was a nice touch but the dish was just not particularly memorable. I also don't think it is worth the price for a cut of lettuce.

Spanish Breakfast - Chorizo and Potato
This was a dish that was very popular in previous reviews. I was very excited to try it but must say that I do not share the same sentiments as the other food reviewers towards this dish. The reviewers praised the potato puree to be lusciously smooth and although it was very smooth, C and I just felt that it lacked texture and was almost like a potato smoothie. The egg was also very creamy and smooth which cause the dish to become quite one-dimensional. I think the potato puree can be a bit thicker and perhaps some croutons or crispy bread can be added for a much needed textural contrast.

Scallop Ceviche, Yuzu Dressing, Soy, Cucumber, Apple
This dish was very refreshing and all the flavors went perfectly together. The delicate slices of radish and apple provides a lovely crunchiness and sweetness to the soft and well flavored scallops. My only complaint is that the serving is tiny!

Iberico Pork and Foie Gras Burgers, Avocado and Pickled Cucumber
This was another dish that was very popular from what I read in other reviews. The beat patty was very flavorful and juicy. The onion jam at the bottom was delicious and rich and just made the burger even more decadent. I am a huge fan of foie gras but I felt that I didn't really taste any foie flavor. The sliders were very yummy, but I didn't think that the addition of foie was very evident. Perhaps the addition of the foie was what caused the burger to be so rich and juicy yet I definitely did not detect the rich distinctive flavor that I love so much. 

Fried Egg, Black Pudding, Capers, and Anchovy
This may have been my favorite dish of the night. The black pudding was robust, rich, and went perfectly with the soft cooked egg. I think they should provide bread for this dish as I had to request for thin bread crisps which went gloriously well with this. Without the bread this is a bit too rich and soft in texture overall. C and I both loved this dish and would definitely order it again.

22 Ships is definitely making a big splash in the Hong Kong dining scene and although not every dish was amazing I can definitely see myself returning to 22 Ships to try out the other dishes! I hear that the suckling pig is very good so that will be something that I will try next time! The atmosphere is great and very lively and  although service was a bit spotty (waitress put our white wine into a cooler that was empty...) at times I think these are things that can be ironed out soon! I also think that servings could be a bit larger as C and I were not too hungry to begin with therefore we were relatively satiated after the meal but we did feel that a lot of the dishes were too small (even for tapas!). We have heard however that the meat dishes are much larger and substantial so we will have to give that a go next time!

22 Ships

22 Ship Street

Wan Chai

Hong Kong

Tamarind

Ugh once again I have been lazy with keeping up to date with my blogging, now there are a HUGE amount of backlogged restaurants! Be ready for an influx of reviews in these upcoming weeks and I try to get back on track with all my food reviews!

I was meeting J for a long delayed catch up dinner and we decided to try out Taramind in the Sun Hung Kai center which serves Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisine. Reviews of Tamarind has been generally quite favorable so I was eager to try it out for myself. When I told H that I was eating at Tamarind, he seemed very skeptical and commented that he did not think a restaurant that offered three different cuisines would be able to deliver quality food as the focus is scattered. I understood what he meant but still had high hopes for Tamarind. Unfortunately H's doubts were correct and I will not be returning to Tamarind again!

Grilled Pork Neck with Tamarind Sauce
The serving was very generous and the pork neck was quite decent. Although this dish was fine, the flavors could be a bit more interesting and it was only just ok. 

Chicken Makhani 
This curry was quite flavorful and went well with our garlic naan which is not pictured. The sauce could be a little thicker and although this dish was probably one of the better dishes of the night the chicken makhani is far better at Bombay Dreams.

Tamarind Black Cod
This was a dish that was praised in many reviews and I truly do not know why this was the case. I usually LOVE black cod yet this dish lacked that delicious buttery flavor that is the signature of black cod. The texture was also a bit off, it was overly oily and just too soft. The sauce was also a bit overpowering and too sour and sweet.

J and I were thoroughly disappointed with this meal and was going to cheer ourselves up by ordering a mango sticky rice but then was let down again when they waiter told me that they only had indian desserts. This is quite shocking as you would think that a restaurant that wanted to dabble in different cuisines would at least include this very popular dessert. It is possible that some of the other dishes are good and the curry wasn't BAD, but there are other places with better choices that I would rather go to.

Another special note is that the service left much to be desired. When I first arrived at the restaurant the waiter could not hear that I already had a reservation and was EXTREMELY rude. I was about to give him a piece of my mind but his brain suddenly functioned again and he realized I made a booking (not that having a reservation or not should have any effect on one's attitude towards a customer) and suddenly became much more polite and also tried to offer some sort of explanation about his behavior earlier. Although he reverted back to acceptable behavior, the damage was already done as this type of customer service is absolutely unacceptable.

Tamarind I will not be returning again!

Tamarind

2/F

Sun Hung Kai Centre

30 Harbor Road

Wan Chai

Hong Kong