Brickhouse

No one can deny that Hong Kong is a mecca of amazing foods from all around the world, but there always seemed like there were not a lot of quality mexican to choose from. I've tried iCaramba! in soho for lunch and the food was decent. I actually really enjoy Coyotes in Wanchai, its such a fun spot and the food was actually really good! Other than that, I have not heard of many other yummy mexican spots to hit up...until Brickhouse came along. Brickhouse is located in a tiny alley in the middle of Lan Kwai Fong that many would walk by without even knowing that alley even existed. But once you venture into that dark little slit between the buildings, you discover a bustling restaurant filled with happy customers chatting away while munching on scrumptious mexican fare. Brickhouse has been getting A TON of buzz recently and we all know how much Hong Kong people care about buzz. They also don't take reservations so obviously its filled to the brim all the time (to the likes of Butao and Yardbird). C and I went on a Tuesday night around 7-8 and was delighted to find out that the wait would only be around 5-10 minutes. The seating is not exactly comfortable but it fits well with its hip and rustic decor and atmosphere. The hostess was quite friendly and came over periodically to check up on us. We felt that the feel and ambience of the restaurant was very similar to Yardbird, very hip, friendly, and laid back. But we did conclude that although the service was fine, Yardbird's service is still number 1. The waiters are just so charismatic and effortlessly make you feel so welcomed.

I actually forgot the name of the cocktails. But they were quite interesting but could use a bit more of alcohol! And this is not just coming from me (quite the alcohol lover), but C also thought her drink was a tad weak. 

Mexican Style Street Corn - sweet corn, chili, mayo, lime, queso 
The corn was quite sweet and it was covered with mayo and cheese. The chili flavor was not very strong and luckily neither was the flavor of the cilantro as I hate cilantro. The queso had a pretty strong flavor and went well with the sweetness of the corn. C commented that the corn at Cafe Habana in New York was definitely better. I unfortunately have not had Cafe Habana so was unable to make a comparison :( The corn was not bad, but I don't think I would get it again next time as it was not particularly memorable either. 

Back to Life Ceviche - shrimp, grilled tomato, smoked chilis, horseradish, citrus
Our server asked if if we preferred spicy or not and we quickly said that we loved spicy so she suggested we try the "Back to Life" ceviche. This ceviche was definitely aptly named! The dish may not look too appetizing... but the flavors and textures were spot on. One scoop of this ceviche with the crispy tortilla chips instantly woke up your taste buds. The smoked chilis provided a complex dance of flavors that did not overwhelm with the spice. The entire mixture was tangy, spicy, and oh so refreshing. The texture of the shrimp was very interesting and had the perfect balance of bite and softness. The zucchini and avocado furthermore provided a tasty crunchiness and a decadent creaminess to the entire already yummy mixture. The flavor of coriander was actually quite prominent but this actually worked very well with the entire dish and I happily devoured it all up (god forbid!). A definite must try! 

Tortillas Platter
The choice of tortillas are not on the menu and are instead written on the blackboard on the wall. We wanted to have a bite of everything so we got the tortillas platter. Our hostess was very nice and told us she could cut each tortilla into half for us. The pork tortilla was the first one we sunk our teeth into and boy was it good. The pork was bursting with flavor and you could tell it has been marinating for a long long time to soak in all those different spices. To counter the robust flavor the pork tortilla had a creamy dressing along with chunks of avocado. Great start! The fish tortilla was our next victim and the flavors were very different to that of the pork. It was much more delicate and refreshing with a creamy dressing and some crunchy purple cabbage. The fish was coated with batter and deep fried which made it crunchy and this went well with the soft tortilla. Once complaint was that the size of the fish was simply too small! The next one was the ox tongue tortilla which was also very yummy. The ox tongue had a gamey flavor and was quite tender. The slab of meat was thick and juicy and was paired with a spicy dressing and some sprinkling of crunchy onions. We happily gobbled this down as well. The fourth tortilla was unfortunately a miss. C really liked the chicken tortilla and while I agree that the flavors were fine the chicken was very dry and stringy. This could be a good choice for those who like cleaner and more mellow flavors - but hello you are eating mexican food :). The last was the ribeye which was also disappointing. The rib eye was very mushy and just tasted a bit strange. It would have been much much better if it were thick juicy slabs of medium rare ribeye smothered with robust flavorings. But unfortunately this was not the case, the meat seemed overcooked (but not in that tender beef stew way) and the other components of the tortilla did not provide any type of textural contrast either.

Home Beet Fries/Betabel Fritas - deep fried roasted beets, sweet chilli mayo, green onions
Mmmm these were soooooo good. Beets are delicious on their own, but coated with a thin crispy batter and dipped into a creamy spicy mayo is just gastronomical bliss. The beets are juicy and sweet. The coating is not greasy and perfectly crispy. I could eat a bucket of these!

Brickhouse was definitely an enjoyable dining experience. There were some misses with the food but I can definitely see the passion and thought put into the dishes and would definitely love to come again to try some of the other items on the menu. The bartenders were also extremely friendly and C and I stayed behind to take part in some serious shot taking. This is a very exciting addition to the Mexican dining scene in Hong Kong and I look forward to coming again!

Brickhouse

20A D'Aguilar Street

Central 

Hong Kong