Boqueria

C and I always have bestie dinner dates and they are something that always puts a smile on my face no matter how bad my day has been :) This date was particularly enjoyable because C was in Singapore for the Golden Week break and I've been dying to update her with all the latest gossip and catch up. I was notified that Boqueria was opened in Hong Kong and I was suspicious of whether this was actually the branch from New York or if it was just the name. C and I were so happy when we found out that this was indeed the same restaurant as the one in New York and actually thought the Hong Kong branch was even better! The restaurant exuded a warm and welcoming feeling, instantly putting you in a social and lively mood. Even though the restaurant had such a festive atmosphere, the noise level was perfectly fine. Service was very good, the servers were friendly and gave us recommendations on which dishes they liked (even though we kept picking exactly the opposite of what one server recommended haha! he seemed a bit unenthused after a while).

Sangria Blanco
Red wine makes me feel like I've been shot by a tranquilizer strong enough to put out a rhino... therefore we opted for the white sangria! The sangria was super refreshing! I liked how there wasn't too much fruit in the mix (I never really eat much of it anyways) and it wasn't too sweet with a tropical burst of fruity flavor. Delicious! 

Pintxos Morunos - Seared Colorado lamb marinated in lemon and cumin, “salsa verde”
The lamb was super juicy and succulent, the meat had great flavor and was cooked perfectly. These glorious chunks of roasted meat was lovingly plopped on top of a chunky slice of crusty bread that was smothered with high quality olive oil and the juices from the lamb. To top it all off, sauteed onions and fresh arugula was added to make the dish pop. The meat was also finished off with a huge dollop of salsa verde, a sauce made with tomatillos, onions, lime juice, peppers, and A LOT of cilantro. Cilantro and I are not friends... but shockingly this actually went really well with the lamb so this is truly a testament to how well the dish was executed and how harmoniously the flavors blended together. This dish was the perfect combination of flavors and textures and I would definitely order it again!

Paleta Ibérica de Bellota - Hand-carved, acorn fed Ibérico ham, aged 28 months
Iberico is another one of my favorite things and unfortunately the iberico here was not up to par! The flavor did not have the love rich fatty taste that C and I love so much. The meat was a bit too tough and did not have that indulgent chewiness. Overall it just lacked that signature depth of flavor but luckily the rest of the meal more than made up for this! 

Patatas Bravas - Crispy potatoes, salsa brava, roasted garlic allioli 
OH MYYY GODDD this was sooo amazingly good! But I'm sure you already knew that from the picture. Glancing at this picture is enough to make me drool all over my keyboard. First of all, I LOVE AIOLI, ever since I went to Barcelona to visit K, I've been obsessed with the sauce from the gods. And some of you may know that I love my fries with mayonnaise, so this was just a even more indulgent version. The potato chunks were cut to the absolute perfect size and fried to the most amazing crispiness while maintaining a lovely fluffiness inside. The flavor was also spot on. The garlic aioli was just delectable, a garlicky creamy sauce to balance out the crispy crunchy potatoes. And of course the pathetic amount drizzled over the dish was not enough to satisfy C and I and we ordered a extra little pot of aioli to dunk our potato chunks in. Glorious!

Cojonudo - Fried quail eggs and chorizo on toast
This dish was probably our least favorite out of all the dishes, but this is not to say it was not good, since we absolutely LOVED all the other dishes. This dish was simply so so. It just tasted like a piece of toast with egg and chorizo… which is what it said it was on the menu (I guess I was expecting something more?). The dish was really straightforward and did not have any surprises. I suppose if you love chorizo this could be something that you would order but next time I will definitely be ordering other dishes that reveal the inspiration and skill of the chef as this dish was just very normal.  

Croquetas Cremosas - Creamy croquettes; three each of mushroom and Serrano ham
Numnumnumss these croquettes were so devilishly good. Okay fine I will admit the picture is not exactly appetizing but believe me these were SO good. The waiter recommend the “Bombas de la Barceloneta” which are beef and potato croquettes with salsa brava and garlic allioli, but of course we opted for the other type of croquette (I think he got tired of recommending after a while since we obviously did not take his advice). The croquettes were beautiful globes of creamy mushroom and ham concoction enveloped in a deep fried crunchy blanket. The filling had a luscious mushroom flavor and although I did not really notice the addition of Serrano ham, the croquettes were delicious enough. I definitely want to return and try out the other croquette because that actually sounds scrumptious as well!

Crema Catalana Clásica - Caramelized creamy custard
This was the perfect sweet ending to our lovely meal. The custard was very smooth and velvety with a rich cream flavor. You can see the little bits of vanilla throughout the custard (the thing that I love about movenpick ice cream!) and the top of the custard was caramelized to result in a crunchy sugary layer. This dish is very similar to crème brûlée but has that extra kick with the addition of lemon zest. The zest was the perfect balance to the lush creaminess of the pudding. C and I happily gobbled down this dessert while smiling like fat little children.

Matching cuppy cake dust plugs :) 

Cute decorations by the entrance

The meal at Boqueria was a great success! C and I loved our meal and have been raving about it to friends. I am definitely going to return to Boqueria again and am even planning to have my birthday dinner here (early planning I know). Unfortunately we decided to try the paella next time when we come with a bigger group since a paella would definitely fill us up and leave no room for more tapas if it was just between C and I! Boqueria is a new favorite of mine and C and I both concluded that this may be the best tapas we've had in Hong Kong! I do hope that Boqueria keeps up the wonderful work and I will definitely be back again!

Boqueria

7/F

LKF Towel

Lan Kwai Fong

Central

Hong Kong

UPDATE: 2nd visit was a disappointment :( review to come soon. Boohoo