El Willy, the new place for tapas

I had been saving El Willy until I was in the mood for Spanish tapas, and tonight was the night. I finished my haircut at Salon Esprit was starving by the time I walked out of Citic Square. It was almost 9:00PM, so I thought it would be safe to try for a table at El Willy. Ever since it opened over a year ago, this restaurant had won numerous awards in the local culinary scene, the latest of which was Runner Up in the annual City Weekend Shanghai Reader's Poll. Sometimes, it's better to have the No.2 headband, as Afro would say.

The restaurant was packed when I got there, and even with a reservation, they could only seat me at the bar. So I put in a request to switch to a table whenever one was available. The menu was very extensive, with lots of tapas and rice dishes. I picked three items from the tapas menu as I was dining alone that night.

The scallop cerviche was very fresh, complimented by crispy shallots, avocado puree and a dash of extra virgin olive oil. It reminded me of an inverted Japanese hand roll I used to eat at Haiku by Hatsune. The gambas was also a winner, with a nice roasted flavor, strong garlic undertones and again, more of those crispy shallots which I believe are more of an Asian influence than a Spanish tradition. 

My third dish was the chicken and lobster Catalonia, served with a nice brown earthy sauce like Bearnaise. The lobster meat at the center of the escaloped meat tasted a little mushy, but otherwise, the flavors were very well balanced and I soaked up the sauce with the bread.

Overall, I was impressed with the food. Definitely worth a second visit with more people so that more dishes could be sampled. I used to like Azul Viva for their tapas, but that was quite a few years ago and the Spanish culinary scene in Shanghai has shifted once again.

Cascal in the valley

It's been at least two years since I last went to Cascal, the Spanish restaurant at the end of Castro St in Mountain View. Unfortunately, the only reason we went there was because Nami Nami was closed on the Monday night we were there. My memories of Cascal were mostly of the amazing sangrias on the menu, but i have to admit the food is pretty decent as well, not the small tapas sizes common in San Francisco, but much larger variety found in the south bay. Quality does not always equal quantity, and there was nothing 'tapas sized' at all with the dishes.

My favorite dish that evening was the Mexico City style beef shortribs, tender, juicy and flavorful, and in some ways reminded me of the Indonesian beef rendang dish. The tuna tartar didn't turn out the way I expected, it didn't look tartar-ish at all. More like a salad, but nonetheless still quite savory and tasty.

Another day, another lunch in SoHo

As I walked along Elgin Street this afternoon looking for a new place for lunch, I came upon a new restaurant that had just opened the day before. The owner beckoned for me to enter, and seeing that they probably needed my patronage desperately in these hard times, I decided to oblige. La Luna is yet another Spanish restaurant in this stylish food street off SoHo in Hong Kong. The interior decor was warm and earth-toned, but didn't suggest anything Spanish about the establishment, so I was hoping the food would be the highlight.

I ordered the set lunch, consisting of a tuna salad, and a roasted chicken. Both dishes were well prepared, but nothing spectacular, in fact, they tasted a bit like standard hotel fare. But then again, this was lunch, perhaps dinner would be a whole different matter altogether. It's unlikely that I'd return though, if I wanted Spanish, there are better options in SoHo.