I know I have been talking about oysters very frequently because I love oysters and tonight I can finally do a review on one of my favorite oyster places in Hong Kong: Su Casa Chilean Oyster Bar. The restaurant itself is not huge in size but it has a cozy environment with a contemporary decor. Please take note that during peak hours, it can get abit noisy but, hey, this is not a hotel establishment, it is a boutique style restaurant which can provide you a great down-to-earth dining experience, at least that's how I feel.
Tonight I went for dinner at Su Casa with two oyster-loving friends to take advantage of their occasional 2-for-1 oysters special. We started with a (1) Oyster Selections - approx. 24 oysters in total, (2) Risotto w/ Scallop in Squid Ink Sauce, (3) Linguine w/ Duck liver & wild Mushroom & (4) Warm Chocolate Pudding.
(1) Oyster Selections
The following were the oysters we ordered with Sea Whelk: South Africa Langebaan, South Africa Rocks, Scottish Gigas, French Fine de Special & Australia Tasmania. [in the order of flavor strength] A total of 24 delicious oysters were eaten, leaving behind smiles on our faces. I have to be honest though, it is really hard to review oysters because it really depends what tickle your taste buds. In my opinion, the key factors are: freshness, flavor in terms of salty or not, texture wise creamy or not and the richness (or sweetness) of the oyster flavor. I personally prefer lightly flavored oysters which are creamy. For the oysters we ordered, most of them were to our liking except for the Australia Tasmania which were creamy but extremely salty as informed by staff (Monica) while ordering. Although it was salty, I have to say that if you try to eat /chew this oyster slowly in your mouth, you would find the taste / flavor to vary abit. It was an interesting oysters to try but it was too salty for my taste bud. Those who prefer their oysters more salty / "sea water taste," do give this a try.
(2) Risotto w/ Scallop in Squid Ink Sauce
This was the first time I try their risotto and it was surprising well prepared. Texture wise it was not as sticky / creamy compared with those from La Taverna, but still very good. Somehow I always consider squid ink (and its resulting dishes) to be tasteless but the way they prepared it added some flavors to the dish. Perhaps the addition wild mushrooms elevated the flavor of the whole dish. O o o o almost forgot about the scallops which were huge and tender, very fresh indeed. I would be pretty happy with the dish without the scallops actually. A thumbs up dish overall!
(3) Linguine w/ Duck liver & wild Mushroom
One of my favourite dishes at this place. Al dente linguine with good quality duck liver was diced up along with wild mushrooms. It tickled my taste bud for sure. However, the dish tonight was abit too rich maybe due to the very fatty duck liver used. In any case, it was a very filling dish indeed. I think the use of linguine for this dish was a smart choice because of the variations of textures among the ingredients such as the semi-chewy mushrooms and the soft duck liver. Also, I think more wild mushroom would better balance the flavors of this dish.
(4) Warm Chocolate Pudding (Molten Chocolate Cake)
I think there is room for improvement for this dessert. Although there was molten chocolate sauce coming out of the cake / pudding once you cut it open, the layer for the cake was too thick. Too much chewing was required. Flavor wise the chocolate sauce was not too rich or sweet which was good.
Tonight I went for dinner at Su Casa with two oyster-loving friends to take advantage of their occasional 2-for-1 oysters special. We started with a (1) Oyster Selections - approx. 24 oysters in total, (2) Risotto w/ Scallop in Squid Ink Sauce, (3) Linguine w/ Duck liver & wild Mushroom & (4) Warm Chocolate Pudding.
(1) Oyster Selections
The following were the oysters we ordered with Sea Whelk: South Africa Langebaan, South Africa Rocks, Scottish Gigas, French Fine de Special & Australia Tasmania. [in the order of flavor strength] A total of 24 delicious oysters were eaten, leaving behind smiles on our faces. I have to be honest though, it is really hard to review oysters because it really depends what tickle your taste buds. In my opinion, the key factors are: freshness, flavor in terms of salty or not, texture wise creamy or not and the richness (or sweetness) of the oyster flavor. I personally prefer lightly flavored oysters which are creamy. For the oysters we ordered, most of them were to our liking except for the Australia Tasmania which were creamy but extremely salty as informed by staff (Monica) while ordering. Although it was salty, I have to say that if you try to eat /chew this oyster slowly in your mouth, you would find the taste / flavor to vary abit. It was an interesting oysters to try but it was too salty for my taste bud. Those who prefer their oysters more salty / "sea water taste," do give this a try.(2) Risotto w/ Scallop in Squid Ink Sauce
This was the first time I try their risotto and it was surprising well prepared. Texture wise it was not as sticky / creamy compared with those from La Taverna, but still very good. Somehow I always consider squid ink (and its resulting dishes) to be tasteless but the way they prepared it added some flavors to the dish. Perhaps the addition wild mushrooms elevated the flavor of the whole dish. O o o o almost forgot about the scallops which were huge and tender, very fresh indeed. I would be pretty happy with the dish without the scallops actually. A thumbs up dish overall!(3) Linguine w/ Duck liver & wild Mushroom
One of my favourite dishes at this place. Al dente linguine with good quality duck liver was diced up along with wild mushrooms. It tickled my taste bud for sure. However, the dish tonight was abit too rich maybe due to the very fatty duck liver used. In any case, it was a very filling dish indeed. I think the use of linguine for this dish was a smart choice because of the variations of textures among the ingredients such as the semi-chewy mushrooms and the soft duck liver. Also, I think more wild mushroom would better balance the flavors of this dish.(4) Warm Chocolate Pudding (Molten Chocolate Cake)
I think there is room for improvement for this dessert. Although there was molten chocolate sauce coming out of the cake / pudding once you cut it open, the layer for the cake was too thick. Too much chewing was required. Flavor wise the chocolate sauce was not too rich or sweet which was good.Likes:
- Fair selection of oysters
- Good / friendly service
- Well prepared pasta dish (linguine)
- Cozy environment
- Lighting too dim
- Music a bit too loud
- Abit noisy during peak hours (as expected)
Su Casa Chilean Oyster Bar
2/F, No.2 Sun Wui Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel: 2805 7031
7 comments:
Jason, I visited Mi Casa in Tai Hang quite frequently when it was under Gary's management. For whatever reason, that changed hands and Gary went on to open Su Casa in CWB and I haven't tried it since. Do you know the reason for the move? Your review whet my appetite and I need to make reservations for tomorrow night.
@Sophia: Thanks for dropping by! Based on my knowledge, the Mi Casa changed hands because Garry wanted to move to a different location, closer to CWB; hence the establishment of Su Casa. Then within a year or so he and his gf (Monica if I recall correctly) opened Casa Fina @ Henry House (CWB). Do give both a try! Garry is usually at Casa Fina while Monica is at Su Casa :)
I love oysters !!! It is about time to head for another oysters feast! Thanks for the reminder :)
Jason
Jason, I went there last night and had a feast on oysters. I also ordered the lamb and the chocolate cake, both were well prepared last night. My only reproach was the unavailability of "normal" untreated bread. Garlic bread and oysters do not go together. I think I will pick up a baguette at DONQ next time and let them charge me a fee. Thanks for the Recco.
@sophia, you are too welcome! I am glad that you had a wonderful oyster feast. Now that you mentioned about the normal untreated bread, I think I will go buy a baguette to go along next time as well. Thanks for your Recco !! :)
I tried Casa Fina sunday night for comparison - it was good. Less loud, better decor and great service. Gary and Monica have a good thing going - reasonably-priced oysters, honest eats, great service. They work hard and their success is well deserved.
@sohpia: So did you bring a baguette at DONQ? HAHA ... I went to Su Casa this past Sat as well and had a wonderful time as always. Too bad they only offer 6 oysters for the Buy 1 get 1 free menu but I am happy with the selection :) They should continue with their good work so we have a place to head to for a relaxing oysters feast whenever we feel like it (which can be quite often in my case) :)
Haha - I didn't bring a baguette as I wasn't sure what Casa Fina's menu would offer.. I ordered the risotto to load up on carbs when I found that they didn't have plain old baguette. Next time, I will call up Gary to check if it is fine with them.
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