La Rambla By Catalunya (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Central's notoriously competitive dining scene welcomes another new warrior this week. Taking up the space vacated by the relocation of Isola Bar & Grill at IFC Mall, La Rambla aims to take modern Spanish cuisine to new heights.



In case you're wondering, La Rambla is a new concept brought to us from the folks behind Catalunya, the fine-dining Spanish restaurant in Wanchai who opened doors on Oi Kwan Road more than 5 years ago. Before checking out the food menu of this brand new restaurant, it was time to first admire the harbour view from the ceiling-to-floor windows.



Too bad renovation work was still underway on the terrace so I didn't get the chance to check it out personally.



La Rambla’s kitchen is helmed by Spanish chef Ferran Tadeo, who previously worked at el Bulli and Minibar by Jose Andres. So, a bit of molecular twist perhaps?

Lunch at La Rambla is a semi-buffet affair (unless you choose onion soup over chef Ferran Tadeo's "appetizer spread") where one will find some of the finest Catalan classics including bread, salad, Iberico ham, cheese and various kinds of anchovies.



I first checked out this counter in the middle of the restaurant with different kinds of Iberico cured meat and chorizo.



I guess I couldn't go wrong with the 5J Iberico ham, which is one of the finest Spain has to offer.



The salad bar was really amazing. Special highlights included the giant green asparagus poached and served with a black truffle mayo. 



Esqueixada, a traditional Catalan dish with salt cod fish, tomato, onion, olive oil and vinegar was another good way to start off the meal, along with the scallop salad sitting right next to it.



It's my second dish already and I wasn't slowing down a bit!!!



For my main course, I had a choice between pan-fried monkfish, sautéed red prawn, grilled tenderloin and Spanish paella. And I went with the traditionally cooked paella.



The paella was served on a sizzling hot pan, with pieces of calamari rings on top. Initially, I was curious in how they worked their magic with paella and Hokkaido scallop together. Would there be something innovative in play? Now, I know~

I thought the paella was seriously good (but the one at now-defunct Numero 15 was better) but I was a little disappointed to see that the Hokkaido scallop was simply cooked with olive oil and garlic chip on top of the rice. I guess I was expecting too much from something that was meant to be simple yet tasty.



Dessert was freshly made churros served with chocolate sauce and vanilla whipped cream.

I felt like I have just put on a few pounds after this meal. The appetizer bar was definitely the highlight of the meal and the paella was fairly decent. Now, I better spend some time to walk off my belly fat. Perhaps running around this space station could do the trick for me. 







Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: S3071-73, Level 3, IFC Mall, Central, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Hong Kong Station / Central
Tel: +852 2661-1161
Website: www.larambla.hk