In Hong Kong, we don't need to travel too much for a weekend holiday, to the beach, to the mountain, to the seaside resort, are always in about one hour. This time, I went to Discovery Bay, which is featured in a Western style by the looking of buildings and main street. Comparing to Ma Wan where I went a couple weeks before, Discovery Bay offers better quality and richer culinary.
I arrived with my friends around 7pm that night, when the beautiful sunset was taking place. To enjoy a good city weekend, sight-seeing is not enough, it must be with some yummy-candy. Solera, just facing to the ferry pier, was where our stomach and mind would be feed.
The restaurant is spacious in the lieu of beautiful harbor view, and facing to the Lantau Island, there is a free firework show given from Disneyland.
The decoration is quite classic in dark wooden and red. Casual dining and bar, which is served with a crew of experienced Hongkong staff and foreign supervisors. Upon our arrival, the Sunday's bar seats are almost fully occupied. People there, are more relaxing and in a chatting mood than treating their Sunday dinner seriously.
Apart from fruity-sweet non-cocktails such as Fruit Punch and Lychee Cooler, Red/White/Rose Sangria is a must-try drink for its slightly strong flavor of wine which satisfied me and my friends. Besides, I would also recommend a glass of Spanish beer, which was similar to Japanese brew. It tasted light and fresh and was perfect for summer night.
Toasted Farmhouse Bread rubbed with a Tomato Spread $20
Creamed Salt Cod (bacalao) Spring Rolls $38 for 2pcs
Go for a Spanish night, I would give up the normal bread basket and turn to bread-tapas, which was topped with fresh-made tomato spread. Spring Roll was impressive by the warm and creamy fillings in a lighter but fish-featured aroma, and the layers of spring roll skin was just overlapped to a right thickness to stay crispy, existing-in-mouth and still thin.
Jamon Iberico (servied with tomato bread) $270 for 100g / $145 for 50g
The greasy looking of red cold-cute was served with Julian martin Jamon from Guijuelo, Salamanca. It was moisture and oily in an impressive dried salty taste.
Baked Cauliflower in Manchego Cheese cream Sauce $42
Sauteed mixed mushrooms with Sherry $68
Asparagus grilled with garlic, rosemary and lemon $68
The mushrooms were quite good in its juicy taste, even I didn't recognize too much Sherry. Well, personally I liked asparagus more. It was well placed and just a little over-grilled to make some parts darker and softer. The smashed garlic is almost melted on the surface of asparagus while inside it still contained the vege-sweetness.
Creamy croquettes of Iberico Ham served with romescu sauce $58 for 4pcs
I have had good croquettes in Barcelona, and in Hong Kong (Read more about Zafran) and each time the experience is different. So did Solera, which offered the deeper-longer fried croquettes. The fried skin was very thin so that one bite can hit the creamy fillings, which gave a heavy ham taste as I were taking a piece of dried ham.
Prawn sauteed in garlic and chili scented oil $92
I was a little scared by the grilled big-sliced garlic on the top of prawn, but actually it just strengthened the overall taste without taking out the original seafood freshness. The special chili scented oil was the best partner of garlic to bring out more attractive scent.
Grilled Squid with a fresh herb and EVOO sauce $68
It was one of the most eye-catching dishes that night and probably the most exotic one in its sharp green looking. The big-cut squid was grilled in a lighter way so that it didn't lose its juicy and soft texture. To overlook the colorful presentation, the dish tasted quite similar to a raw squid dish by its all-around-juice and fresh sweetness from the sea.
Deep fried squid Andalucian style with smoked paprika allioli $75
Seriously fried into each piece, another squid dish is totally on the opposite to the previous one. The surface was covered with spices and fried powder loosely, and made an adverse taste compared to the tender squid.
Octopus Galician style with potato, pimento powder and olive oil $190 for 200g / $95 for 100g
Continue seafoods, and this time came to the big brother of squid, octopus. It was cooked with pimento powder to give an extra spicy flavor. Different from the chili scented oil used in previous dish, the powder gave a deeper stronger taste without making too much sauce. The flavorful sauce was thicker and acted as a kind of paste on the fresh chewy octopus. And I even could not let those super soft potato go.
Slow cooked Angus beef cheek in sweet and red wine with gooseberry chutney $118 for 4pcs
After the rich seafood dishes, finally we came to land-meat; the first one is Angus beef cheek, cooked in a traditional wine-flavored way which is also popular in French Cuisine. The red wine was perfectly marinated the tenderness and taste of the cheek, plus the slow-cook handing, made the whole dish mouth-melting.
Roasted suckling pig Segovia style, quince allioli and roasted apple $238 per serve / $460 for half / $900 for whole
Suckling pig is always on the list of Spanish dinner, and this one was less in pig aroma, more in fruity sweet. Overall it was made quite well with a crispy and glutinous skin, soft and slightly sweet pig meat. To be specially mentioned, would be the roasted apple which was giving out sweet-sour juice when it was sent into my mouth.
Seafood paella $258
Black ink paella with seafood $268
The paella is absolutely the must-try items from Solera. The authentic flavor was wooed us a lot, especially by the black and green paella. Our teeth were traveling from chewy and firmer Spanish rice to softer and creamier one. Even the difference of sauce differed the taste of seafood paella, which was clearer and lighter of Black Ink Paella, but cheesier and heavier of traditional Seafood Paella.
Crema Catalana $40
Churros with Hot Chocolate $55
Coulant de Chocolate $60
Chocolate-orange Truffles $30 for 2pcs
Coming to the last dessert chapter, we were served with a group of choco-sweets, except the first Crema Catalana, which performed quite similar to creme brulee. The chocolate in main, tasted sweeter but not milky. I would not say the chocolate nor ice cream were Solera's strength, and I was disappointed with the hot chocolate dips for churros, which was weak and thin. I was quite ok with Coulant de Chocolate, which was not melting but mouth-watering by its warm chocolate cake. The Truffles, were a little different with a denser and wet texture and it had the bitterest coco-taste.
* Average $490 per head within service charge.
Solera Spanish Cuisine Concepts
Shop 101, 1/F, Block A, DB Plaza
Discovery Bay
Lantau Island
Hong Kong
+852 2555 0772
Tue to Sun. 12nn - 10.30pm
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