Eric H.
Yelp
Came here for a dinner during restaurant week, and opted to get their 4 course meal, which consisted of their Olives in Kimchi, Rice Croquettes with Salmon and Wasabi Sauce, Pasta Carbonara, and Pavlova with Sorbet. They have their own parking lot that surrounds the restaurant.
I ordered an "Aloe, Bergamot, Passionfruit" lemonade. It was rather sweet. The base reminded me of those bottled aloe vera drinks. However, it was carbonated, and had a bit of passionfruit and bergamot sourness incorporated in it, but not enough to overcome the sweetness. I think diluting the sweetness down would help.
The portions in their four course meal were large enough to be quite shareable. If I were to reorder, I'd probably just order one of their 4 course meals and choose a few more items from their menu for increased menu coverage.
The Kimchi Olives were slightly crunchy, not sour, and had a nice slight saltiness to them, and were not bitter. In a way they were slightly sweet. I'm not exactly sure what variant of green olives they use, but they were large-ish olives with big pits that are relatively easy to clean off. They seem to have been soaked in kimchi juice. They were nice to snack on, and I can see myself ordering them again.
The Rice Croquettes came topped with raw salmon, topped with some type of sauce and seasoned nicely what seemed to be salt, toasted rice, seaweed, and other dried herbs. An order of them comes with 4 croquettes. Each croquette is approximately 2-3 bites, so one or two croquettes would be fine as a snack; all four would be reasonably filling. The despite the sauce being labeled as "wasabi sauce", it didn't seem to contain wasabi per lack of a nasal reaction. The wasabi / horseradish sensation appeared to come from the green leaves dispersed within the croquettes themselves. Within each one was rice, cheese, and what seemed to be mustard leaves. Overall, the croquette+salmon combo were tasty and very shareable, although undoubtably a heavy fried and starchy food.
The Pasta Carbonara came on warm plates. I felt this pasta was under seasoned and a bit bland. Yes, there were crispy bits of salted pork, but not enough flavor from those or other seasonings. The pasta itself was just fine, creamy, and bland. I would not order this again.
The Pavlova with Sorbet was interesting. It was presented with the thick shell on the bottom filled with coconut milk, then topped with lime sorbet, which themselves were straddled with candied orange peel, surrounded by pieces of grapefruit. Honestly, the pavlova (specifically the shell) was very sweet. Of course, they do need to use sugar with the eggs whites to ensure structural integrity of the shell. However, the sweetness tended to overwhelm flavors the chef was likely trying to incorporate into the dessert. For example, I had a difficult time detecting the coconut flavor in the filling while at the restaurant, even though I had surmised it was a coconut milk filling. Only after trying the leftovers at home was I able to confirm the coconut flavor. The sorbet was refreshing, but did little to dilute the sweetness of the shell. If the lime flavor was slightly more forward, and if the candied orange peels were more acidically prominent, I think this would have helped counteract the sweetness. As for the grapefruit, I felt it did not aid in the dessert. You have something sweet which just makes grapefruit taste more bitter. It's similar to drinking milk and eating grapefruit at the same time, albeit less intense. So for this pavlova, definitely tone down the sugar, up the orange and lime flavors, and possibly tweak the filling to make the coconut flavor more apparent. I think that would make the dessert more enjoyable.
Service was friendly enough. They cleared plates and brought fresh utensils periodically. Seating wise, there is one half of the restaurant that is more dimly lit. The area by the bar has a warmer feel.
