Hong Kong - Casa Fina

For the love of just wanting to try something new, and some place which would take us at little notice on a Friday evening, we ended up at Casa Fina.  The fact that we got in without difficulty on a weekend is no reflection of the place.  We decided to eat early and got lucky.  After we settled in, its central location in the heart of Causeway Bay meant that many had to be kept waiting even if they made a reservation.

Oysters were pretty impressive, especially the Black Pearl variety.  I'm no oyster expert but I know what I like.  Not too fleshy but slightly "minerally", with a sweet finish and a nice blend of meat and muscle.  Bingo!  Added bonus: the 1-4-1 promotion makes it a really good deal.

After a cold start, time to warm the tum tum as I ready myself for the main event.  The Cream of Mushroom soup was delightfully fragrant from what I suspect to be a few mushroom types used, sauteed and then pureed down with some good stock.  Given a little lush finish by the drizzle of olive oil, this would warm any heart.

Next up: the baked escargots.  The snails by themselves were pretty ordinary but the bed of mash made this outstanding.  A little lumpy from the fact that this was probably hand mashed rather than through an electric blender, and gives you that pleasant surprise of biting into spud bits.  And lifted by the tomato-based sauce dressing up the other blander items like the lightly sauteed spinach and mushrooms.  The cherry tomatoes were a little too tart for me, and so I avoided them until I remembered Mommy's advice to eat my tomatoes..  but only at the end.

The reason many rave about and come to this place is the Linguini with Foie Gras and Wild Mushrooms.  Despite the generous use of liver, it was not overly greasy and instead lent a wondrously rich taste to both the perfectly al dente pasta and the mushrooms.  The shrooms also had no qualms soaking up the goodness of the liver and the result was an enhanced fatty goodness, highlighting them.  This was well executed for want of a better description since I could very well imagine a botched job would send this review down the tubes so kudos to the boys in the open kitch doing their thing before us.

As far as I can tell, the peeps who dine here order almost the same thing.  So if you like the selection in a vibrant but dimly lit joint that's casual, this is your place.  And if they keep doing that 1-4-1 oyster promo, this could get even more crowded.  Don't forget your reservations.

13/F, Henry House
40-42 Yun Ping Road
Causeway Bay
Tel: +852-2504 2928