Friday, January 10, 2014

January 10th 2014: Tapas Dinner at Tornado Restaurant and Lounge, Malden

Today after work, I decided to meet up with my friend for dinner at a newly opened tapas place, the Tornado Restaurant and Lounge, located in the town of Malden.

To be honest, I was expecting a really upscale place, so I was a little disappointed to see that it was not the case. I could only hope that the food was much better. We decided to get several small dishes first, getting the Fish Tacos (Romaine, chili aioli, charred tomato salsa, Cabot clothbound cheddar),

the Pork Confit (Blood orange, pickled radish, crispy sweet potato, plum sauce),

the Oysters Rockefeller (Garlic-shiitake aioli, fresh micro herbs, smoked sea salt),

the Ahi Tuna Ceviche (Thai coconut vinaigrette, lemongrass, ginger),

the Prosciutto and Melon (Smoked sea salt)

and the Unagi (BBQ eel, pickled green apple, lemon aioli, purple rice, Sturgeon caviar).

while the tuna was really fresh and tasty with that Asian flair again. The melon was a little disappointing, because it looked more like the oranges that some Chinese restaurants give out at the end of meals, although it wasn't too bad with the prosciutto. The Unagi was the best made dish of the lot, firstly in terms of presentation, but more importantly, all the ingredients coming together really well. The fish tacos were excellent and crispy, using wonton skin with an Asian zing to it. The pork felt a little strange as the flavors from all the ingredients were pretty diverse. It was best when I first ate the pickle, then the pork, which was a little salty. The oysters were typical, nothing too out of the ordinary,

Unfortunately, most of the portions were so small that my friend and I were still hungry, so we decided to get the Pan Seared Duck Breast (Grilled artichoke hearts, mango purée, red wine reduction). As we ordered it late, however, it took quite a while to come.

It was just alright to me, mainly because the duck felt a little overcooked and dry to me, although it was just fine for my friend. She felt that the artichokes were overcooked, while I thought that that was how the chef probably meant for the dish, with the artichokes being pretty soft.

As the dish had arrived late, the restaurant decided to give us two shots of the Minty Lychee Martini (House infused lychee Absolut vodka, St. Elder liqueur, lime juice).

The drink felt like cough drops to me, although it was fine by my friend who drinks a lot. We still were not satisfied, so we decided to get the Key Lime Tart (Yuzu crème fraîche, lemon biscotte crumble, pistachio gelato) for dessert.

The tart was exactly that, pretty tart, though still really good. I only did not like the yuzu creme, which always has that weird taste at the end.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal, and definitely recommend giving it a try, even though the ambience is not as good as the food. Just don't get the melon.

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