Seattle, WA
During the Easter long weekend holiday, W and I went down to Seattle for a short trip and also to celebrate a friend's birthday. Since the birthday gal and her husband lived in Seattle, they knew all the cool and popular places to go. They took us and a whole bunch of friends to dinner at RockCreek Seafood & Spirits, a restaurant that does small sharing plates of pacific northwest cuisine.
Since there were about a dozen of us, we got to have the private party room upstairs. It was a really nice room with skylights and a window that opened to the dining area below.
Oyster Shooter ($9) - sake, ginger, ikura, shiso leaf
To get the party started, we all had an oyster shooter! I'm not a big fan of sake so I did not actually "shoot" it down. However, I thought the salty, briny oyster went quite well with the cold and sweet sake. Having a fresh shucked oyster with a chiffonade shiso leaf was a first and I loved the combination! It made the whole package a lot more fragrant.
Poached Albacore Tuna ($13) - shaved fennel, chickpeas, celery, lemon-anchovy vinaigrette, soft boiled egg
After the shooters, the sharing plates began rolling in. This salad was absolutely delicious! I just wanted to eat the whole bowl myself! The savoury vinaigrette was light and just enough to coat the greens. The chickpeas and tuna chunks lent a meaty texture to the salad while the creamy soft boiled egg melded all the components together.
Barbecued Alaskan Octopus ($14) - fingerling potatoes, olives, cannellini beans, arugula, olive aioli
The barbecued octopus was also another dish that wowed all of us. Sometimes, cooked octopus can be quite chewy and unforgiving to eat. However, this one was cooked just right. It was soft and tender but with hints of crisp edges from being grilled. YUM! The beans and potatoes, though seeming odd co-stars with the octopus, was actually yummy on its own due to the olive aioli.
Barron Point Manila Clams ($14) - Mexican chorizo, coriander, sherry, chickpeas, grilled bread
The clams did not give me as big of an impact as the salad and octopus did, mainly because I sort of knew what flavours to expect from the description. Still, it was a yummy bowl of steamed clams! The sauce was the kind you'd want to mop up with some soft bread :)
Baked Barron Point Oysters 'Brock-a-Fella' ($13) - Nueske's bacon, shallot, thyme, tamarind butter
Next came the baked oysters. As the name suggested, this one was a play on Oysters Rockefeller (though I'm not sure in what way). The bacon gave the oysters a nice smokey aroma while the shallots and butter kept the oyster nice and juicy.
Pastis Baked Oysters ($12) - toasted fennel, garlic, shallot, parsley, lemon, pastis butter
The second type came with a mixture of fennel, garlic, shallot, and parsley butter spread baked on top of the oyster. Compared to the 'Brock-a-fella', this one was a little drier but nonetheless fragrant and savoury.
Hawaiian Tombo Tuna Tartare ($15) - anchovy, lemon, horseradish, quail egg, pickled shallot, rye cracker
I loved the presentation of the tuna tartare! It was so pretty that I was sad to see it all mixed up with with the raw quail egg! I would have liked something a little more sturdier than the rye crisp to go with the chopped tuna though. It was hard to scoop up the mixture with such a thin piece of cracker.
Oysters on half shell
We just cannot have enough oysters! A dozen of freshly shucked oysters arrived. Simple and clean tasting. Good thing W does not like oysters; I was able to take his share!
Wild Mexican Prawns 'St. Helena' ($15) - garlic, thyme, rosemary, lemon, McEwen & Sons grits
A delicious take on the traditional shrimp and grits. The prawns were large and meaty, and cooked to the right doneness. I actually prefer a lot of sauce to go with grits so this one was right up my alley. I swear, all the entree-type dishes were so good that I could eat them all by myself instead sharing them like how they're supposed to haha!
Stewed Halibut, oyster mushrooms
This halibut dish and the grilled pork cheeks were not the regulars on the menu, hence I was not able to get the correct name and description. The umami flavours from the oyster mushrooms and sauce made the silky fish even more flavourful. A bowl of rice to soak up the sauce would have been awesome!
Grilled Pork Cheeks - fennel, salsa verde sauce
The pork cheeks were tender and easy to eat; definitely not an ounce overcooked. The grilled fennel, along with the salsa verde added a nice herbal touch. This was another well-executed dish.
I was really glad that we made the trek down to Seattle or else we wouldn't have got to try out this awesome restaurant! Big thanks to W's friends for bringing us there!!
