Sunday, June 29, 2014

Element on Tras

C says:

Element on Tras, at Amara Hotel, is an annexe of sorts to Element, which is the hotel's buffet restaurant. At Element on Tras, you can order a la carte from the Chinese, Thai and Spanish sections of the restaurant.

The Spanish kitchen is helmed by Basque chef Mikel Badiola, who used to cook at Martin Berasategui in San Sebastien. We only tried the tapas rather than the main courses, but those were more than enough to impress.



Definite must-haves are the mushroom brochette, and the bacalao bechemal stuffed in piquillo peppers. The flavours were strong but not overly assertive, and overall just very refined.



The tortilla was quite a substantial portion, and while I appreciate that it was well executed, with a nice still-runny centre, I found it slightly underseasoned, and it needed the sauce from the bacalao. The grilled octopus with potatoes and pimenton was simple but very good.


The Basque fish soup was a winner for me. The flavours were again restrained but still very complex, and there were generous portions of perfectly cooked, moist codfish inside. I would be happen to return just for this dish.

The menu is still quite limited, and we've probably ordered most of the highlights of the tapas/pinxtos section, but there's still the main courses to be explored.

A says:

I went in with very high expectations so perhaps it's not fair when I wasn't impressed. Honestly speaking though, the food is still very good food. And I must mention the amazing service.

Having tried the buffet as well, I would say ala carte is the recommended option here.

Element on Tras
100 Tras Street
Tel: 6879 2607
Sunday – Thursday / Public Holiday: 11am - 1am
Friday, Saturday, Eve of Public Holiday: 11am - 2am