Alma had been on our list after positive mentions on this board and also the Michelin rec. So we finally went with a friend. Our overall impression was very good. Dishes were well-executed, tasty, and excellent for sharing. There was a nice melding of Asian flavours and formats with some European ingredients and ideas. And yet, we never quite had a “wow” moment that would put Alma on our must-go-back list. By contrast, Dailo covers similar territory and yet keeps us returning periodically.
We had a couple of wines by the glass:
- Cantina Giardino Bianco, Fiano, Campania, Italy, 2022 - nutty, some tropical notes
- Cinque Campi, Fuorleggero, Lambrusco, Emilia Romana, Italy, 2023 - lots of strawberry
We started with sweet Hokkaido scallops, sliced jalapeños, pickled turnip, in a marinade of fish sauce, lime, and cilantro oil - lovely and fresh.
Parmesan tapioca fritters were tasty, umami-rich cakes, nicely fried without excess oily residue, and capped with chive aioli.
Scallion bao were fairly standard, with the twist of creamy stracciatella cheese to smear on then.
Radish cakes were also fairly standard and well-executed, with the enhancement of some plums and garlic chive dollops on top.
Beet salad was a nice simple mix of sweet beets, ricotta, Thai basil, and lots of hazelnuts.
Pork wonton with noodles is supposedly one of their top sellers and was certainly pleasant enough. The wontons still had good bite to the wrappers and the filling inside was tasty. The chewy noodles were stir-fried with some bok choy, soy sauce, and black pepper. But we weren’t sure what we were paying the $35 for.
Better was the riff on nasi goreng, enhanced with lightly cooked squid and lots of cashews.
A highlight was the sesame crusted rainbow trout, which was perfectly cooked and came over coco beans and a vibrant sauce spiked with morita chilis.
Also very good were wok fried mustard greens with garlic, which we topped with Lapcheong sausage made from duck.
For dessert, we tried two both of which were quite good:
- An airy cruller, topped with just-sweet-enough miso caramel ice cream.
- Coconut crepe brulee, with a tangy passionfruit caramel and peanuts.
