Those traipsing through Tsim Sha Tsui looking for a pub meal and a pint would be glad to stumble on La Tasca Spanish tapas bar. But the name is about as Spanish as this cheerful, welcoming open-fronted bar gets. 'Tapas' are little dishes served before meals in Spanish taverns and there are as many variations as there are cooks in Spain. Tapar means 'to cover' and the first tapa was a slice of ham served on top of a sherry glass, reportedly to keep out the flies. Bartenders discovered the saltiness of the ham spurred beverage sales, and a tradition was born. Spaniards go to bars to converse, join friends, argue, joke and flirt, much as elsewhere, and tapas are provided to keep them going. They are rarely eaten in lieu of a main meal. A Monday night visit found this TST tapas bar filled with people behaving much like their Spanish counterparts, except the locals vanished like magic at 9.03pm once happy hour ended at 9pm. Seating was either at tables or on bar stools and tapas seemed the obvious choice. The helpful staff provided explanations and, from a long list, we chose spicy potatoes; which sounded exotic but in reality was big chips with spicy tomato sauce: neither too spicy, nor too Spanish ($45). Prawn croquettes tasted more like pumpkin than prawns, but were curiously more-ish ($50). Squid with garlic sauce hit the spot with its tangy sauce ($38). These three were a meal in themselves, and paid at least some homage to Catalonia, unlike the main courses, which owed more to pub grub. Pollo al est ($75) was half a chicken, Spanish-style, which meant dunked in the deep fryer. It was nevertheless tender, tasty and served with salad, but lacked any sauce. Bistec de cerde de la Catalan, or pork fillet Catalan-style ($85), arrived with a 'Robert' sauce, best described as shiny and brown, which did little to tenderise the pork. Sticking to tapas and Cruzcampo beer ($28) and either a Rives apple, cinnamon or peach schnapps at $24 seemed the best option. This is the sister operation to the nearby Biergarten and also to Bit Point in Lan Kwai Fong, hence the range of excellent schnapps. The unnamed house wine was bland and, at $35 per glass, beers were better value. There were only three desserts and we chose leche frita, a fried custard square that lived up to its name and tasted, well, fried. The bill for three tapas, two main courses, one dessert and several drinks came to a very reasonable $560. 8 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2723 1072. Open: noon till 'the last customer leaves'. $$$
