Food review: Zurriola in Tsim Sha Tsui

I was distinctly worried when I entered the modern Spanish restaurant Zurriola - one of the three establishments in The One shopping centre owned by actress Carina Lau Kar-ling (the others are the casual Spanish, Tapagria, and the Japanese Kyo-Shun, all on the same floor).

Around 7.30pm, I was the only customer, and the situation remained that way until my guest arrived around 15 minutes later. During the entire evening, there were only about five tables of diners in the small, split-level space, which has high ceilings, a good view (on a clear day) of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island, and paintings of matadors.

People can't be avoiding the place because of the food; we enjoyed everything we ordered. It's more likely the prices. Our meal was about HK$965 per person, without drinks or the service charge, although of course, there are many other restaurants that charge even more for cooking that isn't always as refined as at Zurriola. Although the service got off to a shaky start, as soon as we showed interest in the food, our main waiter became more enthusiastic.

We told the staff that we would be sharing everything, and some of the dishes were plated separately by the kitchen, and the meal was served at the right pace.

Pan-seared Hokkaido scallops with Mallorca-style sobrasada chorizo emulsion (HK$240) was excellent. The lightly seared scallops were thick and moist, and their inherent richness was balanced by the spiced sausage. My only complaint about the Spanish saffron bomba rice with red prawns and calamari (HK$330) was that the prawns were missing their heads. Other than that, it was a lovely dish: the rice and prawns were perfectly cooked, and the broth had a light texture and intense flavour.

The skilful cooking continued with our main courses. Fried amadai (HK$490) had shatteringly crisp crunchy scales, and the sauce - made of Spanish apple cider - didn't overwhelm.