Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 10:30 am
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Pica Pica is a Spanish restaurant in the business district, Sheung Wan in Hong Kong.
Now, on my blog, I tend to focus a lot on dim sum restaurants but that doesn’t mean I don’t try any other cuisines.
I’ve talked about Korean food, Japanese food, and Italian food but today’s focus is on Spanish food.
When I think of Spanish restaurants, it brings back memories from Boston because that’s when I truly discovered how much I like paella.
I wanted to find a place in HK I can revisit whenever my paella craving pops up.
That’s when I found out about the restaurant Pica Pica.
Pica Pica looked good with its high ratings and hundreds of reviews on Google so let’s do it!
Ajillo Prawns
Ajillo prawns is pretty much the same thing as garlic shrimps.
Whenever I go eat at a Spanish restaurant, I almost always order this.
The dish was still bubbling when it came out as you can see in the picture above.
My mom and I were so excited to eat that we practically grabbed a piece of shrimp each the second the waitress put it down on our table.
The flavour was lacking at first bite but it could have been because the shrimp was too hot. Maybe we need to let the shrimps sit in the dish for a bit? Soak up the flavour?
When we tried it again after some time, our opinions did not change.
I thought it would be saltier since one of the main ingredients in this dish is garlic but nope. Couldn’t taste it. It was like eating boiled shrimp.
However, Pica Pica did do one thing right. The shrimps were extremely fresh.
There would be no complaints on my end if they upgraded the shrimp size. Jumbo shrimps would have been nice even if it would means fewer shrimps on the dish. And, of course, adding more flavour to the dish.
Although ajillo prawns is something I will continue to order at any future Spanish restaurant I eat at, it is not something I would order at Pica Pica again.
It’s a pass from me.
Spanish Lazy Omelette
The Spanish lazy omelette wasn’t originally in our order but we got it because of the table next to us did.
The look of the dish caught our attention. It was chorizo on an egg.
I’ve never had anything like that before so we agreed to order one to try.
I thought the omelette would be smooth and fluffy. To my surprise, there were potato chunks inside so the texture was more chewy and grainy.
The chorizo added flavour to the omelette but I was quite taken aback by the texture. It was far from smooth.
The taste was alright but it’s an another no for me because I couldn’t get over the texture.
For others, that could be exactly the reason why they might like this.
It’s a signature dish at Pica Pica too so it must be somewhat popular. They wouldn’t put that title for the omelette for no reason.
Red Prawn Hot Dog
My mom and I really have to thank the table next to us. It was because of them we also got to try the red prawn hot dog.
Its appearance reminded me of a mini lobster roll.
That’s it. That’s when I knew I had to try it.
Okay, I might get a little graphic in the next few sentences so you might want to skip it if you’re squeamish.
The waitress told us to squeeze the shrimp’s head so juice would drip down to the roll. It wasn’t the most pleasing sight but it was fascinating.
The portion size was pretty small so it’s not that suitable for sharing (we did anyway). You can easily finish this in two bites. Since my mom and I shared this, I managed to devour it in one bite.
Like everything ordered here, this dish was fresh. It was also juicy. There was mayo and dried garlic sprinkled on top. It balanced out the shrimp well with the soft bun.
BUT the red prawn hot dog is expensive. It’s HKD 172 for a small little thing. Depending on who you ask, some might not think the price is worth it because it’s also a small portion.
Otherwise, I would recommend this dish to people eating at Pica Pica.
Pica Pica Paella
When it comes to my favourite Spanish dish, paella is the winner. At Pica Pica, they have a paella called Surf &Turf.
The menu wasn’t the most descriptive. There was no ingredients list so we had to ask our waiter what was in it. It’s chicken and seafood.
There’s another dish that’s called lobster and octopus juicy rice. There was some debate between which one to get but we ended up going with the chicken and seafood choice. That’s the best combination in my humble opinion.
There are two sizes you can choose from. We went with the bigger one since our stomachs weren’t full yet from the other dishes.
It was our last chance to fill up our stomachs. Nothing else on the menu called to us so we were hoping with fingers crossed that this was going to be right up our alley.
Did you know ordering paella at a restaurant means you have to wait anywhere between 30-50 minutes for the kitchen to whip this up?
Waiting for the restaurant to make the paella can be a pain but if you’re with the right people, the time will go by pretty quickly.
Once the rice arrived, you wait for the rice to settle in for a bit. The pan is also extremely hot so waiting for it cool down decreases the chances of you accidentally burning yourself (guilty).
Think of using this time to take pictures for social media.
Then, you mix everything up before serving.
Okay, I can officially say Pica Pica’s Surf and Turf dish was well worth the wait.
The chicken bites were tender while the seafood was fresh. The paella was also tasty but not too salty. We finished every last bite of the rice.
Pica Pica Paella Suggestions
Although the paella arrived in a large pan, the portion size was somewhat small.
There weren’t much seafood and chicken. I get that seafood is expensive but Pica Pica only had two shrimps in their paella. That was disappointing.
The rice was only one thin layer that covered the pan. After gobbling it up, my mom and I was like, ‘that’s it?’
The restaurant could have added more food. I bet customers wouldn’t even mind paying a little extra.
Final Notes on Pica Pica
Pica Pica has high reviews on Google. On top of that, my mom has several friends who liked eating here. Naturally, we had higher expectations for this place only for it to fall short.
The food wasn’t cheap either so combined with dishes not suited to our taste and the price, it’s not a restaurant I like enough to come back to a second time around.
In summary, Pica Pica is a restaurant for those who…
- work near the district Sheung Wan
- is looking for a Spanish/Western restaurant (many restaurants nearby seem to be focused on Asian cuisines)
- want a relaxed/casual atmosphere
- don’t mind spending some money on a meal
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xoxo,
Nicole