More than just seafood

The presentation of the beef tartare deserves thumbs up.

Select ingredients and smart presentation make m eals at Atlantis Blue shine, Donna Mah discovers in Hong Kong.

Located on the seventh floor of a commercial building in Central that is filled with restaurants and bars, Atlantis Blue is a pleasant surprise. The space the restaurant occupies uses mirrors cleverly providing diners with a dining area that feels comfortable and spacious.

The name hints that this restaurant specializes in seafood - and that is the main selling point - but the restaurant actually serves more than just delicacies from the sea. Atlantis Blue prides itself on providing an "urban dining" experience that is casual and relaxed with a high-quality level food at reasonable prices.

We managed to try a number of the signature dishes, starting with the oyster shooters. There were two flavors on offer - Virgin Mary and volcano dashi with bird's-eye chili. The creamy fresh oyster with the saltiness of the sea water blends well with the juicy blend of tomato and celery in the Virgin Mary. The more delicate volcano shooter, my personal preference, allows for more of the fresh oyster flavor to shine through. Both shooters are available at market price.

The yellowtail (hamachi) ceviche with soy chili yuzu kushyu sauce (HK$140) is a light and delicate dish that uses Japanese ingredients including yuzu-pepper, mirin, sake and soy sauce that complement and bring out the flavor of the fresh yellowtail. The yellowtail is thinly sliced rather than cut up into small chunks, and it has good mouthfeel.

For a decent sampling of the fresh seafood on offer, order the seafood platter (HK$788, serves two). While the Sicilian red prawns in this selection are a stunningly bright red color with delicious, slightly salty sweet meat, the creamy rich roe in the prawns is the star of this dish. The platter also contained oysters, scallops, yellowtail sashimi, sea whelks and clams, but it varies depending on what is in season. The platter comes with a selection of sauces, and the must-try is the Thai-inspired sauce made with lemongrass and lime.

The hawthorn puree served with the French quail with Japanese plum wine (HK$180) entree has been revised and reworked about two dozen times to attain just the right level of sourness, according to the restaurant's product development manager, Angelo Cheung. The acidity of the sauce helps to balance the rich fattiness of the quail.

Atlantis Blue serves a foie-gras dish that is deep-fried rather than pan-fried. The melt-in-your-mouth foie gras is encased in a crunchy polenta crust and served with sweet fresh figs and a balsamic vinegar reduction. The dish is well-presented and the figs were delicious. For those who prefer to eat lighter fare, this dish is not for you.

If there were a cutest dish award it would definitely go to the beef tartare served here. The chef serves the US beef mince decorated with two homemade crispy bread "cows" and some arugula "grass". Two thumbs up for the presentation. The taste and texture were also good and I would order this dish again.

If you love raw oysters, check out the raw bar here, where you can enjoy fresh shucked oysters at your leisure.

IF YOU GO

Atlantis Blue

Address: 7/F, M88, 2 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Tel: 852-2521-6699

Average cost: HK$500-700 ($64090), plus 10 percent service charge

Recommended: Seafood Platter, Oyster Shooters, Beef Tartare, Yellowtail Ceviche