I had heard that DiverXO would be a cool experience but purposely didn't do too much research…read morebecause I like the element of surprise. From the giant ant sculptures on the stairs to the pig figurine on the table, I knew I was in for a fun experience even before the meal started.
Each table has a sheer curtain around it, so you get a little more privacy, and the chairs are luxurious pink leather arm chairs that keep you comfortable for the lengthy meal.
They had an extensive wine list with a lot of champagnes at reasonable prices, and I just can't pass up a chance to have good champagne, so we ended up with a bottle.
Each course comes with a paper explaining the concept, creation, and exclusion of the dish, which is very cool, especially as the dishes are all unique takes on traditional classic Asian flavors.
1. Kohlrabi milk laksa with galangal, slow braised ox tongue, tapioca pearls, trout roe, Madagascar vanilla
2. Motril prawn yakitori skewer with black pepper crab
3. Crispy fried prawn head
4. Char grilled hake kokotxa (cheek) with herb pil pil, roasted green tomato, Indian chutney, garam masala
5. Silky ramen XLB: of gallo de mos topped with fermented crab paste, pickled shiitake, tea smoked quail egg, emulsified soup from roasted bones
6. Frozen oriental ceviche: olive, sundried tomatoes, bluefin tuna, steamed Galician cockles, kaffir lime, topped with leche de tigre and fried corn nuts, purple shiso leaves
7. Sopa de aleta de tiburon: chicken and jamon broth base (cooker for 48 hours), "wontollini" (wonton + tortellini), "shark fin", dongpo (slow cooked for 24 hours), chargrilled chistorra, and a puffed spring roll of fermented crab paste. The shark fin is sustainable from a small shark that's not overfished, and that was legit the best dongpo pork I've had anywhere
8. No es un pad thai: pad thai with prawn powder, peanut ice cream powder, tom yum foam, chili paste, kaffir lime powder, crispy onion, Galician clam, cured duck egg yolk, rice paper sheets. There's also coconut ice milk powder at the base to cut the richness in between the bites. On the side is a young coconut meat skewer with Spanish fried corn
9. Bun cha Kagoshima: homemade buckwheat soba, acidulated chargrilled tomato consommé, tomburi (mountain caviar), 10 different herbs, white prawn tempura, Kagoshima Wagyu, char grilled Galician blonde beef burger with marrow. I could drink that consommé all day
10. Salsa XO: Iberian XO vs traditional Cantonese XO. The Iberian version using Galician scallops - cooked in wine, dehydrated, rehydrated with XO sauce. Hen and white prawn veloute, manzanilla wine reduction, stir fried vegetables, reverse fried oil of gochujang, ginger, sesame, spring onions, black garlic, parsley, sea urchin powder. There's a traditional Cantonese version at the end to be poured on a golden pizza crust bread with black olives, pesto, chili infused oil
11. Suquet sudado: with aji mirasol, baby cuttlefish, red mullet, kimchi, with an accompaniment of ice cream made from the suquet's sofrito, saffron mayo, brown butter foam, warm yellow chilli leche de tigre, crispy fried red mullet scale, baby cuttlefish
12. Char siu pork: wild boar marinated x 24 hours and then sous vided for 72 hours, suckling pig skin (confit and then finished on the plancha), with steamed mushroom bao (injected with mushroom infused cream) and fermented black bean paste, maple leaf, milk skin on the bao
13. Tender peas from Zamora: wok sauteed for 3 seconds; riofrio caviar baked in the tandoor oven; pistachio and japaleño ajoverde; macadamia nut, coconut and horseradish ajoblanco
14. Rescoldo stew: "bottom of the pot" leftovers - partridge green curry, with hints of whiskey and bergamot
15. XO mango sticky rice: Alphonso mango macerated with mango and chili whipped cream, sour cream of rice pudding cooked like risotto, frozen powder of spicy pesto herbs, Indonesian peanut bonbons, crispy mango kakigori
16. Fuerteventura sweet dessert: camel milk and buddhas hand ice cream, miso, galanga, toasted caramel chocolate
17. Japanese bonbons: various mochis - cookies and cream with a mini croissant, sweet popcorn and pistachio with Thai chili, baklava mochi, "tiramisu," and a waffle with gianduja, salted caramel, crunchy waffle, confit ginger
I don't care for fusion that's westernized, but the most impressive thing from chef David Muñoz is that he gets each individual complex dish's flavors exactly on point, while using local Spanish ingredients and putting creative spins on everything. We were truly blown away by the flavors and conception of each dish. This is some of the most impressive and creative but on point cooking I've had. All the hype is well deserved.