22 Ships, Ship Street, Wan Chai

Food evokes memories. Or it certainly does for me, not all food mind, but certainly exceptional food and in equal measure so does miserable food. Roast chicken on Sunday adored by all the family after Mass, cooked by one’s mother of course. No one quite does a Sunday roast like it. Fish and Chips on the North Norfolk coast in winter. Norfolk is utterly perfect in winter I would take it over the overcrowded summer months every time. The first game of the season, all deep flavoured and enjoyed with an ale. The waft of bacon and eggs cooked after a depleted nights sleep courtesy of too many drinks.

I bring this up because for me Spanish food, enjoyed in the Southern coast, brings up particularly fine memories. Such recollections are filled with images of food whether it be paella and the inevitable scramble to get to the crispy bits at the bottom of the pan, fresh pawns smothered in oil and garlic, tiny baby squid, crisp fried, drenched in lemon and dredged through aioli. All very happy. I bring this up as this particular piece of writing looks at Jason Atherton’s 22 Ships, located on Ship Street. A Spanish tapas bar that does not quite elicit those memories, but if I were served food like this on holidays I would certainly not complain.

On a quick side note I did not touch on miserable food memories, mainly from school, as much better writers have spent substantial time and effort discussing.

22 Ships is pared back, high stools around an open kitchen or window table, and the food is aimed to be shared. We started with white Sangria which slipped down far too well on a Friday after work.

Table mats are menus but keep an eye on the specials board which is where The Scot and I found the ham croquettes. Traditional Spanish in style made without potatoes, crisp on the outside fluffy within and with salty jamon running through them. Moorish as one pleases.

What goes better with croquettes, more croquettes of course. Or at least what 22 Ships calls Duck Doughnuts but as our waitress pointed out they are in fact croquettes. Slow cooked duck surrounded by potatoes, breaded and deep fried… not going to complain about this. Pick between the two you may ask. The Scot and I both resoundingly chose the jamon version, not that we would complain if were presented with piles of both these little morsels.

We picked our way through a toastie next, more specifically a jamon (not a believer in too much of good thing) manchego and truffle one crowned with a delicate quails’ egg. Dinner so far definitely seemed to be things that were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. Starting with the manchego cheese which tickles the roof of your mouth, complimented by the saltiness of ham and finishing with the all enveloping aroma of truffle. Usually I’m not a massive fan of this ‘diamond of the kitchen’ and find it over powering but here it was used sparingly.

One slight gripe before moving onto more is that we've eaten at the sister restaurant, Ham and Sherry, where both the jamon croquette and toastie are served. If not the same recipe then very, very similar. Croquettes are priced at 58 bucks in Ham and Sherry compared to 22 Ships where I recall them being considerably more. But perhaps this was because the toastie in 22 Ships is 58 bucks and in Ham and Sherry it is 98…. Will leave that thought here.

Buttery mash topped with slow cooked egg and Morella sausage is a cause of concern for health fanatics but a wondrous pile of oozy and sumptuous delicious for everyone else. If this is a breakfast dish I would be amazed how anyone continues with their day.

Suckling Pig and Pineapple is so much more then it appears on the menu. Crackling like glass, pork that falls apart in ribbons, charred pineapple to add smokiness and apple puree to aid in the sweetness of the pork. Your potential fear of being too sweet is negated through the addition of peppercorns. Honestly, there is nothing ground breaking going on with this dish, nothing which is going to turn the gastronomic community on its head, but it is gob smackingly good cooking. Every plate, bowl and finger was licked clean.

Sadly, to end on a sad note was the seafood paella which lacked the crispy base of a long cooked paella (almost certainly premade and re heated) and tried to make up for it with crispy bacon. The top half was the traditional golden yellow associated with paella and the bottom I think had squid ink added in. Separately, both delicious but combined I wasn’t a great fan, I felt there was too much going on at once.

22 Ships is one of favourite supper spots, the sort of place to watch the chefs plate the food all night whilst being fawned over by the fastidious waiting staff. Although it didn’t conjure up child hood memories in Spain, the food served is more than good enough to create new ones.

Adios,

The Galloping Ginger

22 Ships

Ship Street

Wan Chai

https://www.22ships.hk/