Casa owner Naz Farah with chaat bombs
Casa Tapas Bar, owned by James Bradshaw and Naz Farah, can claim with justification to be the best-value-for-money Western restaurant in Sai Kung. James told BUZZ that after he returned from two years in the UK looking after his sick mother, he found “everywhere’s got too expensive. I didn’t want to go out.” As an experienced entrepreneur, James decided he would do something about it. Hence a rebirth of Casa Tapas Bar….
Casa Tapas Bar at 5 Sha Tsui Path, Sai Kung
The food at Casa is small-plate Spanish-style tapas with an Asian twist. Some signature dishes:
- PERI PERI CHICKEN TACOS: “I took Naz (the couple married five years ago) to the UK and she couldn’t stand the food. I took her to Nando’s and she loved the peri peri chicken. So she made it over and over until she made it better.” It’s red cabbage and coriander with spiced chicken. $70 for two pieces and $95 for three.
- TANDOORI MUSHROOMS: “This is an interesting vegetarian dish with Indian influence.” Oyster mushrooms with tandoori masala, chili sauce, and chives. $55.
- CHAAT BOMBS: “Southeast Asian street food.” Stuffed crispy dough balls with spiced daal, salsa, and sweet chilli and tamarind sauce. $85.
- CURRY POUTINE FRIES: “The best curry in the world is rendang. With chips, they go magically together.” Pulled lamb rendang curry with mozzarella, coriander, and homemade fries. $75.
To round off a lovely meal Casa-style, you can treat yourself and party to Homemade Chocolate Orange — cake with orange zest and chocolate – $75; or Carrot Cake — with heaps of ginger and mascarpone icing – $75.
Casa owner and husband of Naz, James Bradshaw
Drinks at the Restaurant of Naz and James are similarly easy on the pocket: $30 at Happy Hour for a pint of Beck’s beer, wheat beer, or a glass of Pinot Grigio or Montepulciano. Happy Hour runs all day Monday to Friday and 3:00 -6:00 pm on the weekends. Drink prices are $40 at regular hour.
Almost every day when Casa is open (noon to 11:00 pm), you will find Naz and James at the restaurant. They are among the friendliest restaurant hosts in town. Naz often turns on her “Naz fashion show”: she’s a stylish dresser. Also, you are likely to see Shayan, 17, and Ryu, 10, her kids from a previous marriage.
Ryu helps to promote his Mum and Dad’s restaurant
James expresses frustration about the Food and Environmental Health Department. “It’s ludicrous. Constant harassment two or three times a week.” James says outside the front door of Casa he has the right to put tables and chairs for two-and-a-half metres. “They prosecute us for using this seating. Because of complaints from competitors. They tell us what we can and cannot have on our menu. They threaten to close us down for cooking our own spaghetti or making burger patties ourselves. Meatballs we have to buy in ready made they say. At the former Casa in Hoi Pong Square, FEHD took us to court. We had to hire a barrister which cost the landlord $250,000. The FEHD has a vendetta against us. We will have to go to court again to defend our rights. What will the judge say when he sees their ridiculous statements about what we can and cannot have on our menu!”
“The FEHD dictate to us what food we can serve,” James said. “Spaghetti has to be supplied from outside pre-packaged, meatballs have to be tinned, burger patties have to be imported. We can sell lamb shoulder but as soon as we put it in bread we can’t sell it because everything in bread has to be ready made. We can sell steak if it comes with rice but not if it is in bread. I laughed at them. So stupid.” The menu as marked up by FEHD.
James is a determined entrepreneur, the type who will always succeed because they never give up. He has created four businesses in Sai Kung: the original Casa at Hoi Pong Square, Winerack, Cena Cafe in Sai Kung (which he sold five years ago) and 2084, now renamed Casa Tapas Bar.
Click here for more information on Casa Tapas Bar, 5 Sha Tsui Path, Sai Kung, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Be the first to comment