We headed to the Wharf last night to meet a friend for dinner and chose KALIWA as we had heard so many great things about this fusion restaurant created by Chef Cathal Armstrong, whom we have known for decades!
The place is fun with great decor of hanging basket lamps, some really cute fun animal paintings (the lion has pentagonal sequined glasses) and an almost Middle Eastern feel with cushioned banquettes and low chairs. Our server Ivan was super helpful and when we told him we wanted to have starters first then wait, it was a wise move as the dishes can be filling. We love spicy food and drinks and the IS IT SPICY? will get your taste buds going as it packs a punch with Casamigos Jalapeno Tequila with Hellfire Bitters, Lime & Pratt Standard Prickly Pear to cut the spice; think sweetish but spicier!
We shared three starters and love d the LUMPIA SPRING ROLLS fried crispy with shrimp & pork and sitting on a bed of sweet and sour sauce. General Tso's Cauliflower is a superb veggie dish with a hint of spice but the description says "CRISPY," and this seemed more like cooked with a slight char. Our least favorite was the STEAK TARTARE (a dish we all were immediately drawn to when the menus arrived) mainly due to the sinewy texture. The dish had great flavors going for it with an egg yolks sauce, sesame, gochuchang, honey and green onion, but we could not get past the large amount of sinew in the meat giving it a gloppy or clumpy texture. It comes with beautiful large house made potato chips and one was actually quite soggy; a downer.
The wine list here is simple and could use some more choices as there are 6 whites(1 rose in that count), 3 reds and 5 bubbly, all available by the glass or bottle; we went for a Cloudy Bay New Zealand 2023 Sauvignon Blanc which was great with the spices.
We decided to split two main courses and one salad which was a great move. The Galbi Fried Rice is filling and comes with yummy Kimchi Fried Rice, sesame oil, egg and pieces of grilled ribs in the rice; we loved it. Similarly, the BULGOGI CAESAR was a huge hit with Kimchi Caesar dressing, yummy, fried wonton croutons, parmesan and chunks of bulgogi beef. The Crab & Shrimp Curry was also delicious but had only two shrimp and some pieces of crab and was mostly sauce...great on the rice, but more like a curry bisque than a main dish. We were all full and could not even consider dessert. I'd love to give Kaliwa a return visit, especially for that salad and rice, but need to avoid the steak tartare!
