QUEMO

Keh mo literally means burning in Spanish, an all-purpose cry in the kitchens and restaurants of Spain that means ‘coming through’, ‘hot stuff’, ‘watch your back’. With fire the essential element in the creation of this Spanish restaurant’s signature paellas and barbacoa specialties, QUEMO in name and deed brings the heat of the Spanish kitchen to Hong Kong’s Queens Road. Tapas dishes, Iberico ham specialities and the full range of paellas, pastas and roasted meat and fish that characterise the cuisine of the region are all available here in the heart of Wan Chai, just a short walk from the MTR. This contemporary oasis provides a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city, with a long bar and generously sized wooden tables perfect for intimate or group dining, with indoor and outdoor private function capabilities to boot.

See below for QUEMO’s special wine-paired Christmas dinner menu.

Take a look at chef Martin’s seven-course Christmas dinner menu with optional wine pairing.

Hong Kong’s restaurant scene is as diverse as the country itself, and out in the northern area Wan Chai, the culinary bow has just gained another string. QUEMO is a Spanish restaurant that takes the tastes of tapas to Queens Road, with a menu that displays the best that the Iberian peninsula has to offer. For a traditional start to your lunch or dinner with, try the Dona Lola Iberico ham, supplied exclusively to the restaurant and prepared by Spanish master carvers to ensure the thinnest, most deicate slices. QUEMO’s chef, Martin Carrasco, is Spanish-born, and he deals in the classics of his country’s cuisine, as well as creating a few self-devised dishes of his own. For instance, Carrasco’s paella has been voted the best in Hong Kong, the secret to its success put down to the rice and soup base creating a dish that is tender in the centre and al dente towards the side of the pan, with a caramelized crust the Spanish call socarrat. For something special, look to the handwritten menus on the wall-length chalkboard, changed up daily.

Our tip if you are planning a trip down to QUEMO on Queens Road in Wan Chai is to take a large group. Spanish cuisine is filled with sharing-style dishes, whether they be tapas – small samples of diverse specialities – and QUEMO’s renowned paella, also eminently shareable and consisting of a huge rice-based seafood and meat stew, cooked with saffron and peppers. Any celebration here is sure to impress, with Spanish tiling throughout and inspired lighting creating an intimate atmosphere and illuminating the action in the open kitchen, where a specially imported Spanish oven acts as a focal point for the talented chefs. it’s thirsty work, so it’s good to know that QUEMO is also home to one of the largest selections of Spanish wines in Hong Kong, imported by the restaurant’s sister company Pasion HK. Book a table on Sunday for a twist on the Hong Kong dim sum tradition, where they substitute steamed dumplings for tapas, and accompany these small plates with paella, free flowing beer and sangria and even a live saxophonist.