Classy Like an Iron Chef

Budatai

1056 Ashford Avenue

Condado, PR 00907

www.budatai.com/ 

I know that I have mentioned my obsession with cooking shows before, but during my recent trip to Puerto Rico, I actually got to enjoy the fruits of some of the people that I have watched on TV. I love the fact that I can do this sometimes, and I really love the restaurant in Puerto Rico that I have now dined at twice. Chef Roberto Trevino was a contestant on the Next Iron Chef during the season that Iron Chef Garces was the eventual winner, and I was rooting for Trevino the entire time he was on the season before he was told he would not be the next iron chef. My girlfriend actually told him that in a slightly groupie like moment we had when we met him last December. Haha. He is doing some really fantastic things with fusion cuisines in Puerto Rico, but the crown jewel of his empire is his Asian/Latin fusion restaurant called Budatai.

Budatai is a little dark, and sometimes I feel very rude flashing my camera taking pictures, so I cannot really do the food justice because the pictures came out crappy, but it really is a fantastic place to eat. I will post the pictures anyway, but you might not be able to see much. The service both times I have been there was fantastic, although the waiter this time around was a weirdo and kept asking us if we were having a good time because we looked sad. I enjoyed a watermelon carpirinha while we perused the menu. We started our meal off by sharing pork profiteroles, I ordered the salmon with brown butter béarnaise with a quinoa stuffed pepper for my main course and for dessert we shared the apple pastry with vanilla ice cream.

While we waited for our meal, we enjoyed some cockatails. My watermelon carpirinha, was amazing! The watermelon was so fresh and the carpirinha taste wasn’t overpowered.

I was blown away by the pork profiteroles. They were ridiculously delicious and just an insane combination. Who would ever have thought to combine pork belly and salted caramel? It was perfection in every sense of the word and I would order it again and again.

My salmon may not have been as good as the profiteroles, but it was a really well executed dish. The quinoa stuffed peppers were a bit of let down. That may be my fault for expecting more heat from the peppers, but I wish that they would have been a lot spicier. However, the salmon was perfectly cooked, and the brown butter béarnaise was phenomenal. It was creamy and luscious, and it made me want to lick my plate clean.

The dessert was simply ok. The apple pastry was cooked nicely, but the apples weren’t particularly sweet or flavorful. The vanilla ice cream on top was a nice touch, however: it was not enough for me to fall in love with the dish. I am still waiting to be impressed by a dessert at Budatai. I haven’t been yet, but I know how talented a chef the owner is, so I am hoping I find a good one next time.

Budatai is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. It’s a little hipster and trendy feeling, but it really executes everything it attempts perfectly.. The concept behind the restaurant is amazing, Latin/Asian fusion, and the chef/owner, Chef Roberto Trevino, is killing it in the kitchen. He has begun to build an empire in San Juan, and I suggest that everyone gets down to Puerto Rico as soon as possible to get in to one of his restaurants! Cheers!