Nueva Cuba

It was the first launch of “Wine Tastings Evenings” by Trevor and I decided to show support by rounding up a group of wino friends for the event. Tastings of 6 different wines from France along with 6 Cuban tapas. $65/pax. A pretty neat deal, considering what we had.

I was there early and as usual I was starving. We got some tostadas to tide us over first – creamy cheesy shrimp and mozzarella cheese mushroom – good stuff, especially paired with the welcome glass of Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel Rose.

Finally my group of 8 arrived and the tasting started proper. First up, a nice tapas platter to pair with 3 white wines. To be honest, I’ve only been to Nueva Cuba for drinks, so I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. I really enjoyed the quesadilla, salmon wrapped asparagus and skewered mushrooms. Not to mention the glass of Sacha Lichine, yums.

The second tapas platter was just as impressive as the first. Here we had beef, salsa and cheese layered tortilla (I think that was what we had but it was excellent, in any case), some chorizo tostada, and bacon wrapped asparagus. 3 reds were paired with this, my favourite being the Bordeaux from Thunevin Presidial.

Verdict: I’ve known for a long time that Nueva Cuba, like its Clarke Quay counterpart Cuba Libre, serves up the best mojitos in town. It’s good to know that they have now also expanded their wine list for the benefit of us wino-sapiens. Most importantly, they serve really delicious food! I see myself making return visits to further explore the food menu here.