Maurice Diaz

How does a "Whopper" taste in DiverXO? A cloche that is decorated to look like it's from Burger King.

A closeup of the contents.

Langoustine’s head topped with lemon meunière sauce. When you pick up the morsel, a silly surprise is revealed underneath.

Roasted langoustine with garlic butter, XO sauce, kimchi, bottarga, in a langoustine bordelaise sauce. The Asian sauces complemented the langoustine very well, but what really set this dish over-the-top were the bits of bottarga, providing textural complexity.

Fresh lettuce souquet with roasted red mullet sauce. The lettuce bouquet is meant to be dipped in the sauce. I think the sauce could be inspired by the Catalan fish stew called suquet, but this clearly was meant to be a continuation of the red mullet course immediately prior.

Red mullet cooked yakitori style with Spanish chorizo sauce, palo cortado and Moroccan lemon. Another fabulous course that was assembled at the table. The fish was so perfectly juicy.

Spicy crispy-fried tongues.

Inside is a deconstructed Whopper

Carabinero spicy bolognese with a warm shrimp sashimi, Thai basil macaroni, stewed ossobucco sauce. Again, there’s so much going on here... with obvious Asian and Italian influences... and three strong components being married into sensational unified bites.

Duck royale with Chinese Five spice, gochujange, green mustard & chives essence & roasted heart.

“Chigüato” prawn, “galera” shrimp powder, and prawn crackers with tomato. This one is a riff on “shrimp in pepper shell”, but this time we have a small langoustine in its soft-shell, with everything being devoured, and gleefully done so.

Spanish omelette dimsum with crispy egg white. In the spoon is Callos a la madrileña... a stew of tripe with pimenton. Two Spanish favorites typical found in Madrid bars, but this time with an Asian presentation.

"Sandwich" dumpling with tangerine alioli and crunchy bread.

A dramatic visual of stacked dim sum pans, with smoke (dry ice) emanating. The diner is supposed to find the tray which holds the next course.

The servers then promptly laid a Lazy Susan on my table, leading me to think that we’re about to go Chinese. The next series of bites is inspired by Chinese dim sum, and titled “Yumcha XO style.” The first two bites are of a “Necora” (spider crab) dumpling in a Chili Crab version, with Cocotxa in a duck yolk on top.

A trip to the Tsukiji market... sea urchin with ginger lime, liquorice and black garlic jelly, bearnaise sauce and bergamot. This next one is interactive and the dish was assembled ON MY PALM! The sea urchin is consumed in one bite, and then followed with the broth chaser.

Emulsified capon soup with smoked Salmon fins and Jamaican pepper, trout roe and black vinegar. Another great interplay, this time with tender chunks of salmon in a sophisticated chicken soup.

This next one is presented with a crab shell cover to allude to the contents within. Underneath is stewed baby eel (!!!! my second time on this trip!) in a king crab cream, egg yolk in the pink and white sphere, and rocoto chili.

Espardenya (sea cucumber) with creamy pil-pil sauce, Peruvian tigermilk made from red mullet, and red mullet crispy scales and tail. Really flexing their creative muscles here... with the sea cucumber prepared in noodle form, and fish flavors and textures complementing it.

Steamed cheese naan with blanchetto truffles, corn and parmesan. This one blew my mind... it’s essentially a steamed bun with cheese, truffle,... honestly, I could’ve eaten another dozen.

Butter tikka masala, with frog legs, mint, papadum and mango chutney,

The first section of bites is titled “Trip to Goa beaches... “ and is their take on Indian cuisine. First bite is called “Slowly roasted avocado with hot chutney of pickled mint, green potatoes, sheepskin Malai Masala and saffron.

Two bites to this next course. Masala lentils in a traditional stir-fry, sheep whey curd and smoked caviar. Butter tikka masala... except you have frog legs (instead of the typical chicken)... with mint, papadum and mango chutney. Well-executed flavors here.

Smoked caviar with vindaloo curry and greek yoghurt. The two halves are not meant to be mixed... there’s an interplay of flavors as you alternate between saltiness of the caviar, and then to the sweetness and gentle spice of the curry.