7/02/2010
We were staying at the Royal Pacific Resort, part of Universal Studios Florida, so Emeril's Tchoup Chop was a convenient choice for dinner. I called at 4 pm to see if we could get a reservation for 6:30. The only availability was either 5:00 or after 8:30. We took the 5:00 opening.
The restaurant, located on the ground level of the Royal Pacific hotel, is a beautiful, contemporary space with glass flower chandeliers, a bar at one end with floor to ceiling shelves, and a serene water feature through the center of the restaurant. We waited only minutes for our table. There were only a handful of tables occupied during our meal, presumably due to the early hour.
The menu features Asian/Pacific flavors. A waitress took our drink orders, which were brought out promptly, along with complimentary shrimp crisps and a slightly spicy aioli. They were warm and crispy with a mild shrimp flavor, but the aioli gave them a nice punch.
The waitress took our order then spent much of the rest of our visit chatting with the girl checking guests in at the podium. which was almost directly beside our table, and unfortunately we could overhear much of their conversation, which did spoil the ambience.
After a relatively long wait of almost 40 minutes, considering the emptiness of the restaurant, three waiters arrived with our entrees. Neil ordered the salmon filet with ginger butter sauce (on the side) and vegetables ($23).
He eats a lot of salmon and knows how a good filet should be cooked, and this one was nicely prepared. He liked the vegetables as well. They had a nice consistency and everything was piping hot.
Lauren decided to try the pork tenderloin with lo mein ($22).
I was a bit surprised at her choice. She is usually a fish, chicken, or steak eater, but she does love lo mein noodles, and I guess that's what drove here choice here. She found the pork flavorful and very tender and the lo mein was a hit, too. It was a big portion of meat and she could not finish it all.
I had the scallops with risotto and broccolini ($27).
This dish was made for me! I love risotto, and scallops are my very favorite. I order them pretty much any time they are on the menu. This dish did not disappoint. The scallops were nicely cooked - still soft and buttery. Scallops can quickly go from cooked just right to overcooked and rubbery, so I appreciated the attention in preparing them. The risotto, which also can be a challenge to prepare properly because the dish can quickly go from too watery to a lump of mush, was perfect as well. The combination of flavors between the scallops, risotto, and broccolini was wonderful. I would definitely order this again.
Overall rating: Beautiful restaurant and tasty, well-prepared dishes
Would you return: Yes, especially for the scallops!
