I had heard about Ocean Restaurant for quite some time now.  It is a restaurant located in the SEA Aquarium and it has Cat Cora’s name on it.  The Iron Chef’s restaurant and the aquarium (I love aquariums), I have to go some time!

And that time is now, as my wife surprised me with a birthday lunch here!

The views are great, something special. Since it was December, time for some holiday table decorations. With the holidays, there was a festive menu to go along with the regular menu.

I went with the Festive Menu and my wife went for the three course meal (no soup).

A little bread to start.

The Amuse Bouche was an Oyster emulsion (left) with Trout and then a Scallop Crudo  on the right.Next up was the starters.

Here is the Sous Vide Quail Egg with Green Peas and Mint Velvet.

There is the Quail Egg!  This was fresh and nice.  Definitely different. Here is the Hokkaido Scallop with Mushrooms.  This was also nice and fresh. Next up for me was the Chestnut Veloute. Next was the mains.  I went with the New Zealand Mahi Mahi. The taste was a little bland to be honest.  It really looks like just a steamed piece of fish with sauce.  The presentation of it doesn’t look great at all.

Here is the Prawn.  It was fried, which we did not expect.  It’s a little oily too. Time for desserts!

Here is the Warm Christmas Pudding.  This was nicely done, great spice.

This is Mandarin Orange.  Mandarin Sorbet with Citrus and Foam.  Quite acidic! And here is my Birthday Raspberry Tart!The meal itself was just ok.  Honestly, there wasn’t much of Cat Cora’s signature touches – meaning her Southern style that she has.  It’s a pretty localized seafood type of a menu.  This can be found in a lot of places.  I wish the menu reflected more of her style.

The experience itself is pretty cool, watching the fish swim by while you eat.  That is worth the price of admission.