Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Associazione Chianti

This Italian trattoria is located on Ship Street, Wanchai, featuring Tuscany cuisine. Arriving at the entrance one would be attracted by the large red signs and the windows displaying foodstuff and wines, reminiscent of a grocery you would find visiting the country.

Indeed, they have a section at the front selling meat and other produce, before going into the restaurant section. The velvet sofa, small tables, simple tiled walls with decors of wines and choppers created a casual ambience yet bringing a bit of sophistication with candlelight and a well-dressed team. 

After placing our orders, the staff served us some welcome snacks. Apart from the bread which got some sausage pieces of nice savory flavors, the assorted fresh vegetable sticks with almond dipping sauce were certainly a healthy, yet tasty, starter. 

Listening to the recommendations from the staff, we decided to start with Panzanella ($198). The salad was prepared from different types of tomato, of different shades of red and color, and together with cucumber and vinaigrette dressings, the fresh and juicy tomatoes with its natural acidity and sweetness, plus the vinegar, was an appetizing salad. Simple but it meant there was nowhere to hide if the ingredients were not good. 

Another starter we shared was Prosciutto e Melon ($198). With many slices of sweet and juicy melon underneath two large pieces of sliced prosciutto ham, it was always a perfect companion of the two, and this dish recreated that harmony with the sweetness mixing well with the salty and savory of the ham. Again, a simple dish, but one dish I would highly recommend especially if you like ham. 

Following was pasta, Pici ($228) was hand-rolled pasta with cavolo nero, pistachio and pecorino. The pasta was fantastic in texture, with a great bite and chewiness, flavorful with the pesto sauce. Cavolo nero is a sort of kale from Tuscany and together with the toasted pistachio to give a bit of nutty notes, and the shaved pecorino cheese, it was another apparently simple yet tasty dish to highlight the ingredients and techniques of the chef.

Coming to the main course we had Controfiletto con L’Osso ($718). The 450g aged striploin was grilled to medium as per our preference, with the outside crisp while the inside was a beautiful pink. The beef was juicy and rich in taste. I liked the staff advising us to order this one instead, as the larger cut would simply be too much for us. For those who like steak it was worth trying out.

On dessert, the staff brought out a tray displaying three cakes and we ended up choosing Tiramisu ($118). The slice was sufficient to be shared among us, and the taste was good, with the mascarpone creamy, the rich chocolate and cake all in harmony. A happy completion for our meal. 

The bill was $1680 which was very reasonable. Service was also very good, with the staff attentive and friendly. I could not try their wide range of chianti which was a pity and I would be returning to sample their wines next time.