This Italian restaurant is located on Hollywood Road, Central, right opposite Tai Kun, on the street level of Chinachem Hollywood Centre, under the helm of Chef Fabiano Palombini who is born and raised in Abruzzo, with experience in many Michelin-starred restaurants all over the world before coming to HK.
After going through the glass sliding door, the staff greeted us and showed us to our table. The restaurant is small, with only five tables and a private room, looking into the open kitchen where Chef Fabiano and his team are busy in preparation. The setting is comfortable with an elegant vibe.
We have pre-ordered the 8-course tasting menu ($1,680), and I also opt for wine-pairing ($960). The Breadbasket with five types of bread soon arrives, and the staff shows us the four olive oils available, coming from different regions. The breads are really good, with different taste and texture, and I have to restrain myself not finishing all as I know there will be no room for the coming courses otherwise.
The Amuse Bouche is frankly one of the widest in variety I have seen in HK, with six pieces in total. The first piece is an interesting Fish Cracker. Made into the shape of fish bones, the two pieces of crispy cracker has a light seaweed butter sandwiched in between. Fun and creative.
The second piece is Beetroot Tart, with the tart of perfect size, thin and crispy. The beetroot has been finely diced, pickled briefly with a nice vinaigrette to add a refreshing acidity, plus some dill to enhance the fragrance even further. Appetizing.
On the long plate there are three other pieces, including a Chickpea Polenta with Iberico Ham on top, a Thin Crisp with Brown Button Mushroom Duxelles, and a Parmesan Croquette. All of them are delicious, with increasingly richer savoury elements to get our palate ready. Fancy and wonderful.
The last piece is Black Squid Ink Sponge with Firefly Squid, Pickled Salmon Roes with a dash of Horseradish. The sponge is fluffy, with the small yet intensely flavoured firefly squid and the salmon roes giving a burst of amazing umami enjoyment. My favourite among the amuse bouche.
The menu starts with Cuttlefish from Adriatic Sea. The presentation immediately brings an exclamation as it is so amazing. On a smooth green peas puree, which has been mixed with seaweed butter, are the diced, sou vided cuttlefish, so that it did not lose the translucency and soft bite. Decorating but also adding to the flavours are small mint leaves, fresh poppy green peas, and some elderflowers. Perfect score on both appearance and taste, simply fantastic.
The first wine paired is Majolini Brut, a sparkling made using traditional method from the famous region of Franciacorta in Italy. The dryness of the wine, with good acidity and refreshing palate of lemon zest and delicate yeast note, does not feel out of place with the unique flavours of green peas.
The second course features Veal Tripe. As recommended, we break the parmesan cracker on top to small pieces to mix up with the veal tripe, which are cut into very small pieces, cooked with Piennolo tomatoes and garden herbs to great tenderness and in no way rubbery. The outstandingly delicious taste of the tomato, with the fragrance from the herbs, the cracker to add savoury taste, makes this another wonderful dish. Continually amazing.
The wine paired is a rose, Rivera Pungirosa, from Castel del Monte DOCG and made from a local varietal called Bombino Nero. The wine is very light with a hint of strawberry, and while it has good acidity and refreshing, I do not feel there are sufficient flavours to match with the intense taste of the dish, virtually making the wine feel just like water. Probably a more intense rose will do better.
The third course, Fusillo, begins a trio of pasta dishes. Featuring egg white fusillone, a type of pasta pieces with the form of short spirals. The chef has creatively used egg white to increase the chewy texture of the pasta, and coated them with a rich, creamy buffalo butter, then adding small pieces of smoked anchovy on top, supplementing the pasta with delicious savoury but not overly salty. The portion size is also just right. Very good.
The wine paired is Principe Pallavicini Roma DOC. The winery is located very near to Italy’s capital Rome, with the wine made from 100% Malvasia Punitinata. It has fuller body, nice minerality and riper fruit of melon notes. Good match with the pasta.
The fourth course Virtu is in my opinion the highlight of the three pastas. Taking the idea of a tradition in Abruzzo where the locals will make great dishes from ingredients cleared out from the storeroom to prepare for next harvest, this dish is a mix of different pasta, using different seafood and other ingredients to prepare a sauce. The premium seafood including scallop, octopus, shrimp, red prawn, and lobster, are presented separately on another plate, together with different sauces.
The pasta is then scooped onto the plate, warming the seafood, and mixing with the sauce to enjoy. Great complexity, super delicious, the al dente texture of the different pasta also means that the chef has taken attention to separately prepare each one of them, as the pasta will cook in different time. The sauce is so good that I use the bread to finish sopping up all remaining, what in Italy called scarpetta. Incredible.
The wine paired is Heinrich Mayr Nusserhof Elda Vino Rosso. Made from indigenous varieties, the wine is certified organic, with plenty of nice red fruit characters, herbs, leather, and a bit of smokiness, going surprisingly well with the pasta even though there are much seafood included, contrary to the traditional belief of red wine not good match with such.
The fifth course is Spaghettone, prepared in gricia style. The pasta looks like spaghetti but have a thicker diameter. Made from Pecorino Romano, an aromatic salty cheese, the sauce sticks well to the pasta which makes it moist but not runny. The guanciale, or cured pork jowl, on top further adds a layer of savoury taste, with some black pepper also for seasoning. Definitely salty, if on its own it can be a bit overpowering, but the wine paired did help to mellow it. This one can be polarizing but I like it.
The wine paired is an orange wine, Alois Lageder Porer, made from Pinot Grigio. It is a special blend, with one part of the grapes freshly pressed, one with skin contact for 15 hours, and the rest with stem and skins for about one year. The wine has a light tannin, which helps to make the pasta rounder on the mouthfeel and reduce the saltiness of the pasta. An interesting match which works well.
Coming to the main course, the sixth course features Sea Bream. The wild pink sea bream comes from Hokkaido, nicely seared on the skin while keeping the flesh moist, seasoned beautifully. On the side is wild asparagus and greens, tender and without any fiber. The Mediterranean sauce, with its good combination of sweet and savoury flavours, wraps it all up. It might look easy yet is a perfect example of a true test of the chef’s skills and quality of the ingredients, as any imperfection cannot be hidden.
The seventh course features Tenderloin. The Black Market beef is cooked to perfect medium rare, very juicy on the inside while have nice caramelized surface. The chef has prepared a bagna cauda on the beef in lieu of seasoning, with kohlrabi puree, bull leaf and wild asparagus on the side. My wife has opted for Wagyu ($380 supplement), with the Kuromame A5 beef having a nice, but not excessive, marble. While the wagyu has a richer taste, personally, I still prefer the tenderloin as I like my beef leaner.
The wine paired is Poliziano ‘In Violas’ Cortona. A Super-Tuscan wine that has been made with 100% Merlot, the wine has been aged in barrel for over two and a half years before release. Powerful and full-bodied, showing plenty of the ripe black fruit, nice chocolate, with other robust characters, the wine is a perfect match with the beef.
The eighth and final course features Amalfi. Another dish that brings a wow to us, as they resemble mini-Amalfi lemons. Using the lemon to make a crema, it is then encased by a thin layer of white chocolate in the shape of the lemon, with the lemon zest coating on the surface. To complement are some basil cream which gives freshness and herbal notes, as well as the lemon extractions for refreshing acidity. Pleasing in appearance and good in taste, another must try.
The wine paired is Quinta da Romaneira 10 Year Old Tawny Port. Not too sweet, the tawny port is smooth and mellow, with nice, dried fruit characters as well as good nuttiness. Pairing with the sharper taste of the Amalfi lemon it does not feel awkward and out of place.
The Petits Fours include an Earl Grey Tart, with torching on top to achieve caramelization; a Strawberry Puff with mascarpone cream; a Hazelnut Dark Chocolate; and a Cannoli filled with ricotta, with candied lemon on the side. All are good in taste, but I would pick the puff as my favourite, as it has a nice balance of the sweet mascarpone with the sourness of the strawberry on the puff. And with a cup of espresso it is the perfect finale to this amazing dinner.
The service is very nice, with the staff friendly and able to elaborate the different dishes for us to learn more the specifics and some of the stories behind. The sommelier is also knowledgeable with interesting matching. The bill on the night is $5,417 with also the bottled water and two cups of coffee in the end. A comfortable and relaxing place to enjoy a wonderful Italian meal. Highly recommend.
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