Operetta (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Operetta kicked off the gastronomic renaissance at Pacific Place late last year that would see a slew of new restaurant openings (Apinara, Commissary, Bizou, Dim Sum Library etc.) coming through the door to the famed shopping mall in Admiralty over the past 6 months. I have always enjoyed the modern chic design of Operetta so right after my short trip to Taipei, I decided to pay this modern Italian restaurant my second visit.



Marinated salmon with Sicilian style couscous - Getting things started was marinated salmon with a small fennel salad on top and Sicilian style cous cous on the bottom. Pretty refreshing start.



Pappardelle with traditional Southern Italian meat ragu - I didn't get the chance to have any Italian food in Taipei and was therefore longing for a good bowl of pasta. This homemade pappardelle was really good and perfectly al dente. The meat ragu was a little salty in my opinion but still was pretty a solid offering.



Chestnut monte bianco - Dessert cost another $58 but that's okay considering I still got some room left in my tummy. Here we have a trio of sweet delights including a baby pear poached in red wine, vanilla ice-cream and chestnut cream on a tart. Pretty nice touch of sweetness (chestnut cream and vanilla ice-cream) and acidity (poached pear in red wine) which was subtle and well-balance. That was a good wrap for my Italian lunch.




The two-course set (with different starter and main dish options) is going for $168 these days. That's pretty good value for a restaurant of this caliber in the heart of the city.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 112, Pacific Place 1/F, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 2115-8080
Website: www.operetta.hk