Giando Italian Restaurant & Bar (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Four months ago, Giando quietly replaced Vero Chocolate at the Fenwick Pier. Led by Chef-owner Gianni Caprioli (formerly of Isola), this new Italian restaurant and bar has received mixed reviews so far. As a result, we decided to take a closer look by paying a personal visit.

Giando takes somewhat of a minimalist approach when it comes to interior decoration. Simple wooden floor, white tabletop linen and white leather chairs all contributed to a wonderfully comfortable dining environment.

  
Some bloggers raged about the service level of the waiting staff here but there was no sign of poor service observed under our watchful eyes. To the contrary, we found service to be quite satisfactory. Everyone wore a nice smile on their face.

Pink Peppercorn Marinated Salmon, 4/10 
Lunch officially started with salmon marinated with pink peppercorn and served with an Italian fennel orange salad.

I liked the texture of the salmon but despite being marinated with peppercorn and herbs, it seemed to lack both the naturally rich flavor of salmon and the added touches from the seasoning.



Beef Carpaccio, 7/10
Next up was a pretty impressive beef carpaccio. 

The thinly sliced beef carpaccio came with very rich flavor with cheese, lemon juice and a balsamic dressing providing the finishing touch. That was a beautiful dish.



Strozzapreti with Italian Pork Sausage & Broccoli sauce, 2/10
I always tried to pick at least one pasta when I visited an Italian restaurant. There were all together three pasta dishes available in the lunch menu - penne in an arrabbiata sauce, spaghetti with clams in a white wine sauce and the strozzapreti, a hand-twisted pasta with Italian pork sausage in a broccoli sauce. I picked the latter and was still regretting that decision.

To my surprise, the sauce was way too salty and dominant wasting a fairly decent bowl of pasta. Perhaps I should have opted for the spaghetti with clams in white wine sauce instead.



Mixed Seafood Soupstew in Tomato Wine Broth, 5/10
I called this the Italian version of bouillabaisse. The seafood soupstew was based on a mild tomato and wine broth added with seafood including calamari, clams, shrimps, mussels, and fresh market fish. This was way better than the strozzapreti.



Panna cotta, 5/10
There was no sign of any lemon flavor in the panna cotta (though indicated as lemon flavored panna cotta in the menu) but it was nevertheless deliciously creamy. As usual, it was served with mixed berries. Some crunchy caramel on top helped to add a contrasting texture to the mix.



Giando’s Homemade Tiramisu, 8/10
Soft in texture and perfectly balanced in flavor. Divine.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: 1/F, The Fleet Arcade, Fenwick Pier Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai / Admiralty
Website: www.giandorestaurant.com