Pico (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★☆☆☆☆

Pico was the latest project by Jason Black, the executive chef behind Shore and The Salted Pig (at L Place). After reading its relatively positive review on Asia Tatler, I was fully preparing myself for a nice Spanish dinner there but left a little bit disappointed.

Let's start with the service here. Well, one word could pretty much sum it up - indifferent.

While the team was by no mean rude to us, the cold and indifferent service gave us a feeling that they did not really care about our business. 

The indoor dining area looks every bite like the casual eatery they have advertised. 



The best thing that happened all night was the bread basket but it quickly went downhill from here.



I had a choice of red or white wine when ordering my sangria. Finally decided on red.

 

Pictures of this garlic and chili prawns showed up everything in their posters so I would think that's their signature dish, their bread and butter (3/10).



The scallops wrapped with Serrano ham did not fair much better (3/10).



I am a fan of the patatas bravas. It's a simple recipe that one would think any kitchen could deliver with a certain degree of success (4/10).



Arroz Pico, their signature paella-style dish with chicken, prawns, mussels, vegetables and saffron, was a major disappointment. I have not had worse paella anywhere before in my life. The rice was very watery and it looked like it's still a few minutes away from being ready to be served (1/10).

This was my mom's first Spanish dinner ever. I hope it didn't give her the wrong impression on the normally reliable Spanish cuisine!


Food Rating: 2.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: G23-28, G/F Empire Center, 8 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui East
Tel: +852 2366-8355
Website: http://picotapaswinebar.com.hk/ 



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Linguini Fini (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

Linguini Fini had been one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Hong Kong until this recent visit. The service was spotty the moment I stepped into the dining room. It has gotten to a point where even the manager noticed something was going terribly wrong out there and she had to call some servers over to give them an earful. 



Back to the food here for a moment. My personal favorite at Linguini Fini has always been their 8-hour tripe served with beef and pork, pancetta and tomato but they dealt me a huge blow by taking it out of their regular menu!

While I was taking a moment of silence to gather myself, the server finally passed me a copy of their lunch menu. HK$118 for a lunch set including salad (or soup) and main course. Not bad for a restaurant of this caliber.



The bread basket in a vintage style tin container, that still brought a smile to my face. 



For starter, I had the garden green and it had way too much vinegar in it.



The spaghetti tossed in a rich tomato sauce was much better. 

I was quite disappointed with what they had to offer for lunch. Don't waste your lunch time. Come for dinner instead.

Food Rating: 4/10

Price: $$

Address: 1/F, The L Place, 139 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Tel: +852 2857-1333
Website: www.linguinifini.com 

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