Joia Ristorante Italiano Elements (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I come to the Elements Shopping Complex a lot but this is one of the very few times I take the time to check out their civic square up on the terrace (except once before lunch at Madam S'Ate) and I have to say it's a pretty cool experience.



Of course, I didn't come all the way here just to see their civic square really. I was supposed to have lunch at one of these restaurants and since I haven't had any Italian food for almost a week, I decided to pick JOIA Ristorante Italiano over the rest of the competition. 



After having an entire week of Chinese food, I was relieved to see some homemade pasta. Homemade angel hair in seasonal wild mushrooms ragout ($198) was a rock solid start. The angel hair was perfectly al dente and the wild mushroom ragout was a wonderful complement to the pasta. Excellent start~ 




Well, I was looking for something with acidity and I thought I couldn't do any wrong with this spaghetti with fresh Boston lobster in tomato and basil ($348). Again the spaghetti was firm to the bite and I love the tangy tomato sauce with all the lobster meat and some basil leaves in it. That was so good!



If I had to be picky about this meal, it's their Capocollo pizza ($198) that wasn't getting all the thumbs up from the three of us. Don't get me wrong, the toppings with mozzarella, Taleggio cheese, cherry tomato, rocket and Capocollo ham were nice but it's just not finger-licking good.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have this Sunday brunch priced at only $3xx which includes a good selection of seafood (such as lobster) and dessert (lots of them). Perhaps that's the way to go on my next visit.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: R010 Roof Level, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Kowloon Station
Tel: +852 2382-0077
Website: www.gaiagroup.com.hk