Now, here’s our problem. Our little one’s second birthday is coming up and we’re looking for a good place to celebrate it with our family. Where should we go with most fine dining restaurants not wanting our business? We cut our list down to three places (Sabatini, Lobster's Bar and Angelini) before finally picking Sabatini, the classy Italian restaurant at Royal Plaza Hong Kong.
This is like traveling in space to a Roman tavern. I have always enjoyed their sophisticated villa-like décor.
Starter portion of lunch is a choice between an antipasti buffet, pan seared foie gras on toast with parma ham and melon or soup of the day. I think all of us ended up taking the antipasti bar.
They have some really nice ham at the antipasti bar (though smaller selection than before). Their smoked salmon also one of my favorites.
Tagliatelle carbonara with pecorino - I was the only one going for all four courses here (starter, pasta, main and dessert). Am I the only one who's starving?
This is a really nice tagliatelle with some lovely bite. But we won't be expecting anything less from Sabatini, will we? Maybe a little bit more pancetta would make this even nicer.
Grilled lamb chops with roasted potatoes and vegetables - I don't think we ever get tired of this dish. The lamb chops were succulent and juicy as always. It came with very simple garnish but that's just fine with us.
Pan seared U.S. pork chop with mushrooms and marsala sauce - Some of us had the pan seared pork chop as our main dish. The presentation does like a little like those from the local cha chaan tengs but of course, this was quite a bit more tasty.
Here comes the main event - Dessert trolley!
I always love their dessert trolley. Still recalled they used to allow picking three desserts, but now just two. I went with their tiramisu and Saint Honoré and both turned out to be excellent.
This is a very good meal without burning a hole in my pocket. The food was nothing fancy nor pretentious. Just some old-fashioned honest cooking and everyone seems to enjoy it.
Note: Back to this point I was making about fine dining restaurants not liking diners with kids. I want to share this message I got from Le Taillevent, a fine dining institution in Paris currently with 2 Michelin stars. I wrote them asking about their kids' policy before my Christmas trip and this was how they responded.
What a wonderful reply. I think all fine dining restaurants in Asia should stop and think about this for a moment. They should be welcoming kids with open arms coz one day, they will be their guests!
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 3/F, The Royal Garden, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2733-2000
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui East
Website: www.rghk.com.hk/en/dining/sabatini.php
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