Turns out there were only a couple of minor changes that took place during the brief renovation. First, they've added a lounge area in front of the reception which is used as an extension to the dining room during lunch hours but at night, it transforms into a bar area where diners can grab a drink or two before kicking off their dinner. An open kitchen design has also been adopted to provide diners with more transparency into what's happening behind the scene.
The rest is just about the same. The same old luxurious ambience.
New Chef de cuisine Marcello Scognamiglio has arrived just in time to put his stamp on a brand new menu that features rustic and authentic Italian dishes. Originally from Naples, the coastal city in southern Campania, Chef Marcello aims to bring in new flavors from his home region to tame the spoiled taste buds of Hongkongers.
The facelift, a new chef and revamped menu have obviously breathed new life into the old Italian fine-dining institution. I made a last-minute lunch reservation yesterday and looked where I was seated. Just a few steps away from the lounge (and miles away from the harbour view since the restaurant was packed).
My afternoon started off brightly with their giant grissini breadsticks freshly made in-house. That was so so good.
It was immediately followed by my starter, bonito tuna tartare, perfectly layered with sheep ricotta cheese, fresh figs and croutons.
A pretty refreshing dish to start off the meal although I thought the balance was a bit off. Way too much ricotta cheese on the bottom so a little too cheesy for the fresh bonito. For me, just a thin layer of ricotta underneath the silky tuna tartare would have done the trick already. Less is more.
For the same price, sea bass and veal cheek would have represented much better value for money but I really wanted to try their freshly made pasta so I went with their spaghetti dish.
With the abundance of cherry tomatoes and capers, I knew it was bounded to have a fair amount of acidity and I was right. This certainly wasn’t bad but nothing that blew me away. The pasta was really al dente and there's a tiny bit of hamachi crudo there for decorative purposes but was it better than any typical spaghetti dish (tossed with tomato) in town. I honestly couldn't say that was the case. In fact I could argue that the tomato spaghetti I had at the new Dalloyau Bistro a couple of months ago was a little bit better.
Before dessert, a nice cup of tea with an almond cookie to sooth my palate first.
Tiramisu was next. It was perhaps the lightest tiramisu I have ever had in Hong Kong. Very creamy and a little foamy at times yet the flavors all combined well together.
It's definitely one of the top 10 tiramisu in town. Now, I just need to revise my top 10 list.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 2/F Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 2584-7722
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat)
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