Amaroni's New York Italian Restaurant & Café (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I wasn't planning to do much celebration for this year's Mother's day but the social unrest and COVID-19 had everybody in the family a little down the last few months so I wanted to do something to cheer them up. The first family gathering since January would be a nice start. It wasn't a tough task finding a place for the celebration at all. In fact, I called a number of restaurants a week before Mother's day and most places still have a table for me. The only question was whether we could enjoy the lunch as a party of 4 or 7.

Amaroni's is one of the few stalwarts left standing at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong. They seem to be around for ages (despite changing hands a couple of times) but we were disappointed to see our favorite muffins replaced by these focaccia bread.

Calamari ($123) - I knew all the way Jelloman was going to order this. Have to admit it ain't a bad choice. These were nicely coated with crispy Parmesan and Italian herbed bread crumbs, finished off brilliantly with spicy dried basil salt. I like the red bell pepper aioli bringing a lovely extra kick to the mix.

Stuffed mushroom ($108) - Entirely opposite to the calamari, this was met with mixed reviews. We all remembered these butter-stuffed shiitake mushrooms with Parmesan shavings, spinach, pine nuts and Italian herbs to be  little more delicious when we were here last time but I guess the kitchen could be having a day off at the wrong time.

Amaroni's Homemade Lasagna ($152) - Amaroni's all-time favorite dish. This came with layers of baked pasta sheets, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese smothered with meaty Bolognese-style Amaroni's signature Marinara sauce. Yum~

Penne Rustica ($168) - We ordered this for little nugget who always enjoys having grilled shrimp and chicken, Prosciutto ham and Parmesan cheese with his penne. A little boring but little one seemed to like it.

Roasted chicken "Scarpiella" family style ($298) - For main dish, I always order this when I have a big group. The roasted rosemary, garlic marinated chicken with oven roasted potatoes was once again very tasty.

All 6 pieces of chicken were smothered with mama's pepperonata and fresh Italian herbs, which explained why they were a little spicier than usual (thanks to those chili peppers!) but they were really meaty and very tender. What a very nice way to finish off the savory part of our meal.

Amaroni's Famous Tiramisu ($130) - One of my favorite tiramisu in town has gone smaller in size but most importantly, it tasted a little different!

The biggest difference I noticed was perhaps its texture. The layers of marsala scented mascarpone mousse with espresso and Kahlua soaked ladyfingers biscuits were noticeably more custardy than before (where it was more foamy). And the balance of espresso and marsala seemed to be a little off as well (a little too much marsala).

Despite some of the hits and misses, everybody seems to be happy with the meal. Perhaps, we're all just thrilled to be finally dining out again without restrictions.

Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 32, LG1, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Closest Metro Station: Kowloon Tong
Tel: +852 2265-8818
Website: www.amaronis.com

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 11:00pm (Sun - Thu), 11:00am - 12:00am (Fri - Sat)