Today is our last chance to dine out before the year ends. Jelloman already told me weeks ago that she's having her girls-day-out today so it's going to be just me and little nugget this afternoon. After my recent visit to L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Andō and Caprice in the last couple of weeks, I wasn't interested in a long lunch today. A very simple meal to wrap up this awful awful year would suit me just fine.
It's been at least a couple of years since I last dined at Cucina. I rang them up after work to see if they have a table for us for a late lunch (3pm!) and was quite surprised to find that they did (on New Year's Eve without advance booking).
They used to have one of the best harbour views in town but ever since the opening of OTE (Ocean Terminal Extension), many restaurants manage to beat them out in that category.
Some bread for us before our starter arrived but both little nugget and I weren't particularly hungry at this point.
I spotted Vitello Tonnato on the starter section and wasted no time jumping on it but only to learn that it's been replaced by beef tartare (a very dry one from what I've seen from my neighbour). So, I got myself a bowl of mushroom cream soup with cheese croutons instead. This was just OK. Not really all that creamy...
Our main dish was the restaurant's signature linguine with Mediterranean red prawns. Contrary to the mushroom soup, this was pretty tasty. The perfectly al dente pasta, tossed in a rich tomato sauce was served with a pair of red prawns on top. Not the biggest red prawns I've seen but very juicy.
I couldn't believe I actually got time to enjoy a cup of tea after the meal (but little guy was busy with his YouTube anyways).
Cucina's traditional tiramisu would have been a nice wrap but unfortunately, it wasn't on the set menu so I decided to take the panna cotta instead. It was little guy's first-ever panna cotta I think.
This was easily the best dish of the afternoon. The creaminess of the panna cotta was nicely complemented by some acidity from the fresh mango and burst of sweetness from the mango pearls.
I was a bit surprised with the poor service (except the hostess who was excellent). Even with their face masks on, I could see a lot of indifferent faces. Someone from the management should send them on a course on hospitality and how to greet / serve customers.
Price: $$$$
Address: Level 6, Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, Harbour City, 3 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2113-0808
Website: www.cucinahk.com
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 12:00am (Mon - Fri), 11:30am - 12:00am (Sat - Sun)
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