Pici Pasta Bar Lai Chi Kok (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I received word from higher-ups that we’ll be spending most of Chinese New Year at home studying. Little nugget is having his exams in early March so it looks like that we're getting an early start this year.

I was told that if we made good progress, we might get to enjoy one dinner out over the weekend. Thankfully, our study pace was decent enough for us and we were rewarded with an early dinner at our neighborhood pasta bar, Pici, tonight.

Tuna tartare — The tuna tartare was beautifully complemented by diced avocado, pickled onions, and a house dressing primarily made with a sweet soy sauce that had a subtle kick.

Chef's selection of cold cuts — Apparently, my favorite appetizer here, vitello tonnato, has been taken off the menu so we had to scramble for a second appetizer. The cold cut platter wasn't what I had in mind initially but the combination of culatta ham, mortadella, salame, Ubriaco cheese, and grissini turned out to be a satisfying way to start the meal.

Chitarra king prawns — Choosing the main dishes was much easier, thanks to the wide selection of freshly made pasta. The squid-ink chitarra has been a staple for us, and we didn't mind having it again tonight. The incredibly fresh pasta was tossed with chili, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and prawn bisque, making it wonderfully delicious.

Orecchiette 'Nduja — Little nugget had fallen in love with the cat ear pasta, or orecchiette since he last had it at Minimal a few months ago. This version here was nicely tossed in a spicy 'nduja sauce, and finished off with Italian sausage and cherry tomatoes. Very nicely done.

Pappardelle beef cheek — Normally, the two-person set with two appetizers, two pasta and two desserts would be plenty enough for the three of us here but tonight, I witnessed an evolution. We could no longer afford to have food for two people with little one now a grown kid. So, we added a third pasta dish.

I didn't get to enjoy the pappardelle much tonight cuz little nugget almost single-handedly finished the entire dish all by himself. It's his favorite, with the thick pasta perfectly paired with flavorful beef cheek ragu that’s been slow-cooked for eight hours.

Panna cotta and tiramisu — As usual, bravo~!

It was another satisfying meal at our neighborhood pasta bar. I noticed significant improvements in the service during our recent visits. Just a couple of months ago, little nugget received a complimentary juice from the staff, and tonight, we were treated to a few scoops of gelato on the house!

Food Rating: 6.8/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop G03, G/F, D2 Place TWO, 15 Cheung Shun Street, Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Lai Chi Kok
Tel: +852 2557-7227
Website: www.pici.hk

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm daily