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

My team is off to a school event tonight leaving yours truly without an itinerary since early afternoon. As the adverse weather has been wreaking havoc all day (and all week), I stayed home most of the day until early evening. Finally, I decided to head out for supper and the destination was Pici, my neighborhood pasta bar who's currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.

To commemorate the occasion, the casual Italian spot has invited "Culinary Class Wars" winner Napoli Matfia to curate a special limited-time-only menu running from July 1 to July 31. I didn’t personally get to watch the popular Korean culinary show on Netflix, but I’ve definitely been aware of the hype it created and the ripple effect it’s had on the local dining scene. So I was curious how his limited-time dishes would stack up against some of Pici’s old classics from the regular menu. Tonight is the night, let’s find out.

Tagliolini Sicilian Prawn Tartare e Bottarga ($180) — I decided to order all three limited-time dishes to get the full experience, and kicking things off was this tagliolini Sicilian Prawn Tartare e Bottarga.

The fresh, house-made tagliolini tossed in a rich, velvety emulsion, was topped nicely with a layer of Sicilian pink prawn tartare, finished off with grated bottarga on top. I thought the slightly lemony sauce really brought out the natural sweetness of the buttery prawn tartare. Not bad.

Pici White Poultry Ragu & Truffle ($160) — The handmade pasta was cooked perfectly al dente (though, personally, I felt it might’ve been a touch too al dente) but it didn’t seem to mesh well with the poultry ragu, made with a rich blend of duck, chicken, guinea fowl, and turkey. The generous portion of shaved fresh truffle also didn’t quite bring everything together like I thought it would.

Chestnut tiramisu ($70) — An elevated version of the very same mocha-soaked creation the chef made in the famous “convenience store challenge” on Culinary Class Wars. I was expecting the chestnut flavors to be front and centre, but they weren’t quite as prominent as I’d hoped.

That said, it was still a more-than-serviceable sweet treat: a sumptuous mascarpone base, mocha-soaked ladyfingers, and silky chestnut purée beautifully topped with an espresso–marron glacés sauce and chopped chestnuts for a crunchy finish. 

This was a pretty big meal for someone who wasn't hungry at all! Last September, while we were in Seoul, we tried to get a table at Napoli Matfia’s highly acclaimed Via Toledo Pasta Bar but sadly, we learned that it had stopped taking reservations. Later, we found out he had shut it down for his new project — a massive new five-story culinary space in Seoul.

So, this limited-time menu ended up being a great consolation prize — more than 10 months later.

Food Rating: 6/10
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