Pici Pasta Bar Lai Chi Kok x Napoli Matfia (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

Cova Pasticceria & Confetteria Festival Walk 又一城店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Mom’s birthday falls on a public holiday this year, so we can finally give her a proper celebration on her special day. She’s a total sucker for anything with chestnut so the plan was to get her a chestnut cake. But summer is not really chestnut season making this a bit of a challenge.

With only a handful of cake shops offering chestnut birthday cakes these days, the choices were pretty slim. In the end, I decided to go with the Chestnut Harvest Cake from Cova Pasticceria & Confetteria.

This came with chestnut purée and fresh cream layered into three sponge-cake layers, then finished with chestnut cream, Italian imported marrons glacés, and little pistachio bites on top. It turned out to be a bit sweeter than I expected. But I thought different layers of the cake comes together beautifully and gives a satisfying, well-balanced mouthfeel that’s made everyone very happy.

Little nugget got his first taste of the longevity peach (壽包) this month. This was his second crack at it this week and he couldn’t be happier! 

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop LG1-10-11, LG1/F, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Kowloon Tong

Tel: +852 2265-8678

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 8:30pm daily

Zozzona (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

It was supposed to be a relaxing night out to close out on the last day of our long weekend. But the adverse weather changed all that, and we ended up arriving at Zozzona soaky wet from the heavy rain.

Zozzona is a hugely popular, casual Japanese-Italian pasta bar on hilly Hillwood Road in Hong Kong’s Jordan district. Led by Japanese chef Takayuki Kumai, the restaurant blends Tokyo’s neighborhood pasta-bar culture with freshly handmade pasta utilizing some of the freshest Japanese ingredients. I thought this guy would enjoy dining here, given his passion for artisanal pasta dishes.

Zozzona is a hugely popular, casual Japanese-Italian pasta bar on hilly Hillwood Road in Jordan district of Hong Kong. Led by Japanese chef Takayuki Kumai, the restaurant combines Tokyo's neighborhood pasta bar culture, freshly handmade pasta with Japanese ingredients. I thought this guy would enjoy dining here with his passion of artisanal pasta dishes.

Kagoshima hiramasa crudo ($148) — Thin slices of raw kingfish marinated with mint, lemon oil, and radish were pretty tasty, but I imagine it would be even more delicious if it were thick-cut.

Akami tuna tataki ($158) — Topped with Sicilian pistachio, Calabrian chili, and orange, the lightly cooked tuna tataki was missing that ultra-thin, perfectly seared outer crust to match the cold, buttery, and completely raw centre.

Linguine al frutti di mare ($198) — In a perfect world, I would’ve ordered the house specialty, the tagliolini “freddie,” featuring marinated squid in a homemade shiso and walnut pesto. But little nugget doesn’t eat nuts.

So instead, we had linguine tossed with local clams, mussels, and squid—finished with kombu dashi and a dusting of bottarga powder. The linguine had a really strong al dente bite, but in my opinion, the savory sauce could have benefited from more depth and a bit more thickness.

Spaghetti carbonara ($158) — Another simple pasta dish. The carbonara featured guanciale and jidori egg yolk, finished with a nice sprinkle of black pepper and shavings of parmesan on top. Again, pretty decent but I found the sauce a little too eggy for me.

Tiramisu ($78) — A classic preparation with a generous proportion of rich Marsala sabayon and creamy mascarpone.

It was balanced by a lighter ratio of ladyfinger biscuits. This was very, very good except that the ladyfinger was a little too moist. That was the only downside, but otherwise, the proportions were nearly perfect.

Little one had mixed feelings about tonight’s dinner and kept telling me that the pasta dishes at Pici were a little better. In fact, he went as far as to say they were the best in the planet. That was hilarious. 😋😆

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: $$$

Address: Flat A, G/F 29-31 Hillwood Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Jordan

Tel: +852 7073-8825

Website: https://www.zozzona.com/

Opening Hours: 5:00pm - 10:00pm daily

Gentle Pasta PAFC Mall 黑手制面 平安金融中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I’m heading back to Gentle Pasta (黑手制面) at PAFC (平安金融中心) for an early supper before heading home.

What I love most about dining here is their fusion take on Italian pasta, and the prices are always pretty reasonable. They also seem to roll out new dishes every month, which keeps things exciting.

Cream of mushroom soup (蘑菇奶油濃湯) — The soup was genuinely creamy, with a subtle hint of black truffle (maybe truffle oil?).

Caesar salad (凱撒沙律) — I always enjoy Caesar salad in Shenzhen because the lettuce is consistently fresh and crisp. I also liked that the dressing was served on the side, so I didn’t have to worry about it overpowering the greens.

Pasta with roasted chicken in aromatic ginger sauce (霸王沙薑烤雞意麵) (¥88 per set) — This is a new item on the menu, and it’s another fusion dish.

Overall, it was okay, but not as impressive as some of the other items on the menu. The spaghetti had a nice bite, which is always a good sign. The roasted chicken was decent too, but if I’m being picky, the aromatic ginger sauce was far too sweet, and the ginger didn’t come through with enough heat to make the flavors truly stand out.

The pasta I had tonight wasn’t my favorite compared with other dishes here, but I appreciate that they are willing to experiment and bring new ideas to the table. From what I’ve seen, that’s pretty common across Shenzhen — restaurants, cafés, and even bakeries constantly adding something new to keep our dining experience interesting. It’s something I feel Hong Kong is missing more these days: many places just stick to the old recipes and don’t bother to innovate.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: Shop 110, Level 1 South Tower, 5033 Yitian Road, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福田街道福安社区益田路5033号平安金融中心南塔L1层110号铺

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 13543918357

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/3d/bEdM

Armani Caffè (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I didn't have much planned on my birthday this year other than work, work and more work. But I did have time for a decent lunch before my meeting so I recruited mom as my partner in crime.

Our lunch venue was Armani Caffè at Pacific Place, a restaurant mom has never had the pleasure of visiting before. It's not a stone's throw away but it was pretty close to my meeting in the afternoon.

We got to enjoy some homemade bread before our starter. The focaccia and grissini were pretty tasty.

Tonno — Japanese bluefin tuna tartare with citrus gel and Mediterranean spices.

I thought the pleasant acidity from the two types of citrusy gels did a great job of bringing out the sweetness of the bluefin tuna. Not bad.

Cavatelli Ricci e Mandorle — The homemade cavatelli pasta was pretty fresh and if they went with something simple to complement it, it would easily have been a plus dish. But then they decided to pair it with uni tongues, Sicilian almond, lemon leaf oil, and an intense sauce made with Japanese sea urchin. The whole thing was just a step away from going totally sideways. While it wasn’t a disaster, the complex mix of flavors was a little strong and overpowering for me.

I didn’t have time for dessert, but I was okay with it. My sweet tooth had been busy all week, and it was likely going to be busy again with a rumored birthday cake from my favorite cake shop in town (that was gossip from my son). I’ll find out more about it tonight.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 301, 3/F, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 2599-2388

Website: https://www.armani.com/en-hk/armani-restaurant/experience/armani-caffe-hong-kong/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:00pm daily

 

Grissini (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★☆☆☆☆

Our meeting near Wan Chai ran a bit long so the thought to grab lunch in central or anywhere further away vanished. A few years ago, my usual go-to spot for lunch in Wan Chai would have been Roganic, but that ship sailed when they moved to Causeway Bay a couple of years ago. I figured it was time to find a new favorite.

One thing led to another, and I ended up at Grissini — a place I hadn’t visited for years. The food has always been decent but the service never really matched the billing, especially considering it’s a hotel restaurant.

After getting settled down for a while, my server finally came up and asked about my water preference. I told her, “Iced water, please.” Instead of moving on, she kept repeating the same question: “Still or sparkling?” Like a broken record. I repeated a couple of times that I just wanted “normal” water. In hindsight, I probably should have said that tap water was perfectly fine.

Eventually, I gave in and went with still. My water arrived eventually… with no ice (just great!).

Back for the food for a moment here.

As usual, I started with the restaurant’s signature grissini, the iconic long breadstick.

Vitello tonnato — The thin slices of lightly roasted milk fed veal were pretty tasty. The cloud of tuna sauce was a little excessive and over the top but not wanting to waste it, I decided to use the extra as a dipping sauce for my bread.

Linguina gamberi, alici, nduja — I dropped a few more bucks for the popular artisan linguine served with anchovy butter, nduja and Sicilian red prawn crudo.

The fresh linguine itself wasn’t bad but the combination of nduja and anchovy butter was too fiery and savory for the dish. There was no real room for the sweetness of the red prawn or the eggy linguine to come through and shine.

Tiramisu All' Amaretto — A trip to Grissini is never complete without trying their signature
Tiramisu all’amaretto. Their version strikes a nice balance of espresso, ladyfingers, mascarpone, and amaretto liqueur, and it stays beautifully pillowy. It’s probably my third favorite tiramisu in town right now, just behind Carna by Dario Cicchetti and Tosca di Angelo.

(Here's a list of my favorite tiramisu in town.)

All three dishes this afternoon were pretty decent but at this price point, the outcome was fully expected. 

Service, however, did not match expectations at all. After taking my water and food order, my server never came back to check on me again. It was Rugby Sevens week, and there were a couple of corporate dining groups sitting next to me, so she was clearly just focused on them. I was left topping up my own water for the entire afternoon. Bus staff saw me topping my own water too but yet none of them seemed to think it was worth stepping in (They were just there to clean the tables?).

Needless to say, this effectively marked my last-ever dining experience at Grissini.

Food Rating: 6.7/10
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)

The Spoon Pasta Bar (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

The Spoon Pasta Bar and its freshly handcrafted pasta had been on my mind for quite some time. It was an itch I was more than happy to scratch before the Easter holidays officially kick off this weekend.

There were plenty of dining options in Soho that caught my eye, but I was determined to check this one off my list. At around 3pm, the restaurant was still accepting guests, and not surprisingly, it wasn’t a full house.

Seafood brown butter tomato rigatoni ($168) — The homemade rigatoni was extra long, which made it even more special.

I really enjoyed the al dente rigatoni that was perfectly cooked with a slightly chewy bite. It did an excellent job soaking up the flavors of the tomato sauce, seafood jus, and brown butter. And then there were the shrimp, squid rings, and baby scallops each one adding to the richness and texture of the dish.

If I’m being picky, I thought the dessert menu could have been more extensive. Without a tiramisu or other classic Italian sweets, I decided to settle the bill and hunt for my sweet treat somewhere else.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: $$$

Address: 24 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Sheung Wan

Tel: +852 5187-3842

Website: https://www.instagram.com/thespoon.pastabar

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:00pm daily

Cannubi Enoteca Cucina K11 Musea (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I’m back at K11 Musea for a quick lunch again this afternoon after a short meeting nearby. After my recent visit to BluHouse not too long ago, I was planning to steer clear of another Italian meal but the moment I stumbled upon Cannubi Enoteca Cucina, I realized I haven’t been back for ages.

This is the casual sister of Michelin-starred Tuber by Umberto Bombana, serving casual Italian comfort food with high-quality ingredients. I remembered having a really lovely dining experience here a few years ago.

Some piping hot sourdough bread served with olive oil. I barely ate this morning, so by this point I realized I was genuinely starving.

Seared scallops, breadcrumbs, fennel salad — My server insisted there was “nothing special” about these scallops and tried to steer me towards the warm white asparagus, which the chef obviously highly recommended. But sorry, I wanted scallops this afternoon.

And they were pretty nicely done. The two pieces were seared to golden brown colors and complemented well by a simple fennel salad and crispy breadcrumbs.

Alaskan cod, clams, seafood jus — I was torn between a pasta dish and a main (and then, of course, whether to go for meat or seafood?). In the end, I opted for the Alaskan cod in a rich, flavorful seafood jus. 

The cod itself was a little small in portion but I thought it did a wonderful job soaking up the essence of the broth.

I really didn’t like the service from my server this afternoon AT ALL. It felt very old-school, like the kind of experience you might have at some upscale Chinese restaurants.

Once I got settled, he came over and started recommending the most expensive dishes with supplements (such as white asparagus and linguine with Carabinero red prawn). And when I didn’t take his advice, he was clearly not happy about it. He was showing it on his face and never did come back to check up on me again (which was fine with me).

But of course, I wasn't going to let that little incident ruin the rest of my day.

P.S.  I’m not one of those diners who flashes cash — although even the richest mogul in town might still prefer abalone mushrooms to abalone on some days, right?

Food Rating: 6.6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 113A, 1/F, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: East Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2133-4903

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 12:00am daily

Gentle Pasta PAFC Mall 黑手制面 平安金融中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Gentle Pasta (黑手制面) is an American pasta bar with a Chinese-fusion twist that’s been on my to‑do list for ages. I finally found an outpost near my hangout spots in Shenzhen this week and just couldn’t wait to try out their pasta dishes.

We arrived slightly after 5pm and not surprisingly, there were still tables available both inside and outside the restaurant.

I wasted no time scrolling through their electronic food menu and it was indeed full of enticing fusion dishes from starter to mains.

A little bit of humor. 🤣🤣🤣

Caesar salad (凱蕯沙律) (¥25) — I needed some fibre and this Caesar salad was just perfect. I don’t like salads drowning in salad dressing so this was spot on.

Pumpkin cream soup (烤南瓜堅果奶油湯) — This was included as part of the pasta set. Silky and creamy, it struck a pleasant balance of sweet and savory.

Crispy tofu with crab roes (蟹黃配酥炸雲朶豆腐) (¥38) — Very Chinese in style. The fluffy crab-roe sauce was nicely complemented by a lovely acidic counterpoint from purple onion and what I thought was ginger.

Deep fried squid (酥炸魷魚) (¥33) — Nicely executed. The accompanying aioli tasted a little like fermented black beans with a bit of spicy kick.

Genovese sea king pasta (熱那亞風騷海皇意麵) (¥66) — The first main event tonight was a new creation here. The linguini was nicely tossed in a tomato based sauce with prawns, squid and clams, finished off with shaved Parmesan and chili oil. This was pretty delicious and the extra kick added a nice touch to the dish.

French red wine braised beef ribs pasta (法式紅酒燉牛肋排意麵) (¥78) — Same lovely texture from the linguine, topped with a braised rib. 

Comforting and rich.

We finally got to dine at one of the buzziest pasta bars in Guangzhou, and the food mostly lived up to the hype. Both the starters and pasta were very good, and I just love the wide selection of east-meets-west fusion. My only gripe: a restaurant celebrated for its fresh-made pasta should offer more than just linguine. Angel hair, lasagne, pappardelle — anyone?

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: Shop 110, Level 1 South Tower, 5033 Yitian Road, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福田街道福安社区益田路5033号平安金融中心南塔L1层110号铺

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 13543918357

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/3d/bEdM