Weekend Brunch at Grissini

I had a lovely weekend brunch recently at Grissini of Grand Hyatt when they invited me over at the newly renovated private room. There's no better time to visit on a perfect sunny day with sunshine beamed through the floor-to-ceiling window... felt like I was at Amalfi Coast with a glass of Aperol Spritz in hand. And I reckon the long table was just perfect for a cozy day time function with privacy.  

Bombana Macau

I ate at Bombana Macau on one of the Macau trips hosted by Galaxy Macau I had back in March. Have always heard comments comparing their Macau outpost (which has one Michelin star, by the way) to their “mothership” restaurant in Hong Kong (which has 3) so I am glad to try this for the first time. 

White Truffle Treat

I knew we were onto something quite special when I saw a large white truffle sitting in a jar on our table as I walked in to Castellana the other night. I visited the restaurant earlier this year but happy to be back, this time with a few friends and during the prized white truffle season. 

Mid Summer Sunday Brunch

We were surprised by how long the Sunday brunch was when we sat down at Grissini in August for their special menu celebrating the mid-summer Ferragosto Festival. We did try Chef Valerio Mandile's cooking a couple of times since he became Chef de Cuisine of this long standing Italian establishment at Grand Hyatt last year and enjoyed his food, and his Sunday brunch offering was equally impressive too. 

Visitor from Saigon

The constant stream of incoming guest chef continued throughout the summer with Chef Matteo Fontana from Da Vittorio Saigon being one of them, doing a 2-day event at Testina with Chef Marco Xodo in August. And I was invited to check out the menu on their first day of service. 

Slightly Longer Lunch

I was at lunch at Estro the other day to check out some new dishes on their seasonal menu. It's been a while since my last visit (in June last year - I checked) but we were at Chef Antimo's crossover dinner at Tatler Dining event a few months ago. Anyway, it's great to sit down at his restaurant once again with the most relaxed vibe (the dark pastel color theme helps) at the table directly looking over the open kitchen. 

Eight Slices Tasting Menu

We have had tasting menus of different themes before but I believe this is the first time we have a "Menu Degustazione" around pizzas. We made the booking as soon as we heard the Pizza Bar on 58th at Mandarin Oriental Tokyo is doing a popup at Landmark Mandarin and very happy that we did - soon enough it was booked out. 

Castellana

We had dinner at Castellana in Central a couple of weeks ago right before the Lunar New Year long holiday. The restaurant has gone through quite some changes since our last visit a few years back, now at the new venue in Central and a new chef on board, but they remained uncompromisingly Piedmontese, serving the contemporary style of cuisine from the region known for white truffles and Barolo wines, among many other ingredients and produce from the province in Northern Italy. 

Nicholini's Four Course Dinner

It’s been years since I was last eating at Nicholini’s – and I blame that on COVID and everything that went on for the past few years. But I was back recently to check out a few new dishes by Chef Riccardo Catarsi. 

BluHouse The Sequal

Just a month after my first visit to BluHouse, I returned for dinner, but this time at their more formal section called the "Dining Room" which opened its door in mid-July. 

Italian Food Hall

The new BluHouse was like one of those fancy food halls we came across whilst in Milan - the likes of Peck or Princi or Eataly Smeraldo were the one came to mind, featuring serious cooking, high-quality ingredients in a casual, laid-back setting.

Testina

It was a no brainer when our friends M and T suggested we met up for dinner at Testina. I love the restaurant and their style of casual Italian cooking when we first visited a few months back and have been wanting to go back. Given its popularity since then, we were lucky to get a booking confirmed just a couple of weeks back for our party of 6 to eat there one evening. 

Meal that got pushed forward

We had to ask Chef Antimo at Estro for a favor to move up our dinner booking to fit missus’ travel schedule in June. We meant to return to the restaurant after our lunch late last year, but then one thing led to another we waited over 6 months to do so. 

Ramato

Our host G assured us that there are more than subtle changes at Ramato other than the name change when we came for a visit a few weeks ago. What used to be called “208 Duecento Otto” on Hollywood Road has been relaunched as Ramato in late April with a “completely new” menu and décor, we were told. 

Laidback Lunch on Level 101

It certainly was a beautiful day to be up and about eating at 101 levels above the ground at Radical Chic – with the kind of early summer weather reminding me of Bossa Nova tunes for some reasons. I missed the gorgeous sunset at my last dinner here a few months ago but I was more than compensated with the gorgeous day time view this time at the table overseeing the Hong Kong Island skyline at the back and West Kowloon in front. 

Casual Degustazione

Remarkably, we saw a few new restaurant openings despite all the restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Testina was one of them, a modern trattoria-style restaurant at the corner of Lyndhurst Terrace with collaboration with the team from the popular Trippa in Milan and chef Marco Xodo hailed from Bombana Shanghai. 

Cooking with Oranges (Part 2): Citrus Pasta

For the past few days I have been cooking with products from Trepunti, an online shop owned by a Sicillian farmer. I shared my recipe for a dish prepared using Sicilian blood oranges and fennels, which were hardly an innovative combination. Neither does this one actually though I did make a slight change. 

Cooking with Oranges (Part 1): Baked Fish with Orange-Fennel Salad

Recently, a friend of mine referred me to Jennifer of Trepunti Sicily, a Hongkonger who ran a farm on the ground and also an import/export business bringing many of the Sicilian produces and food products to this part of the world. I learned a great deal more about the regional ingredients and cooking just by a quick chat and message exchanges with her, and she even arranged to have a goodie box available for me to pick up with some of the seasonal produce including many of the citrus fruits. 

Out of The Way

I was late for my dinner at this small neighborhood trattoria the other night – very unusual of me but it was a bit out of the way, tugged at the corner of a cul-de-sac in Happy Valley (and I was stuck with a last-minute chore – that’s the real reason). Anyway, I have heard great things about Locanda dell’Angelo owned by Chef Angelo who since then had a second namesake restaurant across the harbor (Tosca di Angelo at The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong), but I was put off for coming for a visit since it opened its door a few years back. Because again, a bit out of the way. 

On a Streak

My streak of Italian meals continued with a lovely dinner at Osteria Marzia. I walked by the restaurant, located in a quieter street corner of Wanchai, more than a few times and intrigued by the elegant facade and the streams of customers coming through night and day, but this is only my first time stepping in and tried their food.