Italian Feast

Theo Mistral in TST East has quickly become one of my favorite casual Italian restaurant in town since its opening last year, and I was glad to make a quick return visit last week when Chef Theo Randall was in town to present a series of special menu at his namesake restaurant. With the invitation that only mentioned a “1-meter Italian Feast”, turned out they did literally prepare a feast for the few of us who attended the dinner at their private room.

Everyone was surprised as we were led into the room, with the long table already filled with dishes of food. We finally realized that’s what they meant in the invitation, and this reminded me of those grand feast in the Harry Potter movie, sans the floating chandeliers. On the table we got everything from the antipasti platter, to the piles of chilled seafood tower (with the likes of prawns, crabs, clams, lobsters and abalones), to pizza, pasta, bread and more. The seafood was impeccable, as one would imagine, but other than that my favorite was actually the ravioli, similar to the one we had a month ago in the restaurant. I love that rich cheese filling, and finished with a simple brown butter sauce.

As we (almost) finished the dishes laid in front of us, the staff slowly cleared up the table and brought us the second round of food – again, with dishes filled the whole table. This time Chef Theo came in with two more dishes, which were the steak carved in front of us and served. Two different cuts were prepared for us – one the Tomahawk Steak, and the other, classic Porterhouse. The texture of the Porterhouse was fine, but I definitely liked the Tomahawk more this time, well-seasoned and with the perfect marble texture. And let’s not forget the rest of the food that was brought in, including a few sides (artichokes and sautéed mushrooms were amazing!), and more meats (chicken and lamb chop). We were told the whole menu is designed to feed 12-16 people but I reckon 20 would be a more reasonable number in terms of serving size.

We were talking to the chef when the final round of food was brought in, and this time, it’s the desserts. There were no less than half a dozen of different pastries and sweets. Their signature Amalfi lemon tarts were there of course (and I finished two of them on the spot and brought another home), and so were other goodies including mini tiramisu, ricotta cheesecake and chocolate cake. There’s also the beignet, fruit bowl (with chocolate sauce and creme fraiche as condiments), and also the milk chocolate bar which one need to break with the special hammer.

Calling this a feast is definitely an understatement – I felt they were trying to kill us with food that's enough for a small village. That said, I am sure everyone at the table enjoyed such a wonderful treat prepared by Chef Theo and his kitchen team, and I would remind myself that next time I probably should stop eating 2 days before going to any meal hosted by him.

When? September 12 2019
Where? Theo Mistral by Theo Randall, Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, 70 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Grilled Tomahawk Steak
Web: www.hongkong.intercontinental.com/dining/theo-mistral-by-theo-randall/