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.
But I did ask myself I didn’t eat here earlier the moment I stepped into this cozy space. The décor is simple but comfortable, with the open kitchen on one side running parallel to the narrow dining room. They seated us towards the back – I hope not because they think we would be too loud for other customers – and so it did feel like we had the whole space to ourselves. The place was busy but not hectic, and the fact that it's filled with regulars is always a good indication of its quality.
These days Chef Steve is the one behind the kitchen, dishing out classic Italian dishes with a slight contemporary twist. We started with a few cold appetizers – the pumpkin “panna cotta” looked like it’s “spherified and loaded with refreshing flavor of fresh pumpkins. I love the slightly bouncy texture of the scampi carpaccio and the dressing of seaweed, sea urchin and citrus juice gave the dish a nice contrasting flavor. A small pasta course was next, with the linguine dressed with plenty of the aromatic olive oil, grated bottarga and on top, diced Japanese tuna just slightly marinated.
I enjoyed the colorful presentation of the risotto, with the Arborio rice perfectly cooked with the bright yellow color with kale-zucchini puree underneath for the color contrast. On top was the Sicilian red prawns done two ways – as tartare and flash-seared whole. What an ultimate comfort food – I could see myself coming here, sit down and just had a plate of this as a “simple” dinner. We were given a choice of mains, and beef I picked. Very straight forward preparation but well executed, with the rich jus underneath and the creamiest celery root puree and sauteed yellow chanterelles served on the side.
Our dessert of Tiramisu was done in deconstructed way with nice sweet flavor, and before that, the cute choux pastry served with chocolate sauce and Osmanthus on the side was pretty decent too, working well with the dessert wine from Tuscany, made closer to the style of Sauternes with the noble rot rather than the better known Vin Santo from the same region.
After the dinner, I decided to take the slowest route home by means of the tram and enjoyed the moment of peace. Yes, I still think the place is a bit out of the way, but sometimes it’s not a bad thing taking a little detour to try something different, especially at the time when all I wanted is a big plate of perfectly cooked risotto.
(Dinner was by invitation)
When? January 6 2022
Where? Locanda dell'Angelo, 10-12 Yuen Yuen Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Acquerello Risotto - Sicilian Red Prawn in two ways, zucchini and kale puree
Drinks?
Champagne Legras & Haas Brut Intuition NV
2019 Castiglion del Bosco Chardonnay IGT Toscana
2015 Tolaini "Valdisanti" Tenuta S. Giovanni IGT Toscana
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