Italian-influenced Kappo

I am almost ashamed to say I have never been to Trattoria Queen Hollywood – I sometimes forgot there’s such a place though it’s been around for almost 10 years and checked all the boxes of the kind of place I would love to visit regularly. And glad I have finally tried when friend B asked me to join her with a couple other friends for a cozy dinner on another night. 

The place sat right near the corner of Queen’s Road West and Hollywood Road (hence the name) with the most unordinary, tiny entrance that didn’t even look like a restaurant. Its name and look gave out little of what kind of food Chef Takuma Katahira is serving at his restaurant either (except the “Trattoria” in the name may suggest some sort of Italian influence in play there) With only a handful of tables at the front with the small kitchen tugged at the back (with chef the only one working in there), I felt like we are eating at someone else’s home. 

The mystery plot thickened when I saw the menu with descriptions like “Takoyaki” and “Saba-zushi”, and we started with one of those, a long piece of saba-zushi wrapped in charred persimmon leaf and presented in sharing portion. Unwrapped, we found the dish done in traditional Japanese pressed sushi style, with saba (mackerel) slightly smoked and pickled with balsamic sitting on top of the cold sushi rice wrapped in shiraita-konbu and ganished with scallions and toasted sesame. This interesting, almost playful, combination of presentation and flavor set the tone for our evening of foodie adventures. 

The “takoyaki” did bear some resemblance to the traditional Japanese street snack of the same name, but rather, it’s a warm salad appetizer with octopus, braised with minimal seasoning and cut in thin slices, with dark-colored dough-ball (dyed in squid ink) and chopped octopus filling inside. On top was just a simple squeeze of Kewpie-style mayo and Italian salsa verde. It was a delightful summer starter dish with the bright flavors and good, bouncy texture. 

Our next course of Burrata sounds more traditionally Italian, but Chef Katahira served this with “seasonal fruits”, which turned out to be peaches, with a light mint espuma spooned on top along with a dash of olive oil. The more classic version (with tomato) was more about the acidity, but this one, it’s the sweetness and soft chunks of ripe peaches that matched surprisingly well with the creamy and equally soft cheese custard. 

Chef also switched the course order of the conventional Italian meal to one more of Japanese/Asian style, with main course served before the starch, which in our case, the pasta courses. For the main course, we had the deep-fried hairtail fish with farm veggies and fish broth. The fish, also known as Tachiuo in Japanese, came from local market and caught in nearby water. The fillet was battered and deep-fried to perfection with the golden crispy crust. The accompaniment was the interesting one, with chunks eggplants and tomatoes served with an intense fish stock demi-glace and Tonkin flower (also known as “night fragrant flower” commonly used in Cantonese soup during summertime). Turned out the vegetables came from chef’s own farm in the New Territories (where he spent time during the day), and I love the rich, delicate and creamy sauce that combined everything well together.  

Then we went back to a couple pasta courses, which were more of Japanese style. First was the cold pasta salad with octopus done ceviche style with tomatoes and onions and tossed with a light vinaigrette sauce. Then a hot one with more leafy vegetables (Chinese lettuce if I remembered correctly), tomatoes and Hokkaido mentaiko (cod roes) with a buttery garlic tomato sauce. It’s done in a much lighter style with a totally different flavor profile.  

We finished with a pair of “wobbly” desserts – the Japanese caramel purin, and the pumpkin panna cotta and served with kuromitsu (dark sugar syrup). Of course, chef grew his own pumpkin and this was done in the true farm-to-table fashion. 

Went light on wines this time with a couple of bottles. The muscadet was a good summer wine and matched well with the dishes which were generally lighter. And I always enjoyed Brunello from a decent vintage, slowly came of age with plenty of dark fruits and a touch of leather and earthiness which started to open up after a while in the glass. It’s a cozy, comfortable evening that I enjoyed with this unique style of "Italian-influenced Kappo cuisine", and good to have finally tried this little enclave that sat here in this quiet neighborhood since forever. 

When? June 28 2022
Where? Trattoria Queen Hollywood, 258 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Deep-fried Hairtail with Farm Veggies and Fish Broth
Drinks?
2018 Domain de l’Ecu Taurus
2015 Livio Sassetti “Pertimali” Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
Web: (Facebook) www.facebook.com/QueenHollywood