Featuring: Dragon Noodles Academy, Poem Patisserie, Spiga, Ode to Scallop…
IN Hong Kong there is no shortage of famous chefs putting their names to restaurants in a bid to attract Hong Kong’s ever-curious diners. Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver have both opened outposts that are (still good) continuations of their respective restaurants, Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen and Jamie’s Italian, for example.
However, one of Tuscany’s greatest exports Enrico Bartolini has teamed up with Hong Kong restaurant groups Dining Concepts to create Spiga, an upscale 1950s-style trattoria complete with a 350 reference wine list picked by sommelier Maurizio Severgnini. Known for his four Michelin-starred restaurants in Milan, Bergamo, Castiglione della Pescaia and Venice, Bartolini has dreamed up an entirely new concept with Spiga, offering his signature osso buco and vitella tonnato, as well as a plethora of his homemade pasta and risotto. Spiga is a representation of today’s Italy. “I am passionate about the contemporary tastes, style and presentation of Italian dining and want to share with Hong Kong a taste of what Italians are eating today in Italy,” said Bartolini.
Spiga, 3/F, LHT Tower, 31 Queens Rd, Central; phone +852 2871 0055.
Any visitor to Hong Kong hopes to be taken to one of those hole-in-the-wall roast goose and char siu joints which stay open until the small hours and have hastily scrawled menus which are indecipherable – even to locals. They still exist, but a far more up-market version that’s comparably priced would be Dragon Noodles Academy which is done up much like a 1960s martial arts film set with golden dragons snaking over the walls and medicine cabinets stocked with fiery Chinese spirits. Serving some of Hong Kong’s best Peking duck, lobster puffs and char sui pork, Dragon Noodles Academy is one of the best new places to grace Hong Kong and needs to be on everyone’s list when they visit. Dragon Noodles Academy, Shop G04, Man Yee Arcade, Man Yee Building, 68 Des Voeux Rd, Central; phone +852 2561 6688.
There is something ethereally beautiful about Vicky Lau’s Tate Dining Room. Crowned the 2015 Best Female Chef in Asia and flushed with success, Lau has moved Tate to a bigger location on Hong Kong’s buzzing Hollywood Rd.
The vibe is French contemporary with a strong Japanese influence, but Tate is much more than that, as Lau weaves narrative through her dishes in her form of edible stories. Her Ode to Scallop may raise a few wry smiles (especially as it’s part of an eight-course “chapter” menu) but for a surreal, unforgettable dining experience beat a path, especially as Tate tends to be booked up for days in advance. Don’t forget to visit Lau’s Poem Patisserie in the same building for picturesque pastries. Tate Dining Room, 210 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan; phone +852 9486 2172.