Page 100 - Hong_Kong_&_Macau's_Best_Restaurants_English_edition

HONG KONG RESTAURANTS
ITALIAN

208 DUECENTO OTTO AL MOLO CARBONE
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208 Hollywood Road, Central, Shop G63, G/F, Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong 9/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street,
Hong Kong TEL: +852 2730 3900 Central, Hong Kong
TEL: +852 2549 0208 www.diningconcepts.com TEL: +852 2593 2593
www.208.com.hk www.carbone.com.hk
Chef Michael White’s casual Italian restaurant sits right by Ocean Terminal’s
208 Duecento Otto is often scintillating Victoria Harbour waterfront, and the alfresco tables on the There’s a certain swagger
credited with kick-starting esplanade let us take in all of Central’s arresting skyline, which really never about Carbone, a retro-themed
Sheung Wan’s dining scene, and gets old. Inside, it’s warm, dim lighting in the different dining areas, including restaurant that pays tribute to
it is heartening to see standards cosy banquettes with a view of the open kitchen from where dishes and the New York-Italian diners from
have not slipped in the six years excellent pizzas come out, fresh from the ovens. Chef White’s signatures the 1950s. Everything about it is
since its opening. The décor is are hearty regional favourites, but with a restraint on seasoning. Notables big, bold and loud: the menus are
unchanged, featuring two spacious include his braised veal shank osso buco, tender enough to cut with a spoon, larger than placemats, the tables
floors adorned with dark wood and pansotti—Ligurian style ravioli stuffed with soft burrata, dressed in a generously proportioned. Music is
furniture and blue and white seafood sauce full of briny umami and studded with succulent chunks of cranked up, as is the din of diners,
tiled walls—a fitting match for Maine lobster. Mare Nostrum is a gloriously simple salad of poached scallops, which bounces off the timber
the similarly rustic but refined shrimps and cuttlefish on a thicket of greens flavoured with macerated panelled walls and chequered
menu of Italian classics. Both the Cerignola olives.The Italian wine list is short and sweet, with bottles hailing floor. It’s the sort of place for a
appetisers and pasta mains have from the usual Tuscany and Piedmont, as well as Sicily, Veneto and Marche good night out with friends rather
us happily scraping our plates regions. Service is swift, informal but friendly. than a tête-à-tête, though if you’re
clean; dishes such as poached after that, no one will overhear
organic egg with spicy ‘nduja and you. Couples are usually seated
pecorino Romano, and butternut in the more intimate front bar,
and pecorino ravioli with grated which is also good for a pre-dinner
nutmeg and chestnut demonstrate cocktail. Servings are huge and
a masterful command of rich suitable for sharing—comfort food
hearty flavours, executed with a at fine dining prices. Think tubes of
real flair and lightness of touch rigatoni bathed in a kickass vodka,
(although desserts are decent but tomato, onion and chilli sauce, or a
unmemorable in comparison). The slab of veal parmesan, smothered
wine list unsurprisingly features a with gooey tomato and buffalo
wide range of Italian bottles, with mozzarella that’s made for sharing
plenty of variety to please every among friends. Lighten up the meal
palate; the well-priced cocktail with a caprese salad, which comes
selection starring Italian spirits also with a colourful mix of heirloom
catches the eye. Service is fantastic tomatoes, burrata and salsa verde.
from start to finish—friendly, warm, The wine list is an interesting
attentive and knowledgeable diversion through Italy, France
without being overbearing. With a and the USA, though mark-ups
convivial atmosphere, reasonable may raise eyebrows. Staff are
prices and dependably delicious effusive and knowledgeable,
Italian fare, 208 is exactly the the type you expect
kind of casual but consistently 208 Duecento Otto offers to find in a spirited
excellent restaurant that every more than just pizza joint like
neighbourhood deserves. Carbone.

GRISSINI MERCATO

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2/F, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong 8/F,California Tower, No.32 D'Aguilar Street, Central, Hong Kong
TEL: +852 25847722 TEL: +852 3706 8567
www.hongkong.grand.hyattrestaurants.com www.mercato-international.com
Naming your restaurant after a signature dish is a true marker of Chef de cuisine Anthony Burd has been quietly building Mercato’s reputation
confidence—and, fortunately, Grissini delivers on it. These warm from the as one of the best restaurants in Hong Kong, with an Italian-focused menu
oven, super-sized breadstick-pizza dough hybrids, served with deliciously that celebrates classic flavour combinations with just enough culinary sparks
deep and fruity balsamic vinegar and olive oil, are the stars of the show to keep things exciting. Take his signature homemade ricotta with strawberry,
at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong’s Italian restaurant, and stopping at just olive oil and grilled bread; the thick creamy cheese and sweet tangy jam are
one is impossible. Nevertheless, the refined menu is well worth your time, a match made in heaven, elevating this simple dish to brilliant new heights.
with hearty rich flavours, perfectly cooked proteins and an elegant touch Mercato has an impressive wine list too; there are over 200 bottles from
meaning that the pasta and meat dishes are equally impressive, although both old and new world regions to pick from. The restaurant’s décor is
desserts prove unmemorable in comparison. The extensive wine list is suitably unfussy yet attractive, with exposed brickwork, steel accents and an
excellent, covering every imaginable region of Italy, with Grissini’s helpful yet open kitchen at the back; attentive, efficient and well-informed service (we
unobtrusive staff another plus. The dining room is huge but comfortable, are particularly pleased with the depth of tasting notes our waiter gives with
although the décor—featuring a Roman-style colonnade running through his wine recommendation) rounds off the experience further. Unpretentious,
a central raised area—can feel dated, and its stunning harbour views are reliably delicious food at reasonable prices can feel like a rarity in this city—
currently marred by Wan Chai’s seemingly ceaseless construction. Best which is precisely why we can see ourselves becoming fast regulars at
concentrate on feasting on more of those addictive breadsticks instead. Mercato for many years to come.

98 | T .DINING 2018