Overview
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Menu
Complimentary Welcome Snacks
Pan-seared Mediterranean Tuna Rolled with Spices, Topped with Sauce and Pickled Capers
A clean bite of seared tuna sashimi that had a slight smoky flavour before the creaminess of the sauce kicked in, finally with a burst of vinegary umami flavour from the capers. The flavours came as quickly as it left. A nice start to the meal to “open the appetite.”
Brittany Blue Lobster, Lobster Jelly on Rye Bread, Topped with Terragon Jelly and Lobster Coral Sauce
You can taste the strong brininess of the ocean from the lobster jelly. The jelly gives off a very light texture reminiscent of the ocean with slight tastes of salt at first bite with all the flavour bursting from the lobster. Then you taste the subtly chewy crisp of the cracker, but as you keep biting the nutty, earthy flavours of the cracker comes out that accompanies the lobster jelly perfectly offsetting the fishy flavours.
The cracker gives a much needed contrast of textures and flavours to the soft and light flavour of the lobster jelly.
Notes of salt and acidity along with flavours of wheat comes out of the cracker which mixes well with the lobster jelly, bringing out the natural sweetness and brininess of the lobster without being too fishy. The jelly has strong lobster flavour as if made from lobster heads.
Puttanesca Tartlet
A vegetarian snack of the evening, Chef Angelo’s take on a Puttanesca Tartlet made with tomatoes, capers and olives (minus the classic use of anchovies).
AKA The tomato tart was one of my favourite Italian bites of the evening. Probably the most recognized Italian flavour on the tasting menu. The classic flavours of garlic and tomato hits you in the face, transporting you to an Italian Nonna’s house on a Saturday afternoon. The classic tomato flavour was offset by the super buttery dense tart.
It was a bite that anyone on this planet would recognize as Italian. For the smallest moment of the evening, Chef Angelo made me feel like I was having a nostalgic childhood moment in Italy…oh wait, I’m not even Italian! What sorcery is this?!
Complimentary Amuse Bouche
Mazara Red Prawn Jelly with Celery Foam and Keluga Caviar
I would come back for this bite alone.
3 layers, 1 bite.
The red prawn unlike the lobster jelly before, had strong flavours but a delicate sashimi texture. The celery foam has heavy flavours of a rich French cream based sauce. Although the celery is an afterthought, the richness of cream comes through the foam. It is light as a cloud with bursts of umami in your mouth, from the caviar giving another dimension of flavour to the bite.
The final note was the slightest of spice that tingles the tongue. Not sure if it’s a sprinkle of paprika or cayenne on the top or if its a slight hint of spice in the prawn jelly, but it’s so slight and wonderful that it elevates the palate without scaring off any spice intolerant people out there. I liked it so much, I had DJ’s half portion as well (#sorrynotsorry).
Complimentary Bread & Oil
Sourdough
I love a good sourdough and this loaf had it all. This isn’t a bread to be polite with, get your hands in there, dip it in the olive oil and take a big bite from crust to the insides. You get a serious crunch from the crust and into the soft, airy insides of the sourdough bread. The bread had a wonderful aroma of nuttiness and fragrance with very subtle tartness. It’s one of those breads where the more you chew, the more flavour comes through.
Eat it quick, as the crust becomes harder as the bread cools.
5 Olive Oils
We got to try 5 different types of olive oils grown in different elevations giving the oils a distinct taste. From fruity to earthy to a very green taste.
I never thought the one olive oil I thought I would like the least was my favourite paired with their sour dough. The unripened green flavour of the olives seems to bring out the fragrance of the bread.
Appetizer
Brittany Blue Lobster with Puntarelle Salad, Capers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Coral Sauce
My favourite dish on the tasting menu.
It was like a flavour texture party in my mouth, but in the best way possible. The sweetness of the lobster is the first thing that you taste, albeit the lobster was probably 10-15 seconds overcooked, it would have been a masterful dish. The puntarelle was mixed with this exquisite coral sauce bringing everything together. But with every bite the flavour gets more intricate than the next, sometimes you flavours of capers, sometimes sun dried tomatoes, then different herbs (like fennel), that seem to not only enhance the dish but bring out the foundational bite to new levels. With each bite a new flavour joins this party train as if you’re discovering something new with every bite.
This was a genius way to highlight Puntarelle to the forefront and making it palatable for the average chinese person who does not know much of this vegetable.
Organic Sardinian Lorighittas with Hokkaido Sea Urchin, Broccoli Purse and Fresh Wasabi
This dish feels like a celebration of Sardinia. Using sea urchins and Lorighittas pasta as the featured items.
Did you know Sardinia is known for it’s Sea Urchin? I didn’t know either until a quick research!
Lorighittas is a braided pasta from Sardinia and cooked to the Italian al dente (extra hard).
What I love about this dish is it highlights the earthiness of the sea urchin that most people don’t concentrate on or try to hide as it can come off as unpleasant or fishy/muddy taste. By using blanched broccoli and a broccoli sauce (a vegetable not used a lot in fine dining or with sea urchin) it helps bring out the earthiness of the sea urchin. It also adds a textural crunch to contrast the creaminess of the the sea urchin.
I love when a dish teaches me something. And this dish does just that, reminding me of the subtle earthy flavours of the sea urchin and how sea urchin is not just a Japanese delicacy.
I would suggest to first try this pasta with a little bit of sea urchin mixed with the pasta and some sauce, don’t take a bite with too much sea urchin. With just a bit of uni, you are able to taste the creaminess and sweetness of the uni, the creaminess of the sauce paired with the crunch of the broccoli all soaked in the braids of the Lorighittas. The al dente cook on the pasta gives a good balance to the quite rich dish. Broccoli is the shocker of the evening. But it works!
Mains
Mediterranean Sea Bass with Topinambur, Carrots and Taggiasche Olive
The cook on the lobster in the appetiser was overcooked by a smidge, but the cook on this fish was a 10/10!
Soft and succulent but with a crispy skin that had the indulgence of a chip. The cook on the fish is the difference between a regular old restaurant and a Michelin starred restaurant, the technique needed to have perfectly timed-cooked fish but high enough heat to give it that crispy skin. Perfection!
The Topinambur (Jerusalem Artichoke) was the perfect accompaniment for the fish, perfectly sweet like a carrot, with the texture of a root vegetable, but the addition of carrots gave it the perfect textural component to offset the hearty, graininess of the root vegetable texture. The sauce on that I can drink. This dish like the red prawn amuse bouche left me wanting more.
Australian Pork with Salsifies and Figs Ragout, Port Wine Sauce
This dish surprisingly made me think of the cantonese dish of Sweet and Sour Ribs which uses black vinegar and sugar to cook the ribs in, but with a subtle end note of port wine. The pork was cooked to a slight pink with a subtle tart flavour accompanied by the sweetness of the figs.
It was great, but I preferred the fish.
Complimentary Dessert
Lemon Sorbet with Olive Oil and Cream Cheese
Again, I loved how chef is schooling us on all things olive oil. As a laymen, I don’t normally put olive oil in my ice cream, I mean, I’ve tried balsamic vinegar with my ice cream. But wow, the lemon gelato paired with the olive oil brings out this flavour and creaminess which I never though possible. First it’s that icy lemon flavoured followed by notes of the well known olive oil, but then it just melds together bringing in this harmonious creamy flavour of lemon and creaminess leaving you wanting another bite.
Dessert
Sicilian Lemon Tartlet with Pomegranate Sauce and Mascarpone Ice-Cream
The prettiest dish of the night. The glassy, transparent finish of pomegranate sauce and the yellow lemon border against the blue and white china should belong in a museum. But as much as the dish was beautiful to look at, I felt the taste if compared to it’s beauty was not at par. In Chinese we would call this “木美人” a wooden beauty, used to describe something that is only known for it’s beauty but lacking in other areas.
The dish itself was great, Ritz Carlton has such a great pastry chef. I can’t fault the mascarpone ice-cream or the lemon tartlet. But it didn’t come together and wow me like I thought it would. It felt a bit like an Instagram dish, great to look at, but nothing memorable in terms of taste. The one dish I had to consciously try to finish (but only because I’m not much of a dessert fan).
Cheesecake Bites, Berry White Chocolate
The cheesecake bite was pillowy soft, like a sweeter version of a Japanese cheesecake. Sort of regretting not ordering an after meal coffee with these desserts.
The Berry White Chocolate was a nice tartness to offset the sweetness of the cheesecake. Then the white chocolate hits and it’s just silky white chocolate that perfectly pairs with the berry.
Service
The service tonight was impeccable. One of the servers who also was overseeing our entire section was on it. He sent someone over before I had to raise my hand. During our dinner the waiters were talking to us in Cantonese and were professional but brought flavours of Hong Kong as the head waiter spoke to us in very colloquial Chinese. It didn’t feel stuffy and it felt a bit more personable. I was actually quite surprised how someone can sound professional and so local at the same time.
Final Words:
I feel like most people will only see this tasting menu for what it is, delicious. But will miss out on Chef Angelo’s knowledge of the vast culinary brilliance that is Italy.
I can see how people will feel this tasting menu not being “Italian” enough as our knowledge of mainstream Italian cuisine is like that of the flavours of the Puttanesca Tarlet (see full menu review).
Chef Angelo’s knowledge of Italian ingredients and his ability to highlight the flavours and textures of his menu is humbling, especially highlighting less known ingredients and produce to the forefront to an audience known to only love their imported seafood and only know Italy for their pizzas and pasta.
The food was perfectly seasoned as we say in Chinese (有味不咸), “It’s got flavour but not salty.” The seasoning on the entire menu was enough to highlight its original flavour without bringing more or less to the food. An art form on its own.
Might be bland for the Cha Chaan Teng (Hong Kong local diner) folks, but IMHO (“In my honest opinion” use of acronym is my humble ode to the Gen Z crowd) this is what perfectly seasoned should be.
Uncertified Rating
(out of 10)
Food: 8
Ambiance: 6
Service: 9