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2012-07-03
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My girlfriend and I had dinner at i-Amina Italian & Oyster in Causeway Bay Sunday evening, 7/2, since she bought a groupon of HK$399 for dinner set for two. Original price was HK$798. We were quite excited prior to dinner since it was a very good deal with the discount and all OpenRice comments on this private kitchen style restaurant were positive.However, reality and fantasy often don’t mix well…The restaurant has a very simple decoration with black, white and gray as the major colors. No f
However, reality and fantasy often don’t mix well…
The restaurant has a very simple decoration with black, white and gray as the major colors. No fancy decoration and just few tables spread out spaciously. The place been opened for more than six months, but very clean and situates in an old building in Causeway Bay.
I believe this place has no liquor license and this is why they don’t charge corkage fee. They also do not serve any beverage other than plain water. We were told that if we want sparkling water or any other beverage we would have to get them from the stores in the neighborhood.
For my dinner:
1.Cream cheese seafood salad stuffed tomato canapés
2.Spring onion white fish cream soup
3.Porchini mushroom puff pastry roll with Tomato Coulis
4.Pan fried crispy salmon with squid pasta
For my girlfriend’s dinner
1.Avocado prawn salad with homemade mayonnaise
2.Spring onion white fish cream soup
3.Baked red wine pigeon with mashed sweet potato
4.Brasata 70% dark chocolate pork with tomato cream risotto
We also ordered a dozen of oysters, six different types and two for each. The oysters were all fresh and reasonably priced. There was one type from South Africa, which we tried the first time, and was positively surprised. Total cost for the oysters was more than HK$450, in addition to the groupons already paid.
The service people, a young man and a young lady, were very attentive at the very beginning; and spent time to response to our inquiries of the food, oyster choices, and the restaurant. The waitress sounded more like a part-owner than just a staff, and has managed the original restaurant on the Kowloon side. She also mentioned that there was no fresh squid at the market Sunday morning, and instead the chef substituted with stir fried pasta. I told the waitress that I never had stir-fried pasta, but was willing to try.
Both starters were very good and very creative dishes. Good mix of herbs and also sauce. The fish cream soup was tasty although the portion was very small.
My mushroom puff pastry roll was burned and oily. There was also too much puff and very little mushroom. When asked, the waitress explained that the chef applied truffle oil on the roll, and this is why it was oily. However, I did not taste any truffle oil I think olive oil was actually used. The waitress also didn’t explain why the roll was burned.
A pomegranate flavored sorbet was served after the entrees, and we considered that as highlight of the dinner. The sorbet was very flavorful and tasty. I believe the maker used quite a bit of juice and not much ice to create the sorbet.
Unfortunately, good time usually doesn’t last long…
I believe after pan fried, the chef put my main course in the oven either to keep warm or to give it a finish touch, which was not necessary. Consequently, the whole salmon was dried from the core to the skin; and same with the stir-fried pasta. In addition, the pasta was very salty to taste. Understand that I am more selective with food and food preparation, and since I didn’t want to fault the chef for being too selective, I asked my girlfriend to taste the fish and pasta. She concurred with my impression and also complained that her pork was also very chewy and dried throughout.
When we raised these issues to the waitress, she said that previously some customers requested to have their salmon well cooked, and thus the chef ensures all salmon are cooked that way for all future patrons. Logical? I told the waitress that if this was with other restaurants, usually the service staff would ask the patrons how they prefer their salmon is prepared, instead of across the board well-cooked. The waitress did not respond.
More disappointedly the service people never asked or suggested whether they could have the chef to prepare the same dish over or to prepare something else for us. They simply took the plates away and served tea.
As mentioned earlier, I was quite fond of the restaurant’s simple decoration, the atmosphere, and the food (prior to the main course). In fact, I was almost set to have my good friend’s birthday dinner there. However, they (both service staff and the chef) fumble big time in the second half.
I can understand the chef might not be in best condition to cook the food yesterday; however, it is unacceptable for the service staff who did not even make any suggestion to remediate the situation.
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