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2013-03-16
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Being a Hong-Kong-Islander, I do not often venture out of the island. However, when I was browsing through the list of restaurants on Restaurant Week, Messina caught my eyes right away! I have read articles on it but never had the motivation to go all the way to Hung Hom. Now that there was such a great deal for dinner (HKD 428 each), I decided to be adventurous and signed up! (It was until that day when I realized ferry service to Hung Hom had actually ceased 2 years ago lol)We cabbed to the bu
We cabbed to the building but still it took us a while before we figured out its actual location. When we entered into the restaurant, the decor immediately brought me out of Hong Kong to an Euoprean Villa. Messina, named after a city in Sicily and located in the Central Mediterranean and south of Italy, raised my eagerness for a scrumptious meal for the night.
We were first served with a bread basket that the manager of the restaurant told us that these were all freshly made twice a day. I just could not hold back and finished the buttery croissant that was crispy on the surface and smelled so good inside. We were first offered olive oil and balsamic, later when the manager realized we were fans of balsamic, he brought a bit of Truffle Balsamic to us! The truffle smell flowed gently to me and it was indeed quite a surprise treat from the restaurant!
Amuse Bouche - Pumpkin Soup was presented to the table not long after bread was served. There was a bit of balsamic on the top and it was rich with pumpkin. We gobbled it up in almost one go!
Starting with the antipasti, it was Sicilian Tomatoes Terrine and Burrata Cheese Salad. Tomato with creamy Burrata has always been one of my all-time-favorites, and having the tomatoes prepared in terrine form was still good, while the mashed onion marinated with balsmic was quite special (beneath the vege).
The first hot dish for the night was Dry paccheri from Gragnano, Sicilian Red Prawns and Pachino Tomatoes. Paccheri absorbed the taste of tomatoes and garlic well, a strong flavor of the Mediterranea, the prawn was not bad just that there was a comparison with other scampi on the plate which tasted better since they had absorbed more of the sauce.
We have ordered the two choices of main so we could try out everything on the set menu. In fact I was a bit disappointed with the Crispy Suckling Pig, braised lentils, Tropea onions marmalade and natural jus. The skin was not cripsy enough and I did not find the meat to be particularly tender. I have had different styles of roasted suckling pigs before and this was among the less tasty ones. Seabass, artichokes and black Truffle was not bad. Texture was fine.
The portion of each course was not huge, it was actually quite filling. Well, girls had an alternative stomach for dessert, and here it came! Tiramisu! It was very nicely presented and I loved the creaminess. We were also served with petit fours and tea as a lovely wrap-up for the dinner.
Even though I am a foodie, this is actually the first year I try out restaurants during Restaurant Week and Messina was the only restaurant I have picked. It was overall a great experience, with decent food and excellent service. The manager talked us through the dinner, explaining descriptively every course and answering our questions with patience. Would definitely love to come again to try out its a la carte menu, perhaps there are other tasty mains!
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