This place sits with its big windows glowing on the second floor of a building next to the Mid-Levels escalator and I'd noticed it many times when passing by on my way up. It advertises itself as offering quick pasta and drinks in a cafe style setting. The other night around 7pm, I wanted a quick bite before heading on somewhere else and thought that this might be exactly what I was looking for.
I clambered up the stairs into the large interior, all white and brightly lit by clinical white lighting. The place was eerily empty. Two ladies sat behind the counter in an open kitchen area, staring down at the phones with their headphones in. I kind of awkward disturbing them to ask if the place was even open. They gave me looks that really seemed to grudge my intrusion on whatever they were doing. They didn't speak much English and just sort of pointed over at another lady who was looking at her macbook behind a counter in the corner. I went over to her and she pointed at the big board with different, appetizing pictures of the pasta dishes.
I chose the carbonara, which was one of the cheapest pastas on offer at HK$60. Then I went and sat down in the spookily silent restaurant, bathed in the bright glow. As I passed the kitchen area, I did see one of the ladies putting some cream in a frying pan, suggesting that at least the sauce was freshly made. I wanted to use the wifi (they advertise it as being free) but couldn't find anyway to do this and after the less than friendly reception I didn't really want to ask.
After about ten minutes, they brought the pasta over to me. The portion was pretty small for the price, and looked even smaller because it was served on a large flat plate. The sauce spread out across this from the small heap of pasta in the middle. This sauce was pretty watery and had a very bland taste. It seemed like watered down cream, without any strong Parmesan or cheese flavour to it at all. Because the spaghetti used was the really slippery pale kind, this light sauce just slid off it so it was really hard to eat the two together. Instead of bits of pancetta, the pasta had big flat squares of fried ham in it that really didn't work. The dish also needed a lot more pepper, preferably of a much coarser grind. Overall it tasted like a cha chaan teng attempt at Carbonara, a long way from anything authentic.
Te strikes me as a really nice idea. A casual, reasonably priced pasta place would be a great addition to Soho or even other parts of HK. But in Te's case it seems like the idea is poorly executed. Based on the dish I had, it seems like they are cost cutting on the pasta to the extend where the quality and size just aren't good enough. That's perhaps why it was empty at a peak dining time.
吞拿魚香草汁意粉
日式明太子忌廉汁意粉
整體來說，汁偏稀，掛不上意粉，口感不夠豐盈。話雖如此，也算是個不錯的去處，可以再試其他款式。
每碟意粉才五六十元，當然是要上樓啦! 這間Te（請自行flip上面的相，是由店內影出去的啦..）屬於樓上舖，店內兩面都用上大玻璃，光線充足，都算係坐得舒服，但感覺就相當快餐店啦
掛牆menu有超多選擇，我們一行四人都選了不同的，先落單，然後就坐低等，大概5至10分鐘，熱辣辣的意粉就端到你面前
作為一個貪靚、崇尚健康，講好咗一星期至少食一次素的lahris，當然選了seasonal vegetable Spaghetti，同樣配以tomato sauce，其實這裡的意粉主要是配tomato sauce，當然也有白汁（忌廉汁）啦! 這個seasonal vegetable主要有西蘭花，本菇..睇落唔大碟，但原來份量都唔細..難得的是，岩岩煮好就上菜，所以食客可以食到最熱辣辣的啦!
人妻A小姐就點了Salami mushroom Spaghetti，真係同menu一樣，有兩塊salami，本菇看起來也好多，味道呢? lahris試過，tomato sauce跟seasonal vegetable Spaghetti是一樣的
妹妹J就選了Tuna oregano Spaghetti，這個微辣，吞拿魚味好香，或者大家都有留意到，每碟意粉都附送一件蒜蓉包，如果脆一點更好啦
最後K先生就點了Tuna Broccoli Spaghetti，這個終於唔係tomato sauce啦!! 整體來說，款式算多，但意粉是挺普通，唯一優點係夠熱，又勁快可以上菜，lahris 唔sure 意粉係咪一早出咗水（係都唔出奇），材料就一早預備好晒，主要係因為落order先落鑊，即叫即炒，5至10分鐘都真係太快，非常適合得一個鐘食飯時間的中環人
很喜歡那裏簡單、乾淨的設計，開放式的廚房、以白色為主調的裝修。
第一次去的餐廳，我一般都會Play it safe，這次也不例外。
海蜆乾蒜橄欖油意粉$69
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