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2016-07-24
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Quick Squiz: Reading that it’s (just) (softly) opened its doors, I was rightfully excited to give Harlan’s new place a go as I loved their pasta at Penthouse. The food here was somewhat reminiscent of the food there, especially the ingredients of some dishes (according to the menu), but the end result here felt a bit more vibrant and fancy - and this goes down to the crockery, cutlery and decor too. More about the restaurant: I was last in my party to arrive and was greeted by friendly staff
Reading that it’s (just) (softly) opened its doors, I was rightfully excited to give Harlan’s new place a go as I loved their pasta at Penthouse. The food here was somewhat reminiscent of the food there, especially the ingredients of some dishes (according to the menu), but the end result here felt a bit more vibrant and fancy - and this goes down to the crockery, cutlery and decor too.
More about the restaurant:
I was last in my party to arrive and was greeted by friendly staff who led me to my table where the others have already settled in. Wasn't able to meet the lady who took and organised the reservations, which would've been nice as a matter of continuity.
In keeping with 'rustic' theme, the restaurant was surprisingly cosy (read: small). What appeared to be spray-painted contrast hard flooring provided a simple backdrop for the menacing jellyfish-esque chandelier shades above, which looked attractive but would’ve benefited from a grander scale. Two little gripes. (1) The hard panelling against the kitchen area is probably easier to maintain, but would’ve benefited with a softer surface (stone or bricks?) to make the narrow area feel closer to theme. (2) As the restaurant needs two aisles for servicing, and the place isn’t exactly wide, I potentially see a lot of chair-bumping in that middle row of free-moving chairs during busy hours. I must also mention that both my chair and the chair next to me were both wobbly which was a little annoying throughout the meal.
Onto the food! I’ve mentioned a number of the menu items are reminiscent of Penthouse. Not a bad thing if you like that place and have had your last birthday wish for it to move to Central. Menu here delves deeper into what’s into the food you’re ordering. Reading the menu is already a delight.
The salad. I was excited to see five different salads all with buffalo mozzarella. We went with the Caprese; being my favourite classic combination. The halved cherry tomatoes were fresh, sharp in flavour and nicely chilled. The grated tomato puree was also an interesting take on the dish which was a little let down by the mozzarella which was unnecessarily tough on the outside and soft on the inside. I felt the puree lacking substantial texture needed a firmer (and more consistent) mozzarella combination.
For the mains, we went with the tagliatelle with a more classic pasta base, the baby pig and the bistecca (12oz) (thank you for writing it in grams!).Tagliatelle. The beautiful crockery it came with was in the face of the moon - with the pasta topped with curling shaved cheese to match. Portion was generous (more so than Penthouse, from memory). The sauce was a true delight by bringing a creamier - less tomato-based punch - affair which was probably helped out by the ragout base in the bolognese . The pasta itself was good. Thinking back, it could have been a little more al dente and I would’ve preferred the pasta to be slightly wider and thinner to create more surface area for the sauce and to accentuate the egg pasta base (which wasn't much). There were also a few that were stuck together as tightly as husband and wife, bringing inconsistency to the bite . Hopefully after run-in, these will be eliminated or at least picked out before being served. I wouldn’t have notice it came with three strands less.
Baby pig which was 'Roman style slow cooked' was definitely the ‘dark-horse’ of the meal and a ‘dark-horse’ it was . I’ve had my share of western outlets cooking baby pigs (piglets?) and they have always been underwhelming. Mind you, I’ve never seen such a style of cooking while in Rome, but its hybrid of the crispiness of Chinese-style suckling pig skin and the tenderness of slow-cooked pork ribs definitely made it a winner. The green apple and mustard jam was also delicious (if you like apples or apple-based flavours; it wasn’t overwhelmingly pungent; not much of a mustard taste).
Bistecca. It was delicious, and well cooked to medium rare. It had the classic characteristics of a chargrilled outer crust, and a good flavour to the meat (tasted like US prime to me). It was well seasoned too in terms of salt. It’s a great dish overall, even though also the one you could most likely get similar elsewhere (of the three we tried). Nothing stopping you from your beef fix though.
Then came the dessert selection which I found to be quite well curated (if I may call it that). We were recommended both the Tiramisu and Affogato (by different staff), both of which we were told were Nitrogen themed (Affogato didn’t say so on the menu though). We went with the tiramisu and the Italian cream puff which I was eyeing. Both came in good size for sharing between 2 - 3 people.
Tiramisu came layered in a glass jug with the Nitrogen bits on top giving off a waft of mist. Mixing it together in the very full jug was the difficult part. Finishing the jug was the easy part. While the Nitrogen bits added to the looks department, it was definitely the banana mascarpone which made this classic an instant favourite.
The Italian cream puff didn’t come as I had expected (but then again, neither did the tiramisu). A very solid shell encased the chocolatey goodness of the Nutella. Once broken through the shell, I might’ve gotten a bit over myself with the perfect running blend of Nutella and milky chocolate sauce that I had forgotten to give second thought to the structure of this puff. Certainly satisfies a craving for chocolate (not the dark type).
Overall, service was excellent. I’m surprised at how well the team played out only a couple of days into their opening. I liked that they changed our plates between entree and main. But as we were sharing, the tagliatelle and bistecca really each should deserve their own plates. They did come swap out a plate that was getting full from food scraps though. A note on hygiene. I would've given it full marks if it was not for Harlan bringing a few of the diners into the kitchen area for a tour and photos. Food was still being prepared there and one of them picked up a wooden serving dish to pose in a photo, then placed it back on top of the stack. I did not see if it was subsequently taken away to be cleaned - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Although it is unlikely to cause harm, it still feels unhygienic and I would prefer not seeing non-restaurant staff who probably have not washed their hands after eating into the kitchen. I understand it's easy to get carried away and it's great to build raport with customers, but I would not be comfortable visiting a place that brings non-restaurant staff into the kitchen while meals are being prepared. As simple as that. The place is otherwise clean and, even with the above, is probably a lot more hygenienic than many other eateries across Hong Kong.
Despite the sour note, I'm sure (or so I tell myself) it won't happen once the star of the scene is off site. I look forward to seeing what will be on offer for their set lunches.
P.s. Don’t ask me why, but I still cringe whenever I read out their name “ee da le”.
張貼
