In Hong Kong, there are some classic restaurants that people fondly remember even as time goes by. Say Yung Kee for their goose (even without the star now) and Lin Heung Teahouse for their traditional dimsum. And when you ask about Italian food, Sabatini will come up most of the time!
Located at the equally old-school The Royal Garden hotel, Sabatini prides itself in traditional Roman cuisine that has captured Hong Kongers' over the years. Equally nostalgic is the restaurant's countryside decor, giving cozy, home-like feeling while maintaining a certain touch of class. Service was expectantly polished and non-intrusive, as the five of us were well-taken care of throughout the meal.
Complimentary Bread, Antipasti Buffet
While a dinner here will cost you nothing less than a fine-dining establishment, the three-course set lunch was relatively affordable at HKD350 (~SGD58), with a choice of main course, desserts and read well, free flow of antipasti. Now even though the bread basket was good, we took that minimally to save space for the spread!
While there weren't extensive choices, those available were of very good quality and I haven't even eat some of the more exotic ones before. My personal favourites were the eggplant, drizzled with olive oil and lightly grilled to bring out the natural sweetness, and the excellent pairing of uber-sweet melon and parma ham. Many, many encores of them!
Prawn Risotto, Crabmeat Ravioli
Ordering different main courses so that we (or rather, I) could try more things, the risotto felt a tad overcooked with its lumpy texture. The ravioli skin, on the other hand, was done just right with flavours greatly enhanced by truffle oil.
Pan-Seared Salmon Steak, Grilled Pork Chop
Nothing much to rave about here, just a very good slab of fatty salmon with smokey crust. The pork chop, however, was rather boring and tough to chew.
Pan-Seared Tuna, Fettuccine with Prawn
Again, a good fresh fish with perfect pink centre, while the fettuccine gave little surprises with its straight-forward taste and texture.
Grilled Baby Lamb Rack
Finally, my own choice of mains that was juicy, tender and relatively light in gamely stench. Almost tempted to gnaw on the bones!
Just when we were done with the mains, out came the dessert trolley to showcase today's selections. We sure had a tough time deciding!
Tiramisu, Strawberry Tart
The first one was unfortunately a letdown; too dry and cream-overloaded for my liking. The tart fair much better with its sweet berries and flaky skin.
Cappuccino, Petit Fours
Time to wrap it up! Bite-sized almond cookies to go with the fragrant cuppa. You will need that burst to fight off food coma!
While there wasn't anything that stood out for the wrong reason, our lunch at Sabatini went on flatly without elements of surprise. Apart from the exquisite antipasti spread, I didn't think Sabatini's legendary status was justified. Give it a another shot for dinner? Let me think about it!
Sabatini Ristorante Italiano
3/F, The Royal Garden
69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Taken with Nikon D70
0 comments:
Post a Comment