Spasso Italian

There are exciting meals like my one thirtyone dinner, there are less exciting or rather boring meals and there are out right disappointing meals. My visit to Spasso Italian would fall under the last category! The meal took place back in early November during one of the coldest night but it was for a birthday celebration hence we opted to sit outside to enjoy the view.



Alright, the view was nice considering that there are very few alfresco dining options in Hong Kong and this is one of those places whereby you can get that experience. (in my case, it wasn't a pleasant experience for various reasons to follow)



Let me start with the first disappointment or rather shocking experience. 30 secs after we placed our orders, a female staff with a plate of salad arrived. 3o secs??? No way!

Jason: "Excuse Me, I think we just placed our orders 30 secs ago, are you sure this is ours?"

Staff: "Ohhh, I am just responsible for delivering the dishes ... I don't know the rest."

HUH!? Thanks for being so frank and direct or straight out rude!? Turns out that female staff was a temporary staff but that cannot be an excuse for such a reply!

(1) Beef Carpaccio served with wild arugula and shaved Parmesan Cheese
Beef Carpaccio without much beef taste and the Parmesan was not strong enough as well.



(2) Compositions of baby spinach leaves, walnuts, green apples and Gorgonzola cheese flakes
No surprises here, rather refreshing though with the green apples. The Gorgonzola cheese flakes were not strong enough.



(3) Imported black mussels with white wine and garlic sauce
Overly salty with some broken shells and shrinked mussels! A sign of overcooking it. I would normally dip bread into the sauce but not this pot of salt water!



(4) Homemade saffron scented ravioli filled with blue crab meat laid on light green pea fondue
The ravioli was hard and dry around the corners. And yes, it was a main course and not appetizer. There were only 5 pieces. Honestly, there were just traces of crab meat flavors inside the ravioli.



(5) Fusilli pasta tossed with fresh tuna dices, cherry tomato, sun-dried olives and Botargo roe flakes
Salty salty and salty. Pasta slightly undercooked as well. I understand Italian food tends to be salty in general but not to a point where I want a sip of water along with it.



(6) Sardinian wild catch seabass
I guess this dish somehow explained their obsession with salt at this place! The seabass was baked or cooked within the pile of sea salt. It was interesting watching the fish to surface out of the sea salt mountain.



It was rather ironic because one would assume the fish to be salty but it was not. It was alright.



(7) Parma ham pizza
Was it just me or fishes at this place seems to be so ... contracting / ironic? The parma ham was very light in flavors, lacked the saltiness it requires! The thin crust pizza was alright but the flavors really bugged me!



(8) Roasted Suckling Pig
I was surprised to find it to be rather pleasant. Skin was crispy, the meat was moist and tender.



(9) Warm liquid center chocolate flan
We need not buy a cake for our friend but instead opted to surprise her with this warm liquid center chocolate flan. Asked the stuff to clean the table and then bring out the cake as a surprise. Turned out I was surprised!!! Instead of bringing out the dessert first as a surprise after cleaning up, this smart staff returned with a pile of clean plates and set them up with forks as well. Helloooo, that wasn't the kind of surprise I have in mind!!! With the clean plates setup, EVERYONE knew something kind of cake was to arrive! Thanks for ruining the surprise!

Likes:

• Outdoors view / alfresco option
• Roasted Suckling Pig - crispy skin and tender meat

Dislikes:

• Service!
• black mussels - overly salty especially the sauce
• The ravioli was hard and dry around the corners

Avg Spending: Above HKD 500 per person

Spasso Italian
Shop 403, Level 4, Ocean Center,
Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Tel. +852 2730 8027
http://www.spassoristorante-bar.com.hk/