[Hong Kong] Gia Trattoria Italiana - Regional Italian by Gianni Caprioli

Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Gia Trattoria Italiana has replaced Giando in its old location at the Fenwick Pier and is operated by the same chef - Gianni Caprioli who has built up a loyal following in Hong Kong with various restaurant concepts such as Giando, Fishteria, EAT.it and Mercato by Giando. Gia is focused on family-style regional Italian cuisine so expect hearty portion that are meant for sharing! The Fenwick Pier may not the most convenient location to get to, but once you make it out there, you will be rewarded with a spacious restaurant with a view of IFC and the Observation Wheel.

We started off with a Stracciatella alla Romana - a classic comfort soup with organic Italian chicken egg and pecorino cheese in chicken consomme. It reminded me of the Chinese egg drop soup but with a thicker and creamier texture that was soothing to drink.

We then had a Mixed Platter of appetizers that was custom-made for us by the chef so that we can sample a bit of everything. Normally you would have to order each appetizer separately but Chef Gianni said that he can put this together for anyone who requests it. Of the appetizers we tried, I liked the burrata cream mozzarella and mixed fresh Italian tomatoes and the zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta cheese, mint pesto and anchovies the best. 

The Deep-Fried Baby Sicilian Calamari with paprika mayo could have used a crispier batter but the squid was cooked perfectly.

For pizzas, you can choose between a tomato base or without tomato, and we ended up trying one of the white pizzas with Black Truffle Paste, Mixed Green Leaves, Mascarpone and Mozzarella with summer truffle shaved on top. It was very aromatic with a crispy crust while the flavors were on the light side. 

Chef Gianni then came out to tell us the different between summer and winter black truffle by showing us his collection. The summer truffle comes from Italy and the winter truffle is from Australia where it is winter now. Winter truffle are more expensive and aromatic than the summer truffle which has a more subtle and earthy flavor. We got to try some of his pastas with the summer and winter truffles so that we can taste the difference. 

The first pasta was a Spaghetti with Summer Black Truffle Pesto with bottarga and asparagus. The flavors were light and I quite liked the saltiness of the bottarga (salted cured fish roe) sprinkled on top.

The next two pasta - Tagliatelle with mixed mushrooms and Scialatelli with rabbit ragout - had heavier flavors and my favorite of the three is actually the tagliatelle with its rich and creamy sauce that was complemented wonderfully by the winter truffle. Again the chef had adjusted our pasta size so that we can sample more so these are not the regular portion sizes (although this can be requested as well for those who want to try more than one pasta).

We were already full at this point so imagine our surprise when the mega Italian Porter Chianina Beef came out with grilled vegetables! It's definitely meant to be shared and very reasonably priced at $1188 for the portion as you can easily share this among 3-4 people. 

But of course when it came to dessert time, it's like I have a second stomach and I was ready to dig into the Homemade Fresh Milk Ice Cream with crunchy almonds, berries and chocolate sauce! The ice cream was incredibly creamy and smooth, and I was perfectly happy eating it alone without any toppings at all - it was that good.  

Lastly, we couldn't resist Chef Gianni's offer of his homemade Tiramisu which had the perfect ratio of mascarpone cheese - it was super delicious and gone in seconds!

*By Invitation

Gia Trattoria Italiana
1/F, Fleet Arcade, Fenwick Pier 
1 Lung King Street, Wan Chai
Tel: +852 2511 8081
http://www.giatrattoriaitaliana.com/




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