Fall Flavours

Food guest blogger hkLifestyleGeek visits Sabatini and give us her thoughts. Cooler temperatures means autumn is finally here even though we're well into October. Nevertheless it also signals the beginning of hearty foods and porcini comes to mind. One of the best places to go for Italian on the Kowloon side is Sabatini in The Royal Garden hotel. The restaurant celebrates its 20th anniversary in the hotel next month and it's no wonder why with its consistently sold Italian cuisine. New sous chef Andrea Oreste Delzanno went to northern Italy to handpick the porcinis himself and created some delicious culinary creations.

Most interesting was the starter of raw porcini and peach slices on greens with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese (HK$238) that was finished with duck liver powder. And yes sprinkled on top of the slices of mushroom was a beige powder. On its own the frozen powder melted in the mouth and revealed its foie gras flavour that was rich, but light because it was in a powder form.

How he created that is nothing short of magical.

Next came porcini mushroom soup served like a cup of cappuccino (HK$218) and came with parmigiano cheese biscuits shaped like small flowers. While the presentation is nothing new, the taste was very intense and good to the last drop.

An excellent pasta dish is the homemade tagliatelle with porcini, Italian sausage and parmigiano cheese foam (HK$378). The tagliatelle is also made with porcini essence, further enhancing the flavour of the mushrooms and accompanied with the Tuscan sausage removed from the casing for a more rustic appearance, mixed with a beef gravy.

Or if you've had enough porcini, Delzanno's signature dish is the tagliolini with slow-cooked lobster with zucchini and vanilla oil (HK$528). The chunks of lobster are cooked perfectly with a fresh crunchiness and thin slices of zucchini.

Try to leave room for dessert -- or rather your mouth will be watering at the sight of the dessert trolley even though you're pretty much full.

If you can only pick one, choose the Santa Anna -- a large round milk chocolate-looking cake with lots of cream and cream puffs on it.

It's a deluxe chocolate mousse with a flaky crust for a delicious contrast and it's a favourite of regulars. Or you can try the classic tiramisu in a large martini glass, and you can always have fresh mixed berries on the side.

Now if only we had two stomachs instead of one then we could sample all the desserts on the trolley...

The porcini promotion will be on until mid November.

Sabatini Ristorante
3/F, The Royal Garden
69 Mody Road
2733 2000
www.rghk.com.hk