Cars, Food and the Ladies of Hong Kong & Macau: Jamie’s Italian

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Jamie’s Italian - Harbour City ( Hong Kong )

Jamie’s Italian has opened up the 2nd Shop in Hong Kong, blessing with us affordable Italian fare for a decent price. Personally I am aware that not everyone is happy with this decision – as the pricing point here is punching below the belt plus it isn’t totally pure Italian in recipes. We all face Likers or Haters in life, and there are millions of haters who think Jamie Oliver is over-rated as well as finding his sternest supporters. I rarely rate a place subjectively, but my stance is that this was great Value vs Money if only they can also fix their pizze and desserts to be consistent on a personal level. I saw a few pizze which is only available at this Tsim Sha Tsui side, and the dough and cornicone sides looked from pale to proper napoletana style…

Burger being Prepared Kitchen side -
It’s kind of tall and actually despite visiting his restaurants in London and Australia before, I haven’t really eaten this yet. I will eventually get around to it..

Portobello Mushrooms Fritti – $68
With grated Cheese and Garlicky Mayo. Such homely food but not sure how Italian traditional it is right now as a Concept. You always got to ask the locals.. ~ 7.5/10

Another Bruschetta with Mushrooms and Cheese with Rosemary - $80
This looked off the menu but was pretty well received… ~ 8/10

A Bellini Aperitive -
A perennial favourite here, due to the way they make the Pink Peach to order and settles at the bottom. I always order this.

Fresh Crab Bruschetta with Shaved Fennel, Lemon, Dill & Chilli – $70
This was good value for money but somehow I expected some impact with the sauce within. Good value for money though.. ~ 7/10

Fiorentina – with Lemony Ricotta, Buffalo Mozzarella, Free Range egg, Spinach, Broccolini and Anchovies – $158
This was welcome. I personally think their dough formula is aimed at the original Naple’s style Neapolitan pizza. It is half getting there. Call me technical but to me the Broccolini presented is more obviously more Australian than true Italian Rapini. Still good though.. ~ 8/10

Beef Osso Bucco slow cooked with Saffron, Gremolata, Onions, and White Wine – $198
The Bone Marrow bit was appreciated. So was the Fried Sage Herb bit. It was a lovely dish minus the Milanese Saffron rice bit by default. This was lovely but call me traditional, it needed the risotto base in the end… ~ 8/10

Prawn Linguine – $105
Fennels, Tomatoes, Fennels, Chili and Rocket. This was spicier than imagined… It had a good tomatoes and crustacean taste and was cooked well enough. If not a bit spicier than the description itself. ~ 7.5/10

Tagliatelle Bolognese – $148
Beef and Pork Ragu with Chianti wine, Parmesan and Herby Bread Crumbs. This was pretty memorable as an expected recipe with pasta texture. However I have had better in Bologna in Italy, the origin of the same dish. ~ 7.5/10

Polenta Chips – $45 with Salt, Rosemary, Parmesan Cheese
Very Good value for money and done correctly, even the Rosemary were fried first to release its fragrance. Addictive and at this pricing point only… ~ 8/10

Gelati -
These were decent and nearly Italian enough in texture…

Seasonal Fragipane Almond Tart – $68
It was quite accurate if not too exciting in recipe. That is Italian styled dessert for you.. I think personally this was done to acceptably precision for a restaurant concept ~ 8/10

Coffee Flavoured with Orange Mascarpone Trifle & Chocolate – $65
Way too dry despite the orange zest. It’s funny how they kept pushing this recipe like it’s the new Evangelist… This is not even close to a perfect Tiramisu recipe to me. Dried cake may be… ~ 4/10

Some Foods here were well Priced. I like their Details to Attention and over the many years, this isn’t my first foray into the Jamie’s Italian camp over numerous Continents. It is trying to make its own point about affordable Italian staple food. It is a good thing, Philosophy is always > Profit Margin and there is always an alternative to Fast Food in the world..