Fine dining, it is not.

Fast food, it is not.

Fun dining, it is.

The restaurant: Carpaccio of iSquare, located at Number 63, Nathan Road, Kowloon.

TARGET (CHINESE) visited Carpaccio, last Thursday, June 3, 2010, at about 7:10 p.m., not knowing, exactly, what to expect.

What this medium did discover about Carpaccio was:

(a) This restaurant is worth a second visit in order to enjoy the food; and,

(b) While, clearly, this a formula-type of cooking, it is very, very good.

As is the custom of TARGET, a visit to the facilities tells a great deal about a restaurant because clean facilities, more often than not, are suggestive of the philosophy of management.

In the case of Carpaccio, the facilities, both for males and females, are for customers of iSquare.

And, they are spotless.

On being seated at a table, which looked out onto the concourse of iSquare, with shoppers, walking back and forth, something akin to a type of fashion show, TARGET ordered a bottle of Argentine wine, Terrazas Malbec, Vintage 2008, at $HK295.

The wine is powerful at about 13.50 percent alcohol by volume, but its sweet, flowery nose, its overtones of blackcurrants, sparkled by a little peppery zest, made it a perfect accompaniment to the food that was to follow.

This is that which TARGET ordered for tasting (without, of course, Management of Carpaccio, knowing what was taking place): 

Carpaccio Dinner Menu
(a set menu, costing $HK298 for 3 courses)

Lazio (First Course)

Artichoke and Ricotta Pie “alla Romana” and Baby Corn Salad
Tossed with Lemon Vinairgrette
傳統意大利雅枝竹及羊芝士配粟米芯及檸檬酒醋

Main Course

Sardinian Lamb Rump Braised with Cannonau Wine
Served with Celeriac Puree and Fava Beans
紅酒燴薩丁羊腿肉配芹菜根及蠶豆

Campania

“Pastiera Napoletana”, traditional Easter Cheese and Graincake
Served with Orange Sauce
意式羊奶及穀粒芝士餅配香橙醬 

From the A La Carte Menu, TARGET ordered:

Margherita Pizza
$HK108

Wild Mushroom Risotto with Mozzarella Cheese
$HK188

Baked Apple Tart
$HK68

The pizza came first, at the request of this reviewer.

It took the best part of 15 minutes to come.

But it was well worth the wait.

This was a freshly made basic pizza, cooked in the traditional style, albeit in a gas-fired oven.

This reviewer is not a great fan of pizza actually (very fattening, you know), but this pizza, for what it was, was excellent.

Best of all, it was served right out of the oven, piping hot.

Next came the first course of the Carpaccio Dinner Menu – the Artichoke and Ricotta Pie “alla Romana”.

What was especially interesting about this dish was its presentation – a fine-dining establishment could not have done better.

This was, as the menu promised, an artichoke and ricotta (cheese) pie.

One could have complained that the filling, within the pie shell, was a little on the lean side, but that would be nitpicking.

In any event, there was little to nothing left of this pie within about 5 minutes of it, being placed on the table.

The wild mushroom risotto was next to grace TARGET’s table.

Having only one year earlier, visited Tuscany for a short time, one knows good risotto from the bad variety.

The risotto at Carpaccio is of the best kind, of that there could be no question.

Next came the Sardinian Lamb Rump Braised with Cannonau wine.

This medium had never heard of Cannonau wine (of Italy), but, then again, there are thousands of wines, from all over the world, that one may never come into contact.

So, when the lamb rump arrived, it was something of an adventure into the unknown.

In short, TARGET will be venturing back into this dish again because it was pure ‘butter’ – a slight exaggeration, here.

As for the desserts, they were on a par with the main courses.

The desserts, as with all of the dishes, were made freshly so that one should not expect to eat and run when at Carpaccio: Good food takes a little time to prepare.

The Restaurant

There is nothing fancy about Carpaccio.

There are no soft furnishings and everything is, as the Americans would say, laid back.

The serving staff is all very efficient and all are very friendly, laughter, being heard from one end of the restaurant to another.

The restaurant seats 80 people and, while the tables are not of a generous size, in the event that there is no crush of people, the serving staff will put 2 tables together in order to make one more comfortable – without being asked, by the way.

Carpaccio is only about 6 months old and it is part of a small chain, owned, TARGET was told, by an Italian – which makes perfect sense.

Certainly, the food at this eatery is formula-style, but it is about the best formula that one could imagine.

The prices of all of the dishes are very reasonable and, although the wine menu is small, there are some ‘jewels’ to be found.

By the way, there are no European cooks at Carpaccio, only Chinese who have been taught how to prepare Italian food.

Anyway, Chinese cooks are some of the best in the world, aren’t they?