This stand-alone eatery is not easy to find, unless one lives in Causeway Bay on Hongkong Island, or one has been introduced to Restaurant Bella Vita by a friend, but it is well worth a visit.

Bella Vita is located on the 11^th Floor of a commercial building with the name of Cubus, tucked into Number One, Hoi Ping Road.

TARGET (泰達財經) visited this stand-alone restaurant, last Monday night at about 8:15 pm and, after studying the menu and the sparse wine list, ordered the following:

Fettucine Salla Coda alla “Vaccinara” e Pecorino Romano
(Homemade Fettuccine
with Ox-Tail Ragout and “Romano” Pecorino Cheese)
$HK248

Risotto Porcini, Zafferano e Fiori di Zucca
(Saffron Risotto
with Porcine Mushrooms and Zucchini Flowers)
$HK268

Branzinoal Sale Mario, Vino Bianco, Tartufo Nero
Aspargi Grigliati al Sale Maldon Affumicat
(Baked Whole Seabass
under Sea Salt with White Wine and Black Truffle,
Grilled Asparagus with Smoked Maldon Salt)
$HK380

Cheese Plate
$HK138

Tiramisu “Bella Vita”
$HK88

Panno Cotta all’ Antica Con Miele di Castagno
(Old Fashion Panna Cotta with Chestnut Honey)
$HK78

With the above, TARGET, also, ordered a bottle of Pomino Benefizio, Marchesi de Frescobaldi 2007 at $HK460.

It was an excelling choice of wine with the above dishes.

On scanning the above menu, one cannot help but note that the cost of the food at this Italian restaurant, with Executive Chef Francesco Pasquini, personally taking charge of the food orders, is not cheap, but the quality of the produce and the expertise, demonstrated in the kitchen, makes it worth the money.

In fact, TARGET would go further to suggest that this restaurant, which seats only 50 patrons, rivals many would-be food outlets at some of the best, 5-star hotels in the Hongkong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

If any criticism could be considered valid, it would be that the lack of soft furnishings can make the restaurant a very noisy place since loud talking and occasional guffaws from patrons, reverberates throughout this smallish eatery.

The Food

The first 2 courses, Fettucine Salla Coda alla “Vaccinara” e Pecorino Romano and Risotto Porcini, Zafferano e Fiori di Zucca, were, simply put, Heaven on plates.

Both dishes were freshly cooked and the timing by the kitchen staff was spot on.

With pasta dishes, even if the raw ingredients are the best that money can buy, wrong timing at the cooking stage can easily ruin everything in a shot.

The main course, the Branzinoal Sale Mario, Vino Bianco, Tartufo Nero Aspargi Grigliati al Sale Maldon Affumicat, was, without question, the handiwork of somebody in the kitchen who well knew the art of cooking a fresh fish.

The problem with this dish was that the wild sea bass was a little too small to 2 persons, but, other than this criticism, all that one could state about this dish was that it was excellent.

Of course, comparing Hongkong’s version of this dish with that of Rimini, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, it does not compete too well. This is due to the fact that Hongkong has to import all the raw produce from Europe if a cook wants to try to emulate the original flavours of Italy.

The other dishes were good, but nothing particularly special. The cheese board could easily be improved and, as for the desserts, well, Italy is not known for its ability to produce outstanding deserts.

The Service

The serving staff tries very hard to please patrons, but with regard to some of the senior staff, they tend to be a little officious, with the best intentions in the world, no doubt.

Because this restaurant is constructed on the plan of an open kitchen design, sealed from the dining room by a transparent, heavy glass window, all of the dishes are served right out of the smallish kitchen.

Due to the size of Bella Vita, negotiating down the single narrow aisle can be difficult for the serving staff, but they seem to overcome this problem with ease.

This restaurant opened last December and, last Monday, it was about half empty (or half full, whichever description one prefers).

The Restaurant Manager is Mr Angelo D’Eramo, who said that he was taught English in Birmingham, England, so that some of his English pronunciations are difficult to understand, such as ‘hoven’, meaning ‘oven’.

Other than this, he is quite a character.