8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA HK
8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA – HK is the only Michelin three-star Italian restaurant in Asia. After visiting several Bombana establishments over the past year, I personally find the Michelin one-star Macau branch to be the best (though I've heard it's not what it used to be), followed by Hong Kong, slightly better than Shanghai, with Beijing clearly lagging behind. Lunch at Bombana HK costs nearly 1500 HKD per person, a price that delicately reflects the market's fair valuation for such a meal's quality, neither too high nor too low, making it somewhat a bargain given its three-star status.
The restaurant is tucked away in a commercial office building, embodying a business-like atmosphere. Weekend lunches are predominantly patronized by local guests dressed in the classic light blue banker shirts and their companions, reminiscent of my student days interning at Beijing's China World Tower 3, when investment banking and consulting were the coveted careers. My peers and I took pride in working directly after undergraduate studies, preferring the hustle of the financial district to the serene beauty of Yan Garden, with a similar dress code and demeanor almost as if it was copied and pasted everywhere.
This time, seated by the window, I noticed how many renowned Italian restaurants back home prefer a convivial seating arrangement, with all tables radiating from a central floral arrangement, focusing all diners' attention towards each other, unlike the more dispersed layout common in mainland China's fine dining, aimed at minimizing direct line of sight between tables. Bombana HK follows this Italian tradition, where even window seats face inward towards the central floral display, evenly distributing 12 tables around it.
The restaurant feels somewhat worn and cramped due to its low ceilings, yet it maintains the consistent Bombana decor style, with most dishes served on simple white plates, lacking the distinctiveness found in the Shanghai branch.
In terms of service, Hong Kong's front of house staff may fall short in looks compared to other branches, but the elegance and stability when pouring olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and the perfect circle it forms without splashing, showcase their professional training. However, this was the extent of notable service details. Caprice is the only Michelin three-star Western restaurant in Hong Kong that I've noticed makes an effort to speak Mandarin with guests who do so.
Now, back to the food:
The meal began with a simple appetizer of tomato with beetroot salad, lacking in culinary complexity and with mediocre ingredients. The bread, surprisingly average, came next.
The highlight was the crispy fried octopus appetizer, with varying degrees of crunchiness and aroma depending on the part, overall deliciously crispy. The seafood soup was unremarkable, primarily shrimp-based, though the shrimp itself was fresh and firm.
Then came the morel mushroom spaghetti, with pasta cooked to my preferred texture, accompanied by a solid green sauce and morel-stuffed meat, a substantial main course.
The main dish of sea bass with tomato fish broth and garnished with bok choy was nothing special, but by this point, the meal maintained a consistent quality.
Dessert was a run-of-the-mill cream with ice cream, showing signs of melting when served. The dessert cart was equally unremarkable.
