Assaggio Trattoria Italiana – New Style on the Menu!

。Assaggio Trattoria Italiana – 新廚新風格。

聖誕期間，和朋友的聚會更見頻密，這天獲邀來到Assaggio Trattoria Italiana 灣仔店試試新上任大廚的廚藝，亦正好在聖誕節前和一班博客聚一聚。Assaggio一直主張由意大利入口食材，也得到意大利商會的認証，再配合新廚Francesco從家鄉Piedmont帶來的不少新煮法，讓餐牌更生新氣。

Friends gathering is getting to be more frequent during Christmas season. Was invited to try the new menu from the new chef, who has just been on broad for 1 month, at Assaggio Wanchai branch. It was also a great chance to meet with some bloggers before Christmas. Assaggio is very well-known of using ingredients imported directly from Italy and receives the recognition from Italian Chamber of Commerce. The restaurant becomes alive again after Chef Francesco’s arrival together with some of his recipe from his hometown Piedmont.

這天人多，友人們開了一瓶紅酒，但我還是想試試雞尾酒，便點了一杯EST, 由氈酒、蜜桃、熱情果糖漿和菠蘿汁調製，微甜，很熱帶的感覺，熱情果及菠蘿的果味特別突出。
We ordered a bottle of red wine to share but I still preferred cocktail and ordered a glass of EST, which is a mix of gin, peach purée, passion fruit syrup and pineapple juice. A very refreshing tropical with outstanding flavour of pineapple and passion fruit.

主廚先為我們送來一碟小食拼盤，包含了不同種類的包類，有芝士脆片、火腿配Pita軟包、火腿包裹著Grissini麵包條。意大利火腿充滿鹹香，配麵包條非常香脆，但個人較喜歡火腿配軟包，口感鬆軟，鹹度有剛剛好。

Chef brought some snacks before getting into the main menu. The platter included different types of bread, such as crispy cheese bread, Pita with ham and Grissini wrapped with ham. The saltiness of the ham was so rich and worked really well with Grissini the bread stick, but I do prefer the Pita with the soft texture and light flavour of ham.

前菜已經讓人非常期待， 海鮮沙律以最簡單的鹽、檸檬汁和橄欖油調味，讓人食到海鮮最原始的鮮味。 烤牛肉配吞拿魚醬，加上了紅菜頭，令菜式多了點點甜味，相當不錯。而前菜的邪惡經典，想必是夾著mozzarella芝士和蕃茄炸軟包，簡單的配搭，清新的味道，再配上炸的手法，頓時鹹香多了。

We all were eager to try the starters since some courses came quite different from the previous chef’s idea. Seafood salad was used with the simplest seasoning – salt, lemon juice and olive oil to bring out the fresh sweetness of the seafood. Roasted veal with tuna sauce tasted surprisingly good with the red beet. However, they couldn’t compare to the deep-fried Caprese. Mozzarella and tomato was wrapped with soft bread and deep fried, which created a contrast on the taste.

這道南瓜湯，可能是我飲過的味道最濃郁的一個。濃郁不於它的膩，只在於那用南瓜打出來的香味，而羊奶芝士則為湯提升了不少厚度。廚師的細心真的很重要，用南瓜籽和以紅菜頭汁炒過的意大利米作裝飾，何其特別。

This pumpkin soup is probably the richest one I have even had. The richness was come from the whole fresh pumpkin used and the goat cheese which brought the soup the thickness. Chef treated all his dishes in great details while using pumpkin seeds and riso absorbed the red beet’s juice to decorate the soup.

主廚由家鄉帶來了不少新煮意，當然也會用在馳名的意粉和意大利飯上。這夜來了一道菠菜芝士意大利雲吞，圓圓的賣相，簡單卻吸引。切開後那層菠菜亦十分實在，味道濃而不膩。肉腸意大利飯，主廚上菜時亦介紹了食法，肉腸味濃，意大利飯用了最少的調味煮，將兩者混在一起食，味道便更平衡了。

Chef Francesco brought lots of new ideas and recipes from his hometown, and of cos those would be used on their pasta and risotto. Spinach & Mascarpone Ravioli looked very simple but also very attractive. Spinach and Mascarpone mix was rich but not too much. The following dish, Leek & Pork Sausage Carnaroli Rice, was a surprise. Chef introduced the best way to enjoy it is to eat the sausage and risotto together at the same time. The flavor of the sausage was so strong and therefore Chef only used minimum seasoning on the risotto to make a balance.

第二會合的主食是意大利薄餅，主廚準備了一濃一淡的選擇，先說一下淡味的紅菊苣、烤火腿和軟奶酪芝士薄餅，食下去軟綿綿的芝士，配上火腿的鹹香，是非常易入口的配搭。而較「重口味」的選擇就是加了藍芝士的茄子薄餅，茄子發揮了一個非常平衡的作用，以它的清甜平衡了藍芝士的濃郁，讓眾人連聲讚好。

Here you go the second round of main course, Pizza! Red chicory, baked ham, Gorgonzola cheese, was a lighter option between two pizzas. The soft Gorgonzola cheese brought out the mild saltiness of the ham. The eggplant & burrata cheese pizza was added with some blue cheese, which made it become very strong on the taste. Together with the spiciness of the rocket leaves, it became our favourite.

同場加映，意式烤豬，賣相非常精美，烤得金黃香脆的烤豬，切下去清脆的聲音，真的相當吸引。而且外脆內軟，肉質十分軟滑，絕對值得推介。

We also order the signature Suckling Pig. The presentation was so nice because of the crispy golden colour. Skin was so crispy but the meat was so soft. Highly recommend.

一頓這麼愉快的晚餐又怎少得了甜品? 今天還有5道那麼多，全檯的女士也非常期待甜品的出現。先說說 Tiramisu，香滑，那咖啡和酒味點到即止，手指餅剛好沾滿了咖啡，完全沒有過多。

How could we miss desserts at this lovely and happy dinner? All ladies looked forward to those 5 desserts on the menu. Firstly, the Tiramisu was so smooth and at its right balance on the coffee. Lady finger absorbed the perfect portion of the coffee.

Bounet，就是冧酒朱古力布甸配雜莓，朱古力味不太突出，如果再濃一點便更出色了。

Bounet, the Rum Chocolate Pudding with mixed berries. The chocolate flavour was not strong enough on my point of view. It would be better if it was richer.

Millefoglie ，千層蛋糕塔配黑莓醬，與其說千層蛋糕，個人覺得是薄餅煎香脆組成的塔，外脆內軟，內裡是吉士餡，再配上微酸的黑莓醬，真的非常美味。

Millefoglie, also named Thousand Layer Cake with blackberries sauce, was the gal’s favourite. Instead of calling it cake, I would name it as the crispy pancake tower. The pancakes filled with custard was so crispy pairing with the soft cream and a bit of blackberry sauce. Lovely.

Semifreddo，紅桑子芭菲配上黑朱古力醬和蛋白酥。最初還以為只是紅桑子芭菲和蛋白酥，一酸一甜應該很不錯，怎料切開後是流心的紅桑子醬，嘩聲四起。將芭菲和黑朱古力醬一起食，十分搭配，蛋白酥亦非常香脆。非常討喜的一道甜品。

Semifreddo was the raspberry parfait with dark chocolate and meringue. We all thought it was just a combination of parfait and meringue, but it was such as nice surprise when we cut it and found the molten raspberry sauce inside. The parfait was a good match with the dark chocolate sauce underneath.  It was a dessert brought you lots of happiness and satisfaction.

最後不得不提的Biscotti，雜錦自家製曲奇，香脆可口，最愛薄片的曲奇，多了一點點糖霜，忍不住又食多了。

Don’t miss the Biscotti (Assorted homemade cookies). It looked so simple but tasted extraordinary. Personal favourite was the thin cookie with the sugar on top. Couldn’t help myself to have another one. 🙂

在眾多菜式裡，不難發現主廚的心思細膩，每一道菜都講求平衡，務求以最少的調味帶出食材最原始的鮮味，為食客帶來最真摰的味道。 大家不要錯過。

Among all these dishes, it was not difficult to see the details and ideas that Chef Francesco wanted to create. It was all about balance on the taste and ingredients, by using the least seasoning to bring out the most original flavour of the ingredients. Highly recommend.

Assaggio Trattoria Italiana
Address: 6/F Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai
Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays 12.00-15.00, 17.30-23.00; Weekends 12.00-23.00