Italian @ Cenacolo II, Hong Kong

Unbeknownst to my parents, I had a mission to expose them to plenty of Western cuisine during their stay with us in Hong Kong, in a bid to convince them that Asian dishes are not the only food they can enjoy. My dad has been pretty easy going, enjoying the meal at our favourite Mexican and willingly ate the spaghetti bolognese I cooked up for dinner the other day. My mum, on the other hand, is a tough one to crack, as she claims she cannot stomach any pizza or pasta which she associates with Italian food. I was keen to show her that Italian cuisine is so much more than pizza and pasta, and last Saturday we went for lunch at Cenacolo II, a newish Italian restaurant in the Mid-levels area.

Cenacolo II is the latest addition to the Al Dente Group's restaurants, and named after the popular Cenacolo in nearby Soho. The restaurant has a relatively large and comfortable dining space, a luxury in an area of HK where space don't come cheap. Service was friendly and sufficiently attentive, and it's always a plus in our books when staff are willing to work with food allergies. The set lunch menu looked good, and we all ordered from it. The 3-year-old was quite happy to eat his way through several of the lovely Herbed Bread that was placed on our table.

Warm and freshly baked Herbed Bread. The tender crumb was reminiscent of soda bread:

An ingeniously designed bottle that holds both balsamic vinegar and olive oil for the bread. The hostess said that we weren't the only ones who liked the bottle, and that several bottles have already gone "missing":

Appetisers

Potato and Leek Soup - smooth, creamy and flavourful:

Niçoise Salad - baby greens with roasted bell peppers, French beans, red onions, black olives, tuna, egg and balsamic vinaigrette. Love the colours, and tasted pretty good too:

Mains

Sirloin Steak, served with fire-roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes and mushroom sauce (there was a choice between pepper or mushroom sauce). My dad approved:

Stuffed Lemon Sole, with devilled shrimp, Parma ham, herbs and asparagus, topped with lemon scallion coulis and served with fire-roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Good combination, but the mash was a little dry:

The fillings inside the fish:

Dessert was a tiny slice of tiramisu served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I chose to have a cappuccino instead of the cake.

Tiramisu - delicious with just the right amount of liqueur and coffee. The ice cream was yummy too:

So what did my mum think? She liked it! Lunch was enjoyable, and a success.

Cenacolo II
1st Floor,
4-8 Arbuthnot Road
Central
Tel. +852 2826 9234