If you’re looking to celebrate the end of a year many would as soon forget, you’re in luck, with the opening of new Italian pasta bar PAZTA at Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun.
There’s something about Italian food that makes all your troubles melt away (or was that the grappa?). Homestyle, simple flavours that co-exist in harmony, a homage to what came before – we could learn a thing or two from Italian cooking, after all, few comfort foods feel like they’re hugging you from the inside quite like pasta and pizzas.
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PAZTA promises authentic Italian sharing cuisine from across the mighty boot, including provinces such as Venice, Bologna, Rome, and Sardinia, which is married with an appealing selection of affordable wines, cocktails, and coffee straight from the homeland.
Recreating the buzzing ambience of the quintessential Italian eateries spotted in Italian piazzas (Italian town squares), the new bar-restaurant, which is open for brunch, lunch, and dinner, includes 45 seats indoors and 36 seats on an expansive patio surrounded by colonial-era architecture.
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Look out for menu highlights like Il Giro d’Italia in 5 Assaggi, five savoury Italian tartlets consisting of seasonal toppings such as mortadella, ricotta cheese, artichoke mousse, gorgonzola, and Italian pears; classic Pizzette Margherita with fresh basil and mozzarella domes; golden battered zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella, anchovies, and, a PAZTA speciality, gorgonzola; soul-soothing Pappardelle al Cinghiale e Olive Nere, a Tuscan dish of thick egg pasta ribbons and slow-cooked wild boar; and Spaghetti con la Colatura di Cetara e Alici Marinate, al dente pasta with silver anchovies, garlic, a dash of extra virgin oil, and a pinch of parsley.
You can match your dishes with signature cocktails like the Paper Plane, a distinctive blend of bourbon, amaro, Campari, and citrus; or the Lago di Pesca, with vodka soda infused with peaches in a dazzling yet simple cocktail exploding with peachy aromas. Alternatively, finish with a sweet touch with the likes of Delizia al Limone e Yuzu, lemon and yuzu caprese sponge cake covered in mascarpone cream and lemon zest.
If that doesn’t take the edge of 2020, we’re not sure what will.
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