There's honestly never a shortage of interesting and downright bizarre culinary ideas that are born every day in such a dynamic food city like Hong Kong. We gotta admit, though, that while some are hits - most are definitely misses (read: The Coffee Academics' Coffee Cone trend). Vinny Lauria, Executive Chef of the beloved restaurant trio Linguini Fini, Posto Pubblico and Stone Nullah Tavern, has come up with something that'll take some serious warming to - especially if you're a Hong Kong native who grew up with hot pot your whole life. At Linguini Fini only, guests can now indulge in the first-of-its-kind Italian hot pot - a saucy spin on the classic Chinese New Year tradition. The final verdict: we all loved it - and despite its quirks and alarming break away from tradition - it tasted really freakin' good. Read on for details!
PBR by the bucketload (*recommended*) + sauce heaven. The Chinese dipping sauces are replaced instead with Vinny's collection of homemade Italian sauces - pesto, tomato, salami, etc.
On the left is the white clam broth. Kind of like a delicious vongole stock. The other side holds Vinny's mother's tomato sauce recipe, where the special tomato sauce is reduced to gravy and turned into a delicious broth - and the tomato sauce was awesome for the hangar steak in particular.
Seafood platter on top and meat platter on the bottom. The mussels were absolutely divine when cooked in the tomato sauce, and uni was added to each of our bowls to add an extra richness to the broth.
We enjoyed the finale of our crazy meal by boiling up some al dente pasta. Can't really say much on this except that it just WORKS. *Raviolis also available.
Some of the best garlic breadsticks I've ever had were these ones right here. Unfortunately, they aren't available yet on the a la carte - so definitely go for the hot pot if it means you get to enjoy these to dip in the broths!
For some reason I don't really know, we kept on going with the food long after our hot pot was taken away. Because when in Linguini Fini, one must have the giant pizzas. Homemade sausages on a cheese pizza -- what's not to love?
Restaurant Details
Linguini Fini
Tel: 2387 6338
Address: 49 Elgin Street, Soho, Central
Instagram: @linguinifinihk