Dinner @ CIAK In The Kitchen

CIAK In The Kitchen 是國際名廚Umberto Bombana在中環Landmark新開的意大利餐廳，主打簡便實惠的意大利菜。一如他的姊妹餐廳8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo，餐廳的概念來自意大利電影和文化風格，有Open Kitchen Stations同時又像意大利的市場擺放不同的Produce，且到處也掛上了不同的經典電影海報，猶如置身外國一樣，很豐富多采。雖然它的食物份量不大，而且也不便宜，但是主菜如Pizza Piccante ($160)實在美味，Mozzarella芝士用得出色，餅皮做得很鬆軟。其他甜品如Passion Fruit Tart ($35)和Gianduja Chocolate Bar ($58)也有水準，各有吸引力。這次和Tee來吃生日飯，晚餐要大概每人$300到$400。

Italian food is supposed to be the food for the people.  Yet many Italian restaurants in Hong Kong are set to establish its fine-dining and Michelin-starred status with no feeling for people (especially when it comes to the price) .  CIAK In The Kitchen, a highly anticipated and recently opened restaurant in Landmark Central, is Umberto Bombana's new love child in Hong Kong.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the chef, he is the man behind the Michelin-starred 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo.  CIAK In The Kitchen in many ways aims to bring the casual and affordable Italian food back to the people. 

We went there before 7 p.m. on a Friday night for Tee's birthday celebration and was informed that the dining area was already fully booked.  We were seated at the area near the entrance (which was equally comfortable and cozy).  The young and enthusiastic staff was certainly friendly and helpful. 

The decor was contemporary and stylish, the ambience was artful and cute, complete with an open kitchen that has multiple food stations serving different dishes, grocery market items and produce placed around the wall cabinets, and nostalgic and classic movie posters everywhere (although Marilyn Monroe was not strictly-speaking an Italian star, kudos for using the poster for the iconic La Dolce Vita!).  Dinner costs around $300 to $400 per head. 

(1) The King Prawns and Zucchini Fetticine ($220) looked so enticing and attractive when it was served, but we were a little bit disappointed.  While the pasta was firm and moist and the taste was sharp and distinctive benefited from the freshness of the prawns, we felt that the restaurant could be more generous with the portion of the pasta and its ingredient for the price.  We cannot say that this pasta was a notch above the other ones we have had in other places. 

(2) We ordered a pizza called Piccante ($160) served with spicy N'Duia salame and mozzarella, and it definitely was accomplished and delicious.  We found the pizza dough to be light and airy, and Tee especially liked the large amount of mozzarella cheese used in this pizza which was tangy and exciting! 

(3) For desserts, we discovered we could order from the display window counter near the entrance which offered more varieties than the menu.  The Birthday Girl picked the Passion Fruit Tart ($35) which was a bundle of joy in a light and exotic way against an interesting texture of the crunchy crust! 

(4) The restaurant kindly gave us a Gianduja Chocolate Bar ($58) on the house for the Birthday Girl! This chocolate cake was addictive, with its thin, velvety texture which was buttery without being overly filling. 

Overall remarks:  CIAK In The Kitchen gets everything softly and quietly right and it gives us a half-tarnished, half-burnished vision of the food market/diners of early 1960s Italy, just dreamy and casual enough, rather than laden with false nostalgia.  Although the environment is casual and chill, the space suffers from being too enclosing with no windows in the dining area and low ceiling.  The portion can definitely be bigger and the price might not be exactly affordable, but it's still a remarkable, cool and hip place! 

Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

INFO

CIAK In The Kitchen (website)
Shop 327-333, 3/F., The Landmark, 15 Queen's Road, Central 中環皇后大道中15號置地廣場中庭3樓327-333號舖
Telephone: 2522 8869