Angelini     Angelini意大利餐廳  

Angelini, the Italian restaurant at Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel last month welcomed world renowned chef Valentino Marcattilii from Ristorante San Domenico, Imola Italy as guest chef.

Chef Valentino, co-owner and executive chef of the Michelin two-star Ristorante San Domenico, is best known for a more simplistic and conservative approach on the interpretation of traditional Italian dishes. He has great respect for tradition, simplicity and fresh ingredients which turned out to be his prelude to success. His apprenticeship at some of the best Michelin-starred restaurants in France including Auberge de l'ιll and Troisgros early in his career, also left a long lasting impression in his cooking.

We arrived right on time at 7pm. Situated on the mezzanine floor of the hotel, Angelini has a decent but unspectacular view of the Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong Island skyline. The dining room was predominantly beige and red in color tones, providing a warm and modern atmosphere. It reminded me a bit of the Steakhouse from the Intercontinental Hotel.

Love the service at this restaurant. Maybe a little bit too classy for me and my boyfriend. Choice of ham was wonderful...other antipasti items were so so. Tomato soup was lovely.

Main course:
Sea bass (for me) was quite nice but can't say it was exceptionally well.
Lamb dish (for my boyfriend) was very well presented, juicy, tender and tasted perfect. No complains from my picky boyfriend.

Dessert was mainly a disappointment. Two out of three items I tried were way too sweet. If we were able to enjoy the credit card discount promotion just ended the day before, we would have been more pleased for the overall dining experience here.

I am an expat who has lived in HK for 15 years and my experience at Angelini was less than satisfactory and I think it is time that someone gave an honest appraisal of this establishment

To start off, the restaurant itself is very small and the seats are quite close together so it does get very noisy towards the end of the night (I went on a Wednesday and it was 60% capacity but still incredible loud at some points in the night).

The waiter served us a complimentary pre-appetizer; just put it down on the table and said, “this is your pre-appetizer” – no explanation of what it was or anything. When I asked further all I could get was “beef”. Didn’t matter that my wife does not eat beef mind you!!

The bread did not arrive at all until the soup came and then I asked for it! Many apologies later, I started on my tomato soup was not impressed. It looked and tasted like cheap tomato puree with chopped up onions.

For the main course we both ordered their signature lobster pasta. The waitress said she had to check something with the kitchen, then came back and said, “Sorry but we do not have the normal lobster in. So we are going to have to use a more high quality lobster. The price will be $400 instead of $230” – haha!?! What does that mean?? Are they normally serving up terribly low quality lobster for $230??? I replied that was fine as my heart was set on lobster that evening.

So on to the main course, the lobster was fresh and tasty but the rest of the food was just mediocre. I had porcini mushrooms with Foie gras as well and it was nothing special. The worse thing though is that the service is so terrible!! When the bread did arrive they just put it down with their “pesto” dipping sauce which isn’t as great as it sounds. They didn’t offer any alternatives and you have to constantly ask for anything extra, “Excuse me can I have bread, Excuse me can I have olive oil and balsamic vinegar’

The manager was scolding the waitress constantly. He stopped by my table for 2 mins and said, Hope your having a nice evening” so fast I could barely catch what he was saying. Then he moved to the next table and repeated the exact same sentence!!! HA! The way he repeated it just like a robot made the whole experience feel very insincere.

I guess what am trying to say is that for $1000+ I expect a certain level of service and Angelini just doesn’t have it. That would be fine if the food was incredible but the truth is that it is over priced and just average at best. I certainly won’t be going again.

After hearing much buzz about it, I decided to go for dinner at Angelini. From the very friendly welcome at the door, to the great attention from the service, and of course, the delicious and beautiful food, it was truly a memorable night!

To begin my dinner, I was presented with fresh baked bread which was light and tasty. It is paired with a nice pesto sauce which helped to open my already growing appetite.

I selected the Scallops with white Tuscan beans as my appetizer. Everything was cooked to perfection, presented nicely with tender and flavourful scallops and perfectly cooked and seasoned beans. Just delicious!

My pasta dish (which was hard to choose one, they all sound amazing) was the Bucatini with spicy Calabrian sausage and Blue fin tuna. The combination of spicy and savoury was wonderful and my server could not have recommended a more perfect dish. The Blue fin tuna was so fresh and tasty.

Next, I had the Lamb chop with pistachio crust. The lamb was cooked to perfection and was tender and bursting with flavour. I have not had lamb this fresh in Hong Kong before.

By this time I was getting quite full, but I did leave some space for a dessert and selected the Sorrento lemon sabayon. The zest and citrus from the lemon added a nice compliment to my meal and ended things on a light and delicious note.

Overall a top-rating to Angelini and its staff for making my evening so memorable. Even the chef is quite personable and came by my table to make suggestions and say 'hello'. It was nice to made feel special and I will definitely return again.

This is our 2nd visit. We chose to be seated at the round sofa as it was really comfortable. First served were a basket with combination of bread and the amuse bouche (the slow-cooked organic egg), also the prosecco (we used openrice coupons).
Appetizer: buffalo mozzarella cheese w/ vine tomato and fresh basil (me); aged parma ham w/ cantaloupe melon (husband)
Main dish: Big rigatoni with veal onion ragu "Genovese" style (me) ; steam red snapper w/ black mussels, anchovies, pesto and leeks (husband)
Dessert:: Chef Vittorio's selection of seasonal homemade gelatos and sorbets (me: gelatos of pistachio and vanilla flavours); Napoleon w/ chestnut custard cream and caramelized pear (husband)
We were served with "bonus"--traditional tiramisu, really traditional and authentic!
Finally came the petits four, really tasty esp. the biscotti!

I think it is natural for someone to have certain level of expectation when a restaurant is located in Shangri-la Hotel. With a few unexpected guests I switched my Sunday lunch from Domani to Angelini on Mother’s Day, hoping that a Sunday buffet brunch would please everyone’s palate. I was also looking forward to their pasta creations, as KC mentioned that Chef Vittorio made the best and most authentic pasta in Hong Kong. However, after the visit , I realized that upscale in Hong Kong doesn't necessarily imply quality.

At noon, the five of us entered the unassuming entrance of Angelini on the second floor of Shangri-La. The Sunday Brunch, priced at $438 (+10% Service), included unlimited Prosecco and Orange /Grapefruit Juice, buffet antipasti and desserts, and a choice of main from a selection of 7-8 entrees. When we were seated in a secluded corner with round table and high chairs, the waiter promptly presented us with some prosecco and bread basket. While the bread looked crusty and fresh, they were hardly warm and utterly average in quality. The pesto sauce condiment helped to improve the flavor a bit, but we soon moved on to the antipasti table for more selections.

Plates of seemingly authentic antipasti spread along the long buffet table. But upon closer look, most of them appeared only modestly fresh. Each of us shared and sampled a bit of the ham and vegetables, and we got the same reactions:
Fresh vegetables were not particularly fresh, lacking sweetness and flavor if unadorned with dressing.
The pickled or grilled vegetables were properly seasoned but hardly exciting.
Cooked meat such as pork loins and porchetta were dry and flavorless, and the smoked salmon slices were just as average as the ones you get in supermarkets.
The most disappointing portion was the salumi (prosciutto, bresaola, genoa salami, and prosciutto cotto) and cold cut These were clearly not house-made items, so all they needed to do was to source good quality products and prepare (cut and slice) properly. Somehow they failed to do both, with most of the salumi of pedestrian quality (monotonous salty flavor) and dry (improperly sliced in advance). I could have gone into any tiny deli store in Manhattan and get better quality and selection of ham, and here in an upscale Italian restaurant all I received was mediocre cold cuts on nice ceramic platters. How frustrating!

I didn’t bother to get a second helping of anything, except for the two kinds of cheese. The aged parmesan was savory and toothsome and served as a great foil to the beef carpaccio. I also enjoyed the marinated fennels which were not commonly found in Hong Kong, and my mom kept going back for more pignoli nuts which were roasted and full of nutty aroma.

The seafood platter on the other table fared slightly better with more satisfying offerings. While the oysters, mantis shrimps, and mussels weren’t in pristine state, I could at least relish the brininess of the fairly plump fleshes. We wanted a second helping of the cold crabs much more so than the chewy conches, but they didn’t refill it after the first serving vanished. The most pleasant surprises were the cold cured seafood, with the sea bass luscious and meaty, the way sea bass should taste like. The marinated grilled salmon belly was also incredibly velvety and moist, with a sashimi-like center rich in fatty lox flavor.

When it’s time to move on to the entrées, that’s when I realized that I had made the wrong choice – I shouldn’t have come for Sunday brunch and instead visit during weekday. I wasn’t aware that the homemade pasta, what I was really hoping that my mom could enjoy, were not available during Sunday brunch. Instead we were offered 5 different meat and seafood entrees and 2 pasta. My 3 companions all opted for Costine di agnello grigliate (Grilled lamb chop with crusted sea salt potatoes and vegetables). While the lamb chops were properly cooked, the dish was so ordinary and average in presentation and taste that the kitchen should be embarrassed to say that it was a creation of Angelini.

My Orata con zucchine all’aglio (Sea bream with courgette and garlic confit) was more in line with an offer from an upscale Italian restaurant, if they didn’t overcook my fish which became flaky and dry. I did enjoy the garlic confit and the zucchini slices which were very appetizing with a strong garlicky essence. In the end cleared all of zucchini while most of the fish was left untouched.

Fortunately, my mom’s pappardelle pomodoro (pappardelle with fresh tomato sauce) was the best of all the entrees, with the pasta cooked perfectly to al dente. The tomato sauce was refreshing and clean-tasting, just enough to coat the pasta without drowning the whole plate. It’s simplicity at its best. This confirmed KC’s recommendation on Angelini for pasta and my incorrect choice of visiting on a Sunday.

We were more than full after the entrées, so we only savored very little of the desserts. I didn’t think we missed out on anything as the desserts were also very unimpressive. Offerings included the chocolate cake, the mini fruit tarts, etc, and they were not much better than your neighborhood bakeries (and definitely inferior to most other hotel bakeries I have tried). Too bad that our meals didn’t end with a sweet note, though the time that we had with my mom and friends was really the best part of the meal, which I savored every minute.

Knowing that Angelini is supposed to be one of the better Italian restaurants in the city, I couldn’t help but to feel very disappointed by the food. For the price and the reputation, I think they should excel more than just pasta. The kitchen should at least put some heart to the preparation of imported goods, which I didn’t see during the brunch. So why does this restaurant keep getting all the praises? Is it because of the lack of competition? Or am I just being too demanding? I was so tempted to give a crying face, only decided not to do so because of their strength in pasta which I didn't get to try much this time. Perhaps I need to revisit on a weekday, but I doubt that just pasta alone can drastically change my opinion about this restaurant.

The French dude brought the Chairman and the buyers to this restaurant cos he frequents it many times in the past. I have been to the famous Shangri-la buffet lunch before and I expected something positive for Angelini. However, I was disappointed.

As usual, they hold a appetizer buffet, then you can choose to have the main course and dessert as you prefer. I picked the appetizer buffet and their chef recommended "sea bass" of the day as the main course. There was not much to choose from the buffet bar and the taste was just fine. Then, it came the sea bass in tomato source...it's horrendous! The sea bass was tasteless, I felt like eating some kind of hotpot sea bass in the Chinese restaurant...the fish and the source were on their own. I had 2 bites and that's it...couldn't handle it anymore...what's a waste of food...shame!

Personally, I would suggest Cova Ristorante's business lunch...they are not the best, but their food are of much higher quality given the price they charge is more or less the same as Angelini.

The only good thing about this lunch is the bread...Yum Yum...no complaint at all...

30th November 2008

For the past few years, a best friend of mine had birthday celebration on a day between our big days. This year, we chose Angelini and had go-dutch as usual.

We couldn't help comparing Angelini and Sabatini. Angelini looks modern and Sabatini has European specially Italian style. Despite both serve semi buffet lunch, we found Angelini more choice in appertizer. Quality of food is more or less the same. However, dessert-wise, the tiramisu of Sabatini in my memory was unbeatable.

In Angelini, the table for appertizer had more than 15 dishes to choose from. Soup of the day was asparagus soup. Among several choices of main dish, I tried mixed fish (actually with mussel and clam as well) and my friend selected grilled tuna. Both had meshed potato at the bottom. They were all yummy.

As I said, tiramisu was not as tasty as that in Sabatini. Don't know the taste of other dessert in the menu. Probably, will try in the future.

A complete semi buffet lunch costs $218 including all you can eat appertizer, soup, main course, dessert and a tea.

Dining in such beautiful ambience and nice food, we didn't notice that we spent almost 3 hours there. Relaxing enough!

Happy Birthday to J and me!

One of the most important occasion in every year. This year, mom chose to have Italian food here.

Reserved a big round table for 6 ( with a special guest this year) . The environment is modern and warm. A good view for sunday lunch!

We all ordered half-buffet, that means buffet for salad, one main course and one desert.

Salad was good and special, quite Italian. There are several choice of Italian sausage, I like parma ham so much!! But they don't serve honeymelon? Is that so bad to have parma ham without melon?

mushoom soup was very good.

They serve baby lobster too. Very fresh, worth to spare more quota for that.

Main course are generally fair. There are about 6 dishes to choose from. We ordered linguini, risoto, fish and beef steak. They were good, not "wow".

I tried strawberry panna cotta, that was really good!!! so smooth and rich, but not too sweet!! I rarely like strawberry stuff but this is really good! ( but really very stuffed after this desert)

hot coffee was also nicely brewed

We went to this restaurant 2 days ago after reading attractive columns on magazines. Tables are pretty crowded so the place is quite noisy. When we ordered, one of the young waitresses knew almost nothing about their dishes and couldn't explain how the food is cooked, what's in a dish, etc. to us. She just repeated the one-line description of the dishes to us. When we told her we wanted to share the pasta (as we're going to have a second main course), she said their pasta is much smaller than those of Spagetti House!! When we tried to talk to the Chinese manager he just asked another guy to take our order and didn't even bother talking to us! The 3 young female waitresses there are really incompetant to work in such a restaurant and the Chinese manager keep telling jokes with them while at work! The Italian manager and chef only talked to gweilos and ignored all Chinese customers! Everything is self-help (ie have to ask them for olive oil and vinegar for bread) and they just put them on the table, like at Spagetti House or Pizza Hut! Food is not worth their price. We ordered a baked sea bass (over $300) as main course but it's not worth it at all! The other 'signature dish' duck breast is even worse! Over $250 for this dish but the quality is the same as other places at a much cheaper price! All in all, service is really poor here and the food is not worth the price at all. We paid $1500 for 2 (already with 20% off with HSBC card) but what we got was like from a local western style restaurant at $500 for 2! I definitely won't go there again. Think twice if you want to try out this place!

Last Sunday my friend and I decided to try out some Italian dishes and we both agreed on Angelini because of their advertisement and location. We had called in advance to book a table for two, preferable window seats. When we arrived the receptionist advised us that there would be a long wait for our reserved table due to their mistakingly gave our table to the wrong person. We were totally shocked by this type of arrangment and even though they were at fault, Angelini refused to accommodate us with another window seat because they were reserved!
I personally found that type of treatment unacceptable and wanted to file a complaint with the Manager, but was told that the Manager was not available at the time.
We will never dine in this resturant again, even if they would have given us a free meal!

I went there last night with my wife to celebrate her B-day. Actually, I have made my reservation one week ago. I told the receptionist about the occasion and requested for a window table with better view. And I got her word.
Yesterday (morning) I called Angelini to arrange the b-day cake, as I was so late they could not arrange any except a Choc cake. So I said forget about it, yet I still have best wish we can enjoy a wonderful night.
Nightware began last evening, I arrived on time and being assign with a table which is 1) far far (four rows away) from the window, 2) very packed and noisy, you are feeling like a buffet dinner enviornment. I then discussed with the receptionist (as I found some window tables are vacant). And I get a very \"satisfying\" answer - >Sorry!. She has not tried to do anything. Then I went to her again and in front of her I called and booked a table in Sabatini; while she just pretended hearing nothing and of course she did nothing. Then I ask the caption to give me the bill (We have order a glass of tap water and a glass of sparkling water), captain asked the reason of leaving, I explained to him again and he went to discuss with the receptionist. I thought, there is light at the end of tunnel.
I was very wrong, turn out.... they were just doing nothing and later he brought me the bill. Wonderful, HK$49.50. I paid for it. And I told them we have never touched those glasses of water, they have not offered to waive us in the first instance and not even when I told them such. What they said is \"Thank you!\" What a shame.
So, I can tell you guys about the atmosphere, the service, but not the food. Even so, I don\'t need to tell you the value of $.
Side story, even very short notice, Sabatini has managed to arrange a table (you know they are so full every night) and the service is \" feels like home.
Beside my experience with Angelini, the decoration and the atmosphere there is simply not up to an \"at least HK$600 per head for dinner\" standard, it\'s simply like marco polo hotel. So when you guys looking for italian, make your best choice.