Pasta Mio   (Closed)

Two of us wanted to have a quick casual pasta for lunch. There was no one at the counter at first. We waited about 1 or 2 minutes before anyone showed up. Even though it was a dine in option, the pasta still came in take away boxes and disposable wear. We wouldn't expect more from what seems to be a fast food joint but the food was something to be remembered. The pesto sauce was about 75% made of parmesan and apart from a few greenish herbs, the remainder was oil (about 1 inch deep). The arrabiata sauce was even more peculiar. We are huge fans of spicy food, frequenting Thai, Sichuanese, Korean restaurants on a regular basis. But this sauce was beyond fiery and we had to regrettably toss it out. Disastrous pretty much sums it up.

I ordered the chicken, tomato, rosemary pasta with wholemeal pasta and it was not a pleasant experience. The pasta was the roughest wholemeal pasta I've had. I know wholemeal pasta is not as smooth as normal pasta, but this one was dotted with visible bits of fibre with a rough mouth-feel. The sauce had bits of plant fibre in it which had to be picked out as they were not edible (not sure what it was, it looked like the stalk of something). There was very little chicken, diced into tiny cubes. A big chunk of pasta was stuck together and, as a result, raw. I stuck a fork in it and could lift up the bottom layer of the box.

That was my first and only time. I might consider giving them a second chance to see if it's a one off bad experience, but I would definitely not order the chicken, or the wholemeal pasta

Back when I was a kid, my knowledge of pasta was limited to spaghetti, alphabets and Campbell soup But it was a treat at the time.
Then in the dormitory days, started to come across cheese macaroni, spaghettini, fettucine, canneloni and my favourite lasagna
As the italian cuisine started to take a foothold in the local gourmet industry in recent years, more and more varieties of pasta were introduced into HK.
First came ravioli, angel hair, fussili, inguini, penne followed by lots of other varieties -- short pastas like gnocchi and orecchiette; long pastas like farfelle and pappardelle; and stuffed pastas like tortellini ....
However, a lot of these pastas were available mainly in specialty italian groceries or in higher end italian restaurants. And to be honest, I have only heard of the names of many, like gnocchi, orecchiette and tortellini, but hadvenever tried them.
That was the scene until Pasta Mio came into the picture.

Tucked under the mid-levels escalator at Cochrane St, Pasta Mio operates much like a fast food store specializing in pastas. Fast, made-to-order and ready-to-go were the main features of the shop. It also has a few seats, probably less than 10, outside the store but with a shade to protect customers from the sun. The place offers 10 different types of pastas and 10 different sauces. The sauce was really different combinations of tomato, cream, cheese, mushrooms, herbs and cold cuts. But the choice of pasta and sauce add up to a great combination of meals, perhaps only limited by one's imagination. You select the pasta first, then the sauce, then the texture/consistency especially if you prefer tender rather than al dente pasta, followed by the size and any add-ons (extra cheese etc).

The food is ready in 10 minutes after order.We ordered: This is my first bite of tortellini. The tortellini has a spinach and cheese filling and a lot smaller than raviolis. The sauce was light and refreshing, topped by a layer of parmesan cheese. The serving was really generous. Ours is a regular size order and it must have over 10 tortellinis.The sauce is made of tomato, cream, ham and mushrooms. The fusilli was al dente and the serving was generous. However, the sauce was bit short and could barely coat the fusilli. Again, the pasta was topped with a layer of parmesan that made the whole meal a lot tastier.The sauce is tomato and bacon. Again the sauce was short. This is my first time trying gnocchi. Honestly, I found it a bit too chewy. Heard that the pasta was made from a mix of flour and potato. So it was very filling to the stomach but personally, I'd prefer the more traditional al dente pasta.

Thanks to Groupon, the meal was only $33 a piece (regular price $66). The presentation of the food was not quite appealing, and tastewise, was just above average. However, at $33, it was a good deal for a quick italian meal. For the ladies, they also serve fit-size pastas at a lower price. In fact, at $29 you can have a fit-size pasta of the day which I think is a super deal. Bravo, Pasta mama mia, italiano. Will encore.

I was impressed the first time I bought my Spaghetti with Amatriciana (tomato + bacon) sauce here. The spaghetti was made al dente and somewhat thick in its shape which was interesting and tasty.

No longer is the case now. The Spaghetti with Melanzana (tomato + eggplant) sauce now I ordered was 100% dry in the paper box and the sauce don't mix at all.

It was an awful box of noodles.

Spaghetti now has suddenly been switched by the shop to some tiny thin noodles which are not al dente.

In general the pasta here are cooked for too long in the water. It is nothing but just another poorly made, mushy pasta shop which we have plenty around.

I love gnocchi and ravioli so when I saw the reviews here I just had to try it out.
In the earlier reviews there were no seating but now there are tables outside the shop.

The last time I had lovely gnocchi and ravioli was at La Piazzetta in Wan Chai.
Review at La Piazzetta featuring gnocchi and tortellini:
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=2149877

There is a similar joint like Pasta Mio called Deli Deli at Fortress Hill too which reminds me of New York, but Deli Deli seems more Japanese and Chinese because it serves sweet red bean pizza and oolong tea, adapted more for locals.

The pasta at this place was so tempting I couldn’t wait until winter because I love having a lovely box of hot pasta in the cold.
I prepared myself for the heat and sweat.
It was sweltering that day when I had the pasta.

I checked their website earlier and RETTANGOLI (Salmon-Dill ravioli) was the one I most wanted to try.
But when I got there, they had changed the menu and this one had been discontinued, but Gnocchi and other filled pastas were available. I wish I came here earlier because Salmon and dill as a filling in ravioli sounds yummy.

On my way home I wanted smth quick to eat and passed by Pasta Mio.
Decided to do a quick takeaway Spaghetti Pomodoro.

The wait wasn't long but when I went to pay I was kind of surprised that it cost $78 for a small takeway box of spaghetti!
Much more expensive than Te so was a bit disappointed.

Got home and the pasta was nice and hot- they have a microwave they use in plain sight for some of the baked orders, but thankfully my pasta was boiled fresh, with sauce heated by a pan (smth offputting about paying money at a restaurant and watching them microwave your food....)

The spaghetti was really really thick- almost like eating Shanghainese egg noodles. I agree with the other review here that said they could eat it with chopsticks.

It was however very tasty- maybe the speghetti cos it was home made was quite thick but I think it actually soaked up the sauce (which was hearty and healthy with a nicely portioned sprinkling of real cheese on top- no parmesan from the bottle).

Will definately go back cos the pasta was good, but maybe not so often as it's kinda expensive for a takeaway place.