Trattoria Doppio Zero    

I seldom take the time to write reviews, let alone walk into the hotel room and REGISTER in order to write a review. I can honestly say that the only redeeming feature of the meal I have just tried to eat, was the service. I live in Moscow/Cape Town, and was looking forward to a Michelin recommended restaurant in Hong Kong. Having said that, Trattoria Doppia has overcomplicated their menu and lost the plot, sacrificing good food for a melange of ingredients. I selected something simple: Green Salad, Fried Prosciutto Balls and Risotto. The Salad was nothing special, the Prosciiutto Balls reminiscent of a student's take-away and the Risotto inedible. The latter: undercooked risotto, calamari that tasted of rubber
In their defence, the Risotto was taken off the bill, but both my partner and I agreed that the meal was one of the worst ever

More than disappointing!

Had to ask for a waiter several times just to take all our food / drink orders. There was an error in 2 dishes that were not put through to the kitchen, so we waited 20 more minutes. Some dishes were not indicated as spicy, which was a problem for some of my guests. Waiters did not know what key ingredients were in the dishes. Overall a very bad experience.

We went to Doppio Zero for my birthday - two persons, we had a reservation, but it was early in the evening, so the restaurant was almost completely empty when we arrived. We were brought to a (tiny) table for two and were left ... without a menu. That came a few minutes later - a bit awkward, but not problematic. We were asked about water (sparkling or still) and I said still, assuming that this would be tap water, but a bottle of still mineral water arrived instead. I suppose I should have been specific, but then, the waitress could have, too ... again, not a problem, but not good service, either.

The menu is quite small, but quite interesting, too; we had no trouble finding plenty of things that we liked. What we thought was surprising was the enormous price difference between the pasta dishes and the secondi: HKD135-180 for the pasta, HKD280-385 for the secondi. There is also a note saying that the pasta dishes are not intended as main courses, but can be increased for an additional HKD60. Because we were in the mood for pasta only, we decided to share some appetizers and then some pasta.

The mozzarella was out that day, so we settled on Baccala, Fried Prosciutto Balls, and Burrata for starters. The Burrata we got fist: very nice and soft cheese, wonderfully tasty balsamic on the plate (too little!!); the eggplant jam was nice and sweet. The prosciutto balls and the baccala came at the same time. There were four prosciutto balls, fried just a little bit too long and hence a bit on the dark side; irregular pieces of meat were held together by some unidentifiable cheesy substance. Quite tasty, actually. The baccala came in a bowl that was rather large for an appetizer, and resembled the Portuguese cod dish that we always get in Macau, with potatoes and cream. It had a wonderful creamy texture and was immensely tasty, but it was also a lot of food. The housemade potato crisps were great, but too thin and fragile to scoop up the dish. We were almost full after the appetizers.

Following the waitress’ recommendation we ordered three pasta dishes to share among the two of us: ravioli, tagliatelle, and spaghetti. Because we ordered to share, we got every dish on two plates—and I suspect we actually got larger portions. There were three ravioli on each plate (remember, normally you get five in one portion, but it would have looked weird if they had divided one …), and they were amazing, with a beetroot and gorgonzola filling. Both the tagliatelle (with Bolognese sauce) and the spaghetti (with classic tomato sauce) were excellent, though a bit on the salty side. We were stuffed! Two pasta dishes would have been entirely sufficient—but then, we are not heavy eaters.
We did not order dessert because we were in a hurry to meet friends elsewhere.

Overall, we were extremely happy with the food, as it was tasty, well executed, and beautifully presented. Service was good but not perfect: see above, and then the usual scenario, when none of the many waiters are around when you want to ask for the check…
Payed around HKD1200, including wine.

We’ll definitely go back. And we hope they change their menu every once in a while.

No wait as I heade down around 1:30pm. Looking forward to try the much heralded homemade pasta.

The salad with Parma ham was bland at best, as the hefty vinegar took away all the freshness.

The pasta though, was something worth remembering. Very strong cheese gives the dish the extra punch.

At $200 a pop it's interesting but not really great value. If the quality and portion sizes is the same for dinner, then may look for more value elsewhere.

Trattoria means, in Italian, an informal restaurant serving simple Italian dishes, and Doppio Zero refers to an ultra-fine ‘00’ flour that the restaurant uses to make its signature pastas. Opened by Chef Jake Addeo and ex-Management Consultant Kevin Shih, Trattoria Doppio Zero is a restaurant which specialises in fresh, handmade pasta cooked with seasonal ingredients.

Located in Sheung Wan, the restaurant is a delightful new addition to Hong Kong’s list of restaurants that make fresh pastas.Trattoria Doppio Zero has been recommended by the Michelin Guide and has been named the place for “Best Pasta” by WOM Guide.

Very few things can taste better than a plate of hot, al dente handmade pasta and some homely Italian red wine, so my heart leaped with joy as I entered the restaurant in the basement of the Pemberton. The interior of the restaurant was rustic and homely, with a collection paintings and photos adorning its walls. As "Trattoria" suggests a cheap neighbourhood eatery, we were a bit surprised by the small portions of the dishes at the restaurant; fear not, however, as even though dinner here is not a bargain, they do serve some great-value set lunches which are available both during the week and in the weekend!

(1) We started off the Truffled Fried Oysters ($80), which at first sight looked absolutely tiny, but had exquisite tastes that made up for its deficiency in size - the flavours of the Black Truffle Aioli permeated the beautifully fried oyster, and the Creamed Spinach added an indulgent, creamy touch.(2) The Fried Prosciutto Balls ($75), made up of Ricotta, Mozzarella and Pecorino, was equally addictive, with the incredible marriage of cheese and ham presented in the form of a crunchy little ball. The Honeydew Melon Sauce was subtle and slightly sweet and was just the right sauce for these Prosciutto balls.(3) Our third appetiser was the Affettati ($100), a platter with high quality Prosciutto di Parma and Speck. What was interesting was that we were given some “Whipped Lardo” to spread on the Grilled Focaccio - while the grilled focaccio was delectably light and crispy, we were not sure if the lard was worth the cholesterol, as it tasted a bit bland.(4) Getting to the main point of our visit, the first pasta we tried was the Chitarra ($225), which had in it Sea Urchin, Crab Roe and Tarragon. The waiter personally recommended this to us, and said that it was one of the ladies’ favourites at the restaurant. There are certain Asian touches on the menu, and this pasta’s use of crab roe and sea urchin is one of them. The freshness of the sea urchin and fish roe perfectly complemented the freshly hand-made pasta, making for a decadent, enjoyable fusion dish! My only complaint was that the hand-made pasta was on the soft side, probably because it was slightly overcooked.(5) The Tagliatelle ($220) was my personal favourite at the restaurant. It was served with a Classic Bolognese Sauce, some Parmigiano and Nutmeg. Many restaurants all over the world get Bolognese wrong - only a tiny bit of tomato paste should be used, and the sauce should never be red in colour! The Bolognese sauce had natural, mellow flavours from the onion and pork, and the nutmeg gave the pasta a refreshing kick. What touched me the most, however, was this pasta’s authenticity!(6) The Tagliolini allo Zafferano ($220), with Soft Shell Crab, Saffron, Ginger, Garlic and Pepperconcini, was another Asian-inspired delight. Even though the portions of dishes were generally small, the restaurant was very generous with the Soft Shell Crab, and there were large chunks of them scattered over the pasta. The garlic taste was sharp and distinctive, and my friend kept saying that she felt like she was eating a Chinese lobster e-fu noodles (龍蝦伊麵)! The waiter explained to us that this Tagliolini was made with duck’s eggs instead of chicken’s eggs, so it was firmer and more al dente, and we all liked its texture!(7) The Ravioli ($195) is a signature dish at Trattoria, as it had a sumptuously smooth filling with Red Wine Braised Beetroot, Gorgonzola, Italian Butter and Poppy Seeds. I really am not a fan of beetroot’s grassy flavours, but I tried some of this anyway, and I acknowledge that the ravioli was butter soft and soothing, and the ravioli was nicely thin and delicate. If you are someone who eats beetroot, here’s one for you to try!(8) Lastly, the Spaghetti Neri ($205) was also commendable. The pasta was made with cuttlefish ink, and was served with Baby Cuttlefish and seasoned with some Thai Chilies. The sauce was citrusy, with a hint of spiciness. The whole dish was rich with a combination of flavours, and the fresh taste of seafood particularly stood out - absolutely invigorating!

It was a fantastic meal with my dearest friendssssssssssssssss
Strongly recommend you guys to try

The service and the food had extremely outstanding quality~!! Although it was a bit expensive, it was worth......

1.) Starter: Marinated Geoduck Clam Carpaccio around $100


***********Originally we would like to order Tuna Carpaccio, but it was only available at lunch!! , so we tried Geoduck
it was also yummy and special!!!!

2.) Main Coursesssss:

Ricotta Gnocchi $145



Hey~!! the photo looks horrible, right? But the potato did taste greattttttttttt !!!!!!!!!! so so so yummy and special which you may not try at other places

Tagliatelle $160


The sauce was great and unique ...but the spaghetti was too tough for me~!! That was not because of the bad quality of the spaghetti..since my friends thought it was yummy..Only because I do not like tough spaghetti..I think it is special to some people..

Grilled USDA Prime Ribeye (10oz) $385

I would like to try lamb..but my friend did not like... However, this was excellent~!!!still strongly recommended

This new Italian restuarant is famous for this Pasta using "00 Flour" .

Sat only serves A la menu. Of course, I picked pasta as main. There are total 8 selection of pasta, after google (there are two pasta i have never tried) and consulting the waiters (nice attitude with patience), i picked Chitarra sea urchin. Friend's pick is Linquini. Also we ordered Tuna Cappacio as appetizer for share.

Tuna Cappacio is very rich and creamy by taste. But obviously beef or salmon cappacio is more tasty. Chitarra Sea Urchin: Chiatarra is a bit similar to Linquini by shape, but a bit thicker and wider. And it turns out to be more al dente. Sea Urchin sauce is excellent served with Chiatarra, creamy and juicy. One of best Pasta (and quite speicial/unique) I've tried in HK. Friend's pick is linguini with clams cooked in white wine. Also good but not that special.

Restaurant environment is casual with simple but chic decoration. Service is good as well.

Will definitely return for other pasta again.

Trattoria Doppio Zero is actually quite a nice simple Italian restaurant, like the one round the corner in Italy. Usually they are rubbish, because they are for tourist. As far as I remember, I asked, what is regular tea, English breakfast tea? The manager answered, no, just normal tea. But then, English breakfast tea is not normal tea, what is?!

Cuisine: Italian
Food rating: 1/10*
Service: 2/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Price: HK$130 (per head)

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or above to three Michelin stars

Calamari (0/10)
Now sure what breadcrumb they used, wasn’t crispy. Squid was tasteless and overcook. Great start.Antipasti Misti，Parma Ham，Pickled Mushrooms，Roasted Peppers & Parmigiano (0/10)
Great presentation. If parma ham was too costly for you, I rather you to serve something else. It was the most tasteless parma ham I have ever eaten in my life.Spaghetti Alla Chitarra，Anchovy (1/10)
The best dish of the afternoon. Fairly seasoned, Spaghetti was al dente, perfectly cooked. But then, where were the anchovy, did they use half of a anchovy fillet for one spaghetti dish? So stingy. Nice simple menu, with a Morden décor, gave me a great impression. However, as soon as the food arrived, I felt like I was riding a roller coaster. Is it wonderful, so glad that it was only lunch!

Give me a thumb up if you like it!

As a food blogger, you may imagine and you would be correct in assuming I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic about food. Having relocated recently from London to Hong Kong, I was keen to explore all the great foodie experiences Hong Kong has to offer. And so it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to celebrating Hong Kong Restaurant Week. The opportunity to try a fine dining experience at a discounted price - for example, 3 course lunch menus from $98HK and 3 course dinner menus from $258HK was simply something I just could not pass up.
I had booked through the special restaurant week website securing a reservation for 2 on the Thursday evening at 9pm. To my disappointment there were few restaurants left with availability and so I was happy to get the booking for Doppio Zero which offered a reasonably priced 3 course menu at $258HK.

When the reservation was made, I had had a few email exchanges with the restaurant to confirm my reservation, which is perfectly understandable during a promotion week. It should have been clear at this point that the reservation was made and facilitated through the restaurant week website.

On entering the restaurant, we were greeted warmly by the Maitre D' who checked off our reservation and showed us to the back of the restaurant where there were only empty tables. We walked through the restaurant at the front which seemed to be occupied by quite a few couples having an intimate dinner and the lighting and decor provided a good atmosphere.

After being asked to sit down, the Maitre D' provided us with a menu which seemed appealing and I recognised some of the dishes but the menu did not resonate with me as I had specifically booked with the restaurant week promotion and was looking for a fixed price menu. I was surprised that we had not been offered both the a la carte and fixed price menu so I questioned the Maitre D'
" Is there not a special Fixed Price Menu for Hong Restaurant Week?"
He replied "Yes Ma'am, but it is only available for those who booked with the Hong Kong Restaurant Week Website"
I wasn't best pleased and responded
"Well, we did book with the HK Restaurant Week Website. Can I please see the menu?"
To this, he brought around the menu and left it hovering in the air as if we were only permitted to "see" the menu and not order from it.
So much so, that I had to say to him " Can I keep it, please?"
"Of course Ma'am" was the reply. If it hadn't been so late, we would have walked but being 9pm we were hungry and decided to stay.

Being a fixed price menu, the choice was limited to two appetisers, main courses and desserts but there were a couple of dishes that jumped out right away. Truffle Fried Oyster with Aioli and Duck Egg Ravioi.

The Truffle Fried Oyster came with a $4 surcharge and was a pleasant amuse bouche. It was presented in an oyster shell on a bed of rock salt and the tempura batter that encompassed the oyster was deliciously light. The aoili was subtle enough not to overpower the glorious truffle taste.
A nice start to the meal

The appetiser of Duck Egg Raviolo served in a bowl with a creamy rich and unctuous cheese sauce was very decadent and I thought this choice for appetiser for the restaurant week was spot on. The yolk was runny and gushed out into the rich sauce. I also enjoyed the way that it was presented and the theatre involved in serving the dish.

I should point out at this stage that we were interested in ordering a glass of red wine each but for some reason were told that they did not serve wine by the glass! Really? In an Italian Trattoria? That was a first! Instead, were offered to share a carafe of wine which I thought was a bit disappointing. I am not sure why they have decided to go down this route but they really have missed a trick here.

Throughout the meal, the service was very fast paced, no sooner had we finished the oyster, then the appetiser was placed in front of us. Our waiter was constantly around our table, watching how we were progressing with the meal and when he wasn't doing this he was setting the tables beside us. I though it was a tad excessive and we felt rushed into eating. I should also say that there were no further customers waiting to be seated where we were so we felt it was completely unnecessary.

Next came the main course which was a Tagliatelle with beef and a chocolate reduction. In my opinion this dish was far too rich and there was too much of a chocolate taste which overpowered the meat.

Again, as soon as we had put our cutlery down our main dishes were whisked away and the menu was placed back in our hands to chose dessert.
This time the waiter did not go away and remained at our table to ensure we looked at the menu. As the previous dish was so heavy, we wanted a pause in the meal and did not want to order straight away. I deliberately did not look at the menu to let him know I was not ready. Instead he called out " Have you decided what you want for your dessert?"

It was all becoming rather stressful and we just decided to order dessert and have it over and done with. The choice was between a polenta cake and arancini dolci ( fried sweet risotto balls with currants, rum sauce and cinnamon gelato). Given that I am not a big fan of polenta cake, the arancini dolci was the only remaining option. I thought the flavour combinations were good but again, too heavy a choice considering we had just consumed a copious, filling pasta dish.

Overall, I thought the service soured our experience. Having a meal with a friend or a loved one should be a happy and relaxed occasion.
We felt patronised, rushed and unwelcome . The value for money was ok in that we benefitted from the HK restaurant week promotion but had we been paying normal prices then we would have felt "ripped off" . We paid around between $800 and $900.
If participating in Restaurant Week is all about enticing repeat business, the Doppio Zero have a lot to learn about Customer Service to achieve this. There are too many good restaurants offering attentive service in Hong Kong for me to pay a second visit to Doppio Zero.

Reason for visit: after a few visits, my wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary here

Ambiance: casual with some artwork (8/10)
This is not a place you want to take your best client or your demanding date... but more like a relaxing place to take friends, a fun date, or in my case, a loving wife. Music is also fun (but it is not very Italian!) which goes well with the atmosphere.

Service: casual yet caring (8.5/10)
Staff is very knowledgable about the food they serve and always sincere to help. They have the basics down with the food / wine / timing / portion sizes, not to mention their willingness to go the extra mile with pictures, candles and even singing bday songs! They also gave us a free dessert on the house with their lovely chocolate writing, congratulating us for our anniversary! English can improve though.

Food: Doppio is known for their pastas and they did not disappoint (9/10)
Truffle Oysters - delicious... just hope they had more! creamed spinach underneath and black truffle sauce above. lightly fried with a very light batter
Grilled Octopus - spicy, tangy and zesty! it has an interesting spice to the dish that you don't get elsewhere (i forgot to ask what it is). balanced with lemon juice and some greens, the smoky octopus tentacle has a few interesting things going on in the dish!
Spaghettini with razor clams - this one was my favorite! bottarga is fish roe of some kind and it tastes so delicious (although my wife finds it too pungent).
Chitarra with sea urchin - this one is one we get most of the times. best uni pasta i've had in town
Tagliatelle Bolognese - this one is kind of odd for me... shouldn't it be tomato based? luckily, it was not too meaty even though the server explained to us it was made from 4 types of meat (chicken, pork, veal and I forget the 4th)
Pan roasted baby chicken - this really was an amazing finish to the meal (we were too full to get dessert!). peppers, red wine vinegar sauce and a soft and tender baby chicken. nothing about this dish jumps out as mindblowing but just good old classic cooking that never fails... I order this every time!

Pricing: an excellent deal but can seem daunting (8/10)
This is a fairly high score in my books with Hong Kong western fanfare. In a nutshell, the first time I came I spent ~$550 per person, then eventually ~$400 inclusive of wine. Trick is, if you lend your trust to the waiters, they will give you their recommendations on how to share the food properly and still get out under $400. Wines are all very reasonably priced.

Overall: great restaurant for a night out with your loved one, date and I imagine with buddies as well. (8.5/10

Overall it was a fun, unique and comfortable dining experience at Doppio Zero with one or two hiccups.

The restaurant is dimly lit and has a wooden interior design, all of which made me feel relaxed and at home. The wait staff appear to be bilingual (Cantonese and English) but their English has room for improvement. Getting our orders down on paper took a little longer than expected, either it was because our waitress didn't know the menu well enough or she had some difficulty communicating to us in English - maybe it was a little bit of both. But she and the rest of the staff were attentive and polite, and took care to point out the pricing differences between the regular and entree portions of the pasta dishes.

I started with the truffled fried oysters and these are not to be missed! The oysters were served in their shell on top of a bed of salt. Although the oysters were fried, they tasted light, creamy and had just the right amount of seasoning. The creamed spinach complimented the fried oysters very well.

Then came the tagliatelle with a bolognese meat sauce, which was also creamy but not heavy. The pasta was cooked al dente, giving an appropriate texture to the whole dish. There was just the right amount of sauce and meat covering the pasta.

My portion of the meal came up to HKD242, which is a little pricey for the amount of food that I had. However, this is overshadowed by attentive service, great dining atmosphere, and unique and high quality dishes. Although I'm usually confined to the Central area, I think I'll venture out here for lunch one day.

My initial draw to Doppio Zero, a little hidden gem in Shueng Wan, was their pasta dishes which seemed to have some interesting combinations of ingredients, as well as the appearance of "Whipped Lardo" on the menu. Friends of mine probably all know my addiction to lardo. In fact one of my earliest posts on OR was exactly about lardo.
http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/commentdetail.htm?commentid=1990116

So what is whipped lardo It's basically blending, whipping, and straining solid lardo until it reaches a fine creamy consistency resembling whipped butter. Whipped lardo was not a new thing in New York, as it was served free with the amazing bread basket at Del Posto, the only Italian restaurant that received 4 Stars in New York Times. When I lived in Manhattan I went to Del Posto almost every other month, one of the reasons being my craving for the heavenly whipped lardo.

in Hong Kong, I finally found a place, Doppio Zero, that makes whipped lardo in house. During several visits, I was delighted to find that they also served up many other excellent dishes. Here is a summary of dishes in 3 visits:

Truffled Fried Oysters - Creamed Spinach / Black Truffle Aloli
Presented on top of a bed of coarse salt(2 per severing) , these fried oysters were delicious gems with crispy coating, plump oyster flesh, and just the right amount of black truffle note. The mildly citrusy creamed spinach helped to round out the overall flavor.

Fritti Misti – Crispy Mixed Seafood, Malt Vinegar & Parsley Sauce
Crispy polenta crust, delicious parsley sauce. The polenta coating was too crumbly and some fell apart from the seafood, but it retained crispiness even after it turned cold. This dipping sauce would go well with literally any fried food..

Burrata – Eggplant Jam / Parmigiano Crisp/ Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette
I thought the burrata was ok in consistency, as we actually came on a day quite far from their shipment.

Crispy Sweetbreads – Spiced Carrot Sauce / Gorgonzola
The sweetbreads were small and quite firm inside, and I thought they were overshadowed by the thick coating and the sauce. Personally I prefer my sweetbreads to be creamier with less adornment so that its own flavor can stand out more..

Affettati – Prosciutto / Speck/ Whipped lardo / Grilled Focaccia
While most people probably order this dish because of the prosciutto and speck (which were ok in quality), the WHIPPED LARDO is what I considered as the real star of the whole assagini section of the menu.

The whipped lardo here is created with lardo di Colonnata, the highest quality of lardo you can find. The lardo is purchased in big blocks in vacuum bags, rubbed with dry herbs such as rosemary for preservation and aroma purposes. It is then processed through several food processors and pressed through a fine gauze to get to the "butter-like" stage.It was served with a little seasoning and olive oil. When spread across hot bread, it is just pure heaven. This whipped lardo is also incredible with pasta or meat! MIx a little into hot food, and you will find that it really brightens up the dishes in a surprising way!

Primi:
Most of the pasta here are made freshly in house every day. While it was understandable that fresh pasta tends to be softer and with less “bite” than the dry ones, in our first visit we found our fresh pasta dishes cooked slightly softer than expected. During subsequent visits we requested very specifically to have the pasta cooked more al dente, and the dishes came out great in texture.

Spaghetti Neri – Baby Cuttlefish / Thai Chilies / Scallion / Tomato
Pasta Type: Fresh
During our first visit this pasta was fiery hot. On a subsequent visit it was much toned down with only mild spiciness. The overall flavor was definitely vibrant, with an intricate combination of tangy tomatoes, oceanic savory and sweet cuttlefish, and spicy Thai chili. The crunchy cuttlefish also provided a nice textural contrast compared to the soft fresh homemade spaghetti.

Ravioli – Red Wine Braised Beetroot / Gorgonzola / Italian Butter / Poppy Seeds
Pasta Type: Fresh
A playful and original dish, the burgundy-colored wine braised beetroot puree was wrapped under thin soft ravioli skin. The unique flavor of the beetroot was nicely complemented by the mild sharpness of the gorgonzola and the creaminess of the butter sauce . The poppy seeds provided some nice little crunchy bits. .
Chitarra – Sea Urchin / Crab Roe / Amaranth
Pasta Type: Fresh
With pasta swimming in thick creamy sea urchin sauce, this dish was hearty and filling. The flavor wasn’t one-dimensional (of sea urchin) due to the presence of amaranth, but you could still find amble bits of sea urchin in the sauce.

Spaghettini - Bottarga / Razor Clams / Orange Zests / Toasted Bread Crumbs
Pasta Type: Dry
The flavor of bottarga didn’t quite stand out but it was interesting to pair the umami flavor with a little citrusy note from the orange zest. I enjoyed the texture of the bread crumbs being mixed into the spaghetti.
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Duck Egg Raviolo (Special)
Pasta Type: Fresh
This was simply an amazing dish. Besides filled with the decadent duck egg yolk, the raviolo (yes, singular, with one giant raviolo per serving) also had shredded pear (marinated with white wine, lemon skin, cinnamon stick, Sichuan peppercorn, etc.), ricotta, and 5 spices, contributing to a sweet and savory filling at the same time. When cut open the thin ravioli skin, the bright shiny runny duck egg yolk oozed out and swirled with the Italian butter and pecorino sauce, creating a the savory luscious emulsion. Complemented by the sweetness and creaminess of the pear and ricotta filling, this was certainly rich, comforting, and satisfying. We found that adding a little whipped lardo to the dish simply made it from great to heavenly!

Duck Egg Tagiolini with White Truffle (Limited Time offer)
Pasta Type: Fresh
During December, Doppio Zero was offering white truffle from Alba with their pasta.
The pasta was fresh made with 00 flour and duck egg yolk, dressed in a light Italian butter and parmesan cream sauce. They were offering it at $250 for the dish, shaving 4 grams+ of white truffle from Alba. Certainly a bargain price!While the white truffle was not the most aromatic I had this year (that was at Pierre), for that price and quantity you couldn’t really ask for more.
The duck egg yolk gave the fresh pasta a nice bouncy and chewier texture and an excellent mouthfeel..

Secondi:
Grilled USDA Prime Ribeye - Anchovy & Roasted Garlic Butter / Bone Marrow / Gremolata
This was arguably one of the best dishes here. The ribeye was perfectly grilled to medium rare as requested each time, tender and juicy with relatively good beef flavor and marbling. The bone marrow was sinfully decadent; paired with the succulent steak it became the best steak lubricant (yes, butter was not really needed). Call us crazy but when we applied a little whipped lardo to the steak the overall flavor really elevated to the next level. If you don’t trust it try it yourself! This ribeye definitely beats out many mediocre steaks at expensive steakhouses out there!


Milk Braised Boneless Suckling Pig - Roasted Mushrooms / Truffled sauce / Toasted Hazelnuts
Instead of the common Spanish-styled suckling pig with crispy thin skin, Doppio Zero offered a completely different version, with a whole suckling pig deboned and stuffed with chopped off / edible meat. It was then tied up, grilled, and baked with milk (w. veal stock) in the oven at a very low heat until very tender!

Served as medallions with mushroom sauce, the result was a soft gelatinous exterior (think pig’s trotters!) with really tender and moist meat inside!The sauce with mushroom was very very rich and creamy. (seems heavier in my 2nd visit) It was made with remaining stock from baking, blended till smooth with the addition of black truffle sauce and nutmeg to form the final sauce. To finish off the dish it was combined with some mixed seasonal shrooms (buttoncap / shitake / oyster) and hazelnuts.
This is hearty and delicious but I recommend sharing it among 4 people (or more if you were to have a lot of pasta) due to its super richness.


Desserts:
Coconut Panna Cotta -Kaffir Lime Gelee / Chocolate Chili Wafer
While the flavor was refreshing and light, this was not my favorite as it was heavy on gelatin, almost resembling a firm jello.

Chocolate Semi-Freddo Sundae - Salted Caramel / Brittle / Amarena Cherries
The salt and caramel flavors were not very profound, but the chocolate semifreddo was delicious and intense in chocolate flavor, definitely good for choco-lovers.

Affogatto - Milk Tea Gelato / Espresso Shot / Peanut Butter Cookie
This is a brilliant creation as the milk tea and espresso flavor combination is a direct Italian translation of Ying-Yang beverage in HK. Well balance of bitterness and sweetness here, and the peanut butter cookies were addictive! I have to buy a bag home!.

Overall I found Doppio Zero to be original in many recipes, and very reasonable priced. Dishes are rustic, homey, and hearty, particularly comforting in this current weather. I am surprised that it wasn't getting more attention, and that's why I am here, to give it a big shout!

It was my second time at this restaurant as I particulary liked their homemade pastas. Although the size of the portion will leave you unsatisfied (and I am not a big eater), the taste and service was fine during this first visit, thus I decided to go there again with my family visiting in town. However, this second experience has been particularly awefull in terms of customer service, leaving us wondering who was the customer... That night, we ordered each of us a starter, main dish, dessert and a bottle of wine. The bottle of wine happened to be bad (might have been the storage) and we mentionned it to the waiter who was suprised but brought us the wine list as requested. We then chose another wine which they brought us 10 minutes later with new glasses of wine on which they stick a white sticker; you must be wondering what was this white sticker doing there..., a new trend? new way to taste wine? Actually, this white sticker was used for us to avoid mixing up our glass with our previous wine which we mentionned wasn't good. At this moment, I wondered why if the first bottle was not good and we asked to change it for another one (we were actually only two persons drinking), they left us our first glasses and the first bottle of wine. It happened that at the end of the dinner, we found ourselve with two bottles of wine on our bill having consumed only one. We then thought that it was a mistake and asked the waiter to remove it, but he then said that we ordered it and we had then to pay for it. As I am myself working in the restaurant industry and never saw something like that happening, I was pretty shocked of this answer. Thus, I just mentionned to him that we will not pay for something that we did mention was bad and did not drink, the manager answered making fun of my answer (maybe it is common practice at this place to charge customer for corked wine). After 15 minutes of argumentation with the manager, he finally decided to remove it from the bill, but seriously how are you suppose as a restaurant manager to keep you retention rate high acting like this?! That was my second experience there and the last one as we really did not fell welcome in this place. Thus, if you go there make sure that they clearly understand that a corked wine should be removed from your table in order to avoid having a suprised receiving the bill!

Doppio Zero is a lovely restaurant that offers authentic Italian food.

The appetizer, deep-fried calamari, cod and prawn were delicious. The calamari had a crispy skin but the inside was soft, chewy and full of flavor. The cod was not fried with bread crumbs or flour, but used polenta as a covering. The result was a textured exterior but a soft and moist interior.

The tagliatelle bolognaise used a traditional ragu which is a lighter version of bolognaise, but does not use tomato. The handmade tagliatelle was al dente and quite good. The ragu was not too salty but lightly flavored, giving a lightweight but satisfying dish. The only problem about this restaurant was the gnocchi. It was chewy and the sauce was far too lightly flavored, so the gnocchi was flavorless. The mozzarella was also terrible. Instead of being milky and juicy, it tasted the same as the gnocchi!

You should really try Doppio Zero out -- it's so delicious!

Well, I am going to be very honest about this place.

Service:
They are new. I can say that at lunch the service was more than acceptable, but you can tell they need time to work it out. I have had much worse service from more established restaurants. I rate it good service, and I expect later it will become excellent.

Food:
Excellent! Very creative menu, the starters were expectional. Very special combinations of traditional and local ingredients, and very well presented. The food looked great, and tasted even better. My wife and I enjoyed the starters so much we ordered 2 more and they were just as good, so we ate 4 starters, all PERFECT!
The mains were great, I am a big guy, I could have done with a larger portion, but the quality of the food and the cooking was truly special.
The deserts were amazing, we ate 3 between the two of us. The coffee is great also.
The chef really is Italian, no-one else could cook Italian this well or create a menu like this.

Atmosphere:
I like the casual feel, it is very clean and well layed out, not too noisy as some places can be, and adequate spacing between the tables. So I like the place. I would have liked to hear some Italian music to be honest, but the music was fine.

Overall, it is the best Italian restaurant in Hong Kong, but give them time to perfect everything. I was very lucky to meet the Chef, he is a very nice guy, humble and friendly.

I recommend this place for couples, but even more so for parties or groups, as you can share the great food together and really try a bit of everything they have to offer. I dont take photos of food, that is strange I think.

Go check this place out! Great new restaurants like this deserve our support.