Diner’s Diary | Jamie's Italian goes all Hong Kong and serves afternoon tea
Savoury and sweet planks offer small portions of main menu items, making the afternoon tea at Causeway Bay restaurant a bit like a tasting menu
Jamie’s Italian in Causeway Bay has succumbed to Hong Kong's mania for afternoon tea. This month it became the first restaurant in the TV chef's global chain to begin serving afternoon tea. This week they hosted us for tea to show what they're serving.
Savouries and sweets are presented on two different planks, though we think it’s best they come one after the other to avoid mixing up flavours. Both our planks came at the same time, so after eating the brownie I had melted ice cream on my plate when I started eating Italian cold cuts, a problem our server quickly spotted and dealt with by giving us fresh plates.
Tea-goers aren't being offered anything new - the planks feature dishes from the main menu, making the afternoon tea a bit like a tasting menu for the restaurant.
We started with the Italian cured meats - San Daniele prosciutto, pistachio mortadella, fennel salami and schiacciata picante, presented with cured olives and peppers. Next came mozzarella cheese, and slices of pecorino cheese with dollops of chilli jam.