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Anna Healy Fenton

Chianti Restaurant, Panda Hotel, Tsuen Wan. Tel: 409 1111. Hours: 11.30am-2.30pm; 6pm-10.30pm.

DISTANCE is a case of mind over matter, and minding about good food means the journey doesn't matter, even to the Kowloon Panda Hotel, in deepest darkest Tsuen Wan.

  The half-hour MTR ride from Central, and $9 cab ride at the other end is actually an easy journey. There's also a shuttle-bus that leaves from behind the YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui on an hourly basis.

More pleasant surprises await on arriving there and not being put off by the vast garish coffee shop which disguises the entrance to the Chianti restaurant.

The decor is low-key, with touches of patriotic Italian red, green and white, and tables that overlook the bustling lobby bar below, secure in their own quiet corner.

 Like locusts, attentive waiters swarmed across the verdant carpet to greet and seat, disappearing again almost as fast.

 They left behind a carafe of lively rough-and-ready red, the house chianti, (at $204 per carafe), poured from a monster three-litre twisted glass bottle.

This went perfectly with the basket of superb traditional Italian breads, baked on the premises. Ironically, these were only marred by the very tough standard white rolls at the bottom.

Bearing in mind the all-inclusive $290 lobster dinner being enjoyed at the next table, a quick gaze round the antipasto buffet ($68) revealed 20 varieties of dried meats, salamis, cheeses, smoked duck, salad dishes and bite-sized pieces of tasty cold pizza, more than a meal in itself.

The soup looked interesting, and while fishing in this bowl of Zuppa di Gamberi, a dark-coloured bisque, several plump prawns were retrieved. An over-subtle use of lemon grass and coriander, however, made this slightly bland. Surprisingly we had to ask for the black pepper grinder, but it proved to be on slow flow, despite energetic twistings by the waiter.

The usual Italian fare of varied pasta dishes was on offer, together with turbot, rack of lamb, steaks, veal, chicken and pizza.

 An order of Gnocchi al Formaggio, potato and cheese dumplings in a meat and red wine sauce ($52), produced a substantial plateful, topped with pine nuts.

 Perfect for big eaters, this often stodgy dish was excellent despite lacking parmesan cheese.

  The Petto di Pollo, sauteed chicken breast in Grand Marnier sauce ($96), was sweet without being sickly, served with tiny wagon-wheel shaped pasta and crunchy al dente vegetables, and hard to fault.

 Finishing such generous servings after the ample starters was difficult but, there was just enough room for dessert.

  The service, which was unfailingly friendly but erratic, reached new heights with the sweet trolley.

  Pointing to the creme caramel, the waiter proclaimed ''That's custard,'' and then, faced with a bowl bearing the inscription Tiramasu, proclaimed: ''And that's cheesecake.''   The standard of food was particularly impressive, given that the chef, Phillip Leung, was not from Italy. Hongkong-trained, Leung produces the Chianti food in conjunction with Italian consultant Franco Cumin.

 We rounded off our dinner with an exceptionally realistic decaffeinated coffee. The entire meal for two, with wine, cost $650.



Go the extra kilometre