Va Bene in Lan Kwai Fong celebrated its 15th anniversary on Wednesday night with owner Pino Piano (right) rightly at the centre of the party. However, as the night wore on and old stories and the wine continued to flow, Piano confessed to a little known fact - that he wasn't always its proprietor. 'Let me clarify the popular misconception that I owned Va Bene when it opened 15 years ago. I did work at the restaurant but I didn't own it - not back then anyway,' he recalled.
The fact is, he left Va Bene in 2001 due to some legal wranglings as a result of opening another restaurant, Gaia. 'But it wasn't long before I returned, this time as owner when Va Bene was up for sale. From then on, I am very pleased to say, it has gone from strength to strength in the years since.' Even if it had to move across the street a bit in Lan Kwai Fong a couple of years back. 'Fifteen years is a terrific achievement for a restaurant in Hong Kong, and being a part of that, in whatever capacity, has been fantastic,' he said.
